Yeast Free Living

I finally kicked the cold I had and am up and running at full speed again.  In an effort to continue simplifying my crazy life I have converted the daily menu into a weekly one.  I was doing my shopping list for the week and started to jot down meals for each day and write the corresponding ingredients on my shopping list.  My shopping list is becoming very involved and it often takes visits to 4 or more stores to get everything I need to stay on task.  Trader Joe’s is usually my first stop, then Shoprite, then Whole Foods.  I also have to hit 2 different local health food stores when I run out of the special snacks that they girls are actually allowed to eat.  Sometimes just the thought of it all makes me want to give up but I have to admit that my girls have been so much healthier since I have eliminated or significantly reduced the foods that were identified as troublesome on their allergy reports.  I am secretly hoping that they will out grow some of these food allergies.  If I had the choice of only one for them to out grow it would be my oldest daughter’s corn allergy.  This is the only allergy I do not think that I have mastered.  Corn is hidden in everything and therefore makes it very hard to keep her totally free of it. 

One of the things that I have been most grateful for throughout this transition with their food allergies is the candida diet.  If I had not experienced the candida diet prior to my kids being diagnosed with food allergies I do not believe that I would have been able to handle their diagnosis.  Learning how to eat within the parameters of the candida diet has taught me how to seek out and try new foods and this makes it easier to help my children do the same.  It is not always easy to maintain a candida and allergy free life but I feel like we are succeeding more times than not. 

Candida Diet Menu for the Week of March 8, 2010

Sunday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Applegate Farms Turkey Breast on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Spaghetti and Meatballs and Salad

Monday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Applegate Farm Turkey Breast on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper and Salad

Tuesday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Spinach
Dinner: Crockpot Lamb Stew and Salad

Wednesday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch:Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Spinach
Dinner: Soup and Salad

Thursday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Applegate Farms Turkey Bologna on Rice Cakes
Dinner: Baked Chicken Rice and Beans and Spinach

Friday
Breakfast: Gluten Free Pancakes
Lunch: Rotini Brown Rice Pasta with Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce
Dinner: Tacos

Saturday
Breakfast: Puffed Rice Cereal with Unsweetened Milk Alternative
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets and French Fries
Dinner: Lasagna and Salad

Weekly Snacks
Sage Valley Corn Tortillas Chips, 365 Brand Black Olives, Ener-G Wylde Gluten Free Pretzels, Cape Cod Potato Chips, Air Popped Popcorn, Cucumbers, Homemade Salsa, Homemade Hummus (Variety of Fruit for the Children Only)