Food Transitions

So, after what seems like 6 years on the Candida diet, I only have about two and a half weeks left before I can start introducing new foods. Hallelujah!

Obviously, I’m not the only one whose happy about being able to add some food back into my cooking.

The diet my doctor put me on is actually, if possible, an even stricter form of the candida diet.  Basically, it includes all meat, most but not all veggies, most but not all fats…and that’s it. So, NO grains, NO dairy of any form, NO sweet or white potatoes, NO fruit, and a big fat NO to a bunch of my other favorite veggies, like red bell pepper, winter squash, cooked carrots, and more.  Of course, no sugar and no booze round out the lovely list.  I’m very grateful to say that I’ve been sticking to it 95.6% of the time (I’ve had a splash of red wine in soda water here and there, plus a few nibbles of cooked carrot) and must say I’ve been feeling incredible. I have never had more energy, my body feels healed, and best of all, I haven’t felt that crazy “hangry” feeling that used to dominate my life. It’s hard, but considering we almost never eat out, it could be a lot worse.

Breakfast:

Was coconut flour pancakes from Nourishing Days!  OMYum, these were incredible. Plus, I’ve finally beaten my pancake disaster karma, and was able to make pancakes that look like their name! Double win.

I am allowed to have coconut flour and milk in moderation, and since candida is a very symptom based diet (I.e, if you eat something had have a flare up, you know not to have it) and I’ve had no symptoms, so coconut for the win.

For a snack, I had an unphotographed cucumber slices with with salt and lime.

Lunch:

Was taco salad. My absolute favorite meal (save for all the other favorites) as it’s a meal that I used to have even before the CD, so it makes me feel normal.

I had a big snack of two carrots with almond butter (I’ve probably been overdoing the almond butter a bit, but it’s not causing flare ups or significant weight gain, so I’m letting it go for now) so dinner was a fairly light one.

Dinner:

was a small sausage and a lamb skewer, with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and pepitas. Delicious and satisfying.

In terms of workouts, well, they’ve been few and far between.  I have a foot injury which is taking forever to heal, and really limits my activity (even biking can cause it to start aching.) I had a cortisone shot on Tuesday (after 5 months of trying other, less Western treatment), and it’s now Thursday, so we’ll see if it starts to make a difference. Fingers crossed!

Today is my last day of tech classes…HALLELUJAH again!

After the Candida diet is over, I’m planning on staying on what is the kinder, gentler form of the Candida Diet – the Primal lifestyle. Candida is basically a stricter form of Primal, and I’ve never felt better that I do now without grains, dairy, and complex carbs.  My weight is also quite stable, and I’m never hungry, which is amazing.  The only difference is that I’m not planning on removing legumes all together – I really enjoy chickpeas in hummus and the occasional beans as a rest from animal protein. I’ve also had no noticeable physical reaction to them, so have no reason not to eat them! More on primal tomorrow, but hope you have a great rest of your day!