7 Days Candida Diet Meal Plan - Real Italian Kitchen

PREMISE:

Why do we always use diet and exercise as the last resource?

The answer came to me when I got my blood work results and my doctor told me that if my cholesterol was any higher I would have to take a pill.

What? I'm 30 years old, how about suggesting I change what I eat before you tell me that in a few years I'm going to have to take a pill for the rest of my life…!?!? Baaaaad doctor…..

We have been successfully trained to think that for every physical problem there is a pill that fixes it, but lately I've been re-discovering more then ever the healing properties of certain foods and spices.

My philosophy about curing myself when I'm sick is and has always been: combine the two. If you're very very sick, take the medicine, but support it with a diet that will help your problem.

ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE A YEAST INFECTION?

There are plenty of websites out there that talk extensively about what's a yeast infections, if you would like to read more about it clic here . If you think you have it, see your doctor and get an appropriate test to confirm.
If the situation is really bad (like you can't walk from the pain kind of bad) take the anti-fungal medication the doctor gives you. SPOILER ALERT: the anti-fungal will work BUT if you don't change your eating habits the candida fungus will grow again in your intestinal tract and in a few months you'll be back at square one, I speak from experience.

You see why I wrote the premise now?

The first thing I did was getting a doctor appointment and a nutritionist appointment, I was particularly happy to discover that MY INSURANCE WILL COVER SEVERAL APPOINTMENTS WITH MY NUTRITIONIST. Dope. I don't have to pay for it!

She told me to check out the CANDIDA DIET, while at the same time keeping a food diary of everything I ate and the way it made me feel.

7 DAYS CANDIDA DIET PLAN

First of all, check out my article "CANDIDA DIET GROCERY LIST", to understand what you can eat and get ready for your new life style!

This 7 days Candida Diet plan does not follow exactly the Candida Diet. My nutritionist said that a lot of gastro-intestinal problems can be allergy related, so I removed even more foods from the usual candida diet list, according to the reaction certain foods gave me (bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, itching etc), or added certain ones if they didn't give me any problems.

I encourage you to do the same, keep a food log of everything you eat, notice the way it makes you feel physically and emotionally. It helps keeping you motivated and you'll discover food allergies and intolerances that you would never have thought of.

You'll see that in my meal plan there aren't a lot of nuts, it's because I have an intolerance towards them. Feel free to up your dose of nuts to as much as you can handle.

How to read this meal plan: unless serving sizes are specified, you can eat as much as you want of it.

MONDAY:

Breakfast:
1 serving of Goat milk yogurt with 1tbsp of chia seeds and 1tbsp of pine nuts

After one week re-introduce some fruit

Lunch:
Roasted chicken wings and legs coated in herbs, salt and extra virgin olive oil (I used Ariosto Herb Mix for roasted meats)
Salad (spring mix) with shredded rutabaga, cucumber, avocado, purple cabbage
Vinaigrette: lemon, salt, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), flax seed oil, 1 clove of raw garlic minced

Snack:
Hard boiled duck egg, 1 serving of nuts

Dinner:
Soup with lots of green vegetables and rutabaga. If you mash it all in a blender once it's cooked it's great, you can eat as much as you want of this, so make a lot and eat until you're full. 1tbsp of your favorite raw oil and a pinch of salt per serving.

Peppermint tea

TUESDAY

Breakfast:
1 serving of Goat milk yogurt with 1tbsp of chia seeds and 2 tbsp of pepitas

Lunch:
Homemade lean ground beef burgers with chopped onions in the mix and 1 egg to keep it together, salt.
Asparagus sautéed with coconut oil, paprika and turmeric, minced raw garlic at the end.

Snack:
Raw vegan pesto (spirulina is optional) made with tahini and pine nuts and raw rutabaga instead of chips

Dinner: 
2 cups of warm broth
Salad with baby kale, broccoli, purple cabbage, mixed seeds, cucumber

Chamomile tea

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast:
Vegetable Smoothie with: cucumber, red pepper, kale, avocado, coconut water (1/3 of a can), coconut milk (2tbsp). Mmmm!!! So good!  (spirulina is optional)

Lunch:
Grilled salmon with sautéed green beans seasoned with salt, turmeric, paprika and red chili powder. Raw garlic on top.
Small salad

Snack: 
Raw vegan pesto with tahini (from the day before) with raw celery as a substitute for chips

Dinner: 
Soup with white vegetables (cauliflower, fennel, rutabaga, turnips) all mashed up. If you have time try making this candida diet friendly bread and don't put any honey or sugars in it.

