Canna Lilies

Here is another backyard blessing in our yard planted by previous home owner! I love the color of the leaves on these Canna Lilies! I can't wait to see the flower. I believe they are either red or orange.

Update: Here they are in red! 

Lilies

These beautiful lilies are breathtaking when I look through my kitchen window over my backyard. They were planted by the previous owners of our house.  I haven't always been a fan of orange but I'm starting to love the color! These flowers sure promote it. What a wonderful display of God's beauty in creation!

Charlie Horses and Potassium Deficiency

Last night I had a Charlie Horse. I've only had about 3 in my life. The other 2 were when I was pregnant with my son. Since Candida robs your body of nutrients, I'm sure its robbed me of Potassium. That is another supplement I'll be adding to my diet since I can't eat bananas. Here is a blog that talks about how to stop a charlie horse in its tracks: My Journey With Candida Blog.

Heart Skipping Again

My heart started skipping again while we were on vacation in Florida. Irregular heartbeat is a symptom of Candida.  I did have some decaff coffee while traveling. We drove 2 days in a row of 12 hours each day. It was very difficult to find enough to eat on my Candida diet while on the road and out of town. I tried preparing a head of time, but should've prepared a little better. Decaf coffee is a no no on the Candida diet. I'm sure its because of the chemicals used to strip the caffeine from the coffee. I read on Healing Naturally By Bee that water pressed decaff coffee is okay for the Candida diet, and I found some at a Whole Foods market in Florida. However, coffee produces more acid in your body and my body is already over acidic.

"Coffee is also highly acidic and can lead to an overproduction of stomach acid that can irritate the intestines. Unbelievably, decaffeinated coffee has been shown to trigger even more acid production than regular coffee. This over-production (when combined with coffee’s laxative effects) can cause too much stomach acid to move into the intestines. All this acid can potentially cause damage to the intestinal lining." This is directly from Global Healing Center.


So maybe that is one of the reasons. Since I have gotten home from vacation, I am no longer drinking the coffee.  I've also been eating a lot of 100% bakers cacao. It is full of antioxidants, magnesium and iron.

"In its natural state chocolate is bursting with antioxidants to fight radicals - even more than fruit, vegetables, tea or wine! Chocolate supplies micronutrients, such as potassium, zinc, magnesium and iron, and is one of the richest food source of antioxidants that neutralize free radicals--rogue oxygen molecules that can accelerate aging and cause numerous health problems."

This is directly from Green and Healthy Info.

However, it is also high in saturated fat and has caffeine, two things I"m supposed to stay away from. So I think I need to slow down on the baker's cacao. I've been eating it raw and had a bunch while on vacation to tide me over. Maybe I should try and stick to using it in recipes and on rare occasions.

My heart seems to skip when I'm having a little bit of anxiety or overwhelmed with too much to do, which also makes me anxious. Also symptoms of Candida, so its a cycle. The other causes could be that I have run out of some of my herbs: High Potency Protease, Calcium-Magnesium, and I went off the Yeast Fungal Detox while on vacation. I will be ordering more High Potency Protease and Calcium Plus Vitamin D at the beginning of this coming month. I hope to be able to share that the irregular heart beat has returned to normal very soon! Say some prayers for me!

Blessings until next time!

Some Physical Symptoms of Candida

Some physical symptoms may include:

• chills and night sweats
• shortness of breath
• dizziness and balance problems
• sensitivity to heat and/or cold
• alcohol intolerance
• gluten and/or casein intolerance
• irregular heartbeat
• irritable bowel
• constipation and/or diarrhea
• painful gas and abdominal bloating
• low-grade fever or low body temperature
• numbness, tingling and/or burning sensations in the face or extremities
• dryness of the mouth and eyes
• difficulty swallowing
• projectile vomiting

This list is from Candida Free. Click on the link to find even more symptoms of Candida including psychological symptoms.

