Author Archive

8
13
Feb

WIAW: Turkey Vegetable Sauce and Spaghetti Squash

Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of WIAW! This month’s theme is love your veggies, and while my foods did not contain any more veggies than normal, I do indeed love veggies. If you had asked me that 10 years ago when all I ate was macaroni or hot dogs, you might have gotten a different answer. Just maybe. It’s funny how much people change, eh?

Anyway, on to the day:


Breakfast was one of my old favorites: oats! Yep, I’ve made it through three weeks on the low-carb -anti-candida diet, and I am really needing a break from the meat and veggies. So I am trying to slowly reincorporate grains (but still no sugar, sorry fruit) back into my diet. I started with just a half serving of rolled oats–cooked with an egg! If you’ve never tried cooking an egg into oatmeal, I recommend it! It’s a great way to add a super nutritious boost of protein, and it makes your oatmeal so thick and filling. All you do is let the oats boil for a few minutes in a saucepan, then crack the egg over the pan and quickly whisk it into the oats. The heat of the oats will cook your egg completely!


I also heard great things about putting Greek yogurt on your oatmeal (‘yoatgurt‘)–people like the contrast of the hot oats and cold yogurt. Can’t say I was in complete agreement on that one.

I ate an early lunch before lab, which was leftovers of a delicious recipe: Turkey vegetable pasta sauce over spaghetti squash! The sauce was so good and simple, I had to share it with y’all.

Turkey Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Serves 4-6. Gf, paleo, ACD


Ingredients: 

  • l lb ground turkey
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped broccoli
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 Tbsp oregano
  • 1 Tbsp basil (or 1/4 c fresh basil!)
  • 1/2-1 T. coconut (or olive) oil
Directions: Heat oil in a large saucepan, then add chopped onions and garlic. When onion becomes slightly translucent, add the turkey and let brown on all sides. Add all veggies and herbs and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and tomato sauce and water if needed. Mix well, let it start to bubble and then turn it down to low and leave to simmer for ~20 min more. Taste the sauce, and add more fresh or any dried herbs as desired.
For 4, each serving has ~265 calories, 18 g carbs, 5 g fat, 38 g protein, 5 g fiber, and 6 g sugar.
Food science lab was not as fun as previous weeks–there was no eating today. Instead we boiled vegetables and then measured their pH’s and light absorption properties. But it was still kind of pretty:
These are all boiled cabbage–can you tell which one is in neutral pH, which is acidic, and which is basic??
Just measuring some cauliflower:
When I was washing my hands in the bathroom, it occurred to me that you might enjoy a photo of me in my fine-looking lab hairnet and apron. So here you go:

Cute, huh?
Afternoon snack involved some of my homemade sunflower seed butter, veggies, and this amazing dip from Trader Joe’s–guacamole with Greek yogurt.  

I hate that they call it reduced guilt–what about eating guac or  yogurt should make you feel guilty?? They’re both delicious and healthy! But whatever, it’s good so I buy it. (Side note, I tried to make this myself, and it turned out DIY Disgusting. I dunno how you do it, TJ). 

And dinner was a Moroccan-inspired stir fry of chicken and a lot of veggies, inspired by this recipe here. Yum! (Note: I ate like 3X as much as shown here, I just didn’t take a picture of it).

After I get back from teaching my yoga class, I will probably enjoy some more homemade nut butter. . . I have already made a second batch of it! Too, too good.

Questions: Are you a fan of veggies? What is your favorite way to eat them? Have you tried yoatgurt?? What do you think of calling foods ‘Reduced Guilt’? Kendra over at Veggie Dancer made an excellent post about this the other day!

Oh and if you are curious: the green pan is the basic pH, pink is acidic, and purple is neutral. Science!

2
10
Feb

DIY Delicious

I’m on a do-it-yourself food making kick this quarter, and not just because I have a new, fabulous food processor and can now make my homemade nut butters. This quarter I am taking a pretty cool food science lab, in which every week we make a different food from scratch. It’s pretty professional–we get to cook in a huge, industrial kitchen and  wear hair nets and aprons.

Just look at how cute my T.A. looks in hers:

 

So far we have made bread (with each group using a different type of flour, so we could see the affects of the properties of each different type.

