Yeast Free Living

Creating a Candida Diet Recipe might seem like a tall task at first especially when you keep thinking about all of the things you cannot eat.  Although I agree that creating candida diet recipes can be involved, and by involved I mean you will find very little assistance from boxed, canned or frozen items, it does not need to be so difficult.  “Keep it Simple” is a saying that I try to apply to all aspects of my life but especially when preparing foods that cater to the many dietary restrictions we adhere to in my home.  In addition to the candida diet that I follow my two children have multiple food allergies which forces me to stretch my imagination when preparing meals.  The following are few ideas on how approach the task of creating yeast free recipes. 

Become very familiar with the list of foods you can eat
The list of foods that you can eat is the backbone of the candida diet.  It is true that you must be aware of what you cannot eat so you do not accidentally consume it but by focusing on what you can eat a whole new world of possibilities will open up to you.  I realize you might think that I am being overly optimistic but there are so many good things that you can still eat.  They are probably not the things that you are used to but it is for the better.  The candida diet is an opportunity to get out of our comfort zone and experience a wide range of taste.  Yes, your vegetable intake may triple but this is not a bad thing.  I never knew how to cook with fresh herbs before I went on the candida diet, but today I know that fresh herbs make everything taste so much better.  

Become familiar with common candida friendly substitutes
I have found that there are so many ingredients that can be substituted in order to adapt recipes.  Any recipe that calls for vinegar I just use lemon juice instead.  If you can tolerate plain unsweetened yogurt this makes a great sour cream substitute.  Instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners I use stevia.  There are many other substitutes and I find them on an as needed basis.  You often do not need to disregard an old recipe but with proper substitutions you might be able to make it yeast free. 

Look for recipes that are naturally yeast free
There are so many recipes that are naturally yeast free.  I find many of my recipes on sites like Recipezaar and All Recipes.  I also find cookbooks at the library.  They often have many specific to the candida diet and food allergies.  I look for recipes with few ingredients and/or without troublesome ingredients.  If there are only 1 or 2 troublesome ingredients I substitute yeast free ingredients or omit if possible.  Sometimes an omission will not alter the recipe too much.  Use your judgement and take some chances. 

Don’t be afraid to experiment
To be completely honest some things that you make will taste nasty.  You may be mad that you wasted time, money and ingredients to put such a disgusting dish together.  I have been there and I frequently visit there when trying to find a new recipe that works.  This is all part of the process.  It took me 3 tries to master gluten and yeast free chicken nuggets and 4 tries to master gluten and yeast free pancakes and these are just my most recent failures.  I assure you that there will be many more.  It is part of the process and once you nail it the recipe becomes part of your weekly and/or monthly candida diet plan. 

Be Patient
I don’t know about you but I was not much of a cook before this yeast free journey.  I found out that preparing Hamburger Helper and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is not consider really cooking.  It took me a lot of patience to transition from all prepared food to actually cooking.  It takes patience and learning to get there.  So be patient with yourself.