Blackberry Vines

I have been picking blackberries from these wonderful blackberry vines for a few days now. We recently went on vacation for a week and when we came back, we found out something has gotten to the blackberries as well. I have trouble eating something I see worms coming out of. I'm not sure if they just didn't get picked soon enough or if it was inevitable. Comment below if you know anything about keeping blackberries from worm infestation naturally!

Blessings,
Christina

Nature's Sunshine Reverse Osmosis Water Filter

I asked my natural doctor what water I should be drinking since the tap water has chlorine. Chlorine causes a bloom in Candida, so I didn't think I should be drinking any water with Chlorine in it. The filtered water from my fridge doesn't remove the chlorine. She told me Reverse Osmosis water is the only water I should be drinking. She also said not to drink out of plastic bottles. She suggested using glass or polycarbonate to drink out of. Since I have used Nature's Sunshine Products for many years and sell them, I ordered my reverse osmosis filter from Nature's Sunshine. We just installed it and the water tastes great! It doesn't stay hooked up all the time. You just hook it up when you want to filter some water. I fill up two 32 ounce polycarbonate bottles with lids and 1 glass jar with a sealed lid a day to keep in the refrigerator. The reverse osmosis filter is expensive but I think my health is worth it! I really want to get rid of this Candida and don't like the idea of making it worse every time I have a glass of water, so it was a very important step to me.

Candida Friendly Food For Road Trip

We are heading out on a vacation trip to Florida to see one of my nieces graduate from High School. A difficult journey since just over a month ago I started my Candida Diet. I knew it would be difficult to find enough to eat away from home. So I got some to go recipes from The Candida Diaries, a post titled Camp and Traveling Food.  I really didn't take the time I should have to prepare all the foods. But I did make these Almond Coconut Bars. They were so delicious! I'm sure over a month ago I wouldn't have liked them, but being off sugar my taste buds really have changed! If you need some ideas for food for the road be sure and check out Camp and Traveling Food.

Almond Coconut Bars

This is my favorite recipe I've found so far for the Candida diet! I found it on The Candida Diaries! I made them to take on our vacation to Florida and I kept them in the ice chest. They lasted me the week! I changed just a little from this recipe and I have noted my changes below the recipe.

Amy is the author of Candida Diaries and this is her recipe:

"These no bake, high-protein, high-fiber bars are based upon Melissa Diane Smith’s recipe for Amaretto Protein Bars in her book ‘Going Against the Grain’ and are easy to make.  Roasted cocao nibs add extra chocolately flavor without the sugar. These make a great snack, a healthy dessert or a breakfast on the go!
Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup flax meal (flax seeds ground in coffee/spice grinder)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup unsalted almond butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
stevia to taste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup cocao nibs

 Procedure:
Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine.  No need to pulverize everything, some big almond pieces add texture and crunch!
In a small sauce pan, melt the coconut oil over very low heat.
Remove the liquid coconut oil from stove and stir stevia, and vanilla into the oil.
Add the coconut oil mixture to the food processor and pulse until the ingredients form a coarse paste.
Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish
Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.
Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve or store.  These keep well in the freezer or refrigerator."

What I have changed:

I can't have Stevia yet, so I just didn't include that in the recipe. I used sea salt and make sure your vanilla is alcohol free. I found some made with glycerin on amazon.com. I also didn't have any cocao nibs at the time, which I have now ordered from amazon as well. But instead of cocao nibs I used 100% cocoa bakers chocolate. I just chopped it up to measure it before adding it to the food processor  with the almonds, etc. Amy mentioned that she added the cocao nibs in at the very end so they didn't get chopped up to much.  I also shaved some of the baker's cacao on top of the bars and added some shredded coconut on the top as well before putting it in the fridge. I love these bars! Make sure to drink plenty of water with these because the flax in it soaks up all your water. At first I didn't drink enough and I got a stomach ache, so soon as I drank some more water, it went away! Thanks to Amy for a fabulous recipe!

