Sugar, Gluten, and Dairy Free Low Fat Banana Nut Muffins

I am excited that these actually tasted good.

2-3 over-ripe mashed  bananas

2 eggs (beaten)

1 tbsp of baking stevia

1 tsp of vanilla

2 tsp of cinnamon

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

1/4 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of baking powder

1 1/4 cup of gluten free all purpose flour

3/4 tsp of xanthan gum (I can't spell this)

1/2 cup of chopped walnut

Combine bananas, eggs, vanilla, and spices in one bowl.  Sift together remaining dry ingredients.  Stir into wet mixture.  (Mix will be a bit thicker than gluten filled muffin batter) Fold in your walnuts.

Use two spoons to drop into a 12 muffin try and back for 15-20mins at 350o. Poke with a toothpick and if it comes out clean they are done.

GERD Friendly Yeast Busting Chili

1 med. Onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp of oil
Hamburger or veggie ground
Mixture of peppers (not green - green is too high in ph)
Grated Zucchini (1 cup or so?)
Grated carrots (1/2 cup)
Egg plant chopped
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of bean medley
Frozen corn (optional - I don't add it anymore as I am supposed to avoid it)
Sometimes I add a bit of spinach if I have it.
1 can of butternut squash
carrot juice (enough to have chili meet a desired consistency)
1 tsp of chili
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of Cayenne pepper
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of basil
dash of celery salt
dash of flax
salt and pepper to taste

I fry my onion and garlic in a bit of oil in the pot I plan to use before I add the hamburger.  Once my hamburger is brown, I add my vegetables. Once they begin to get soft (5-10mins) I add my beans, squash and carrot juice. Once they have heated, I turn the chili down to simmer, add my spices and let sit at least 1/2 hour.  Then I enjoy with some avocado, shredded Cheddar goat cheese and baked pita chips. 


Baked Pita Chips

Take pita and cut into triangles. Lay on a cookie sheet. Spray with olive oil and bake at 375o for 15 mins or until toasted.

Sugar Free and Gluten Free Oatmeal Mollasses Cookies

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup oats (I used organic quick oats)

1/4 cup softened butter

1/8 cup of Xyitol

2 tbsp olive oil

1 egg

1/8 blackstrap molasses

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup of nuts (optional – next time I would not put these in)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flours, baking powder and baking soda, xanthan gum and salt together in a small mixing bowl.  In a larger bowl, combine the oats and softened butter, cream together.  Then add the xyitol, olive oil, egg, molasses, and vanilla and stir.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Add nuts if desired. Roll into balls and bake on a cookie sheet or in my case stone bar pan which I got from pampered chef and could not imagine my life without. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Berry Coconut Sorbet

I have been craving ice-cream. However, ice-cream is made with lots of dairy, sugar and preservatives; a definite no no.  I received an ice-cream maker for Christmas and have made lots of yummy ice-cream for other people but since my Candida adventure, I have not been able to take part in the yumminess. After looking online, I adapted a creamed coconut sorbet that actually hits the spot.  

1 can of coconut milk

¼ cup of Xyitol

½-3/4 cup of Almond Milk (depending on the thickness of the coconut milk)

½ cup of fresh chopped berries

Dissolve the Xyitol in the coconut milk.  Add almond milk until mixture is creamy. Add chopped berries and stir.  Pour into icecream maker and let mix for 30 mins or so.  Enjoy. 

Note: I stored the leftovers in a Rubbermaid container in the freezer.  Because of the low sugar content, it has frozen a little more solid than I would have liked.  But with some scrapping it still makes a delicious dessert.

Genesis

I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

From the moment I was born I have had food sensitivities. I was colicky and lactose intolerant. My parents had quite the struggle determining how to feed me. They tried a laundry list of formulas before they found one that would work.  Over time I appeared to grow out of my lactose intolerance and drank loads of milk as a kid. I say “appeared” because, I was a rather sickly whiney child who always had a bellyache and caught everything going. After puberty, I developed IBS and as an adult I have been diagnosed with GERD and psoriasis, and have experienced countless bladder, lung, ear, throat and yeast infections, many which have been treated with antibiotics. 

When I was living in Halifax a few years back, I did see a homeopath who suggested that I maybe lactose intolerant and have an overgrowth of Candida.  I went on a brown rice cleanse and after the initial withdrawal from sugar and die-off of yeast, I felt better and was able to incorporate many of the foods I love back into my diet on a rotating basis. 

Unfortunately, I feel off the wagon.  When you eliminate all the foods you should avoid when you have IBS, GERD and a yeast sensitivity there is not much left on the list of things you can eat.  Especially, if you add busy and broke into the equation.  For the past couple of years, I have gone all laissez fair and decided life was not worth living if I could not eat whatever I want. I abused Lactade and frequently relied on frozen pizzas when I was in a fix. This only resulted in feeling miserable much of the time, weight gang and a belly so bloated people frequently asked me how far along I was.

This December for our Wellness PD, my school brought in a local nutritionist who specialized in digestive disorders. It was good timing as I was amongst a month long IBS attack which made it difficult to get through a day of teaching. I decided to give her a call and have been seeing her since January. I was surprised to discover that she also uses homeopathic supplementation in her practice. Part, of me was thinking, “Oh, no, not this again,” but she has been really supportive and realistic about my dietary and lifestyle needs.  

I admit that I am on a few more supplements that I would like, but they are herb based or things like acidophilus and folic acid.  I will not need to be on them forever.  I won’t go into details of them but I will go into details of my diet.

I am on an accommodated anti-Candida diet. It is accommodated because my nutritionist believes that in combination with a GERD diet, the diet is too restrictive and I won’t stay on it if I can’t incorporate certain beneficial foods like berries, pita, yogurt and things.

So here is the run down:

I am to avoid:

• Corn and its by-products – corn is high in sugars and is hard to digest. It is believed by some researchers that the kernel scratches the walls of the intestines and irritates IBS sufferers.
• Tomatoes, green peppers, oranges, chocolate and caffine – The GERD no-nos; they alter the PH of your body, causing indigestion and create happy places for yeast.
• Diary – most people with IBS are lactose intolerant.
• Whole wheat– like corn, the kernel scratches and irritates.
• Gluten - This is on the list because most things that contain flour also contain bleaches, , sugars and yeast that are bad for your body. I can have homemade items made with unbleached flour in moderation.
• Peanuts, mushrooms, alcohol, most vinegars and yeast – They are moldy or fermented and contribute to the growth of candida
•  Sugars – They feed the yeast.

Things I am encouraged to eat:

• Eggs
• Brown rice
• Meat
• Something green every meal
• 1 tbsp of Black Strap Molasses to bring up my iron.
• Lots of colourful fruits, veggies and berries.
• Probiotic yogurt (the only dairy I am allowed and can tolerate well)
• Goat cheeses (in moderation)
• Garlic and onions.
• My “dessert” 20 mins before or 1 hour after my meal.

Some interesting things I have done/found:

• When a recipe calls for tomato sauce I replace it with creamed squash.
• Almond Milk is the best milk alterative I can find.
• The only vinegar I can have is raw apple cider.  I found a mayo in the organic section of Super Store that is made with it and is relatively low in sugar.
• Stevia (an alternative plant derived sweetner) is gross and I need to learn how to use it better.
• Xyitol (another plant derived sweetner) works good in baking but too much is hard on the stomach.