Stewed!

A quick post about Stewed!

The whole range is a little pricey, but entirely sugar-free. Candida diet-friendly ready-meals (delicious ready-meals, I might add), just perfect for emergencies. Hurrah!

Now this is a surprise...

Sainsbury's Tikka Chicken Breast Chunks are anti-Candida diet okay. The only thing wrong with them, as far as I can see, if that they're not made from happy chickens, which is rather sad. :(

Jamie Oliver's Fiery Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce

I am pleased to say that Jamie Oliver's Fiery Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce (available in Tescos) is entirely Candida diet a-okay, and jolly tasty too. Kudos to Jamie!

Tesco Healthy Living Tomato and Basil Soup

I had high hopes for this one...ready-made tomato soup with no added sugar and available in small, one person/portion-sized cartons (300 g). Here's a pic, so you know what to look out for.



It contains:


tomatoes (59%)
tomato puree (30%)
onion
vegetable oil
cornflour
basil (0.6%)
garlic puree
salt
oregano - N.B. a powerful anti-fungal!
black pepper


Nothing that should antagonise (encourage?) any lingering yeasty-beasties. But, for me, the flavour was too sharp and slightly bitter (really needs sugar sadly), and I didn't get on well with the large chunks of tomato (I prefer a smooth texture). Still, others might disagree - it's worth giving it a go.

I think I'm in love

...with Joseph's Sugar-free Pecan and Walnut Brownie bites! I think, when I'm old and grey, I'll define my life by the time before and after I discovered them in my local independent health food shop.* They are GREAT, and VERY more-ish; I managed to polish off a 312g packet in 24 hours ALL BY MYSELF!!!

The brownies are sweetened with maltitol, but a special formulation which (according to the company website) doesn't upset one's tummy. Plus, they appear to be fairly low in fat and calories. Even better!

* I haven't seen them stocked anywhere else in the UK sadly.

Organic Nut Roast - yuck!

I thought quite seriously about whether or not to post this, but I decided to go ahead, not least because I feel it encapsulates a real problem with the kind of products offered by supermarkets for shoppers following special diets.

I had high hopes for Asda's Organic Nut Roast. The description sounded promising:

Roasted peanuts, carrots, onions, parsnips, red lentils and chick peas, topped with crunchy sunflower seeds.

Yummy in fact. (Yeah, I know, peanuts are prohibited on the anti-Candida diet, but I'm maintaining and besides, what is all that about anyway? What makes peanuts bad, when other nuts are okay?)

Sadly it was really bland. Even a liberal douse in soy sauce couldn't save it. TV programmes like Five's 'Breaking Into Tesco' imply that all new products are rigorously tested and trialed by consumer panels and food tasters, but if that was really the case, how the hell did something as tasteless as this nut roast ever make it to the shelves?! I dread to think what it tasted like in its early development. Yuck. I could do so much better.

Overall, I'm very disappointed. :(

Soup!

I've discovered a new range of soups recently by Sierra Rica and available from Tescos (and quite possibly other retailers). They don't list the ingredients of their organic vegetable stock on the jars, but I'm trusting that they're yeast-free. I tried Chestnut and Carrot with Ginger and Tomato and Basil. Both very tasty.

Good stuff from Tescos

I've just got back to Leicester after a week and a half or so at home, via a trip to Tescos, where I picked up loads of good anti-Candida diet friendly stuff.

I haven't had a chance to try out any of this stuff yet...will keep you posted.

First up is something which I think is going to revolutionise my cooking (or at the very least, make it a damn sight easier): 'Thai Taste Green Curry Paste', a fairly large (400g) tub of curry paste, the ingredients of which are:

Garlic
Green Chilli
Onion
Salt
Lemon Grass
Rhizome Galangal (ginger, I suppose)
Fennel Seed
Kaffir Lime Skin
Coriander
Water

- so nothing there which is prohibited on the diet. According to the instructions on the tub, all you need to do is add 50g (enough for 4 people?) to coconut milk to make up an authentic sauce. Have got some king prawns and tofu to try it out. I didn't buy it this time round, but their Red Curry Paste looked okay too.

'Orgran Gluten-free Falafel Mix' - makes up five servings. Ingredients are:

Yellow Peas
Onion
Parsley
Garlic
Salt
Turmeric
Traditional herbs and spices
Sodium bicarbonate

Just add water to the mix, form falafels and fry until crisp. I have tried this mix before, but it was a while ago, so I can't remember how successful it was. Obviously didn't leave too bad an impression though!