Simple and Tasty Scrambled Eggs

Very simple to make, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onions, and sea salt and pepper to taste. Eggs have become a very important part of my diet. This was very simple to throw together in a frying pan. I just used one egg, a small part of a tomato and a very small part of a white onion chopped up. Got to love eggs!

Beginnings Of Our Tomatoes

My husband and I have only started gardening a year ago, well mostly me. My favorite thing to grow so far is tomatoes. Last summer was horrible here in Oklahoma for most everything because of the over 100 degree heat. I'm very excited to see how our tomatoes do this summer! I can't wait for my husband to make the first batch of salsa or rather pico! He usually adds sugar to cut down on the acidity but he will have to figure something else out since sugar is a no no on my Candida diet. I will be eating it with Flax Seed Crackers. I'll let you know how it turns out when the time comes.

Living Beyond Organic

The Natural Doctor said it was okay that I had Amasai. Amasai is a greenfed cultured dairy beverage from Beyond Organic Products. I was excited when she said it was okay to have on the candida diet, since I'm not supposed to have any dairy and yet Amasai is a dairy beverage. It is really expensive but also really good for you and full of probiotics (healthy bacteria), which is really important to have on the candida diet. There are many flavors, but I went with plain since all the others have honey. It is really tart and a little Stevia would help with that if your able to have that. I am not able to yet. So it helps a little to add some berries and make a smoothie out of it. Be sure to check out some of Beyond Organics other great products!

Here is a great recipe using Amasai: Amasai Treat With Ultimate GreenZone.

Neem Oil On Fruit Trees

Stanley Prune-Plum Dwarf Supreme

Stark Lodi Apple Dwarf

     We were so blessed when we moved into our house about a year ago. The people who lived here before had done so much work on the yard. They put in all these fruit trees. Some of them are not labeled because I'm not sure what they are yet. Last spring I had a 4 month old, so I really didn't get to spend much time outside. I'm trying to do a little more this spring. I have a magazine somewhere that labels the other trees, so when I find it I will label the others. 
       
      I am definitely having problems with worms getting the fruit that has come in. The apple tree is full of apples now. I will have to take more pictures soon and share them. Their are lots of nectarines but all seem to be worm infested. That really grosses me out. Before I found out that I had Candida, I didn't eat a lot of fruit. So I wasn't really planning on trying to care for the fruit trees too much. Now that I'm off of sugar, fruit is so delicious to me and I really want to get fruit from these trees.  I do not want to use chemicals or pesticides, and came across a natural alternative: Neem Oil. 

"Neem oil has many benefits and is used in various ways. The neem oil is actually a vegetable oil that is extracted from the fruits and the seeds of neem. Neem tree oil is made from the extract of the plant."  This quote is from Buzzle.


The research I have read indicates that it is safe for birds and beneficial insects. Here is some more information about Neem oil on Buzzle. It seems that the Neem oil needs to be reapplied several time throughout the growing season and doesn't kill the insects, it just keeps them from reproducing. I have only done one application and I'm sure it will take more to start controlling the insects. I would love comments from anyone who has more information about Neem Oil or has used it before. I know precaution should be used around cats or aquatic areas. Please do your own research before using the product to make sure its the right option for you.   I will provide updates as I continue to use the product. 

"Neem oil is also used as an effective insecticide. This has been used for hundreds of years in controlling plant pests and diseases. It is known that the spray solution of neem oil helps to prevent the problems caused by common pests like bugs, spider mites, locusts, thrips, white flies, aphids etc. This oil also acts as a very effective fungicide. Neem oil is very bitter to taste and this is why the bugs would keep away once the leaves are sprayed with the neem oil."  This quote is directly from Buzzle.  Click on the link to read more about the benefits of Neem oil.                             

