Does the Candida Diet Really Work? Candida Diary Day Two

Finding it hard to get up again today. Feel fatigued and slightly achy round the joints. I cut out the oats for breakfast today, instead having yoghurt with coconut flakes with a tablespoon of flaxseed. You can get ground flaxseed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed and other ground seeds quite cheaply from Asda. Most seeds are OK for the Candida diet.

Ground Seeds are Cheaper in Supermarkets

Health food shops tend to charge high prices for ground seeds, as they are sold a ‘health foods.’ Look under ‘world foods’ in the supermarket, and you might find the same thing at the fraction of the price. I would like to see more healthy stuff in the average British supermarket. Pictured are ground flaxseeds, almonds, brazilnuts, pumpkins seeds, sunflower, sesame seeds as well as goji berries.

Any would be the ideal accompaniment with plain yogurt or oat breakfast.

The coconut flakes add flavour and a natural sweet taste to the yoghurt, which was filling and provided a snack when peckish between meals. Oddly, I don’t miss bread or biscuits as I thought I would.

Coconut Flour for Candida

I have learned that coconut flour is one of the best anti-Candida flours you can use. It is low in carbs, high in fibre and protein. It also contains an anti-fungal agent, called caprylic acid. Great, I thought, I’ll make some coconut bread.

Chickpea Flour Bread

Besam Batter Mix

Sadly, coconut flour is very hard to find in the average supermarket. I found some in the health shop, but it was between £5 - £7 for a small bag. I decided to find a cheaper alternative, discovering that buckwheat and gramflour are allowed on the Candida diet. Buckweat is low in carb, high in amino acids and fibre. Gramflour is ground chickpeas. I brought Besam flour to have a go at my very first chickpea flour flatbread. Chickpea flour is around 60% carb, but high in fibre, protein and free of gluten and yeast. This makes it a good replacement for wheat.

Regarding the coconut flour, I bought finely-ground desiccated coconut from the world foods section of Asda. Not quite as fine as flour, but not far off, and could be used as an accompaniment.

For now, I decided to make plain Besam (a type of chickpea flour) bread to see if I liked the taste before experimenting further.

How to make Besam Bread

Besam Flatbread

I found a simple recipe from the BBC website.

I measured 4.5g of Besam flour then put it into a large jug. I added a pinch of salt and pepper for seasoning, then I gradually added 200 fl oz of cold water. Keep whisking the mixture into a sort of batter.

In a large saucepan, I heated a little coconut butter, then added the mixture, as I would a pancake. For 2 -3 minutes, I allowed the Besam batter to cook, before turning it over with a large spatula. The pancake-like mix did not stick to the pan, as would a wheat-based batter, but came off nice and cleanly. The appearance is a creamy-coloured flatbread, resembling a pizza base, only more rustic in appearance.

Place it on a plate, and it can be cut into segments like a pizza. It freezes well too.

What Besam Flatbread Tastes Like

This is my first encounter with Besam bread. The flour has a slightly bitter taste, rather nutty, that takes a little getting used to. The texture is very bready, and it would suit most accompaniments, like olives, relishes, salads and dips. I aim to experiment with further ingredients, to bring the carb quota down and to add active anti-fungals, like using coconut milk instead of water and spicing it up with turmeric, onion powder, garlic and herbs. All of these ingredients are tasty anti-fungal agents.

As yet, I have noticed little change in my symptoms yet. Continue to feel a little nauseous and bloated. Eyes getting dry at night and appearing puffy. The skin rashes remain, as well as the dry scalp.

Read my article on why I began the Candida diet.
or go back to day 1 of my candida diet
Or forward to Candida diet day 3
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