'Kohinoor Rice Treat' - a good store cupboard standby. Ready to eat Indian-style vegetarian meals in a microwaveable pouch. I've got the Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani* and Paneer Tikka Biryani# to try. Both contain white basmati rice, but I remember reading somewhere that basmati has a lower GI than other white rice varieties, which suggests it is converted to sugar more slowly by the body than, say, American Long Grain. Good for emergencies (I hope!)

*Cooked basmati rice 70%
french beans 6%
yoghurt 5%
onion 4%
vegetable oil (refined sunflower) 3%
green peas 3%
Indian cottage cheese (paneer) 3%
carrot 3%
salt
tomato
garlic
ginger
coriander leaves
green chilli
mint leaves
cumin
coriander powder
cardamom
red chilli powder
fennel
kewra (flavour)
cloves
cinnamon
black pepper
bay leaves
rose petals
mace
nutmeg

# cooked basmati rice 65%
Indian Cottage cheese (paneer) 15%
yoghurt 5%
onion 5%
tomato 3%
vegetable oil (refined sunflower) 3%
salt
ginger paste
garlic paste
lemon juice
fresh coriander
fresh mint
cardamom
kewra (flavour)
cinnamon
clove black pepper
fennel
rose petals
bay leaves
mace
nutmeg
dry mango powder
melon seeds
pomegranate seeds
dry ginger
bishop weed
caraway
asafoetida

This all begs the question, why - when it is clearly possible to produce ready-meals without all the added crap - most manufacturers persist in including artificial colours and flavourings, flavour enhancers and sugars?

Soup

I've bought a couple of nice fresh soups from Marks & Spencers recently. The best - a delicious and fresh-tasting smooth soup - was Butternut Squash with Roasted Red Pepper Harissa, which lent a spicy kick, just right for the cold weather we've been having recently. And if you get down there quick, they might still have their 'buy one, get one half price' offer on!

More good stuff from Waitrose

I completely lied when I said in my last post that I'd finished blogging about Waitrose - I've still got a few more things to talk about. Gawd, my brain is like a sieve sometimes.

First up, Activa Sugar Free Coconut Cookies - those Belgians have done it again! Fab cookies with a crumbly texture. Don't hold their own against plain chocolate digestives, but it's all relative I suppose. Having said all that, these cookies fall into a bit of an anti-Candida diet grey area. As well as maltitol, they are sweetened with sucralose, or by another name, Splenda. I've done a quick google search and it looks like the jury's out on sucralose. So, to be on the safe side, I'd avoid it if I wasn't maintaining.

Orgran Gluten-Free Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce - just like I used to have on toast when I was a little girl, kind of. The Spaghetti is gluten-free, so the texture is a little strange and the tomato sauce is sweetened with pear juice. The overall flavour is fairly bland, to be honest, but it filled a hole. Not sure I'd buy another tin though. Perhaps a dollop of Whole Earth Ketchup or tomato puree would have livened it up a bit?

That's all for now...

A quick round up...

...of candida diet friendly products and ready-meals to start the month of February.

As a quick aside, it's been wonderful and Spring-like here for the last couple of days - has done my prevailing mood no end of good. Though the weather man says we're set for frosty weather next week - hope the days stay lovely and crisp and bright. I feel like I can just do and cope with so much more when the sun shines. Got to get me one of those daylight lamps for gloomy days.

To start, my last couple of Waitrose finds:

• Aloo Gobi Saag ready-meal, chunks of potato, cauliflower florets and spinach in a tomato-y, spicy sauce. Lovely. :) It's a while since I ate this one (the packaging has been sitting on my desk waiting to be 'blogged'), and I can't remember how hot it was, but I do remember it was pretty good. Another great standby to have in the freezer.
  
• Another soup by the Really Interesting Food Company - this time, Sri Lankan Lentil and Coconut Soup. Now, this one was pretty powerful spicy-heat wise, as far as I can remember. In fact the rest of the tin is still languishing in the back of the fridge. Not because it wasn't good (it was!), but because I had friends to stay and never got round to eating the rest of it - shame (note to self: clean out fridge!).

And now for some new things from Sainsburys, my usual supermarket of choice:

• Taste the Difference Butternut Squash and Sunflower Seed Layered Dip - smooth, hummus-y chickpea dip topped with chunks of roasted squash and whole chickpeas. Makes a nice change from 'classic' hummus, and kind of looks home-made which is good. Has to be eaten within two days of opening though, and there's just too much there for little old me to eat on my own.
  