Enterprise Apple Dwarf Supreme

Hardired Giant Nectarine Dwarf Supreme

Pear

                  

                                                                                      

  Fruit tree -unknown

                                                           

Fruit tree - unknown

                                                       

    Nectarine or peach tree

 

Fruit tree - unknown

                                                         


                                                               

Plum or prune tree

        

                                                           

Fresh Blackberries From Our Garden

I picked these beautiful blackberries from our blackberry vines! There is a huge plant outside my son's window that I was going to cut down, but it is the vine that produced these and there is more to pick soon. Last year they were really sour, but I tired one today and it was delicious and sweet! Maybe I will leave the vine up. It is full of thorns and they are spreading all over our yard. The birds like them too, so it makes for a great bird habitat. I added them to a smoothie:

1 cup plain Amasi
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 scoop Ultimate Greenzone
A handful of blackberries
A dash of Vanilla made with glycerin not alcohol

I threw it all in my bullet and had a yummy smoothie

My Favorite Way To Make Almond Flour Pancakes

These Almond Flour Pancakes have been a staple in my diet over the last few weeks. I got the original recipe from The Candida Diaries. I finally found some Vanilla that is made without alcohol! The original recipe from The Candida Diaries is:

"Ingredients:
2 eggs
¼ cup almond milk (this is just a place to start, add as much as you need to reach proper pancake consistency.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour ( I used whole, raw and toasted almonds and ground them up in my coffee grinder)
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
neutral oil for sauteing: sunflower, veggie oil, coconut, ect
 Warm sunflower oil in a large skillet over medium heat

1. Ladle pancake batter onto skillet, smaller is better and easier to flip.
2. Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side
3. Remove from heat to a plate
4. Repeat process with remaining batter, adding more oil to skillet as needed

Makes at least 12 pancakes

I used a cast iron skillet to make these pancakes.  This is a lot of batter, I made as many as I wanted to eat and then put the batter in the fridge to use later.  The next morning I heated up the skillet, thinned the batter with almond milk and had panckes in just a few minutes!"


 What I have changed  from the original recipe:

I start with 1/2 cup almond milk (I will try Coconut milk in the future because it has anti-fungal properties.)
I use coconut oil to cook it in.
A side note: I have found that throwing raw almonds in my bullet blender is tastier than buying already blanched almond flour.
I also love to add organic blueberries to the mix. Then I top with organic strawberries. I use frozen ones and thaw them out. They taste very yummy to me now.

Rash Around My Mouth

I have had a rash around my mouth for a while now. It started just at the side of my mouth and for many months before I even knew I had and overgrowth of Candida Albicans, it was a dark spot at the side of my mouth. I thought it might be eczema or some allergy. Maybe a fruit allergy. After I found out I had an overgrowth of Candidia, I looked up symptoms and a rash in one of them. It went away for a few days after I started changing my diet, and then after I ate 2 Kiwi one night it came back. It doesn't itch, its just irritating. I was applying Silver Shield Gel about every 2 minutes a couple of different days and it would give some relief while I put it on, then when it dried, the relief was gone. The gel really seemed to dry it out and make it start to peal, like it healed the rash. But it would leave my face extremely dry and chapped. I tried using Cortisone Cream and Lysine Cream. Neither of them provided any relief. I've used chapstick as well. So I thought I would try Lanolin Nipple Cream. Well, it is the only thing that has provided relief for a longer period of time. The rash is gone from the Silver Shield Gel and my lips and around my lips are still chapped, but I definitely get relief from the Lanolin. Hey, whatever works right!

Candida Albicans

"Candida is nearly an epidemic in our society and is responsible for many of the chronic illness categories we see so frequently.  Candida symptoms are vast and all encompassing and can even incapacitate the individual. 

Most people are unaware that it even exists, because most main stream doctors are uneducated about its impact on our health.  People suffering from this condition often go from doctor to doctor for years and are usually told they are a hypochondriac or that it is stress or a psychiatric problem, before ever discovering the real culprit.

Candida Albicans is a yeast that occurs naturally in the human body. Normally it lives in harmony with a variety of other microorganisms and actually performs a couple important functions.  The problem occurs when something upsets the balance of bacteria in the body and this allows the yeast organism to proliferate and take over all the healthy microorganisms.

