Is Candida the Hot Air in My Balloon?

Well, I'm still here, and still going mostly strong!

And farting less, probably...

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me give you a quick recap followed by some story throwbacks.

Candida overgrowth is basically like a yeast overgrowth in the body. It can affect many areas of our bodily systems. Anywhere from digestive, sexual, to emotional and cognitive. And thrush. Or other infections. Or leaky gut. Or twitch eyes. Basically, it's a whole cocktail of symptoms of the fact that what we're ingesting might not be the best for us. Long gone are the days of eating raw, chemical-free, produce. Instead, we got fast food empire galore that's wrecking-ball our health.

So, I'm writing about healing. And this is maybe the first real time I'm calling it healing. Because I want to heal. I want to heal my health; all the parts of it. Cause I deserve that, ya know?

Anyhow, before I jump into a bit of an update followed by delicious recipes, check out my previous stories about this journey.

Alright, Update Time

So, it's been 84 years (or about 46 days) since I hopped on this health train, and overall it's been okay. In the beginning, it felt easier, not gonna lie. After maybe about three weeks or so, the cravings kicked in. I also lost momentum on all the food prep. That kinda sucked.

Luckily it picked up!

I also had chocolate cake one time. It was fucking delicious and so worth it. Know why? Because I enjoyed myself. And spiritual healing and joy matters.

What's nice is that my bloating has gone down big time. I mean I still get farts, who doesn't? But my poop schedule is finally on schedule. And if you know me (which you probably don't, not really anyways), you'll know that I probably have IBS or some sort of other digestive issues. And that sometimes I giggled when folks said, "I poop multiple times a day!".

Fam, I'd poop every day and a half. No, that's not good. Yes, I'm aware. But I fixed it! Because my nightly apple and kiwi with almond butter combo was all I needed apparently! (And also, not eating gluten helped unplug the pipes haha).

But now I get it! Because now I poop twice a day sometimes! And it's great. Gotta love regular bowel movements. Well, anyways, that's the poop update. Don't know how I got here but it happened. Let's move on though, shall we?

Social Eating

This is a big one. Cause during the time that I started changing my menu, a lot of holidays and family functions came up. This meant that there would be a lot of food that wasn't part of my menu, and that everyone would be trying to feed me. And that I would definitely delay eating until we basically went home. "Ahorita", or "in a bit" came in real handy.

Want tamales? Ahorita.

Menudo? Ahorita.

More tamales? Ahorita.

There are more tamales if you want! Ahorita.

Want to take some home? Sure! (My wife loves them)

Anyways, I've definitely come across moments of anxiety and inner conflict. It's not so much that I wanted to eat the things, it's more of that self-conscious feeling of everyone watching me not eating the things. And of course, I didn't want to offend anyone (which I didn't). But it's that anxiety and hyperawareness, that might only be in my head, but it's there. I've had to have a lot of self-talk about not developing a complex or bad habits, but also learn to breathe through it and accept that at the end of the day we all have the same goal. To enjoy our time together in good health. Ain't that one for the healing trauma book!

How Do I Feel?

Well, I still have a lot of energy. Which is really nice. Sometimes I eat too many onions and then smell likes onions so that doesn't feel great.

Also, I ate too many nuts and almonds. Got a bit of zits. Had to lay off that for a bit, but I need to remember: moderation is key.

And okay, so both of those things aren't about how I feel, but it's a side note or two. Don't complain.

But how do I really feel? Alright, I guess. No real complaints.

I do have a lot of energy that I need to expend more, which will proabbly help me sleep better. So maybe I feel a tad frustrated at times? It's hard to keep on track all the time. And so, while I feel frustrated at times, I also remind myself to give myself some grace. I think that's what's been keeping me going for so long. Because to be honest, I didn't imagine I would still be eating this menu. I'm not usually one who's good with sticking to habits.

But I feel proud. Proud of myself.

