Delicious Parsnip and Ginger Soup

Freshly harvested parsnips, by Marj Joly

Feeling chilly in this wintry weather? Then try the Parsnip and Ginger Soup recipe over on the River Nene website. Instead of butter, I substituted half olive oil spread and olive oil, yeast-free stock powder and a splash of soy sauce, instead of Worcester sauce.

Delicious!

Twinings Ginger and Lemon Infusions

Hurrah! Twinings Ginger and Lemon Infusions/tea-bags no longer contain nasty citric acid! That makes me very happy indeed.

I made this discovery during my trip to Asda yesterday evening, where I also picked up lots of other anti-Candida-diet-okay stuff. Lots of blog posts to come. :)

More Ginger and Lemon Tea news!

Whittards make a delicious refreshing and just-spicy-enough Ginger and Lemon Tea - crucially without added citric acid. It's even better than the Marks & Sparks version.

Ginger, Lemon and Ginseng tea

One of the things I've really missed since I went on the anti-Candida diet is Twinings' Lemon and Ginger tea. Not least because it's a great 'cure' for sore throats and ticklish coughs. Unfortunately, it - and every other similar tea (apart from the version I make myself) I've since come across - has added citric acid. That was until I came across Marks & Spencer's Organic Ginger, Lemon & Ginseng tea yesterday. I'm just brewing a cup now. It smells gorgeous. Hopefully the taste will match it.

Beverages

This is interesting. Researchers found that people who drank fruit or vegetable juice at least three times a week were less likely to develop Alzheimers than those who only drank juice less than once a week. Which brings me on to what to drink when you're following the anti-Candida diet.

I've already mentioned my addiction to Double Dragon Green Tea from Holland & Barrett, but how about cold drinks and, crucially, what to drink down the pub? Well, I was at an advantage in some respects, because I'm largely tee-total. Most of the time I drink water, and perhaps on special occasions I have sparkling mineral water with ice and a slice ;) Yep, it's pretty boring, but at least you keep a clear head. One of the advantages of being completely sober is that you can embarrass your mates with their drunken exploits the next day.

Now I'm maintaining, I am allowed some fruit juices, providing they're diluted (half water, half juice). Fresh cloudy apple juice is nice (my preference - being a Suffolk girl - is for 'Copella'*: their Apple and Blackcurrant juice is fantastic), and I've also tried 'Pomegreat'#: pomegranate juice with raspberry. Orange juice is definitely out and it's important to check that the juice hasn't been sweetened.

As regards hot drinks, obviously 'normal' tea, coffee and hot chocolate are out of question. I've often seen reference to things like 'Barleycup' in anti-Candida diet books. The thought of that turns my stomach! Some people can tolerate Rooibusch (personally I think it looks and tastes like compost). Most fruit teas are good - but make sure they don't contact citric acid or have been sweetened. Most Twinings fruit teas are fine. I regularly drink their Cranberry, Raspberry and Elderflower and Peppermint teas. It's a great shame that my absolute favourite, Ginger and Lemon, contains citric acid, but if you're partial, it's easy to make it at home:

Ginger and Lemon Tea

You'll need:

1 lemon
piece of ginger
tea pot
mug
tea strainer
copious amounts of boiling water

Take a knob of ginger, peel and grate it and put in a tea pot. Pour on boiling water and allow to steep for a few mins (depending on the desired strength). Before pouring (use a tea strainer), squeeze a good glug of fresh lemon juice in the mug. You can keep topping up the pot until you've had enough. Fantastic as a winter warmer, or if you have a sore throat. In theory you should be able to make peppermint tea in the same way. I've recently just taken possession of a mint plant, so might give it a go later.
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02/09/2006
In fact I did try it. Not bad - steeped a few leaves in hot water for about ten minutes. Pleasantly minty, but not as good as you get in restaurants. Perhaps I'm not using the right sort of mint? Or, should I bruise the leaves a bit first? Might take a bit of experimentation to get it right.
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* available from Sainsburys and Tescos
# available from Tescos and Holland & Barrett

Ideas for dinner - Part 2

With a bit of imagination you can come up with lots of ideas for main meals. But it's best not to get stuck in rut - anecdotal evidence suggests that you may become more susceptible to forming new allergies/food intolerances if you have a limited diet. At the moment I tend to eat fairly light suppers, with plenty of salad and vegetables (I'm loving beetroot at the moment - the Co-op sells it ready cooked and vacuum-packed without any added nasties). So, here's a few more ideas for the summer.

Oatmeal goujons

This is a really easy and quick way of cooking chicken or fish. The oatmeal is a great substitute for breadcrumbs and makes a lovely crunchy casing.

1 chicken breast or fillet of salmon (without skin) per person
Oatmeal
Seasoning (salt & pepper, or Schwartz Season-all, for example)
Sunflower oil

Place a little oatmeal on a plate or in a bowl. Add a little seasoning (just enough to liven the oatmeal up!) and mix well. Take strips of chicken or fairly chunky slices of salmon (cut 'with the grain'). Roll in the oatmeal mixture until well coated and shallow fry in sunflower oil, turning occasionally to ensure the goujon is evenly cooked and browned.

Serve with salad and new potatoes (or chips!).


Ginger and cashew stirfry

You could add chicken or tofu to the stirfry, if you fancy something a bit more substantial. Just chuck the ingredients in, according to how much of each you fancy (I'm really not a very accurate, 'measured' cook!). The green vegetables and cashew nuts are packed full of iron, and the brown rice and noodles contain B6 (which activates iron) - just what the doctor ordered if like me, you're slightly anaemic.

clove of garlic
piece of ginger
broccoli
bok choy
onion
chinese leaves
cashew nuts (unroasted/unsalted)
dark soy sauce (if you're allowed it) or miso paste
sesame oil

Grate the garlic and ginger and gently fry in the sesame oil. Quickly add the onion, cut in half and sliced and the broccoli (cut into florets) - try peeling the stalk, slicing it finely and adding that to the pan too! Stirfry for a few mins, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the bok choy leaves and the chinese leaves (sliced) (as much as you want - or fits in the pan - but remember, they'll cook down to nothing in no time at all!). Stir fry until the leaves start to wilt and add the cashew nuts. Fry until the nuts are starting to brown and add a splash of soy sauce or a good heaped teaspoon of miso paste (with a splash of hot water). Combine well and serve immediately with brown rice or brown rice noodles.

If you are adding chicken or tofu, slice or cube and cook until brown on all sides in a separate pan. Add to the vegetables just before the soy or miso.

Variation: Butterfly some king prawns (i.e. de-vein) and marinade in the grated garlic and ginger, with a splash of soy sauce or squeeze of fresh lemon juice, for at least an hour before cooking (remember to refridgerate!). Add to the vegetables (instead of the cashews) just before you add the soy sauce or miso paste.