It normally resides in the intestinal tract, mouth, throat and genitals, however it can burrow holes in the intestinal tract, enter the blood stream and then make it's way into any organ of the body. To make matters worse it emits over 70 different toxins into the body. Some people may even become allergic to the yeast itself.

Once this hardy organism proliferates in the body, it wrecks havoc in many ways and is the initiator of many common maladies, conditions, syndromes and illnesses in our population." Written by Cynthia Perkins, M. Ed

This excerpt is straight from http://www.holistichelp.net/candida.html. Click on the link to read more on Candida, its symptoms and a wealth of information.

How to Test Yourself for Candida

Along with the Saliva Test, here is a questionnaire to test yourself for Candida.

More Energy

I think I have had more energy in the last couple of weeks. I have rearranged my living room furniture, then a few days later moved it back. I make jewelry and sell it at Creative Art Expressions, so I moved my jewelry making set up from my kitchen into the guest room. I've also dug up some Hostas from a place in the backyard where we lost a tree during a wind storm last summer, and replanted them under some fruit trees we have. All this energy and without coffee or any caffeine. I just want to go, go, go. I still never get my to do lists done. But I think it is a good sign that I have so much energy! I still am ready to go to bed at night! I usually take a couple of walks a day and we have a big hill to climb in our neighborhood. It is getting a little easier for me to get up that hill!

Blessings until next time!

Lemon Tumeric Chicken Soup

This is the first time I've made anything without a recipe! It turned out pretty tasty!

Ingredients:

1 organic avocado
1 carton of organic vegetable broth (check the ingredients and make sure there is no sugar)
1 fresh lemon (squeezed)
1/4 of a white onion chopped
2 garlic cloves pressed
2 organic chicken breasts
salt to taste
pepper to taste
tumeric to taste

I just turned on my slower cooker to high and put the carton of vegetable broth in. Then added the 2 chicken breasts. I squeezed one lemon in and added the onion and garlic. I didn't measure the salt, pepper or tumeric, I just sprinkled it all in there. Don't add the avocado until you are ready to eat. I just cut up an avocado and put what I wanted in my bowl of soup. This didn't make a whole bunch of soup, but I was just cooking for myself. My husband isn't a big fan of soup. It lasted me a few days, and each time I would put fresh avocado in my bowl of soup. I cooked it on high until the chicken looked like it was done about 3 or 4 hours. I pulled apart the chicken in the slower cooker and kept it on warm until it was time to eat. 

Almond Butter on Celery

I'm not a fan of celery, but Almond butter sure makes it taste better! It's a great alternative to peanut butter, since that is not allowed on the Candida diet.  What a great between meal snack!

Guacamole with Flax Seed Crackers

A very healthy and tasty snack! Or more like a meal for me. I got this flax seed cracker and bread recipe from The Candida Diaries. It is actually really simple. Its a great way to have something like bread or chips. So far I've only had it with guacamole but I'm sure I will be trying it with other things. I tried to make the chips, and I had it in the oven a lot longer than the recipe said. The edges got really crispy and part of it burnt, but the inside really didn't get crispy. So I think I will have to work at it some more to try to make chips.

My husband made me the guacamole. He doesn't really measure his ingredients but here is the basic recipe:

2 small avocados
1 roma tomato
1/4 of a small white onion chopped
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
fresh lemon squeezed to taste (or lemon juice)
fresh lime squeezed to taste (or lime juice)

5 Minute Healthy Sauteed Cauliflower with Tumeric

I'm trying to spruce up my vegetables a little. I came across this recipe on WHFoods. I really liked the flavor the tumeric added. It was a very easy recipe and tasty. I thought the cauliflower could've cooked a little bit longer because it was still crispy. Overall, a very quick and tasty recipe. Find the recipe at WHFoods.

