Candida is a fungus, a form of yeast that lives in small amounts in our bodies, including the oral cavities, digestive tract, and skin. Its primary function is to aid in digestion and nutrient absorption. However, when Candida overproduces, it can break down the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream, releasing toxic by-products and causing leaky gut, leading to various health problems, from digestive issues to depression.
The candida diet is a fairly strict diet that eliminates many foods to help heal your gut. This diet focuses on eliminating sugar, alcohol, gluten and many more processed foods. During this diet it is very important to feed your gut all the necessary foods to help it rebuild itself and keep you feeling good and healthy!
One of the hardest things on the anti Candida Diet is figuring out exactly what to eat. You have the lists of foods to eat and avoid, but how do you make a meal out of all these new ingredients?
Here are a few tips for creating delicious Candida diet recipes:
- Include lots of fresh vegetables
- Add in a few low-sugar fruits
- Stick to Candida-safe non-glutenous grains
- Enjoy some probiotic fermented foods
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants
- Cut out added sugars that can feed Candida
- Flavor your recipes with lots of herbs and spices
The Importance of Low-Sugar Smoothies
When you ingest foods containing sugar, the yeast in your body feeds on them and can quickly grow out of control. Eating foods low in sugar, like green apples, will help to control Candida.
Read also: Breakfast on the Candida Diet
Candida-Friendly Smoothie Ingredients
Prebiotics: Fueling Your Gut Health
Prebiotics are the probiotics best friend! It is a type of fiber that we as humans cannot digest. So pretty much to keep your healthy probiotics alive you need to feed them good prebiotics.
This smoothie has a generous amount of flax seeds that work to be the perfect prebiotic. Not only do they work as a prebiotic fiber, but flax seeds have so much more health benefits.
Key Ingredients for Candida Diet Smoothies
- Strawberries: Strawberries are a great sweetener for this smoothie. They have less sugar than other fruits and are packed with fiber and vitamin C.
- Spinach: My favorite way to get in my greens!
- Green apple: Give a gentle tart and sweet flavor. Well first of all, green apples (think Granny Smith apples) are sour and low in sugar.
- Flax seeds: The best prebiotic seed!
- Chia seeds: A good way to get in more omega 3’s.
- Almond milk: Almond milk will make this green weight loss smoothie creamy.
Candida Diet Smoothie Recipes
Green Candida Smoothie
This green candida smoothie recipe is a low sugar smoothie recipe that will turn your life upside down! It is full of fiber as well as prebiotics that will help your gut heal and stay healthy. This is my favorite green weight loss smoothie and candida diet smoothie all at the same time! When I made this smoothie I tried to make something that I can enjoy on a regular basis a and that can also help me stay healthy and lose a couple of extra pounds. That’s how this delicious green goddess smoothie came to life!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup very cold filtered water
- 3 cups spinach chopped
- 1 cup romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup organic cucumber or organic celery chopped
- 1 organic green apple cored and chopped
- 2 Tbs. flax seeds
- Fresh lemon juice to taste
- Liquid stevia to taste
Instructions:
- Add the water, chopped spinach and head of romaine to the blender.
- Starting the blender on a low speed, blend until smooth.
- Gradually moving to higher speeds, add the cucumber and/or celery, the green apple, fresh lemon juice and stevia.
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the smoothie is thick and creamy!
Strawberry Avocado Smoothie
Absolutely delicious strawberry avocado smoothie with creamy texture that is extremely easy to make requiring just 3 ingredients. As mentioned above, this smoothie includes only whole food plant-based ingredients.
Let’s start with one of the main ingredients, i.e. strawberries. I definitely recommend using fresh berries, but if this is not an option, also frozen strawberries would work. Strawberries are awesome, because they are low in calories and rich in fibre and vitamin C. However, eating too much strawberries at once can cause diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and cramps. In addition, some people may have allergic reaction to strawberries. So, be cautious, if you experience hives, itchy skin, a rash, swelling around mouth and tongue, coughing, difficulty swallowing or talking, or wheezing within 5-15 minutes after consuming strawberries.
Read also: Popcorn on a Candida Cleanse
The next crucial ingredient in this delicious smoothie recipe is avocado. Avocado is a quite rare fruit being high in fats and low in carbohydrates. As far as vitamins are concerned, you can count on vitamins K, C, B5, B6, and E. Avocados are high-fat food, 77% of calories coming from fat. However, the healthy fats in avocados are monounsaturated, which have been associated with reduced inflammation.
I included banana in this recipe to add some natural sweet taste as strawberries tend be of sour side. Should you be concerned about the high-carb content of bananas, choose unriper ones that are higher in resistant starch. The latter is a type of carbohydrate that our digestive enzymes cannot break down in the stomach or small intestine.
Finally I added some lemon juice to boost and balance the flavours, and some fresh mint leaves that match perfectly with strawberries.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup strawberries
- ½ avocado
- ½ banana
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 5-6 mint leaves
Instructions:
- And finally, throw all ingredients in a blender and process until you have a smooth mass.
Turmeric and Ginger Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
Indulge in a delightful blend of flavours while boosting your health with this Turmeric and Ginger Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie. Harness the incredible benefits of anti-inflammatory ingredients in this smoothie that is sugar free and contains no fruit whatsoever. With just a little preparation in advance, this smoothie can be ready in a matter of minutes.