Look at how weird the gluten dough looked:

We also made pound cakes:


Cottage cheese (this turned out pretty foul):

 

Yogurt:

And ice cream!!

Our T.A. even brought sprinkles for us to try it with!

All of the things that we have made have been surprisingly straightforward, and they have inspired me to make more of my own foods from scratch. It’s so much cheaper, plus you can control everything that goes into your food (and since you probably don’t have things like emulsifiers laying around your kitchen, homemade foods will probably contain fewer and more natural ingredients).

Do any of you guys make your own bread, yogurt, cottage cheese, or anything else? (This week I think we’re making candy!) Please share any tips or recipes you have! As I try out new recipes, I’ll be doing some more DIY Delicious posts!

Happy Sunday :)

13
7
Feb

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

I have some exciting news to share with you guys:

 

I got a food processor!

Okay, maybe it’s not so exiting for you, but it is for me! I asked for one for Christmas, but my mom thought I was kidding haha. She doesn’t share my love of food and cooking. Then I found this one, used on Amazon for only $22! I bought a mandolin peeler with it (impulse buy, I’ve always sorta wanted one) so I got free shipping too! I thought it was a pretty good deal. :)

 Food processors are awesome—you can chop, puree, blend, and even make batters and doughs in them. I have already used mine to make raw almond butter (of course) and sunflower seed butter! It’s so easy to make, and it only costs a fraction of what buying nut/seed butters in store costs!

Today I wanted to share with y’all the sunflower seed butter recipe. . . not that it’s really much of a recipe. Sunflower seed butter is a versatile spread filled with nutrients retained from the whole seed. It’s also a good option for anyone allergic to nuts or peanut butter. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sunflower seed butter has significantly more unsaturated fat, magnesium, zinc, iron and vitamin E than peanut butter. But buying sunflower seed butter from the store is ridiculously expensive, when all it takes is a few minutes in the processor to make a big, creamy jar of it at home!

A jar of sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe’s: $6

A bag of roasted sunflower seeds from Trader Joe’s: $2

The satisfaction of creating your own homemade creamy, dreamy sunflower seed butter: priceless

Homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

Makes ~1 1/2 cups. V, gf, paleo, nut free


Ingredients:

  • 1 lb roasted sunflower seeds (I bought the salted ones and it was a little too salty for me–I might buy unsalted and add my own salt next time. Raw sunflower seeds don’t process as well, but I suppose you could try them if you want)
  • 1/4 t salt (if using unsalted seeds)
  • optional dash of stevia 
Directions: Add your bag of seeds to a food processor (mine’s 8 cups and it was pretty full), turn it on, and let the sees process for a minute or two. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl, then process again. After a few minutes, your seeds will release their oils, turning from a crumbly flour-type mixture to a creamy nut butter mixture. Keep processing until the seed butter is smooth and drippy. Yummm. I added an additional Tbsp of coconut oil to mine, but I think it would work fine with no additional oil added.

And that’s all there is to it! You can add sunflower seed butter to anything that peanut butter would go on–toast, fruit, dessert recipes, etc. For a sweeter variation, try adding a little cinnamon and vanilla extract to your seed butter!
Questions: Do you have a food processor? If so, please share some of your favorite recipes for it! I want to use mine more!

12
3
Feb

Procrastination

Hi! Hope you all have had a great weekend! I should be studying for my animal biochemistry midterm, but I am looking for ways to procrastinate instead. So I am writing a blog post! Hurrah!

1. I did a huge grocery store run yesterday and got some excellent foodie finds at Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck. Get it? Har har). And since I know you are dying to hear more about the foods I am eating while on my Candida Cleanse, I will share a few pics. Try to contain your excitement:

Wallaby Organic Greek Yogurt. I only grabbed it because it was on sale and says it comes from small farms; normally I prefer the low fat yogurts. But ohhh myyy this stuff was so good. It was supper creamy and almost fluffy and, even though there are only 5 g of sugar per serving, it tastes sweeter than other yogurts I have tried. New obsession? Yes.

