My Favorite Candida Diet Snacks

I've been experimenting with recipes a lot lately since I'm officially on the anti-candida diet now and I've actually found a few that I love that I thought I would share!

First of all though, if you aren't on a super healthy or restrictive diet, these snacks might be seriously disgusting to you.. I know I never would have eaten anything without sugar or white flour in it a year ago, but now that I can't eat much, these all taste SO good to me. haha it's funny how your taste buds change with dieting!

Alright here's my favorites:

>>side note: none of these pictures are mine.. (I always eat everything before I think to take a pic haha) but these are pictures I found on google that seriously look EXACTLY like what my recipes looked like. :)

1. Brown Rice Cake with Almond Butter and Salt

RECIPE: Lundberg plain brown rice cakes, Justin's original almond butter, and salt

>>This is the easiest snack to grab when I want something fast to fill me up. I just use Justin's PLAIN almond butter (have to be careful with making sure there's no sugar added) and spread it on a plain lundberg brand brown rice cake (brown rice is one of the few grains I'm allowed on this diet). Almond butter is so much better for you than peanut butter and Justin's is a great brand with lots of different flavors!

I also like to sprinkle a little salt on top because, I don't know, it just tastes better like that haha :)

2. Celery with Almond Butter

Another easy, yummy snack. I hate celery plain, but I LOVE it with something on top so I love this

3. Homemade Hummus

>>This stuff is SOOO good!!! I've never made hummus or even eaten any type of hummus before but this stuff is so tasty and gets me eating tons of veggies with it all day. I love sliced cucumbers or carrots with it best :)

RECIPE: I used a recipe I found on pinterest called pizza hummus, only I made it a little different because one of my temporary food allergies I have thanks to my candida is tomatoes.. but I love it the way it turned out so it's all good

Ingredients 

• 1 - 16 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• dash black pepper

Instructions: 

>> I just threw everything in my blender and pulsed it on the lowest speed over and over again. It sticks to the sides and won't blend well unless you keep stirring it up and scraping it off the sides and VERY CAREFULLY push down on it with a spoon while it's blending. (Don't stick the spoon too far down or it will hit the blade...hehe I made that mistake twice and it scared the crap out of me) 

You don't have to be on an anti-candida diet to like this recipe. My whole family loves it too and it's the best snack to take to work or hiking or whatever to fill you up during the day and is so much better than just eating plain veggies! 

Also, not only is this a great healthy snack, but it also uses fresh garlic which is a natural anti-fungal, so it's also really good for fighting candida!

4. Flaxseed Crackers

Ingredients:

• - 2 cups ground flaxseed (you can buy it pre-ground or grind whole seeds in a coffee grinder)
• - 1 cup water (start with 3/4 c. and add more as needed to make a workable dough)
• - 1/2 tsp salt
• - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• - 1/2 tsp onion powder
• - 1 teaspoon rosemary (I added this ingredient. Rosemary is my favorite)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until an even dough forms. Spread evenly onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet - about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Gently cut dough into squares on the baking sheet (you just need to score the dough so it snaps after it's baked. Bake for 20-30 minutes until crisp and edges are browned

>> Ok so I've made these 3 times now and the first time, I didn't have a no-stick baking mat or a rolling pin so I used wax paper and my hands to spread it so they ended up being way too thick and then the wax paper wouldn't come off of them after they were cooked (duh, don't know what I was thinking) so it didn't work and then the next time I made them, they got completely burnt.. but I'm glad I didn't give up because once I got a no-stick baking mat (most amazing invention ever! Why have we never had one of these before?!) and a rolling pin, I made them PERFECT the 3rd time. They were so crunchy and delicious!! I LOVE these. The only thing I don't like is that this recipe doesn't make enough! They're always gone 3-4 days after I make them and then I have to make more so that stinks, but a bonus with these is flaxseed are a highly nutritious superfood so they're really good for you and they taste great!

5. Coconut Bread

I just made this today and it's a great snack! It was SO easy to make and is surprisingly filling and tasty!

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ cup buckwheat flour
• ½ cup coconut milk (use only the creamy part on the top)
• 5 eggs
• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder (I didn't put this in mine because it has corn starch in it and I can't have corn)
• Stevia, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend together the eggs, coconut oil, stevia and salt. 
2. Now add the coconut flour, coconut milk, buckwheat flour and baking powder, and whisk until you don’t see any lumps.
3. Pour into a loaf pan greased with coconut oil and bake at 175C (350F) for 30 minutes.
4. Now the top of the loaf should be firm and a light golden color, and you can remove from the oven and allow it to cool.

>> Coconut oil is another natural anti-fungal for fighting candida so this is another recipe that is a yummy snack that also contains ingredients that will help me get better! So from a non candida person's point of view, this bread doesn't really taste like much and is kind of bland and boring, but from a person -- who hasn't had any bread or any kind of baked good since I don't even remember.. December last year??--'s point of view, this tastes great to me and is a perfect snack to fill me up. :) 

So there you have it! These are my favorite snacks right now. As long as I take the time to prepare snacks for the week and always have something to snack on, I don't feel like I'm on a crazy restrictive diet or like I'm starving all day. I've been on this new diet for almost 2 weeks now and so far, I'm feeling a lot better and more energetic and have only had 1 or two "not as great" days, but no really sick days yet! 

I also haven't been feeling nearly as anxious anymore and have been feeling energetic enough to go hiking in Draper almost every day last week, but then I caught a cold, so this week I'm staying in and getting better. But I'm feeling really positive and happy every day so it feels great to actually see results from all my efforts with dieting and supplements every day. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!