• Stamp Collection (as in Terence Stamp) Organic Wheat Free New York Deli Bread - sold in packets of six slices. Like a rye bread, but a little less dense and softer. More like 'normal' bread, though quite crumbly (doesn't make good sandwiches). Needs to be kept in fridge after opening. Advertised as containing no added yeast. Great!

Soup

As I type I'm trying out the tin of Suma Carrot & Coriander Soup I picked up at Waitrose yesterday. It's not bad; well seasoned, fairly spicy. Not as good as my own of course, but takes considerably less time to prepare!

It was, however, the only soup in their range available at that particular supermarket, that didn't contain any prohibited ingredients (I'm assuming corn syrup is a bad thing). Still, it is encouraging to note the increasing range and availability of Candida diet friendly products in British supermarkets. Food shopping is certainly much easier now, than when I started the diet in December 2004.

Waitrose - woo hoo!

Waitrose is the place to go for candida-friendly food! Stopped at the Bury St Edmunds branch on my way back to Leicester this lunchtime. Picked up masses of good stuff which I'll blog over the coming week or so. To begin with, I had their ready-prepared Chicken Jalfrezi tonight (really good; spicy, but not too hot) with frozen, but microwavable brown rice (six sachets - generous one person portion) per bag. Waitrose is my new favourite supermarket. Shame there isn't a store round here.

Convenience food

Apologies for my long absence. It's nearly halfway through the month already and I haven't yet posted anything for January. Part of the problem is that I'm still at home in Suffolk on an extended Christmas holiday. I'm being cooked for and not getting the opportunity to experiment with anti-candida recipes as much as I would normally. The other factor in my elusiveness is my limited access to the Internet. And when I do get a chance to get online, I'm having to rely on a painfully slow dial-up connection. The other stuff I blog for my Department tends to take priority, meaning 'The Cardboard Diet' gets bumped down the 'to do' list. Oh well, I'll do my best to rectify the situation in the coming days and weeks - promise!

So, until I get a chance to get back in the kitchen, here's the low down on a few anti-candida friendly convenience foods I've recently found in the supermarkets.

Tinned Soup

Sainsburys' So Organic Spicy Lentil and Mixed Pepper Soup - yet to try this. Sounds good, but I wasn't very impressed with the other soups in their So Organic range I've previously tried. But, I'm prepared to give it a go.

Heinz Special Root Vegetable and Barley Broth - now, I was AMAZED to find this. Not necessarily because it is an okay Heinz soup, but because - with it being a Heinz soup - it should be available from most shops, helping to make life that little bit easier. I tried it at lunchtime. It's really not bad. It includes big chunks of parsnip and swede and slices of carrot which make it look fairly 'home made'. Plus, the addition of the barley is lovely. Little on the gloopy side for my taste, but beggers can't be choosers as they say.

Rice

Have been meaning to blog this for ages. Uncle Ben's produce a microwavable wholemeal rice, with nothing in it except rice, vegetable oil and salt. A great store cupboard standby. The whole pack just takes a couple of mins at full blast in the microwave to heat through. It's hard to believe it would be as good as freshly cooked rice, but seriously, it is.

Tinned tomatoes

Equally I keep forgetting to mention Sainsburys' So Organic Chopped Tomatoes, which are thankfully free of citric acid and any other additive nasties. My only criticism is that you do tend to get a lot of 'end' pieces in these tins (y'know - the bit where the stalk used to be), but if you're not fussy, that shouldn't be a problem. And if you are as fussy as me, you can always fish the offending chunks out of the tin before you use them!

More good stuff at Marks & Spencers

A couple more good finds from Marks & Spencers:

Lamb Casserole for one, with a mint dumpling. Like the Chicken and Beef Casseroles I've written about before, this dish is absolutely fine for those following the anti-Candida diet, providing you don't have any problems digesting wheatflour. And it's pretty tasty too!

Two chicken breasts with a garlic and herb dressing ('Cook' range). Okay, it would be quite easy to make something similar at home, but it doesn't hurt to cheat occasionally. ;) Again, there's nothing in the dressing which is prohibited on the anti-Candida diet.

Despite my initial reservations, Marks & Spencers seem to be coming out tops in the okay ready-meals stakes!

More good news

Marks & Spencers' Deli Greek Salad is anti-candida diet friendly. Hurrah!