Certified Humane Large Brown Eggs. I missed the farmers market, so I got the next best thing. Have you ever noticed that free-range eggs are more of a bright orange color than conventional eggs? It’s because a deeper egg color is indicative of a higher quality, more nutrient-dense diet (meaning more beta-carotene and lutein present) of the chickens. Healthy hens = healthy eggs. 

Mustard made with Apple Cider Vinegar! One of the hardest foods to avoid on the anti-candida diet is vinegar–it’s in everything! The only type that is allowed is apple cider vinegar, so when I spotted this mustard I was prettyyy excited. It packs some intense flavor, perfect for dipping my roast veggies in!

Zevia! I.e. soda made with stevia. It was buy one get one free, and since stevia is the only approved sweetener for me now (aside from xylitol), I thought I would buy myself a treat. I chose ginger root beer flavor, and you know what? It actually does taste like root beer! Yummmm. It’s probably not something I should buy often, but I really liked it!

I also bought bison meat and made these zucchini-bison meatballs. I don’t know why, but I had a huge craving for meatballs (so random, since I don’t know when I’ve ever even had meatballs before). Remember when I was vegan? Yeah, I don’t know what’s happening now either. Please don’t judge me. But anyway these meatballs were delicious–should I post the recipe?


2. Last night I watched Groundhog’s Day with my roommates, since it was groundhog’s day! Aren’t we cute?? Such a good movie–I hadn’t seen it since when we were learning about existentialism in my 12th grade English class (betcha didn’t know it was an existentialist movie!) But I love the message. We also painted our nails. My roommates have about a thousand different bottles, so I had to choose a different color to use on each nail: 

Dexter, anyone?

Also, please ignore the fact that I already messed one up. Nail painting is not my best skill.

3. Today I sat outside and soaked up the sunshine with said roommates. It was gorgeous  outside. Groundhog’s day or not, when I hear the ice cream truck go by in February I know spring is coming early! 

4. Have you checked out the giveaway on Sunnie’s blog, Modern Girl Nutrition? You can win some very healthy and delicious-looking tortilla chips–go look! And also just check out her blog anyway, because it’s one of my favorite blogs to read and the author  is only 15!!

5. I auditioned at a yoga studio downtown last week. I thought the audition went well, but I haven’t heard back from the owner yet. Cross your fingers for me!!

6. I want to start doing more strength training. I like staying fit, but I do mostly cardio, which doesn’t help build muscle. Anyone have good suggestions of strength training routines? I am so bad about doing it on my own!

7. I feel like I have other things to say, but I can’t think of them, and you are probably bored of reading my ramblings by now anyway. Sooo I guess I better get back to my studying, sigh. . .

Questions: What were some of the highlights of your weekend? Did you watch the superbowl? Have you found any great foods lately? Let’s share ideas!

0
2
Feb

Homemade Kombucha: The Wonder Drink!

Hey everyone!

As promised, here is the next part of my thoughts on probiotics and gut health: how to make your own kombucha!


Looks appetizing, right? Okay, before you click out of this webpage as fast as you can, hear me out: kombucha is unique, flavorful, delicious, refreshing, and super good for you! It’s a fermented tea—that thing in it is called a SCOBY, which stands for ‘symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast’.

You start by brewing a big pot of tea, dissolve some sugar into it, and then add the lovely SCOBY, which devours the sugar and caffeine while fermenting the fluid around it. The resulting bubbly tea has all sorts of benefits; aside from the probiotics, it’s packed with active enzymes, amino acids, and B vitamins. Purportedly, kombucha helps improve digestion, increase metabolism, detoxify the body, and strengthen the immune system. A true wonder drink, no?? Whether all that is true or not, kombucha is tasty and makes me feel great, and it is a lot cheaper to make at home.


The first step to homemade kombucha is growing your own SCOBY! Here’s the easiest way to start your own culture, which I am reposting from these instructions here.


1. Buy a bottle of RAW, unpasteurized 100% kombucha (plain, nothing added). You will also need – a glass bowl, caffeinated (green or black) tea, sugar, a small towel or wash cloth, a large rubber band, and a glass jar with a plastic lid.

2. In a large, clean glass bowl, place 2 tea bags and 1 tbsp of sugar. Add 2 cups boiling water and allow the tea to steep for 10 minutes.

