One of those days...

Oh boy, what a day it has been! I feel like I have been run over by a truck! A big truck at that! When the girls came in my room this morning to say they were ready for breakfast I just wanted to pull the blankets over my head and sleep!

I did eventually pull myself out of bed and made some eggs and hash browns for the family. I had a scrambled egg beaters on a corn tortilla. I managed to clean up the kitchen, sweep and mop, and do laundry! The best part of all, I got a 2 hour nap! Let me tell you I still feel quite tired and run down...can't wait for it to be bedtime!

Tonight I made a batch of weight watcher mini chocolate chip cookies for the family...I added some peanut butter to them tonight too! I admit I did take a "taste" of the dough. I thought I little taste won't make a big difference, right? After all, there isn't much sugar in them and just a small amount of chocolate. Well, I was wrong! That little "taste" was not a good idea! It seemed as is almost immediately I gut expanded...like bread dough rising! YUCK! That was enough for me...I will be staying to the plan of no yeast or sugar very closely!

I did manage to make a yummy dinner to end the day! I tried a new recipe from weight watchers. Chicken Tostadas! I had to make a few modifications for me, but they were a huge hit with everyone! I will definitely be making them again!

I guess even though I wanted to just stay in bed today, it was a pretty good day! I didn't get a workout in, but I needed some rest too! Hopefully tomorrow will be a great day! Day 4 of no yeast, sugar, coffee....

Yeast Free Bread Rolls

Yesterday I was really struggling with the no bread thing, so I did some searching online to see what kind of recipes I could find. Well, I came across this yummy one! I made some yesterday just as the recipes says and then today I made some with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of cloves...and a tablespoon of splenda. I did use whole wheat flour since I can not have white flour and they turned out great!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Grease 9 muffin cups.

3. Sieve flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and seasoning.

4. Add water, then mix.

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

6. Bake approximately 25 min.

This recipe is from Recipe Zaar.

Candida Diet: Candida Questionnaire

Candida Diet: Candida Questionnaire

Candida Questionnaire

Here is an abbreviated version of a questionnaire, created by Dr William Crook and designed to test for Candida.

The main difficulty with testing for Candida is that everyone has it! It is not the presence of Candida that is a problem, rather is is the overgrowth of Candida that gives you all those nasty symptoms.

Simply complete the test then scroll down to the bottom to see how to interpret the results.

Question	Yes	Score
1. Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs?		4
2. Have you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate or urinary infections?		3
3. Do you feel "sick all over," yet the cause hasn't been found?		2
4. Are you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body temperature or fatigue?		2
5. Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes and other chemical odors?		2
6. Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel "spaced out"?		2
7. Have you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have you taken "the pill" for more than 3 years?		2
8. Do some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms?		1
9. Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain?		1
10. Does your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes?		1
11. When you wake up, do you have a white coating on your tongue?		1
My gender is:	Male Female
Click on Submit for your test results

Interpreting the Results

Women

A score of 10 or greater indicates that your health problems may be connected to a yeast overgrowth.
A score of 13 or higher suggests that they are almost certainly yeast connected.

Men

A score of 8 or greater indicates that your health problems may be connected to a yeast overgrowth.
A score of 11 or higher suggests that they are almost certainly yeast connected.

Candida Diet: Foods to Eat

Candida Diet: Foods to Eat

Foods to Eat in the Candida Diet

Category	Foods to Eat	Why?	Notes / Exceptions
VEGETABLES	Asparagus, Avocado, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Cucumber, Eggplant, Garlic (raw), Kale, Okra, Onions, Peppers, Radish, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip, Zucchini	Vegetables starve the Candida of the sugar and mold diet that feed it They also absorb fungal poisons and carry them out of your body	Avoid starchy vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, corn, all squash except zucchini, beets, peas, parsnips and all beans except green beans You should buy your vegetables fresh and eat them raw, steam or grill them. Add a little garlic and onions for flavor as they are especially helpful with Candida
LIVE YOGURT CULTURES	Plain yogurt Probiotics	Live yogurt cultures (or probiotics) help your gut to repopulate itself with good bacteria The live bacteria in the yogurt will crowd out the Candida yeast and restore balance to your system	Especially useful after a course of antibiotics, or when a patient is suffering from Candida Yogurt from goat and sheep milk is even better, as they tend to contain fewer chemicals Good bacteria will also produce antifungal enzymes that can help you fight Candida
PROTEINS	Beef Chicken Fish Eggs	Proteins almost completely free of sugars and mold, so they fill you up while restricting the Candida	Eat fresh and organic meat if possible - processed meat like lunch meat, bacon and spam, is loaded with dextrose nitrates, sulphates and sugars Smoked or vacuum packed meats are also best avoided Most Atkins recipes will also work reasonably well in a Candida diet
NUTS AND SEEDS	Nuts and seeds that don't contain a high mold content	Nuts are a high protein food that starves Candida and restricts its growth	Avoid peanuts and pistachios as they tend to have a higher mold content You can remove mold by soaking the nuts in water Another tip to remove mold - spray the nuts with a diluted grapefruit seed extract solution
NON-GLUTINOUS GRAINS	Buckwheat Millet Amaranth Quinoa Spelt products Oats Wild and brown rice	Grains contain a high amount of fiber, excellent for keeping the colon clear so Candida doesn't get a chance to multiply. Grains also act like a pipecleaner in your intestine, grabbing nasty toxins like pollutants, chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals on their way through.	For your breakfast cereal, try a low-sugar variety of oat bran or rice bran

