Sometimes Alex Eats...

[sometimesalexeats]

Nut Butter Cookies/Cupcakes/Bread (gluten free, sugar free, later on candida friendly, grain free)

Nut Butter Cookies/Cupcakes/Bread (gluten free, sugar free, later on candida friendly, grain free)

1 cup any kind of nut/seed butter

1 egg

vanilla extract

salt

1/2 tsp baking soda (ish, maybe a little less?)

Preheat oven to 350 degress.

Mix all of the ingredients together.

If you're doing cookies, cook them on parchment paper.  For cupcakes or bread, I would probably grease everything well so it doesn't stick, or use some kind of liner. 

Optional: for cookies, you can criss-cross the top with a fork and sprinkle sea salt, cocoa, cinnamon, etc. on top :)

Bake for 10-12 minutes for cookies, probably longer for bread/cupcakes (just check every so often).

So this is a really versatile recipe - I used it for cookies, but they came out like muffin tops, so I believe that they would actually do really well as cupcakes or some kind of sweet bread.  Mini-cupcakes would actually probably be the best for this batter, I think!  This recipe made about 9 cookies that were a couple of inches across.

[sometimesalexeats]

The Continued Misadventures of Candida

I am more determined than ever to get this under control!  I have some travel opportunities coming up in the next year and I will not be able to cook my own veggies while I'm gone.  I've been lightly experimenting with great results (!!), but being sure to keep it under control so I don't end up with a repeat of last summer :p

I had to stop eating all of the things with erythritol because I was eating them too much, and they were definitely the cause of my symptoms.  As soon as I stopped, 95% of my problems went away!  

The past couple of weeks, I have had the following, with no problems:

* TWO kinds of cookies with SUGAR! *le gasp* - I had some raw vegan macaroons with dates (just half of a cookie at a time, and not several days in a row) that only had 4g sugar per cookie, and some gluten-free shortbread with really simple ingredients (half of a cookie at a time, 3g sugar per cookie, but with REAL SUGAR)

* CHEESE ALL THE CHEESE

* A few raspberries! \o/

I'm pretty excited!  I had a little bit of belly button itching one day, but I'm not sure exactly what that was from; I hadn't really eaten anything that would cause any problems that day.  I'm trying to keep thinking positive and remember not to overdo it.  I want to go on vacation, dammit!

[sometimesalexeats]

Plantain Cheese Snacks (later-on candida friendly, nut free, grain free, egg free, coconut free, corn free, soy free, gluten free)

Plantain Cheese Snacks (later-on candida friendly, nut free, grain free, egg free, coconut free, corn free, soy free, gluten free)

Trader Joe's plantain chips (they use sunflower oil)

Cheeeeeese! (Smokey cheese is super good but any kind works)

So my mom used to make me these really gross but good tasting cheese and cracker snacks out of Saltines and Kraft Singles that she baked in the oven.  That's the inspiration for these puppies!

Preheat the oven to 350.

Arrange plantain chips on a baking sheet.  They can be fairly close together.

Cut the cheese into small, thin squares, and put one square on each chip.

Bake for 10-15 minutes.

GLORY!

[sometimesalexeats]

Back home again...

Well, I've moved from California back to Portland just in time for some summer sun!  Woot!  Feeling pretty great!  It only took a few days to recover from the move, instead of months, yay!  I figured out that some of my leftover symptoms were from erythritol, so I cut back out all the coconut ice cream and stevia chocolate bars.  Sad times, but worth it to feel better.

Good news though...CHEEESSSEEEE!!  I'm doing great with it!  I'm so overjoyed!  Also, I've added in tahini, plantain chips, and an extremely small amount of rice and pinenuts (they make my tummy a little sad, but don't seem to effect the candida, woot!).  Also, I ate a coconut macaroon with DATES!  Only half of one, and it only had 2g of sugar, but I was FINE!  I also snuck a bite of a mozarella stick at Trader Joe's sample booth, which had gluten, and FELT NOTHING!

More great news - I had my pulses checked by a Chinese medicine doctor and they were totally balanced out!  No more super dampness!  Thank you, California!!!  I never, ever thought I'd see the day where my body was actually balanced out and I had energy again.  Seriously, miracles do happen.  

Taking it all one day at a time, one step at a time, but hoping this summer to introduce small amounts of low sugar berries and possibly small amounts of other sugar/starch/grain sorts of things.

Go me!!

[sometimesalexeats]

Pizza Eggs (soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, corn-free, sugar-free)

Pizza Eggs (soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, corn-free, sugar-free)

These are totally not vegan, and not 100% candida-friendly, if you aren't too far in on the diet.  I just started adding cheese back in a little bit, and have been doing well - YAY - so this is a new favorite :)  It's also good without the cheese, and then totally candida-friendly!