I'm listening to my body more. And while I might not always want to talk about the hard stuff like self image, or I still avoid myself sometimes, at least I'm taking a step in a direction I didn't previously think I'd ever do. I'm changing the way I'm eating because I want to. Because I want to feel better and not have the issues that I've had my whole life.

Now, I'm slowly introducing back foods, and seeing how I feel. And that's a cool process. Because I really have to be intune with myself, and not ignore my reactions. It's almost like a whole new level in this relationship with myself, my body, and my self-esteem. Go us/me!

I can't end off without recipes, now, can I? And you get three this time!

Quinoa Bibimbap

This. Was. So. Fucking. Good.

Shout out to my wife for absolutely crushing this!!

And look, I don't really know the seasoning, but you can google that shit. For now, just look at this masterpiece.

My twist? Instead of eating it with rice, I used quinoa. And to be honest, I think it enhanced it.

Overall ingredients?

Carrots, green peppers, zucchini, bamboo shoots, green onion, cut up beef steak, cooked quinoa, and a nice sunny side up egg on top with some sesame seeds sprinkling for pizazz. *Google the seasonings*

Then mix that all up, add some hot sauce if you dig it, and enjoy!

Dairy Free Pistachio Frozen Yogurt

You fucking BET it's a skull! Never felt so badass eating something so basic and vegan before.

This is legit the easiest thing I've ever made. It's literally two ingredients (you can add whatever you want).

Ingredients: pistachios and coconut yogurt

That's it. Just blend that all up real smooth and pour into a mold of your choice and shove it in the freezer till you forget.

I think I may have added a drop or two of vanilla, but you can literally add whatever you want to yogurt and then just freeze it.

Now, the most important question: why is it a skull?

Cause I'm badass that's why. Well, no, I mean also, but what happened was, was that I was so excited to make this that after I blended everything real good, I realized I had nowhere to pour it.

Then I remember Halloween. And how I have this cool ass skulls mold tray. Boom. Frozen Yogurt Skulls. You're all welcome.

Fancy Zucchinighetti

This was so extra and fancy. You're welcome.

My special spaghetti sauce is absolutely divine. This time, in this exact photo, was the perfect most bestest deliciousness balanced sauce I've ever made. And you, my precious lucky duck, get to have the recipe.

Tip: cook everything in the same pot. Takes longer, but more flavor and less dishes. And you can use real spagetthi if you want. I didn't though.

Sauce:

In a pot, heat up olive oil (if you have) on medium heat. Add in the following quickly: about a tablespoon of dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder. Also add in, a pinch of salt, a shake or two of chili flakes (depends on your spice level), a shake or two of dried tarragon powder, and a pinch of sugar (currently I don't add this).

Let the spices cook a bit, but don't burn them! Remove from heat if they be sizzlin' too fast.

For the next part, you need some speed.

Get your balsamic vinegar and canned/boxed tomato sauce ready. Pour in about a teaspoon or two (I don't measure this) into the cooking spices. It will SIZZLE. Give it like 10 seconds max, before you pour in your tomato sauce.

Now I pour as much as I want, cause it all depends on how much sauce I need for how many people. You gotta eye this stuff.

Mix and let all of that simmer for like 10 minutes.

Then pour it into a bowl and in the same pot add a bit more oil and your sliced up/noodled up zucchini.

Like onion? Add some sliced onion.

Like garlic? Add in a chopped clove.

Broccoli's your jam? Add some florets.

Got a craving for other veggies? Well fuckin' add them in!

Cook all of that together in the pot till you get the texture you like, but don't overcook the zucchini or it will get mushy.

Proper cooking order: onion, garlic, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms.

After it's all cooked, place in a bowl, pour your sauce on top and garnish with whatever the heck you fancy. I garnished mine with some raw zucchini ribbons, chili oil, and soy cheese shreds.

You do you boo.

~

Anyhow, I hope you've enjoyed this longer than I thought update, and that you'll try out these recipes! Now, I'm going to go eat a shit ton of sashimi.

Take care and remember, you matter <3