Essential Cooking Ingredients

One of the biggest problems that many people have when they start their Candida Diet is finding out exactly what ingredients they can cook with at home. Often their usual oils, flours and dressings are on the Foods to Avoid list, so what’s left?

We created this page to share some ideas for cooking ingredients that will make your life in the kitchen a whole lot easier. You’ll find that by making some simple substitutions you can make some delicious recipes.

While it may seem daunting at first, once you get the hang of preparing a nutritious diet full of unprocessed or minimally processed food, you will feel better and overcome Candida.

Many different ingredients such as coconut flour and coconut oil are natural antifungals, so they will help with your Candida treatment too!

Most of our readers have reported that their junk food cravings disappear within a couple of weeks, and they look forward to the healthy and nutritious meals that they have planned.

Sweeteners

If you think that you can give up on sugar by switching to artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Sweet‘N Low (or the aspartame in your soda), think again! These chemicals may have other long term side effects, and they offer no nutritional value. Luckily, there are a couple of great natural alternatives to refined sugar, and both of them are perfectly OK for a Candida diet.

Stevia is an herbal sweetener that is 100% natural, with a low glycemic index, no additives and no long term side effects. You can find it in your health food store or online, but make sure you buy a brand that contains no added ingredients like Maltodextrin.

Xylitol is a natural compound found in berries, mushrooms and other fruits and vegetables. It contains far less carbohydrates than table sugar and is around 50% less sweet. It also has a significantly lower glycemic rating, which means that it metabolizes more slowly in your body. It is often used by diabetics to help maintain stable blood sugar levels.

Another good option is erythritol. An advantage of these natural sweeteners is that you need to use a far smaller quantity than you would with your usual sugar. Stevia in particular is anywhere from 15 to 300 times sweeter than sugar, so a little will go a long way. Xylitol is not so potent, but you will still need only around half of your usual quantity sugar.

Flour

Hunger pangs are a frequent problem on the Candida Diet, simply because many of your most filling foods (white bread, pasta etc.) are off the menu. However there is one alternative that will both fill you up and fight your Candida at the same time. Coconut bread should be one of your staples during your Candida treatment plan.

The key ingredient in coconut bread is coconut flour. It makes one of the lowest-carb breads that you can find, and it’s also high in fiber which is great for your digestive system. Here is a simple recipe for you to try at home.

Cooking Oils

There are plenty of cooking oils that will complement your Candida diet, but its best to stick to olive oil and coconut oil if possible. Coconut oil has the added advantage of being an antifungal, and it is extremely heat-stable so it won’t break down into trans fats when you heat it to high temperatures.

Some people love the taste of coconut oil, whereas others find it a little overpowering. It really depends what kind of food you cook it with, so give it a try.

Salad Dressings

You’ve probably noticed that there aren’t many options for salad dressings or sauces on the Candida diet. Soy sauce is forbidden, and any salad dressing that you buy in the shops is likely to be full of sugar. However there are some good, healthy options for Candida dieters if you’re prepared to be a little more creative.

One of our favorite salad dressings is simply olive oil with a few squeezes of lemon. This is a really fresh, Mediterranean-style dressing that you can easily get addicted to. The lemon has a cleansing effect on your liver and the olive oil has all kinds of health benefits for you heart and the rest of your body.

Alternatively you can add take the olive oil and lemon, and add plain yogurt, garlic, sea salt and pepper. This dressing is still light and perfect for the Candida diet, plus it has some healthy bacteria and an antifungal in there too!

You can also try coconut aminos, a tasty dressing with a low glycemic index and no trans fats. This is a great alternative to soy sauce.

The Ultimate Candida Diet treatment plan contains comprehensive lists of foods to eat and avoid, as well as shopping lists that you can take to your local store.