Chocolate Pudding? I don't think so...

I've been trying out Rice & Rice dessert from my local health food store. I was hoping for something akin to chocolate mousse. I was sorely disappointed. It's rather like eating brown starch (which is all it is really), with a really strange texture somewhere between blancmange and Instant Whip (either of which would be infinitely preferable).

I shan't be repeating the experience.

New Recipe: Lemon prawn linguine

This recipe includes a dash of tabasco sauce. Now, while its main ingredient is vinegar, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's okay in moderation...besides, you're hardly going to add more than a couple of drops to the sauce, unless you have an iron-cast tongue!

Lemon Prawn Linguine

Serves 1 hungry person!

frozen prawns, defrosted
juice of one lemon
half a small onion, or one shallot, finely chopped
wholewheat linguine (or spaghetti)
dash of tabasco sauce
olive oil spread
fresh herbs (i.e. parsley)
freshly ground pepper
manchego or other hard sheep/goats cheese, grated


Melt a good knob of olive oil spread in a pan. Add the onion/shallot and sweat until soft. Add the prawns and stir for a minute or two. Add the lemon juice, pepper and tabasco sauce to taste and simmer over a low heat.

Meanwhile cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pan. Add the prawns/onion mixture and stir into the pasta with a handful of chopped, fresh herbs.

Sprinkle with the grated cheese and serve with a simple green salad, drizzled with flaxseed oil. Delicious, even if I do say so myself!

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.

Lemon Polenta Cake: A triumph!

I made it - and it was good! Very good, in fact. Even though I managed to stick too much polenta and not enough lemon juice into the batter! A great gluten-free recipe.

I'm doing this Thing-A-Day project in February. My lemon polenta cake is my Day 1 contribution. See the link for a photo and a bit more information about the cake.

N.B. I replaced the caster sugar in the recipe with granulated xylitol.

A weird, but tasty combination: Bacon-wrapped tofu

In the last few days both Maki @ Just Hungry and Profgrrl have mentioned the peculiar-sounding Japanese delicacy, bacon-wrapped tofu. It felt like someone was trying to tell me something. So, tonight, I gave it a go. And jolly tasty it was too. I used unsmoked back bacon (perhaps streaky would be even better?), a firm tofu ,and left the soy on the side as a dipping sauce. The overall 'package' was quite salty, but that was counteracted by the accompanying brown rice and steamed purple-sprouting broccoli.

All in all, a bit of a success!

Could a better diet cut crime?

This is absolutely fascinating. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world could become a better place just through encouraging good nutrition? And how many young lives could be turned around? Oh, I'm coming over all hippy-like. ;)

New (to me) cookery book and great recipe

On the look out for another recipe book full of healthy, easily adaptable recipes, I bought the Readers' Digest Food For Your Body at a second hand bookshop last week. It's full of lovely, simple recipes, most of which are candida diet okay (with the odd substitute).

What most attracted me was the section on mood food and, last night, I made one of the recipes suggested to restore a sense of calm (which I'm sorely missing at the moment!), Pan-fried Salmon with Pineapple Salsa (p. 275). I won't reproduce the recipe here, but suffice to say it was easy to follow and worked out really well. I substituted the maple syrup/honey for a tsp of granulated xylitol, with no obvious disadvantage. All in all a very tasty recipe, and one I will be making again.

I'm desperate to try out the Lemon Polenta Cake recipe on page 129, but I fear I won't be able to get polenta at my local Co-op. :( Will have to wait until I've got a chance to go into town again next week.

Vegetable Bouillon

Just a quick note about Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon (Reduced Salt). It's completely Candida diet friendly, suitable for vegans, and has less salt than the Kallo Yeast-free stock cubes. And a much more pleasant taste - very herby, and curry-powder free! Look for the purple tub!

Anxiety and Candida

Of course, I'd forgotten all about the link between candida overgrowth and mental well being. So, while I said the other day that I'd managed to go 'off-diet' for a couple of weeks without any major problems, the increased levels of anxiety and general miserable-ness which coincided with me eating masses of sugar and cheese and crap are likely to be connected. Especially as I've noticed that since I went back on the diet, my mood has slowly improved. Just another reason why its imperative that I don't slip back into old ways. And drink plenty of water. And remember to take all those damn supplements! ;)

Sourdough bread now available at Tescos!