3. Remove tea bags and stir to make sure sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool a bit, then add the entire bottle of store bought kombucha.

4. Cover with the towel and secure it with the rubber band. Place the bowl in a warm dry place (I put it in my bedroom closet) and forget about it for 2 whole weeks. No peeking!

— 2 weeks later —

5. Take the bowl down and uncover it. Ta-da! You now have a SCOBY!

Now, on to part 2: Brewing Kombucha! I usually double this recipe below, so that I can have double the kombucha!

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart/ 1 liter water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon/15 milliliters loose black tea or 2 teabags
  • ½ cup/ 125 milliliters mature acidic kombucha
  • Kombucha mother (your SCOBY)

Process:

1. Mix water and sugar and bring to a boil in a small cooking pot

2. Turn off the heat; add tea, cover, and steep about 15 minutes

3. Strain the tea into a glass container. It’s best to use something wide; kombucha needs adequate surface area and works best if the diameter of the container is greater than the depth of the liquid. Allow the tea to cool to body temperature.

4. Add the mature acidic kombucha. When you obtain a culture, it will be stored in this liquid. Save a portion of subsequent batches for this purpose.

5. Place the kombucha mother in the liquid with the firm, opaque side up.

6. Cover with a cloth and store in a warm spot, ideally 70 to 85 degrees F (21 to 29 degrees C)

7. After a few days to 1 week, depending on temperature, you will notice a skin forming on the surface of the kombucha. Taste the liquid – to prevent contamination, sample it by sticking a clean straw into it and covering with your finger. It will probably still be sweet. The longer it sits, the more acidic it will become.

8. Once it reaches the acidity you like, start a new batch and store your mature kombucha in the refrigerator or bottle it. You now have two mothers, the original you started with and a new one, the skin that formed on your first batch. Use either the new or the old mother in your new batch and pass the other on to a friend (or to the compost). Each generation will birth a new mother, and the old mother will thicken.

9. If you prefer to bottle mature kombucha, add about a teaspoon of sugar and any flavoring you like (berry juice, ginger, etc.) per 16 oz of kombucha and cap. Leave out at room temperature to carbonate for 2-3 days, then refrigerate.


Tips:

1. Kombucha does not like metal or plastic containers. Glass is best.

2. It is best to clean with vinegar, since many soaps are antibacterial and residue may kill your scobi.


I find that kombucha tastes best when you bottle it when it’s still slightly sweet (if you wait too long, the bacteria will run out of food and die–and then all the benefits will be lost). I like to add a handful of berries and a piece of fresh ginger, then let the kombucha ferment for another day or two before straining and drinking. You can also add a handful of chia seeds to make chia kombucha!


Questions:Do you like kombucha? What’s your favorite drink? What do you make from scratch? If you try this, let me know if you have any questions! I know it takes a while, but I promise it is worth it!

2
30
Jan

Let’s Talk About Culture

Bacteria cultures, that is.

Back in the day, people were blissfully ignorant to the billions of microorganisms inhabiting literally every inch of their lives. The invention of microscopes and Mr. Louis Pasteur’s experiment led to an all-out war on bacteria, and although this was extremely beneficial to us in eliminating harmful bacteria, we also took out a lot of the good bacteria. Now that sprays that kill 99.9% of germs are common and nearly all of our food is pasteurized, we lack a lot of those close relationships we shared with microorganisms.

And if you’ve ever heard of symbiotic relationships (meaning they benefit both species), you know that having a little bit of bacteria in our bodies is a vital component of healthy living. One thing the elimination and anti-candida diets have taught me is that a healthy gut is extremely important to your immune system and well-being.—about 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut! And one of the best ways to support your gut health is with fermented and probiotic foods.

Historically, people used to get large quantities of beneficial bacteria, i.e. probiotics, straight from their diet in the form of fermented or cultured foods–from sauerkraut to yogurt to kimchi. Fermentation allowed food to be stored and preserved (without refrigeration or pasteurization). Aside from providing probiotics, the fermentation process also breaks down the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in food before we eat it, which improves our ability to digest and absorb the enzymes and nutrients in the food.