Ready-meal: Sainsbury's

More good news! As part of Sainsbury's new 'Designed not just for Vegetarians' range, they have launched a new ready-meal, 'Bean and vegetable casserole' suitable for those following the anti-Candida diet. And it's not bad. A generous portion of kidney beans, chickpeas, red and yellow peppers, courgettes and BROWN (!!!) rice 'steeped' (I'm quoting from the packaging here) rich tomato sauce. You'll find it in the chilled food section.

Anti-candida friendly products at Sainsburys

I've made a couple of really useful discoveries at Sainsburys recently. The first is an organic seed bar, manufactured by 'The Village Bakery' and sold in packs of four. It's similar to the Wallaby Bar I've already written about, but less sticky and more crunchy, a bit like a Jordan's Crunch Bar (or at least, how they used to be - haven't tried one for years!). The ingredients are:

Rice-syrup 38%
Oats 14%
Puffed Rice 12%
Coconut
Concentrated Apple Juice
Pumpkin Seeds 4.8%
Sunflower Seeds 4.6%
Linseeds 4.4%
Sesame Seeds 4.4%
Low sodium sea salt

Okay, to be fair, there are a couple of things in there to regard with some caution, the puffed rice is probably not brown and the concentrated apple juice is a no-no if you're just starting out on the diet (though the bars really aren't very sweet), and I'm still not certain about the status of rice syrup, but as an occasional treat I can't see how they could do too much harm. The manufactuers also make a nut bar which looks okay; will try them next! As an added bonus (especially to me as I currently attempting to single-handedly save the planet!), they are - according to the label - baked using renewable energy sources.

The other new find is a liquid vegetable stock produced by Knorr. Unlike so many other ready-made stocks it doesn't contain yeast extract, or monosodium glutamate (assuming you can trust the ingredients list!):

Water
Vegetables (Leek, Mushroom, Celeriac, Carrot)
Salt
Garlic Puree
Spices
Herbs

Damn those mushrooms though! If it wasn't for them it would be perfect. But as mushrooms are hotly contested (with regards to whether or not they are allowed on the anti-Candida diet), I think their inclusion here can be excused. The only real disadvantage I can see with this stock over the cubes produced by Kallo, is that the whole packet has to be consumed within three days (450 ml). That's a lot of soup, especially if - like me - you only cook for one. Still, it's a useful store cupboard standby.

By the way, I've started to get my food delivered by Sainsburys. One big advantage they have over Tescos is that the complete ingredients lists for many products, including home brand ready meals, can be consulted online.

Good news! Ready-meals at Marks & Spencers

Marks & Spencers have relaunched their ready-meals, and now I'm no longer a smug vegetarian, a whole host of opportunities have presented themselves, namely M&S Chicken Casserole and Beef Casserole. Both are fine for the anti-Candida diet - providing you're not gluten-intolerant (there's a bit of wheatflour in the herb dumplings) - with no hidden nasties or additives. Both dishes come in two portion sizes, i.e. serves one or two people. I'm going to try the chicken casserole tonight...

Success at Budgens!

I recently had a very successful shopping trip at 'Budgens'. I found a range of products suitable for people following the anti-candida diet (see photograph), some of which - like the chappattis - I've previously, but most I haven't come across before. Perhaps things are looking up!

1. 'Sacla' Char-grilled Aubergine Pesto - ingredients:

• aubergine
• sunflower seed oil
• water
• basil
• tomato
• cashew nuts
• sea salt
• fresh garlic
• crushed pine kernels
• lactic acid (preservative)
• hot chilli pepper

2. Tzatziki (Budgens)

• yoghurt
• cucumber
• salt
• garlic granules
• mint

3. 'Glutano' Tri-Colour Pasta

• maize starch and flour
• spinach powder
• tomato powder
• beetroot powder

(v. tasty with the aubergine pesto!)

N.B. 'Orgran' produce a similar corn-based pasta, available from Holland & Barrett.

4. Patak's Plain Chappattis (six)

• wholemeal flour
• water
• vegetable oil
• salt
• fruit juice (guess this is okay in small quantities!)
• emulsifiers*
• raising agents #
• calcium propionate (preservative)

* Mono and Diglycerides of fatty acids, mono and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid esters of Mono and Diglycerides of fatty acids (no idea what this is - if anyone out there knows, and it's nasty, please let me know!).

# Disodium Diphosphate Sodium Hydrogen carbonate (ditto!).

- and finally

5. 'Delamere' goats yoghurt

Same company produces a fresh goats milk available from the Co-op.

Other 'new' products:

('New', because I haven't seen them before!)

• hard goat's cheese
• UHT (longlife) goats milk

Both manufactured by 'St Helen's Farm' and available from Tescos.