Mayo for Easter

As you may have noticed, I talk about food. A lot. My life revolves around what I can and cannot eat. I am constantly comparing the nutritional advantages and disadvantages of ingredients and coming up with new recipes because, lets face it, when you have as many restrictions as I do food can be boring.
It should not be boring! Before I got sick I was very passionate about food. I loved to cook. I had a library full of recipe books, and absorbed everything I could about cooking from Food Network and magazine articles. My holidays also gravitated around food. I would spend hours in the kitchen, preparing traditional foods for each holiday celebration. I often invited my friends and family over to feast. Valentine’s was for chocolate desserts and anything Italian. St. Patrick’s involved Irish cheese, Guinness, and corned beef with red potatoes. Easter was ham and egg salad. Maybe an angel food cake topped with whipped cream for dessert, or perhaps a strawberry shortcake. Carrot cake for Mother’s day. Gourmet hamburgers for Memorial day. A massive outdoor BBQ with all the trimmings for the Fourth of July, and baby back ribs with homemade barbecue sauce for Labor day.
When my liver began to fail, I didn’t have the energy to eat, nonetheless cook. When I was diagnosed with chronic candida, I was heartbroken, knowing how limited I would become in the kitchen. I had aspired to become a chef, and was planning on taking culinary classes at the local college before I became ill. It was apparent to me at the time that this dream was not to be. There was no way I could prepare foods, without being able to taste the ingredients.
So I suffered in silence. I prepared food, but only for myself as it was so mundane. Eventually I began to find more and more items that I could eat, and overtime, my inspiration and passion for cooking returned. I remembered the joy of being in the kitchen. The serenity and enticement of creating something…amazing.
I am not able to experiment with as many foods as I once was, and this is still hard for me. But getting back into the kitchen has been very beneficial, and my diet is no longer mundane. There will be no more ham for Easter, but I have replaced it with garlic and rosemary organic chicken. And this year, we will still have egg salad but it will be with homemade mayonnaise, free from vinegar or high fructose corn syrup, with fresh dill and spicy paprika. I may even try a new shallot mayonnaise recipe I found at cookthink.com. Of course, I will have to substitute the vinegar for lemon juice…but I can’t wait:)

Simple Mayo
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Combine the egg yolks and lemon juice in a food processor. Process slowly, adding the oil in a thin stream through the top spout.
Add salt and pepper to taste. The mayonnaise will keep for about 1 week refrigerated.

Shallot Mayonnaise (cookthink.com)
1 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup water
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
prep: 15 minutes
total: 15 minutes
food processor (or blender)

Put the shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a food processor (or blender). Let them sit 10 minutes to mellow the shallot's flavor. Add the egg yolk, water and red pepper flakes, and run the processor for 10 seconds. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending, until the mayonnaise becomes thick, white and creamy, 15-30 seconds. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Why I love Avocados

As a girl who has been on the brink of starvation, avocados have been my life line! They are my Super Food, and are often attendees at my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snack in between.
Honestly, I could go on and on about the nutritious benefits of this fruit, but I will attempt to explain my addiction to them in the following three paragraphs:
1. NUTRIENTS
The avocado is rich in vitamins and minerals; including Vitamin C, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, and Potassium. In fact, this fruit has more potassium than a typical banana. Another bonus is Fiber. The avocado as more fiber than any other fruit.
2. EASILY DIGESTED
I find that only people who have experienced extreme fatigue, weakness, and chronic pain pay any attention to how much energy it takes your body to digest food! The foods you eat can determine the difference between a "good day" or a "bad day". The avocado is soft, soluble, and easily assimilated by your digestive system.
3. ALKALINE
Our bodies PH levels affect many conditions and diseases, some of the most common ailments being nausea and heartburn, or yeast, bladder, and urinary tract infections. The standard American diet tends to be acidic, due in part to overly processed foods and carbonated beverages. I have personally found that I feel better when I consume alkaline foods and beverages, and the avocado is alkaline.
I often grab a whole avocado (or two) for a to-go breakfast or snack. Granted, you have to take a knife and spoon along for the ride. I eat them plain, or sprinkled with salt and pepper. If I'm not on the run, I will take the time to drizzle some lemon or lime juice over a mashed avocado, and season it with crushed garlic, salt, and pepper. A dash of dried red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, diced tomato and onion, or chopped fresh herbs make for easy variations.
Of course, to me, there is nothing like fresh guacamole. I use it as a dip for vegetables, corn chips, or nacho's that I make using spicy almond cheese, as I can't have real cheese. (Dairy AND mold...that's what I call "double jeopardy".) I glob it over salads and tacos, and use it as a condiment on hamburgers.
I slice avocados over steak as a editable garnish, or stir in a chopped avocado to steamed rice for lunch or dinner. As an ingredient, this fruit is extremely versatile.
Both my guacamole and my avocado-white bean dip are often requested by my friends and family for get-togethers, parties, potlucks, and holidays.
I would definitely suggest you try the white bean dip; it's very fulfilling. The amount of ingredients I use varies, depending on the size of the avocados, and freshness of the garlic and cilantro.