Ingredients:
- 120g of frozen, pre-cooked, sweet potato flesh without the skin
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 240ml plant milk of choice
Instructions:
- To start you will need 120g of frozen, pre-cooked, sweet potato flesh without the skin. This is about the equivalent of one medium sized sweet potato. The sweet potato can be boiled, steamed, roasted, or microwaved. If boiling or steaming, peel the potato beforehand. Once cooked, leave to cool and cut the sweet potato into small cubes (if not already) spreading it out onto a tray before freezing, so that it is easier and more convenient to separate when removing from the freezer.
- Blend well until the ingredients are smooth and there are no remaining lumps.
- Elevate your experience by customizing the toppings or adding other nutrient-packed ingredients like chia seeds, nuts, or a drizzle of nut butter.
Ginger Berry Smoothie (Low FODMAP, GF, Vegan)
Ingredients:
- ⅔ cup frozen blueberries
- 20 frozen raspberries
- 1 inch nub fresh ginger, peeled
- ¼ cup coconut water
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)
- 1 tiny sliver avocado (trust me- you want this!)
- 1 handful baby spinach (optional)
- 1 tablespoon protein powder (my favorite is pumpkin seed protein)
Instructions:
- In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients.
- Blend until smooth, adding more non-dairy milk if too thick or more blueberries or avocado if too thin.
Cool Almond Mint Smoothie
This Cool Almond Mint Smoothie is a great way to rehydrate your body after a good night’s sleep. Refreshingly minty, and packed full of healthy fats and protein, it’s the perfect smoothie to accompany your breakfast or to take on the go. This cold, creamy smoothie is just as filling as it is tasty. In the summer months, you can also use it as a wonderful after dinner treat. Just add a sprig of fresh mint, and serve!
Read also: Best Bread for Candida
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 Tbsp. almond butter
- 1½ tsp. alcohol free vanilla
- 8 drops liquid stevia
- 10 mint leaves
- 4-8 almond milk ice cubes
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth and frothy.
- Serve in chilled glasses.
Additional Candida-Friendly Smoothie Recipes
- Green Tea Ginger Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
- Avocado Fennel Skin and Hair Smoothie
- Celery Fennel Smooth Move
- Cucumber Chard Energizer
The Benefits of Ginger
Ginger contains health-promoting plant chemicals called phenolic compounds. The two primary active ones found in ginger are called shogaol and gingerols. These compounds have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Specifically, gingerols can inhibit COX-2 expression. This is important because COX is an enzyme that promotes inflammation and pain.
Digestion: The use of ginger to treat nausea and vomiting has proven to be successful in cases of morning sickness, motion sickness, chemotherapy, and post-surgery. GI symptoms such as colic, gas, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and dyspepsia can often be relieved by ginger.
Cancer: Ginger has been studied for its potential to suppress cancer growth of the skin, ovary, colon, breast, oral cavity, kidney, prostate, pancreas, stomach, liver and brain. Based on an in vitro study, gingerol was found to cause apoptosis of cancer cells in the stomach.
Pain: Research also supports the use of ginger for pain conditions such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), headache, muscle pain, and osteoarthritis.
Heavy metal toxicity: In an animal study, ginger was found to have hepatoprotective (liver protective) effects in rats exposed to heavy metals. Ginger appeared to reduce accumulation and increase elimination of cadmium, mercury, and lead.
General Candida Diet Tips
- Avoid added sugars: Candida uses sugar for cellular growth and to transition into its more pathogenic, fungal form which can spread throughout your body.
- Eat non-starchy vegetables: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, corn, winter squash, beets, and peas contain lots of net carbs and are likely to raise your blood sugar more than non-starchy vegetables. While they’re still nutritious, it’s important to limit them.
- Eat low-sugar fruits: Fruits contain sucrose and glucose, which have both been shown to promote Candida albicans biofilm creation, growth, and activity. However, lemons, limes, avocado and berries also have relatively low net carbs and sugars.
- Eat lots of fermented foods: Fermented foods are an excellent source of probiotics, which help to restore the natural balance of healthy bacteria in your gut. Choose unsweetened yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kvass, pickles, natto and miso.
- Minimize your caffeine: Drinking large amounts of caffeine can leave you tired and burned out. Caffeine consumption increases the production of zonulin, an inflammatory protein that is strongly linked to intestinal permeability, or leaky gut - so it’s best avoided.
- Eat gut-healing foods: Eating less of the foods that cause inflammation (sugar, processed foods, alcohol), and eat more of the anti-inflammatory foods that can reverse that inflammation: bone broth, healthy fats and fermented foods.
- Enjoy healthy proteins and fats: Healthy fats and oils are an excellent way to support your gut integrity and many also contain antifungal or anti-inflammatory properties. Coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and ghee are all good options.
- Stay away from gluten: Avoiding gluten will help your gut to repair itself and reduce overall inflammation. It may even help to undo some of the damage caused by the imbalance in your gut flora. Choose pseudo-grains such as quinoa, buckwheat and millet.
- Cut back on your alcohol: There is a clear link between alcohol and intestinal permeability. Candida albicans can also cause intestinal permeability and alcohol worsens any damage to your gut. Alcohol also destabilizes your blood glucose, which can lead to nasty sugar cravings.
- Maximize your nutrition: Low-starch vegetables, fruits, and healthy proteins contain more micronutrients than any other food, and they’re your best option for living a healthy life. Buy organic when you can and try to eat lots of ‘superfoods’ such as kale, spinach, blueberries, goji berries, fermented foods and organ meats such as liver.
- Drink lots of water: Drinking water can improve your digestion, while dehydration can lead to poor concentration, fatigue, headaches, low mood, anxiety, and impaired memory. Try to drink at least 2 litres of filtered water per day.