Snacks for the Candida/Sugar Detox

Week 1, Part A
Week 1, Part B
Week 2, Part A
Week 2, Part B

It's been a bit nuts around here given the my daughter almost being hospitalized with the flu, and then my husband and I getting hit with it (me harder than him. I quit counting after the 10th vomiting session) and Monday's events. Not to mention transitioning this blog to Mama Buzz. . . .

Whew!

Starting Sunday, I'm planning a month long sugar and yeast-overgrowth detox. It shouldn't be as difficult as last year. I have gotten back to breads and sugars in the past half a year, but not half as much as I used to consume it. And I'm down to 1/2 a cup of full strength coffee a day so I think it will be a fairly easy process this time around.

My main goal is to complete wean off carbs/sugar/caffeine addictions and get back to more natural eating. Doing daycare and a crazy life has had me relying on boxed mac-n-cheese and Ramen noodles and I want to be more deliberate about what I eat. Doing a detox helps me with that.

My main goals for it are:
~ No sugar! (including fruit)
~ Eat nothing with yeast or gluten in it
~ Drink 70 oz of water daily (a little more than half my body weight in water)
~ Drink one quart of yogurt/kefir/spinach smoothie a day
~ As little processed food as possible
~ No dairy, except in smoothies. *gulp--no cheese!!! *
~ Eat 80-90% vegetarian and if I do eat meat, eat organic or vension

I plan on posting my meal plan for it as soon as it's done and I also plan on doing a diary of it to go along with this series.


On the detox, snacks will change a bit. I'm one of those people who eats all day long. Not in an overweight, unhealthy way (I'm 5' 10 1/2" and 135 lbs) but in a small meals all day long, kind of way. But doing a detox means the cheese and crackers and pretzels will have to go. What is one to eat for snacks while avoiding sugar and wheat/gluten?

One simple rule of thumb is:

~ If you want sweet, eat fruit! (Unless you're doing a yeast/candida detox. For at least a month you will want to avoid fruit, even though it's a natural sugar)

~  If you want crunchy, eat vegetables!

    It is difficult in the beginning. Our brains crave tastes and textures and fruits and vegetables don't deliver. But I promise you, there will come a time -- at the last in one month, the more usual, three months--where you will actually crave the apple over the brownie. And if you eat the brownie, it will be too sweet for you!

Snack ideas:

~ Rice cakes with different butters--cashew, almond, sunflower seed butter (peanut butter is advised against during a yeast detox but I'm not sure why)
~ Vegetable sticks with hummus
~ Vegetable sticks with homemade guacomole
~ Nuts, nuts, and more nuts
~ Smoothies
~ Yogurt (dairy is discouraged on a yeast detox but I allow yogurt in for the acidophilus)
~ Black bean brownies

It seems boring, especially if you have a major love for crackers (like I do. I'm a Triscuit freak!) but after awhile you'll actually start enjoying these snacks. In fact, I miss the days when my body enjoyed these foods more than processed foods, and I'm excited to get back to that way of living.