2 eggs

coconut oil

shredded cheese (mozarella and cheddar are good!)

pizza seasoning (Frontier makes a really good blend)

salt and pepper

Melt coconut oil in a skillet.  Wait for it to get pretty hot.

Once it's hot, crack eggs and start frying them.

While the first side is frying, add shredded cheese, salt, pepper and pizza seasoning to the top.

Once the bottom is cooked to your liking, flip and cook the other side.  Let it cook as much as you want - the hotter the pan, the better for cooking the outside nice and crunchy, but still leaving the yolk a little gooey :)

[sometimesalexeats]

Sugar-free, vegan chocolates (sugar free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, corn free, soy free)

Sugar-free, vegan chocolates (sugar free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, corn free, soy free)

1/4 lb. unsweetened chocolate

non-alcohol vanilla extract

stevia

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla hemp milk

cinnamon (optional) or other flavorings (mint, etc.)

1. Make a double-boiler by putting water in a pot, then setting a glass or metal bowl on top.  Turn the heat up to high.

2. Add chocolate to bowl.  While it's heating up, mix the hemp milk, vanilla, stevia (I use 1 1/2 of the tiny spoons that come with my stevia powder?), and flavorings together.

3. Add the liquid and wait for everything to heat up.  It looks like it will never mix together, then suddenly, the chocolate starts melting a bunch, and it all magically comes together.

4. Put on parchment paper, foil, cocoa-dusted plate, etc. and put in the fridge or freezer to cool.  You can make shapes in molds as well, or just do little blobs of candy on a plate.  

YAY!!!

[sometimesalexeats]

Slowly getting better...

Day something, I don't know.

Finally feeling a bit better again.  Have more energy, yay!  I'm still getting random itching, brain fog, etc., but overall I'm feeling better.  I just wish this shit would go the fuck away!

I've added in a couple of things to my diet:

* Tahini, which I can have a few bites of, then my stomach hurts

* So Delicious coconut ice cream with no sugar added (sweetened with monkfruit, stevia, and erythrotol)

* Stevia sweetened chocolate

* Stevia sweetened whipped cream in a can

Basically all of it I can have a bit of as a treat, but not a lot or I start feeling gross.  Still, it's nice to have new flavors!  Oh, and I added in tomatillos with no problems!  Yay!

I also fudge every once in awhile with Sobe LifeWater or VitaminWater Zero, and I feel a little chemical-ly, but not horrible.  I just don't have them a lot.

Still praying I will be able to eat an actual meal out again someday...

[sometimesalexeats]

Happy Anniversary!

Tumblr has informed me that my blog is a year old, so...I guess that means I've been at this shit for a year now.

Update: Feeling about as good as I was last May.  Definitely had improvements since switching the 4x HMF Neuro a day for my probiotics and starting back up on 5x SF722 a day.  I've had a bizarre 3-day poopfest, but apparently my body just is releasing some shit, literally.

Anyway, I've got a couple of friends starting up on the same diet I've been on for the past year, so I'm going to attempt to remember what all I did when I started and put up some helpful information.

I'm not cured, I don't think I will ever be at this point.  People who claim to be cured from this...I wonder if they really are, or if they really had it to begin with.  (I'm speaking of folks that have completely gone back to eating sugar, grains, etc. with no restraint...I believe at some point some people can probably have a slightly less strict maintenance diet with splurges here and there.)  I believe that maybe someday, if I ever settle down, I might be able to fix things enough that I could get to that point, but I'm not really sure if it will ever happen.  However, it's okay.  It is what it is, you know?  If I could eat whatever I wanted, I'd probably still be eating popcorn for dinner night after night and Cheetos until I threw up and cookie dough out of the container and all that grossness...so...you know, I guess it's for the best.  I've learned to adapt to a lot of things, and I even went out to eat with a bunch of people recently and had a salad and it wasn't too weird.

The only, only, only thing that I can't reconcile and that I truly hope I can be "cured" enough to get past is traveling.  I want to see more of the world (I've been to 47 states, 9 countries already, need more!) and I know that I won't be able to stay on this diet if I'm in foreign countries where I won't know all the ingredients of what I'm eating and so forth.  I really, really want to go back to Japan, especially, because it's such a wonderful place, but everything is sugarsoygluten and there is literally no way I could travel there and successfully avoid those things.  I hope that some day I'll be in a place where I can go off the candida diet for a few weeks to travel there (I don't do short trips, heh) again and enjoy myself without worrying about my guts.

[sometimesalexeats]

Nofucksgiving

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving?

I got invited to a potluck, which I'm feeling so much anxiety around, I think instead I'm going to stay home and work and cry.  Fuck Thanksgiving.