When you consume fermented foods, each bite can provide trillions of beneficial bacteria—far more than you can get from a probiotics supplement. A few good sources of probiotics include:

  • Tempeh
  • Miso
  • Kombucha
  • Sauerkraut
  • Kimchi
  • Yogurt
  • Kefir

Although buying fermented foods at a grocery store is usually costly, making them yourself is actually easier than you might think! Today, I’m going to cover how to make your own sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), and next I’ll share with you how to brew your own kombucha!

Homemade Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of cabbage (any color—I chose purple because it’s pretty)
  • 1 Tbsp sea salt
  • 1 jar with an airtight latch

Directions:

1. Wash and finely chop up the cabbage (remove one or two outer leaves first and save for later use). Put the chopped cabbage into a large bowl, and then use your hands to massage the salt into the cabbage. Either squeeze the cabbage or pound it with something heavy until it becomes limp and releases its juice. This will begin to break up the cellular structure of the cabbage.

2. Pack the salted cabbage into the jar as tightly as you can (to eliminate air bubbles). Continue packing the cabbage until it is completey submerged by liquid. Cover with one of the outer cabbage leaves so that it remains submerged.

3. Allow the jar to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for about a week, testing it every few days until it is done to your liking (it should have a salty, tangy taste) Once done, transfer to the refrigerator or other cold storage where it should keep for at least six months.

And now you have your very own jar of raw, flavorful sauerkraut that’s low in calories and high in nutrients and beneficial bacteria! May your gut and your wallet rejoice!

Questions: Do you try to eat fermented foods and probiotics? What are some of your favorite sources? Have you tried sauerkraut? I didn’t like it at first, but the tangy flavor has grown on me, and now I love to eat it on salads or with roasted veggies!

Also: What do you think of the new layout?? I was feeling like I needed to change it up a bit!

Remember to check back for part 2, homemade kombucha instructions!

Sources:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fermented-foods-health/#axzz2JPns14r8

http://www.sacfoodcoop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=438%3Aprobiotics-a-fermented-foods&catid=59%3Aconsumer-guides&lang=us&Itemid=65

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/14/gut-microbes-for-healthy-immune-system.aspx

9
28
Jan

Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowls with Cauliflower Rice

Happy Monday everyone! Brace yourself lads, this recipe is a good ‘un.

I don’t eat fast food often, but even I appreciate the delectable-ness of Chipotle. Fresh ingredients, lots of flavor, huge portions–what’s not to love?? Problem is, their burrito bowls are pretty pricey, not to mention not very anti-candida friendly. 

The solution? This:

 

Oh yes.

Homemade Chipotle restaurant-style burrito bowls with cilantro lime cauliflower rice. Paleo. Gluten free. Ant-Candida. Easy to make, and unbelievably awesome.

Yep, that’s right. Them rice there is actually made of a vegetable. Whatwhat! And the only things you really have to prepare for this deliciousness are the cauliflower rice and the Chipotle-style chicken:


Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Makes ~ 4 servings. Paleo, vegan, gf, ACD

Ingredients: 

  •  1 large head of cauliflower
  • 1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil or butter)

Directions: ‘Rice’ your cauliflower by either pulsing it in a food blender (sounds easier, but I lack a food processor) or grating it with a fine cheese grater (this is what I did). Place the grated cauliflower in a pot and add the chopped cilantro, lime juice, and oil. Place the pot on medium heat and cook until cauliflower is hot throughout and the oil is evenly melted in, stirring well. Add garlic salt or additional seasonings to taste.


Each serving of this rice has only ~85 calories, 12 g carbs, 4 g fat, 4 g protein, 5 g fiber, and 5 g sugar. Plus so many more vitamins and nutrients from the cauliflower than rice would have!

Chipotle-style Chicken

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (preferably organic)
  • 1 tsp each cumin, chili powder, oregano, and onion powder
  • ½ tsp garlic salt
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or coconut, butter, etc)

Directions: Wash your hands. Cut up the chicken into small pieces. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large pan. Add the chicken to the pan, then all of the spices. Stir the spices around the chicken to coat pieces evenly. Allow to cook until all the pink of the chicken is gone.