My local Tescos (and, hopefully, those nationally) have started to stock their own freshly baked sourdough bread. They have three different varieties, including a baguette. Oh, happy day!

Oatcakes: Orangutan friendly!

Just a quick one. If like me you're concerned about the environmental impact of palm oil, you'll be pleased to hear that Paterson's use olive oil in their oatcakes and market them as orangutan friendly. Three cheers for them!

Update and EFT

I haven't posted anything here for a long time for several reasons.

i) my candida symptoms continue to improve steadily;

ii) it's been Christmas (obviously) and my nutritional therapist gave me the festive season off (which was great AND didn't provoke too nasty a reaction); and

iii) some of the emotional difficulties I had been dealing with over the summer have resurfaced, and have preoccupied my mind.

However, I did want to sign in briefly to write about my new discovery, EFT (aka 'tapping') and ponder how it might be utilised to combat candida.

For those that aren't in the know (like me until just over twenty-four hours ago!) Emotional Freedom Technique is a kind of acupressure-cum-hypno therapy developed in the 1990s by Gary Craig. You can find out loads more about the technique (which involves tapping a series of points on the body) on his website, including a comprehensive and completely free to download 'how to' manual. The idea is that when we experience something disturbing or distressing, or become ill, etc., our energy fields are disrupted. EFT works by fixing these blockages, helping to ease painful memories, or - indeed - physical pain.

I've been trying it to help with my anxiety symptoms. It's very easy to do when you know how, and doesn't take a lot of time. And, if my experience so far is anything to go by, it really is effective. I don't know how and I don't know why, but my God it works! And that's all I care about.

So, could it be used to combat candida symptoms? Well - to paraphrase Gary Craig himself - I'm prepared to try it (EFT) on anything. And a case study I've found suggests it could be effective. Could be the difference between managing my symptoms and eradicating them for good? Will post an update if (when!) I have anything further to report...

Experiments with Xylitol: Banana Cakes

After picking up some granulated xylitol at Holland & Barrett the other day, I thought I'd experiment with a bit of baking. And, as I had several very ripe bananas hanging about the house, I decided to try making banana cake. And, even if I do say so I myself, it was a bit of a triumph!!!

Banana Cakes

Makes 24 small fairy cakes

3 large overripe bananas
2 large beaten eggs
6 oz granulated xylitol (brand name 'Perfect Sweet')
8 oz plain flour (I didn't use wholemeal this time)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
walnut pieces
plenty of paper cake cases

Mash the bananas in a bowl. Add the beaten eggs and sugar. Sift the flour and bicarb into the bowl and beat all the ingredients together well (you could use an electric mixer, but I managed perfectly well by hand). Spoon into paper cases. Top with a piece of walnut. Place on a baking tray and bake in the centre of a preheated oven at 180 C for 12-15 mins, until the cakes are golden brown. Cool and then enjoy!

* * *

What I really like about these cakes is that they're really not too sweet, and the flavour of the banana really comes through. Yum!

Once you pop...

Oh, blessed day! Marks & Spencer has begun manufacturing its own version of Pringles (aka 'Stackers'). And, guess what? The Lightly Sea Salted variety are anti-Candida diet okay!

Some new (to me) products

A new health food shop has opened just down the road from me, and I was delighted to find that they stock LOADS of Candida diet suitable products, including a few I haven't come across before:

Brilliantly they had at least three varieties of yeast-free (naturally leavened), wholewheat bread produced by The Village Bakery. I've been trying out the Organic Campagne. Dense in texture, but makes very good toast. And very reminiscent of my own attempts at sourdough a few weeks ago.

They also stock Savoury Seed biscuits (crackers, really), again made by The Village Bakery. Spicy and slightly crumbly, they make a nice change from plain oatcakes.

Finally, I found Biona Lucky Stars in their chiller cabinet. Made from tofu and vegetables, they're a great fridge/freezer standby. Probably aimed at children, but that doesn't bother me!