Yeast Free Living

Gluten Free / Yeast Free Pizza Crust – Candida Diet Recipe

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:03:51 +0000

This is my first gluten free yeast free pizza. This was not something I planned for the menu this week but when I picked my oldest daughter from school yesterday her teacher informed me that they would be having a pizza party tomorrow. She let me know that I can send Chey in with a special lunch and she would be glad to heat it up. I typically would send chicken nuggets and french fries but I did not want her to feel like an outsider. It has been a difficult transition for her with all of these food allergies. A few of the kids in her class have been making fun of her because she cannot eat the same things as everyone else. I did send in a bag of allergy friendly snacks and that has helped with the pressure of birthday parties at school. If there is a party she gets to pick a snack from her bag. Although her teacher has said that this has helped I am still sure that she feels a little bit like an outsider.

This is why I felt the pressure to make Chey her very own pizza for today. I stayed up to about 11:00PM trying to get this right and even stopped by a pizzeria to purchase a pizza box to make it even more special. The guy of course did not charge me for the box. Thank you so much for your kindness Taste of Tuscany Restaurant at 500 South River Street Hackensack, NJ. If we could eat regular pizza I would definitely go back there. So the pizza turned out pretty good. I used garbanzo flour and it gave it a weird taste but it was mixed with other flours so it was not too overwhelming. I will have to play around with the flours a little more for a good better combination. The crust is gluten and yeast free so it is okay for the candida diet. I also used Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce and Target Brand Mozzarella Cheese. The sauce has regular salt so this may not work for everyone but you can easily substitute another sauce. I have read that Mozzarella Cheese in small amounts is okay for most candida sufferers but this is another one of those confusing topics and many encourage people to omit all kinds of cheese. Again this is something that should be considered on an individual basis. Mozzarella cheese often has additives like vinegar and cornstarch so read labels carefully. You can also use your imagination and go cheeseless by just topping the pizza with any candida friendly toppings such as veggies or meat.

Gluten Free Yeast Free Pizza Crust Ingredients
2 cups gluten free flour mix (3 Cups Brown Rice Flour, 3 Cups Potato Starch Flour, 2 Cups Garbanzo Flour, 1 Cup Sourghum Flour)
2 tsp Xanthum gum (Use guar gum for corn allergy/sensitivity)
2 tsp baking powder (Use featherweight baking powder if corn allergy/sensitivity)
1/2 packet stevia
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1.5 cups sparkling water

Gluten Free Yeast Free Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Mix dry ingredients, add wet and combine.
The dough is really sticky and hard to manipulate
Use the back of a spoon to spread it onto an oiled pizza pan or preheated pizza stone
Bake for in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes

For Pizza:
Add candida friendly pasta sauce and toppings to preheated crust
Bake approx 15 minutes or until toppings are ready

Recipe from Mamachrissy at Group Recipes Gluten Free Yeast Free Pizza Crust
Gluten Free Flour Mix adapted from Gluten Free Cooking School (I changed it only due to a corn allergy)

Our Stack of Yeast Free Pancakes for the Week

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:04 +0000

Gluten Free / Yeast Free Pancakes are on this week’s Candida Diet menu a lot. I just want to state that I do not get up every morning and cook pancakes for my children. I barely have time to shower in the morning so cooking anything is usually out of the question. This recipe does have a lot of ingredients but once you do it a few times it becomes second nature. I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually make these from memory this past weekend.

I do miss those days of a quick bowl of cereal in the morning but try finding cereal without corn, wheat or soy in it. Some mornings we do eat Puffed Rice Cereal but the kids seem to tire of this easily. So what I do is take about an hour on Sunday to cook a stack of these pancakes. Once they cool I place 2 pancakes in each freezer bag and put in the freezer for easy use during the week. This makes it so easy to heat up in the morning and then my children get to eat a hot breakfast without all of the fuss. These pancakes are okay for the candida diet just skip the syrup. They really do taste like regular pancakes and retain this taste even after they are frozen and reheated. In addition to being okay for the candida diet they are extremely allergy friendly. I make them free of wheat, eggs, soy, corn and dairy.