 

To assemble the burrito bowl, all you do is put the rice in the bottom of a bowl and top with the chicken, salsa, guacamole, and a sprig of fresh parsley. If you’re not on an anti-candida or paleo diet, feel free to add some black beans, too! And maybe some bell pepper, tomatoes, or other veggies! (For a vegan option, just replace the meat with beans).

And you know what? I think the cauliflower rice is even better than regular rice–it has this super soft, melt-in-your mouth butter texture (don’t leave out the oil!), and it doesn’t overpower the flavors of all the other food.

 Viola. A happy Monday indeed!

Questions: Are you a Chipotle fan? Have you ever tried Cauliflower rice? How was your Monday?

4
28
Jan

Weekends at Home

As much as I love the independence of college, weekends at home are the best thing ever. I love my parents and visiting home is always really fun, plus this weekend my sister came home, too! My parents are the greatest—not only are they loyal subscribers of my blog (hi mom and dad!), but they also do such things as:

1. Have ugly face making contests with me. (Want to vote on who won this one??)


2. Take me out to eat at delicious restaurants of my choosing. This time we went to Tender Greens, which features all local and sustainable meats and produce. My mom, sister, and I all got roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables.


It was a perfect portion size and so good! Everything tasted very fresh and well-made. It was also a perfect meal for my Anti-Candida diet (which is going great, by the way. I feel so much better!). My dad got the chipotle chicken salad (plus my bread), which also looked delicious:


 3. Take me to the movies after said delicious restaurant. We saw the Silver Linings Playbook, which is kind of funny and kind of sad (my sister cried a lot during it, but most of the audience was laughing), and very good. I definitely recommend you go see it! Jennifer Lawrence is so cool.

4. Go hiking with me! Okay I actually took this on a run I went on by myself, but generally we all do hikes together in the hills behind our house. Just look at what a gorgeous day it was! January in California. I don’t know why anyone would ever live anywhere else.

5. Buy me groceries and belated Christmas gifts of new workout/work clothes (I love having a job that allows those two categories to be combined)!  I found awesome Nike yoga/running pants on Macys on clearance and got those and a Nike Pro sports bra (which is the best I’ve ever had—it works really well for a pretty cheap price!). 

Oh, and when I came home I had this surprise waiting for me on my desk:

A yoga puppies calendar! Isn’t it cute?


I also got some organic Greek yogurt and canned pumpkin at the store to make my newest favorite breakfast: Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt! It’s super simple to make, and insanely good:

 


Pumpkin Pie Greek Yogurt

Gluten free, anti-Candida, high protein

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (or another type of mashed squash)
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • stevia to taste (or sugar/honey if you’re not on an anti-candida diet)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix really well until all the pumpkin chunks are broken up. I thought using a fork worked well for mashing the pumpkin in.

Each serving will only have ~190-220 calories, 20 g carbs, 0-3 g fat, 24 g protein, 4 g fiber, and 10-13 g sugar. You can add psyllium husks to boost fiber content and swirl in some chopped nuts or nut butter to increase the calories/fat:

Dessert for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do. Plus it keeps me so full!

And now I should probably get to sleep, since tomorrow it’s back to  8 am class. I am already counting down the days till spring break. . . 

Questions: What are your favorite things to do when you go home? Have you seen any good movies recently? What’s your favorite yogurt creation? I’m on a total yogurt kick now and I would love suggestions!


0
23
Jan

WIAW: Anti-Candida Edition

Happy Wednesday everyone! So if you read my last post about Candida overgrowth and how it can cause sicknesses such as sinusitis and allergies, you know that I am trying an anti-Candida diet to try and get better. To starve the Candida and restore the good bacteria cultures in my body, I am supposed to eat lots of vegetables, meats, eggs, nuts and seeds—but no high carbohydrate or sugar foods such as fruits and grains. Quite a change from my normal diet, eh? So let’s get to it and see some ACD-approved meals.

 

No oatmeal for me this week! My breakfasts consist mainly of eggs (free-range and organic, at least) and vegetables. Shown here are scrambled eggs with broccoli, basil, and garlic over baked asparagus. The basil and garlic made for a good balance of flavors, and it was a very filling breakfast.

