Candida Recipes

One of the hardest things on the anti Candida Diet is figuring out exactly what to eat. You have the lists of foods to eat and avoid, but how do you make a meal out of all these new ingredients?

Here are a few tips for creating delicious Candida diet recipes:

• Include lots of fresh vegetables
• Add in a few low-sugar fruits
• Stick to Candida-safe non-glutenous grains
• Enjoy some probiotic fermented foods
• Avoid caffeine and other stimulants
• Cut out added sugars that can feed Candida
• Flavor your recipes with lots of herbs and spices

We’ve put together lots of Candida Diet recipes in this section. We’re always adding more, so make sure to check back in with us. And there are also some helpful articles about using antifungals in your cooking and what to drink instead of your morning coffee!

Candida Recipe Tips

In this section, we’ve put together a fantastic range of easy (and delicious!) recipes that are ALL compatible with the anti-Candida diet.

Breakfast

It’s the most important meal of the day, so it should be good! A wholesome breakfast should comprise of healthy fats, protein and vegetables – such as this Avocado Baked Eggs with Vegetable Hash. These nutrients are essential for supporting hormonal signalling and improving your energy and mood.

When you wake up in the morning, your cortisol levels should be at their highest. Cortisol is a stress hormone – but it’s necessary for waking you up and keeping you alert. Eating on a regular schedule is important for keeping cortisol levels consistent and supporting early-morning energy levels.

Lunch

Lunch on the Candida diet should be as nutritionally balanced and enjoyable as any meal. An easy way to help build a balanced lunch is to include the major nutrients: protein and fiber. This Asian Chicken and Cabbage Salad is perfect!

Fiber isn’t just necessary for keeping you regular, it keeps your blood sugar levels steady and even lowers cholesterol levels. That’s why naturopaths and registered dietitians recommend getting in at least five grams of fiber at each meal. Fiber keeps you satisfied throughout the rest of the day, so you don’t suffer the ‘3pm slump’ that has you reaching for the chocolate biscuits!

These fantastic lunches contain plenty of both fiber and protein to help keep you full and fueled all afternoon. And they’re so delicious, you’ll be looking forward to lunch break every day!

Dinner

Dinner can be tricky. Overeating – or eating the wrong kinds of food – can upset your sleep, while a dinner that doesn’t satisfy can lead to reaching for a sugary late-night snack!

An ideal dinner features a balance of vegetables, protein, fiber and healthy fat. Nourishing dinner ideas like this Curried Chicken Bowl are bound to make you popular at home!

Snacks

There’s no harm in snacking between meals – if you do it right. Healthy snacks like this Mediterranean Zucchini Dip will tide you over to your next meal without upsetting your anti-Candida protocol.

Desserts

Who said desserts were off-limits? Not us!

It’s natural to crave a sweet treat every now and then. The trick is to satisfy that craving without giving in to sugar. Fortunately, there are lots of natural sweeteners that contain zero sugar and don’t affect your blood sugar, such as stevia, xylitol, and monk fruit extract.

Fabulous desserts like Coconut Ginger Clouds use these sweeteners along with nutritious foods like coconut, avocado and healthy flours that won’t ruin your good work.

Drinks

Alcohol may be out of the picture, but healthy drinks are very much encouraged. Juicing can be an excellent way to supplement your body with lots of nutrients all at once, and smoothies are an easy and delicious way to eat on the go. These drinks recipes make the most of antifungal ingredients and still taste amazing – even this sugar-free eggnog!

Restoring your Gut Health with the Anti-Candida Diet

One of the major causes of Candida overgrowth in the gut is poor diet. High-sugar foods not only increase inflammation in the body but also fuel the Candida yeast, allowing it to thrive.

Just follow these 11 Candida diet tips to restore your gut health, beat your Candida, and get back to perfect health!

Diet tips: How to Follow the Anti-Candida Diet

1. Avoid added sugars
   Candida uses sugar for cellular growth and to transition into its more pathogenic, fungal form which can spread throughout your body. Candida also uses glucose and mannose to form the biofilms that allow it to hide from your immune system. Biofilms are a protective matrix that Candida albicans builds around itself.
2. Eat non-starchy vegetables
   Sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, corn, winter squash, beets, and peas contain lots of net carbs and are likely to raise your blood sugar more than non-starchy vegetables. While they’re still nutritious, it’s important to limit them.
3. Eat low-sugar fruits
   Fruits contain sucrose and glucose, which have both been shown to promote Candida albicans biofilm creation, growth, and activity. However, lemons, limes, avocado and berries also have relatively low net carbs and sugars.
4. Eat lots of fermented foods
   Fermented foods are an excellent source of probiotics, which help to restore the natural balance of healthy bacteria in your gut. Choose unsweetened yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kvass, pickles, natto and miso.
5. Minimize your caffeine
   Drinking large amounts of caffeine can leave you tired and burned out. Caffeine consumption increases the production of zonulin, an inflammatory protein that is strongly linked to intestinal permeability, or leaky gut – so it’s best avoided.
6. Eat gut-healing foods
   Eating less of the foods that cause inflammation (sugar, processed foods, alcohol), and eat more of the anti-inflammatory foods that can reverse that inflammation: bone broth, healthy fats and fermented foods.
7. Enjoy healthy proteins and fats
   Healthy fats and oils are an excellent way to support your gut integrity and many also contain antifungal or anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and ghee are all good options.
8. Stay away from gluten
   Avoiding gluten will help your gut to repair itself and reduce overall inflammation. It may even help to undo some of the damage caused by the imbalance in your gut flora. Choose pseudo-grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and millet.
9. Cut back on your alcohol
   There is a clear link between alcohol and intestinal permeability. Candida albicans can also cause intestinal permeability and alcohol worsens any damage to your gut. Alcohol also destabilizes your blood glucose, which can lead to nasty sugar cravings.
10. Maximize your nutrition
    Low-starch vegetables, fruits, and healthy proteins contain more micronutrients than any other food, and they’re your best option for living a healthy life. Buy organic when you can and try to eat lots of ‘superfoods’ such as kale, spinach, blueberries, goji berries, fermented foods and organ meats such as liver.
11. Drink lots of water
    Drinking water can improve your digestion, while dehydration can lead to poor concentration, fatigue, headaches, low mood, anxiety, and impaired memory. Try to drink at least 2 litres of filtered water per day.