Garden Fresh Salsa – Candida Diet Recipe

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:56:27 +0000

Salsa is one of my favorite condiments probably because I am a huge fan of Mexican food. I used to reserve using salsa only when I was making tacos or fajitas but I can honestly say that I now eat it weekly despite whether or not anything Mexican is on the menu. I often use it to add moisture to a quick turkey and rice cake sandwich. It adds such good flavor and then there is no need for tomatoes. My Brown Rice Tortilla Chips and Sage Valley Corn Tortilla Chips would not be nearly as satisfying without salsa.

When I first went on the candida diet it was very frustrating to discover that most commercially available brands of salsa contained vinegar, citric acid and/or sugar. I was certain I would just have to learn how to make salsa on my own. I would always by the ingredients for salsa with the intention on making it right away but this never happened. I would always put it off and let all the produce designated for this task go to waste. Although I never found an appropriate brand in regular supermarkets I did however discover 365 Organic Salsa in Whole Foods and it almost candida diet friendly. I say almost because it does contain regular salt which is not allowed on the candida diet. Regular salt contains trace amounts of dextrose which can cause problems for candida sufferers. Fortunately, I have used 365 Organic Salsa with no adverse effects and felt that this little cheat was okay for me. This may not work for everyone though. If you are going to purchase this brand choose the smaller size because the larger one does contain citric acid. As always read labels to make sure as things do change from time to time.

Although I do buy the 365 Organic Salsa often I wanted to learn how to make my own salsa. Fortunately I found a very easy recipe that had been right under my nose for over a year now. On the back of the Sage Valley Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips bag is a recipe for Garden Fresh Salsa. If my family hadn’t been devouring these so quickly maybe I would have noticed sooner. These are good chips and they are candida diet friendly. I tried the recipe and I have to say that homemade salsa is really good. It felt like I was in a authentic Mexican restaurant enjoying. I am really going to try to make the effort to make this weekly. For all those candida dieters out there that love salsa I hope this recipe helps.

Garden Fresh Salsa Ingredients
3 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and cored
1 handful cilantro, stems trimmed
1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 pack stevia
dash cumin, paprika and chili powder to taste

Garden Fresh Salsa Directions
Process garlic, chili, onion, cilantro, and lemon or lime juice in food processor for 10 – 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and process until chunky consistency, stopping occasionally to scrape sides and rearrange any large tomato chunks. Add salt, cumin, stevia, paprika, and chili powder to taste. Refrigerate at least one hour to allow flavors to blend.

Recipe from Sage Valley (Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips Back of the Bag) St. Augustine, FL 1800-223-2910

This Week’s Candida Diet Menu

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:37:14 +0000

I finally kicked the cold I had and am up and running at full speed again. In an effort to continue simplifying my crazy life I have converted the daily menu into a weekly one. I was doing my shopping list for the week and started to jot down meals for each day and write the corresponding ingredients on my shopping list. My shopping list is becoming very involved and it often takes visits to 4 or more stores to get everything I need to stay on task. Trader Joe’s is usually my first stop, then Shoprite, then Whole Foods. I also have to hit 2 different local health food stores when I run out of the special snacks that they girls are actually allowed to eat. Sometimes just the thought of it all makes me want to give up but I have to admit that my girls have been so much healthier since I have eliminated or significantly reduced the foods that were identified as troublesome on their allergy reports. I am secretly hoping that they will out grow some of these food allergies. If I had the choice of only one for them to out grow it would be my oldest daughter’s corn allergy. This is the only allergy I do not think that I have mastered. Corn is hidden in everything and therefore makes it very hard to keep her totally free of it.

One of the things that I have been most grateful for throughout this transition with their food allergies is the candida diet. If I had not experienced the candida diet prior to my kids being diagnosed with food allergies I do not believe that I would have been able to handle their diagnosis. Learning how to eat within the parameters of the candida diet has taught me how to seek out and try new foods and this makes it easier to help my children do the same. It is not always easy to maintain a candida and allergy free life but I feel like we are succeeding more times than not.