Avocado-White Bean Dip
1 can (no sugar added) white beans
2 large avocados, mashed
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2-4 large garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 tbsp lime juice; add more as desired
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
red pepper flakes
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Mix, mash, and stir all the ingredients together in a appropriate sized bowl. (I use a great mashing tool from Pampered Chef which was actually designed for hamburger.) Make sure to rinse all of the seeds from the jalapeno pepper unless you like heat! Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a dash or two of red pepper flakes last for a little spice and color.
I prefer to cover and chill this dip in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavors combine. You may even want to let it set before adding your final seasonings. The lime juice will keep the avocado from browning.
Serve with Fritos, tortilla chips, veggies, or anything you can dip!

Tomato and egg toast with green onion

One of the diseases I've developed is Candidiasis, or chronic candida, which is essentially a whole body yeast infection. This yeast, called Candida Glabrata, is a mutated and resistant form of the more common Candida Albicans. My infection was caused by long term use of anti-biotics and Diflucan in my early twenties. Candida feeds on sugar, so it is very important that my diet has an extremely low glycemic index. I also try to consume foods which are anti-fungal, as yeast is a fungus. That's just the beginning. I avoid fungus, molds, and yeast as much as possible. This means no mushrooms, cheese, or traditional bread. I don't eat peanuts, peanut butter, or cashews as they are nuts which commonly have a high mold content. No vinegar, as this feeds the yeast. No idaho potatoes or cooked carrots as they are starchy and turn quickly to sugar as they are being digested. Most vegetables are fine, but I have to be careful with the ones that have a higher sugar content, such as tomatoes or corn. Eggs and meats are okay provided they are hormone and anti-biotic free. I obviously can't have cured meats, such as bacon or ham, as they are cured with sugar. No dairy or lactose, except yogurt as the enzymes in yogurt enable it to be digested differently than your typical dairy products. Also, yogurt is a good source of probiotics, or friendly bacteria, which keeps the yeast in check.
So, the question when I was diagnosed with this condition was, "How do I get enough nutrition while having to eliminate so many foods?"
It's been a struggle but necessity is the mother of invention. Pictured above is my very healthy, nutrient rich breakfast I enjoyed this morning.
Tomato and egg rice toast with green onion.
2 slices yeast free gluten free white rice bread; toasted
2 thin slices fresh tomato
2 hormone free, anti-biotic free eggs
chopped green onion or cilantro
1/2 avocado, sliced
Sugar and vinegar free salsa
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Plain unsalted butter (Optional)

Grease frying pan with Olive oil; cook eggs over easy, season with salt & pepper to taste. Butter toast sparingly. (The butter is optional as it is okay for candidiasis only in very small quantities.) Place 1 slice tomato on each piece of toast. Season with salt & pepper. Set 1 egg on top of each tomato. Sprinkle with chopped green onion or cilantro. Serve with dollop of salsa and sliced avocado on the side.
Easy, quick, healthy. Filling.

My History of Mal-Nutrition

My health problems started when I was very young. I attribute this to my diet of powdered sugar, white bread, and dill pickles. Seriously, that was a balanced meal for me.
I was the eldest of six children. Honestly, I can't remember a time when my mother was not pregnant or nursing. It was her dream to have six children and she accomplished her goal by having one almost every two years from 1981 thru 1995. I blame the pregnancy cravings for my diet as a child. If my mother was craving pickle juice for breakfast, we all had pickle juice for breakfast. If my mother wasn't hungry the rest of the day due to any of the aliments from "being with child", then none of us ate. This is partially why my mom has never weighed more than 110 lbs. in her entire, not carrying a bun in the oven, life.
Needless to say, I was a skinny kid. In junior high, when I reached 5'8", I was often called "beanpole" or "toothpick". Like most girls, I started getting curves around age 15. This traumatized me as I was convinced that my curves were "fat". I know now, that I am very decidedly not "fat". But at that time, I did not understand that it was okay to weigh anything more than my 5'3" and 110 pound mother. Thus began the dieting.
I hate the word diet. There is such a huge difference between eating healthy and dieting. Dieting often involves self deprivation. In my experience, self deprivation leads to mal-nutrition. Mal-nutrition causes numerous health concerns, including low immunity, longer healing and recovery times, and inability to effectively fight infection.
I never considered myself not to be on a diet. I was never skinny enough, as I was never as skinny as my mom.
I graduated high school at a fairly healthy 125 pounds. I gained the usual 10-20 pounds my first couple of years after high school which only frustrated me and increased my desire to completely avoid food. I lost a dramatic amount of weight, and reached 115 when I was 23. I will not tell you how much lower my weight got, lets just say it got low enough to cause extreme fatigue and weakness, and almost destroy my immune system. Colds and viruses that my co-workers would catch for a day or two would make me bed ridden for weeks.
Regardless of all this, I honestly thought I was healthy simply because I wasn't overweight. In my mind, skinny was healthy. I consistently wanted to lose more. More, more, more. I didn't think it was possible to ever lose enough. I felt good, because my family and friends were asking me for tips on how to lose weight. I was obsessed.
The reason I'm giving you this history is because I truly believe that if I would have had healthier eating habits, and been able to maintain a healthy weight as a child and young adult, I never would have suffered the illnesses that have forever changed my life. (More on those later...)
I am still 5'8 and fluctuate between a healthy, if on the leaner side, 127-132 pounds. Old habits die hard, so I prefer the 127; while my doctor and nutritionist constantly push me towards the 132. Either way, it's only five vanity pounds, and I'm happy with my weight.
I don't diet. Nor will I ever diet again. But I do eat healthy, lean foods that are rich in the nutrients that our bodies need to SURVIVE, be strong, and resist disease.
The purpose of this blog is to be able to share what I have learned.