Yeast Free Living

Archive for the ‘Salads’ Category

One of my favorite fast food lunches/dinners is Wendy’s Southwest Taco Salad.  I am always full after eating this salad which comes equipped with a bed of iceberg lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cheddar cheese, tortilla chip strips, sour cream and small cup of chili.  It sounds very simplistic but I really do enjoy it.  I do prefer the taco salads at Qdoba to the ones at Wendy’s but Wendy’s is usually the more convenient option.  I know that neither of these taco salad are yeast free and are probably filled with a ton of ingredients prohibited on the candida diet and that is why have not indulged in one in quite a while.  I have however developed my own yeast free taco salad.  It is so easy to make and it taste just as good as both of the fast food ones that I mentioned.  To be honest I do miss topping the salad with sour cream but plain unsweetened yogurt is a great yeast free sour cream substitute and seems to be okay for many on the candida diet. 

I used my favorite ingredients in this recipe but there is a lot of room for experimentation here.  I encourage you to experiment with different types of beans, add corn, add peppers or any other yeast free ingredients that you would like to try so that you can this your favorite taco salad.  As for salad dressing I use yeast free creamy herb salad dressing.        

Yeast Free Taco Salad Ingredients
1 pound ground meat browned, drained and seasoned with yeast free taco seasoning mix  
1 head iceberg lettuce finely cut
12 ounces unsweetened chopped tomatoes ( I use Pomi Chopped Tomatoes which contains no citric acid)
1 can black beans (I use Nature’s Promise from Stop & Shop which are organic and contain no preservatives)
1 avocado sliced
plain unsweetened yogurt (optional)
7 ounces tortilla chips (I use Sage Valley which contain all candida friendly ingredients)

Yeast Free Taco Salad Directions
In a large bowl mix together first 5 ingredients
Top salad with yogurt and tortilla chips and serve

My family is from the South so potato salad is of course an extremely important dish at our family gatherings.  I have only attempted to make potato salad once before and it did not turn out so well.  This was many years ago when I first started cooking and I overcooked the eggs.  Trying to peel overcooked eggs is miserable and it is often very hard to take off every piece of the shell.  I missed quite a bit of egg shell and it ended up in my potato salad.  Crunchy potato salad it gross and really embarrassing.  I was so disappointed that I never made it again and just left that dish to some of my more experienced family members.  

Since I hosted a family barbecue this past 4th of July weekend and it has been over 6 years since the potato salad incident I felt that the time was right for me to try making potato salad again, yeast free of course.  It is yeast free mayonnaise that made this potato salad possible.  I did overcook the eggs again but I took the time to make sure that there was no egg shell left on the eggs.  The potato salad came out great, I conquered my fear of making it and it contains all candida diet friendly ingredients.  This yeast free potato salad should of course be enjoyed in moderation as potatoes are high in carbohydrates which feed candida.  
 
Yeast Free Potato Salad Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)
2.5 pounds potatoes, cooked until just tender, cooled and cubed
5 hard boiled eggs cooled, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch scallions
1/2 cup yeast free mayonnaise
1/4 tsp dried mustard
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Yeast Free Potato Salad Directions
In large bowl combine potatoes, eggs, scallions
Stir in mayonnaise, mustard and sea salt and pepper to taste

Recipe inspired by Picnic Potato Salad Recipe by Diana Rattray from About.com:Southern Food.

I never thought that I would be able to eat raw cabbage until I was invited to a sale’s pitch dinner for Salad Master.  Salad Master is a line of high end cookware and kitchen accessories and in order to sell you on their product they actually come out to your home a cook dinner for you and your guests using their cookware.  One of their signature recipes is this Yeast Free Cabbage Salad or as they call it Health Salad.  When I tasted this salad I just couldn’t believe that I was eating raw cabbage.  It had such a great taste with a little bit of sweetness from the radish and carrot.  I did end up buying a set of salad master cookware (my friends thought I was nuts because it is really pricey) and have been making this salad ever since. 

I have a handy little Salad Master food processor that enables me to make this salad pretty easily but I wanted to see if could be done without this tool.  Fortunately it is pretty simple to make without the salad master tool, so I figured I would share it here on Yeast Free Living.  Eating raw vegetables is such an important part of a yeast free diet and this is another great way to eat them.   Additionally, since this salad is made with cabbage, which is known for its cancer fighting nutrients, this is just an all around great addition to any diet.  There is quite a bit of chopping involved but the health benefits and taste of this salad are totally worth all of the chopping.  My kids actually love this salad and I hope that you will too.   

Yeast Free Cabbage Salad Ingredients – Makes 4 serving (7.5 grams carbohydrates per serving)
1 medium carrot (7 grams carbohydrates)
1/3 head green cabbage (8 grams carbohydrates)
1/4 head red cabbage (7 grams carbohydrates)
3 small radishes or 1 large radish (6 grams carbohydrates)
1/2 cucumber (2 grams carbohydrates)
 
Yeast Free Cabbage Salad Directions

Wash all produce thoroughly

Finely chop, carrots, cucumber, cabbage and radish(es)

Serve with desired yeast free salad dressing (Annie’s Naturals Lemon and Chive, Yeast Free Creamy Herb Salad Dressing, Yeast Free Basil and Garlic Salad Dressing)

Recipe adapted from Salad Master’s Guide to Healthy & Nutritious Cooking

This is one of my quick lunch ideas.  I use Applegate Farms oven roasted turkey meat found in the deli section of many stores.  I have however found it to be the least expensive at Trader Joe’s in my area but is also available at Shoprite and Whole Foods and I am assuming many other supermarkets.  I use whatever kind of lettuce I have around and 2 tablespoons of Whole Foods 365 salsa.  I use a homemade creamy herb dressing with this salad.  I found the recipe for the dressing in the Candida Control Cookbook by Gail Burton.  This combination really does make a great lunch. 

Turkey, Avocado and Salsa Salad Ingredients
3 slices of turkey cold cuts (I use Applegate Farms Oven Roasted Turkey Breast which does not contain nitrates)
1 ripe avocado 
2 Tablespoons Salsa (I use Whole Foods 365 brand salsa which does not contain vinegar or citric acid) 
1 bowl full of lettuce, mixed salad greens and/or spinach leaves

Turkey Avocado and Salsa Salad Directions
1) Fill bowl with your choice of lettuce, mixed salad greens and/or spinach leaves
2) Peel and slice avocado and add to bowl
3) Add Salsa
4) Serve with homemade creamy herb dressing