I also tried Greek yogurt! Eek dairy! I am trying to include as many probiotics as possible, plus I also just had a huge craving for yogurt. I can’t tell yet if it made my sinus congestion better or worse, but it was tasty! I’ve always been a big yogurt fan. Since I’m not supposed to have fruit, this one was flavored with almond butter, cinnamon, and stevia. Once again, a very filling meal.

I try to make most of my meals feature a lot of veggies, so green smoothies and salads are featured daily.

Pictured: spinach, coconut milk (full fat, mmmm), psyllium husks, stevia, and a little mint extract. Not quite as good as sweetening with real fruit, but still tasty!

Pictured: spinach salad with chicken, green beans, bell pepper, and homemade sauerkraut (getting fancy!)

I had more of my Buffalo and Vegetable Chili. Buffalo meat is a great alternative to beef– it is lower in fat and higher in nutrients, such as iron, than beef. Bison is also always raised free range and are never subjected to drugs or hormones. Below is my recipe for the chili, modified from Paleo Plan.


Buffalo and Vegetable Chili

Serves 4 to 6. Paleo, anti-Candida, gluten free

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb buffalo meat
  • 1 T coconut oil
  • 2-3 large carrots
  • 1 ½ chopped cauliflower
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ medium onion
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ t garlic salt (or to taste)

Directions: Heat the coconut oil in a large pot, and then add chopped onions. When the onions have browned slightly, add the buffalo and the spices, and cook until brown on all sides (careful, buffalo cooks faster than beef). Add the can of diced tomatoes, then fill the can with water and add that. Add chopped vegetables of choice (you can sub out any of the ones I have listed, you’ll need 2 – 3 cups of veggies total), then turn the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegetables and meat reach desired consistency. If you’re not following an anti-Candida diet, I would recommend adding a can of black beans to the chili!

For 4 servings, each has ~290 calories, 15 g carbs, 15 g fat, 23 g protein, 5 g fat, and 8 g sugar.

I also tried a recipe idea I saw on Pinterest: egg baked in an avocado! All you do is preheat an oven to 425 F, take half an avocado and scoop out some of the middle (to make room for the egg), crack an egg into it, and let it cook until the egg firms and turns white.

It’s pretty good, but I would recommend adding some flavoring to the egg—I used red pepper flakes and some salt. The avocado you scoop out also makes a nice topping.

The end! Hope you all are enjoying your week so far (4 day weeks always go by so much more gloriously quickly, don’t they?) Have any of you ever tried an anti-Candida (or a low carb) diet? Have any favorite recipes to share? Let me know!

7
21
Jan

Artisana Review!

I’ve been meaning to post this for so long now, so I’m taking a break from my diet detective posts to do this product review!

Back before I went home for winter break, Artisana was generous enough to send me one of their sample boxes! The box included packets of all of their raw nut butters (almond, walnut, cashew, pecan, macadamia), plus their raw coconut oil and coconut butter.

Sadly they don’t make a peanut butter sample, but their nut butters are so good I didn’t care! The almond butter was one of the best that I have tried—just slightly crunchy and very fresh tasting. The walnut and pecan butters were equally delicious, and they were all excellent on fruit and oatmeal or just eaten plain!

I’m not a huge cashew fan, so the cashew butter was not my favorite, but it was really good on top of oatmeal—gave it a super creamy texture. Yum!

My favorite of the nut butters was the macadamia butter. I never really eat macadamias, so this was kind of a surprise to me. They have the highest fat content of all the nuts, which means it was the creamiest butter with a naturally sweet taste.

The cacao bliss (which is coconut oil and raw cacao) was a favorite, of course. I mixed it in to oatmeal for an amazingly delicious (and healthy!) breakfast treat. I did take a picture to share, but it looked wayyy less appetizing than it tasted..

I also really loved the coconut butter. I’ve been using it on my roast veggies ever since; I swear, it even makes Brussels sprouts taste like candy!

All in all, I was very impressed by Artisana! Their products are pricier than most nut butters, but it is hard to find such delicious and healthy, raw nut butters elsewhere. If you are interested in checking out their products, look at their website here!


*Note: this review was my sole opinion. I was not compensated.