[sometimesalexeats]

Hey Alex, many thanks for the recipes! Been wondering how you've been doing, but I've given up in disgust on the candidadiet forum after they banned Sean. Glad you're finding the energy to soldier on with the diet after your setback, and I'm hoping you recover lost ground faster than it took the first go round. I'm 4 months into the strict diet and I toggle back and forth between feeling pretty well and somewhat cruddy, but still much better than before. Patience. Virtue. Yadayada. SueSullivan

[sometimesalexeats]

I suck at the internet.  Thank you!  I'm still struggling pretty hardcore, but every day is a new day.  By the way, Sean would love to talk to you!  Do you have his email?  I'll message you mine privately, if Tumblr will agree to it.

[sometimesalexeats]

Hey Alex, many thanks for the recipes! Been wondering how you've been doing, but I've given up in disgust on the candidadiet forum after they banned Sean. Glad you're finding the energy to soldier on with the diet after your setback, and I'm hoping you recover lost ground faster than it took the first go round. I'm 4 months into the strict diet and I toggle back and forth between feeling pretty well and somewhat cruddy, but still much better than before. Patience. Virtue. Yadayada. SueSullivan

[sometimesalexeats]

Big Breakfast Bowl (candida diet friendly, gluten free, soy free, sugar free, corn free, dairy free)

Big Breakfast Bowl (candida diet friendly, gluten free, soy free, sugar free, corn free, dairy free)

Half a bunch of kale

2-3 eggs

1 rutabaga

1-2 slices of an onion

salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

smoked paprika

dried sage

fresh basil (optional, awesome)

olive oil 

coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 375.

De-stem the kale and tear into bite-sized pieces, then toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Arrange in a baking dish, then put the onion slices on top.

Option 1: Crack the eggs on top.

Put in the oven and check every 5-7 minutes while you continue cooking the other stuff.  It's done when everything starts to get a little brown on the edges (not all of it, but just here and there...you'll know, I trust you!)

Dice the rutabaga and get some coconut oil melting in a frying pan.

Fry the rutabaga and add salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and sage when it's about halfway done.  It's done when the texture has softened up and it's browning on the sides.

Option 2: Fry your eggs, but leave them a little soft in the middle.

Assemble!  Kale and onions on the bottom, then rutabaga, then eggs on top.  MM!

[sometimesalexeats]

Snickerdoodles for everyone! (candida diet friendly, sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, grain free)

Snickerdoodles for everyone! (candida diet friendly, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, grain free)

1/4 cup coconut butter/manna

1-2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

a lot of cinnamon

1 egg

a pinch of salt

a pinch of baking soda

4 drops of stevia

Melt the coconut butter and oil together in a bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  

Don't be shy on the cinnamon and vanilla, seriously.

Bake at 300 for about 15 minutes, but check on them every 5 or so, just in case.  When they are done, you will be able to press on them and they will feel pretty firm throughout.

EAT COOKIES!!!  These are the closest thing to an "actual cookie" that I have had in a year.  SO GOOD!

[sometimesalexeats]

I'm struggling to even start my diet :( i want to cry i'm so over this problem!!

I feel you!! Just hang in there, you've got a long, bumpy road ahead of you, but eventually you will feel better <3

[sometimesalexeats]

I just tried to make your buckwheat bread! Half a container of salt fell in and tasted like crap! I'm trying again! What do you usually eat on it?

Hey!  Let me know how it goes!  Sorry for a ridiculously delayed reply.  Tumblr doesn't tell me when I get messages and stuff, apparently.

Half a container of salt sounds super yucky! :p  I like to eat it plain, with guacamole, or toasted with cinnamon and coconut butter.  I've also used it for veggie sandwiches :)

[sometimesalexeats]

Hi Alex! Thanks for your honest, insightful, and witty posts regarding your battle with the evil Candida! I'm especially grateful for the buckwheat and coconut bread recipes. Yay! After self diagnosing online, I came to the conclusion that the white coating on the back of my tongue is probably oral thrush caused by Candida, and as I was skimming through your blog, I noticed that you engage in oil pulling. Are you still doing that & is it for oral thrush? If so, does it work? Thanks for your time

Hey!  Tumblr doesn't tell me when I get messages.  Thank you so much for the message!  I was doing oil pulling for awhile, but it didn't seem to do much and it's expensive and a pain in the ass, so I stopped doing it.  Other people seem to have much better luck.  I was using coconut oil.

[sometimesalexeats]

Checking in...

Ugh.  So after months of tour and being a camp counselor and being stressed out and away from home, my body totally crashed.  Plus, I tried to eat a tomato, and...yeah.  Back to square one.  I hate everything.  Lesson learned:  don't ever eat or leave the house.