Candida Diet: Foods to Avoid

Candida Diet: Foods to Avoid

Foods to Avoid in Stage 1

Category	Foods to Avoid	Why?	Notes / Exceptions
FRUIT	Fresh Fruit Dried Fruit Canned Fruit Fruit Juice	The high sugar content in fruit feeds Candida Fruits like melon may also contain mould	A squeeze of lemon is OK In Step 2 you can reintroduce low sugar fruits like apples and berries
AGED CHEESE	Cheeses aged for 6 months or more	Holistic practitioners recommend that Candida sufferers dramatically reduce their dairy intake Candida prevents the body from processing fat properly	Only aged cheeses need to be eliminated completely A small amount of Swiss or Mozzarella cheese every once in a while should not hurt
ADDITIVES & PRESERVATIVES	Citric Acid Anything on the list of ingredients that you don't know or can't pronounce!	Citric acid is derived from yeasts Chemicals can disrupt your friendly bacteria and allow the Candida yeast to flourish	Citric acid is often found in tomatoes Non-organic food like meat or eggs can also contain residual levels of antibiotics and steroids that were used during the farming process
ALCOHOL	Wine Beer Spirits	Alcohol is high in sugar that can feed the growth of the Candida yeast Alcohol also puts stress on your organs and immune system	Mixing alcohol and Candida is like opening all your windows in a house fire - you don't want to feed the problem Alcohol can be reintroduced in Stage 3, when the diet starts to work, but in small amounts
CAFFEINE / STIMULANTS	Coffee Tea Energy drinks	Caffeine, sugar and sweetener all kickstart Candida Taurine in energy drinks is another culprit	Even decaf tea and coffee are to be avoided, as they contain residual levels of caffeine
CHOCOLATE	Chocolate Chocolate drinks	Candida loves the sugar in chocolate	Candida sufferers often get sweet cravings. Put your Candida on a starvation diet - don't eat chocolate.
GLUTINOUS FOODS	Anything made with wheat, rye, oats or barley, e.g. white bread, rye bread, pasta	Some Candida sufferers have high sensitivity to Glutens	Give your immune system a break and allow it to focus on the Candida
SPICES / CURRIES	Curries Spicy foods	Curries can kill the friendly bacteria in your gut and allow the Candida yeast to flourish
NUTS	Nuts that are high in mould, e.g. peanuts	Ingesting mould can promote a Candida outbreak Nuts that were cracked a long time ago, for example sliced almonds, also have time to develop mould	If you like nuts, stick to freshly cracked or whole ones
MUSHROOMS / MOULDS	Mushrooms Truffles	Candida loves to feed on mould and fungi Leftover food can contain mould that will feed your Candida	If you can't buy fresh, keep leftovers frozen and then cook on a high heat in the oven (not the microwave)
CONDIMENTS	Ketchup Mayonnaise Mustard Relish Horseradish Soy sauce Salad dressings	Condiments tend to be high in sugar and can exacerbate your Candida	For an alternative salad dressing, try Paul Bragg's Liquid Aminos, or a simple olive oil and lemon juice dressing
SUGARS	Sugars Honey Syrup Lactose Sucrose Fructose	Condiments tend to be high in sugar and can exacerbate your Candida Stay away from the soft drinks too	Sweeteners can also make your Candida worse Sugar-free diet coke can feed your Candida as much as a sugary soft drink
VINEGAR	All vinegars, except for Apple Cider Vinegar	Vinegar is made in a yeast culture, depletes the stomach of acids and can also cause inflammation in your gut	One particular vinegar, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, can actually be helpful in combating yeast

Cilantro-Garlic Shrimp with Brown Rice and Peas

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until shrimp are done.
Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add cilantro.
Yield: 3 servings (serving size about 1 cup)

Serve over whole wheat pasta or brown rice! Add your favorite veggies on the side!
Enjoy!

This is a Weight Watchers Recipe from the "Five Ingredient 15 Minute Recipes" Winter 2009 Cookbook.

I did it...finally donated my hair to Locks of Love!

I have been wanting to donate my hair for a few years now, but it seems like I always have it bleached or something that makes it so my hair is not able to be donated. Well, I have been wanting to get my hair cut for several months now. I went to the Beauty School here in Yakima. When I told them how I wanted it cut, they said I could donate my hair to Locks of Love! I said go for it! So here is my new do!

WHAT IS LOCKS OF LOVE?

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

Disclaimer:

Locks of Love is a non-religious, non-political, not-for-profit entity. Further, Locks of Love does not take positions or align itself with any special interests. Any event taking place as part of a religious, political or any other special interest group does not reflect the views or opinions of Locks of Love.