Candida Diet Menu for the Week of March 8, 2010

Sunday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Applegate Farms Turkey Breast on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs and Salad

Monday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Applegate Farm Turkey Breast on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper and Salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Spinach
Dinner: Crockpot Lamb Stew and Salad

Wednesday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch:Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Spinach
Dinner: Soup and Salad

Thursday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Applegate Farms Turkey Bologna on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Baked Chicken Rice and Beans and Spinach

Friday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce
Dinner: Tacos

Saturday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets and French Fries
Dinner: Lasagna and Salad

Weekly Snacks
Sage Valley Corn Tortillas Chips, 365 Brand Black Olives, Ener-G Wylde Gluten Free Pretzels, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Air Popped Popcorn, Cucumbers, Homemade Salsa, Homemade Hummus (Variety of Fruit for the Children Only)

Today’s Candida Diet Menu

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:42:15 +0000

So I am finally feeling better today. I guess that the corn syrup laden cough medicine helped a bit because I was able to get some sleep last night. The Yeast Free Pot Pie from last night’s dinner came out pretty good and I will post details as soon as possible. The crust was a little thicker than I like so I will adjust accordingly next time. We had a lot of running around to do after school yesterday and so I did not feel like cooking when we got home. I am really surprised that I was able to even get the pot pie done as we did not get in the house until after 7:00 PM. This is probably why I just don’t feel like cooking today. I usually fight this feeling but today I have decided to embrace it. Does this mean that I am going to revert back to convenient non-candida diet food for the day? Of course not. A few things have happened over the last few months that makes this minimal cooking day possible. I have read so many labels in the store that I now know what convenient foods we can get away with in a crunch. Applegate Farms makes all kinds of hot dogs and lunch meats that have no preservatives that help me with quick meals. Ian’s Alphatots were such a great find, as they are alphabet shaped french fries that contain no additives. Puffed rice cereal has also been great for a quick breakfast or when the kids don’t want to eat what I made for dinner. For the first time in a while I feel like there are a few things that I can throw together quickly when I just need a break. I will not make this a habit because convenient candida diet friendly food is very expensive but it is nice to have this as an option today. Have a great weekend!

Tennille

Today’s Candida Diet Menu – March 5, 2010

Breakfast
Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Soy Milk (Kids used unsweetened rice milk due to soy allergy)

Mid-Morning Snack
Sage Valley Tortilla Chips

Lunch
Applegate Farm Turkey Breast Sandwich on Rice Cakes
Applegate Farm Uncured Turkey hot dogs and Ian’s Alphatots for kids lunch with organic ketchup

Afternoon Snack
2 cups of air popped popcorn
Kids have Cape Cod Potato Chips

Dinner
Rotini Pasta with Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Dessert
Herbal Tea with 1 pack of stevia
1 Piece of fruit for the kids

Today Candida Diet Menu

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:57:57 +0000

So I went to the doctor right after I dropped off the kids this morning. I was so scared that I would have to take antibiotics but fortunately the strep test was negative and my chest was clear. They diagnosed me with a viral infection (common cold) and suggested I get some over the counter medicine to suppress my cough as all of my coughing is irritation my chest and throat. I probably should have dragged myself to Whole Foods to try to find a candida friendly cough medicine but I just stopped at CVS and got the Tussin DM with all of the corn syrup. I hope that you guys are not too disappointed, I just really want to stop coughing and finally get some sleep. I was up late last night again and do not want another night of this. I know this choice is contrary to the candida diet way but I promise to get back on task as soon as I can get some sleep.

The Homemade Yeast Free Hamburger Helper came out great last night. Everyone was thrilled with it so it will become a regular part of the candida diet menu. Tonight I am going to try a Homemade Yeast Free Chicken Pot Pie. Pot Pies are another favorite of mine so I hope that I can master a candida diet version. Have a great day!

Today’s Candida Diet Menu – March 4, 2010

Breakfast
Gluten free pancakes with no syrup (Kids ate it with pure maple syrup)

Mid-Morning Snack
Sage Valley Tortilla Chips

Lunch
Applegate Farm Turkey Breast Sandwich on Rice Cakes
Kids Rotini Pasta with Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Afternoon Snack
2 cups of air popped popcorn
Kids have Cape Cod Potato Chips