Weight Loss Update

The most exciting thing on this diet is the weight I'm loosing. Since I've started the Candida diet, I've lost 14 pounds! That is over about a 3 week period. My husband has lost 5 pounds! He is still eating a lot more stuff than I am, but we are not making those big meals. Since I was the one who loved the sugar, that isn't around for him to snack on, after he finishes all of mine. When I went to the natural doctor, she also told me that husband and wife can pass Candida back and forth so she recommended he go on the diet too. Well, he was not for that, but he did decide to give up soda. He is going to take the saliva test too, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have it.  Weighing myself today gave me a little more excitement about this diet. I'm sure as soon as I start feeling amazing and full of energy, that will help too!

Manna From Heaven

Yesterday was very difficult emotionally. My first period on this diet and that is when my chocolate cravings are at their greatest. I'm only sharing this information so anyone else going through the same thing can know they are not alone and can know what they might expect during the diet. I was angry and I cried some and I wasn't a nice person to be around. I was searching for something just to give me a little chocolate fix. I took a bite of some 100% cacao bakers chocolate. It was terrible but had a satisfying aftertaste. I even melted a tiny bit of the chocolate, with a tiny bit of real butter and a tiny bit of coconut milk, stirred it up and topped it on my almond flour pancakes. It wasn't very good but it did something to quench the craving and then I was a little better. I spent a while playing with my son and that cheered me up. He's such a joy to watch! The real treasures are really in the sweet moments like that!

Going through this diet change keeps bringing up in my mind the manna from heaven. Manna is the bread God rained down from heaven in the Desert of Sin during the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Manna means "what is it?"

"That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" or "manna" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, 'It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.'" Exodus 16: 13-15

"The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.  Moses said, 'This is what the Lord has commanded; 'Take an omer of manna and keep it for generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.'"  Exodus 16: 31-32

"The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan." Exodus 16: 35

"The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, 'If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost-also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna.'" Numbers 11:4-6


I imagine I would have gotten sick of the manna as well. Especially after 40 years, since I'm already sick of vegetables after a few weeks. God had saved them from slavery in Egypt and they were wishing to go back because they believed they had it better off as slaves with whatever they wanted to eat. Wow, that speaks to me! About how for the taste of something sweet, you can keep your body in slavery. Much of what we eat has an affect our health and our emotions. I desire to be free from the pull to eat sugar, to be free from feeling that I need it to put a little joy in my life. It is the same with any addiction. I don't want to "need" anything but Jesus!

Later manna is compared to Jesus, the true bread from heaven:

"So they asked him, 'What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' Jesus said to them. 'I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  John 6: 30-32

"Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." John 6:57-58


My focus has been too much on instant gratification...... the feelings or illusions of satisfaction I get from sugar. I desire to turn my focus to my real home!

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent"
John 17: 3

True satisfaction only comes from knowing God which is accomplished by reading about Him in the Word! My true home is at peace knowing God and having a constant mind of thankfulness for all He has done! I am not there yet, but that is my goal!

Blessings until next time!

Too Much Kiwi?

For the last few nights I have been eating Kiwi fruit as a snack after dinner. I read some information on Fruit and Vegetable Servings that 2 Kiwi fruit is one fruit serving.So last night I had 2 Kiwi fruit. I already ate my 2 servings of vegetables. Well, my throat starting hurting last night and I woke up this morning with the rash starting to come back around my mouth. Kiwi is highly acidic which may be the reason for my negative response. Even though many fruits are highly acidic, they still have an alkalizing affect on the body. All fruit has a higher alkalizing affect on the body when they are more ripe but before they spoil, according to Livestrong. So for now I will slow down on the Kiwi until my mouth heals and my throat feels better. Since I've added fruit to my diet, its hard to limit it. I have to force myself to get the 2 servings of vegetables in for every 1 serving of fruit. I had edamame and yellow squash yesterday. That was tasty. I'm sick of the cauliflower and broccoli, along with the frittata I made a couple of days ago. I found a sauteed cauliflower with tumeric recipe I will try soon.

Blessings until next time!