Green tea

THURSDAY

Breakfast:
2 eggs omelette with smoked salmon and spinach

Ginger tea

Lunch:
Grilled Chicken breast with homemade seasoning salt (just mix turmeric, paprika and salt) + red chili peppers
Grilled vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, onion
Homemade vinaigrette: lemon, parsley, garlic, salt, EVOO, flax seed oil, beautiful and delicious

Snack:
Guacamole and raw veggies  (spirulina is optional)

Dinner:
Flounder filet breaded in coconut shreads, fried in coconut oil with a lemon finish.
Salad with pepitas and sunflower seeds, spinach leaves, purple cabbage, celery root.
Vinaigrette: lemon, salt, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), flax seed oil

Herbal tea (mine was a blend of detoxing herbs like fennel seed, lavender, dandelion)

FRIDAY

Breakfast:
1 serving of Goat milk yogurt with 1tbsp of chia seeds and 2tbsp of pecans

Lunch:
Turkey burgers made with a mix of white and dark meat, onions, one egg. They will look a little wet but ignore that, don't use any bread crumbs!!
Green beans and broccoli, steamed, EVOO and salt on top.

Snack:
One glass of almond milk, one serving of your favorite nuts

Dinner:
Salad with mixed greens, spinach, cucumber, fennel, onion, celery root
Vinaigrette: lemon, salt, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), flax seed oil, 1 clove or raw minced garlic

SATURDAY

Breakfast:
Half avocado with salt, EVOO and raw pepitas

Lunch:
Grilled mahi mahi
Salad with watercress, celery root, green peppers, broccoli, sunflower seeds.
Vinaigrette: lemon, salt, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), flax seed oil, 1 clove or raw minced garlic

Snack:
1 serving of goat milk yogurt with 1tbsp chia seeds

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken with homemade seasoning salt
Small salad
Grilled zucchini and onions

SUNDAY

Breakfast:
2 eggs, sunny side up, a slice of candida diet approved bread, 3 turkey sausages

Lunch:
Vegetable Smoothie with: cucumber, red pepper, kale, avocado, coconut water (1/3 of a can), coconut milk (2tbsp). Mmmm!!! So good!  (spirulina is optional)

Snack:
Raw fennel, 1 serving of your favorite nuts or nut butter

Dinner:
Salad spring mix, avocado, artichokes (either raw or preserved under water), radishes, green peppers, kale, smoked salmon for proteins
Vinaigrette: lemon, salt, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), flax seed oil, 1 clove or raw minced garlic

HOW YOU ARE GOING TO FEEL FOR THE FIRST WEEK… 
I'm not going to sugar coat this for you, and not only because from now on you can say goodbye to sugar. It's a punishing diet, cutting out all carbohydrates and sugars gives you all the symptoms of withdrawal (anxiety, jumpiness, shakiness, trembling, insomnia, depression, irritability, fatigue, headaches). You have to be patient and think that this is the only permanent solution to your problem. If you can make it one week the withdrawal symptoms go away, and with them you'll also get rid of that annoying yeast infection. So tell your friends and family to be supportive and patient, you'll become a better person soon enough.

TIPS FOR THE SECOND WEEK

Start rotating more different color vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, red yellow and orange peppers. Remember that those have a higher sugar content then other vegetables, so don't pig out on carrots. 

TIPS FOR THE THIRD WEEK

Try re-introducing some goat products, like goad cheese, once every 2 days and some fruits that are low on sugars (berries, green apple, grapefruit)

TIPS FOR THE FOURTH WEEK

Start trying to reintroduce different kind of beans, again one new food every 2 days, write down the effects they have on your body. 

KEEP GOING! 

Don't start your old eating habits again all at once! Keep adding one new food every two days, some non gluten grains first, save the gluten grains and the cheese for last.

If your yeast infection symptoms come back cut back again and go back to the foods that you can eat.

This whole process will take months, but at the end of it you will have a detailed list of all the foods that you can eat, the ones that you cannot eat and the ones you should only have sometimes. It's great! I'm enjoying this process of elimination a lot and I have to say that I've never felt better. I lost a tun of weight, my constant headaches are gone, my yeast infection is gone, I eat all homemade food all the time and I feel great all around. 

WHAT IF I GO OUT TO DINNER???? 
There is always at least one grilled piece of meat with a side of steamed or sautéed veggies in every restaurant, or order a salad "When Harry Met Sally" style, telling the waiter exactly what you want in it.  At ethnic restaurants be mindful of cream, cheese, breading, at a sushi place go for raw fish and that delicious seaweed salad!

WHAT IF I WANNA CHEAT????
Go ahead and cheat if you must, but at least the day after have a nice detox day with lots of raw vegetables and no meat!
I, for example, have to drink red wine. I choose dry red wine (like cabernet or chianti), have one or two glasses only once a week. I think I also had some cake for my husband's 40th birthday. I mean, what the heck, right?

I wish you the best of luck and if you need to complain about how hard this is I'm here for you, because I know, and you're right, it is hard! 

I hope it was helpful. 

Valentina

RealItalianKitchen

I'm not a doctor and I'm not a nutritionist, everything that I write comes from personal experience and research done through years and years of reading about nutrition and medicine and a passion for alternative solutions to health problems.