Dinner
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
Broccoli

Dessert
Herbal Tea with 1 pack of stevia
1 Piece of fruit for the kids

Homemade Yeast Free Hamburger Helper – Candia Diet Recipe

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:05:56 +0000

So I attempted to make homemade yeast free Hamburger Helper for my candida diet menu. I am happy to report that it rocked. My only regret is that I did not make enough for leftovers. Having eaten Hamburger Helper for so many years and never really bothering to find out what I was eating I began to think about it frequently over the last few weeks. Today I decided to take a look at the ingredients and I was appalled to find out what was actually in Hamburger Helper. I do not want to re-live my disgust so I will just share that it is nowhere close to being candida diet friendly. I really wanted to try to create a candida diet version of Hamburger Helper, so I bought one pound of ground turkey (we use ground turkey because my youngest has a beef allergy you may prefer lean ground beef if you do not have this issue) and crossed my fingers that I would be able to create one of my favorite processed foods. I am sure that those of you who are recovering from eating out of box and/or cans will be happy to try this recipe. It is one of my best yeast free recipes to date and was regarded very highly by the non-candida dieters in my house. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Homemade Yeast Free Hamburger Helper Ingredients – Candida Diet Recipe
1 Pound Ground Meat (I used turkey because of a beef allergy but ground beef or even ground chicken may be desired)
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 sea salt
1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder (probably could use cornstarch, potato starch or gluten free flour to help thicken up the sauce a bit if you don’t have arrowroot powder)
1/2 cup unsweetened vegetable broth (I used a Trader Joe’s brand that is safe for the candida diet)
1 cup unsweetened soy milk ( I used unsweetened rice milk because of a soy allergy)
2 cups water
4 – 6 ounces of rotini brown rice pasta (I use the Trader Joe’s brand)

Homemade Yeast Free Hamburger Helper Directions – Candida Diet Recipe
Spray Large Skillet with non-stick cooking spray

Brown ground meat until no longer pink
Drain to remove fat and excess oil

Mix together seasonings and arrowroot powder

Return meat to pan and add water, milk, vegetable broth
Add seasoning mix and stir thoroughly
Add pasta to the pot
Cook on covered on medium heat for about 20 – 30 minutes, or until noodles are cooked

Today’s Candida Diet Menu

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:08:59 +0000

I am still feeling pretty lousy today. My cough kept me up all night and I just can’t shake it. If I am still sick tomorrow I may have to go to the doctor. I have been avoiding going to the doctor because I just don’t want to take an antibiotic. Taking antibiotics almost always means that I will be battling a yeast infection in the the coming weeks. I apologize if that is too much information but I am sure many of you get the same fear when you are prescribed antibiotics. I guess if it comes to that, which I think it is going to because I can barely stop coughing while I am typing this and have a burning sensation in my chest , I will just have to take protective measures. I will make sure to pick up a quality probiotic and some plain yogurt and pray that I can somehow restore friendly bacteria to my system while the antibiotic is killing all of the bacteria in my body. Overuse of antibiotics is one of the main causes of candida overgrowth. Antibiotics are extremely useful in killing the bad bacteria that causes illness but does not discriminate and also kills the good bacteria that helps to keep the candida in check. I also just really dislike going to the doctor but I guess I have to stop whining and take care of myself.

I am exited about the menu tonight. I am going to try to make yeast free homemade Hamburger Helper. Hamburger Helper is another one of those prepared foods that I could never get enough. I loved when it was on sale so I could stock up. All you need is a pound of ground meat and voila, you have dinner. I checked out a box of the Beef Noodle one in the store this morning in order to see what the ingredients were in it so that I could make a yeast free version. I am amazed that I had never done this before. How could I have ate something for so many years and not even know what was in it. Well I’ll tell you what is in it and it isn’t pretty:

Wheat Flour- Mentioned as a sub-ingredient of three of ingredients. Definitely not a good idea for avoiding gluten.
Maltodextrin – Still not sure what this is but I would bet money that it can’t be good for us.
Salt – Usually contains dextrose, which contains sugar and is no good on the candida diet.
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein – I am not sure what this is either but it doesn’t sound good either.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – Oh No!!!
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil – Didn’t they determine that partially hydrogenated anything was like eating plastic?
Yeast Extract – Was this really necessary after all of the other stuff?

I am shocked at how many bad ingredients are in this one box and even more shocked that I had been eating it and feeding it to my family. I guess there is no use getting frustrated. Nowadays I know more about the food that I am eating than I ever thought I would. This new awareness is helping me make better choices for me and my family. I am looking forward to making a healthy yeast free version of Hamburger Helper.

Today’s Candida Diet Menu – March 3, 2010

Breakfast
Gluten free pancakes with no syrup (Kids ate it with pure maple syrup)

Mid-Morning Snack
Cucumber with Sea Salt

Lunch
Applegate Farm Turkey Breast Sandwich on Rice Cakes
Kids have Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese

Afternoon Snack
2 cups of air popped popcorn
Kids have Cape Cod Potato Chips

Dinner
Homemade Yeast Free Hamburger Helper
French Cut String Beans

Dessert
Herbal Tea with 1 pack of stevia
1 Piece of fruit for the kids

Today’s Candida Diet Menu

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:56:12 +0000

I feel like crap today. I am sick. I am not sure what is wrong with me but I have come down with something. My head, throat and stomach hurt. I have tried to take it easy and get a little rest today. I managed to sneak in a brief nap. I think I just really over did it this past weekend and my body is not happy right now. I tried to keep the menu simple for today in order to give myself a much needed break. I wish I could learn to take a break before I crash. Such is life I guess. I am going to try to get to bed early tonight.

Today’s Candida Diet Menu – March 2, 2010

Breakfast
2 boiled eggs with sea salt and pepper
Gluten free pancakes with no syrup (Kids ate it with pure maple syrup)

Mid-Morning Snack
Cucumber with Sea Salt

Lunch
Brown Rice Pasta with Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce

Afternoon Snack
2 cups of air popped popcorn
Kids have Cape Cod Potato Chips

Dinner
Baked Salmon and Asparagus with Brown Rice Pasta

Dessert
Herbal Tea with 1 pack of stevia
1 Piece of fruit for the kids

Annie’s Naturals Lemon & Chive Dressing

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:19:59 +0000

I have such good news to share with you. I have stumbled across a commercially available vinegar free salad dressing. I am still in disbelief that this actually exists. I had completely given up my search for such a product, as reading the labels on the salad dressings in the supermarket proved to be in vain. Most of the commercially available brands have vinegar, citric acid and/or added sugars that make them off limits on the candida diet.

I was very disappointed that I could not find a candida friendly salad dressing as salads are one of the first meals that you think of when dieting. Salads are such a good way to enjoy a variety of raw vegetables which is encouraged on the candida diet. Many resources suggest just using a little bit of lemon juice and olive oil but this did not really appeal to me and I pretty much gave up salad for a while. When I found a recipe for several yeast free salad dressing recipes in the Candida Control Cookbook by Gail Burton I was thrilled. I find that her Creamy Herb Salad Dressing is the best and goes well with most types of salads. Although I was very thankful for these recipes there are times that I would still avoid salad because I just did not feel like taking the extra steps to prepare these dressings. I actually became so frustrated last week at the thought of making yet another bottle of Creamy Herb Salad Dressing that I just omitted salad from the menu for the night.

It seems like such good timing that I discovered this dressing. I belong to a Yeast Free Recipes group on Facebook and in one of the comments someone mentioned this dressing. My first thought was “This is too good to be true, there has to be at least one ingredient that is not allowed on the candida diet.” I quickly Googled it and found the ingredient label. The Ingredient in Annie’s Naturals Lemon & Chive Dressing are as follows: Expeller-pressed Canola Oil, Water, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Sea Salt, Shallots, Mustard Flour, Black Pepper
Chives and Xanthan Gum. So I was wrong this dressing is okay for the candida diet. I looked for it in the special dietary needs aisle at Stop & Shop and although they had other Annie’s Naturals dressings they did not have the Lemon & Chive one. I did not have time to get to Whole Foods but I did call to see if they carried it and they informed me that they did. I was finally able to pick up a bottle today and taste it. I actually put a little bit on my cucumber for snack and it pretty good. It is very lemony but has a good mix of flavors and it is very creamy. It reminds me of ranch a bit. I do prefer the Creamy Herb Salad Dressing that I make to this one but when I am time starved like so many people are I will make sure to have this around. The only negative about this dressing is that it has xanthan gum. It is okay for the candida diet but my oldest daughter cannot have it because of her corn allergy. I still believe that this is worth having around even if I use it exclusively for my lunch salads. It cost me $3.49 at Whole Foods.