Candida and Delicious Low-sugar Smoothie

About two weeks ago I challenged myself to a detox diet called the candida cleanse, and what it is, is you basically try not to consume any type of sugar for a period of time. This includes both refined sugars and natural sugars from fruits. The main purpose of this cleanse was not to lose weight but to help restore my digestive tracts by getting rid of a fungal yeast called candida, and what feeds candida is sugar. We all have candida, it is natural, but the problem is when we have too much of it, and this some people believe can lead to a myriad of problems including digestive problems, skin problems and fatigue. I decided to give the cleanse a try because I had all those symptoms and I'm happy to report that I really felt a relieve from them after the cleanse. If you are interested I definitely encourage to you to look more into it. The Love Vitamin is a good place to start if you want to know more.

From the cleanse, I want to share with you all one of my favorite recipes. It is a recipe for a low-glycemic smoothie (meaning low in sugar), and this has been something that I continue to make after the cleanse simply because I love the taste of it. I know that there are a lot of fruit-smoothie recipes out there that taste great, but this one is unique in that it uses very little fruit and you still get the sweet taste along with all the health benefits.

The ingredients for the smoothie are:
- A handful of spinach
- Half of an avocado (or 1/4 if it's a big avocado)
- A cup of almond milk
- A splash of fresh squeezed lemon juice
- A cup of berries (I like blueberries, it has less seeds than raspberries and strawberries)
- A few drops of liquid stevia or a table packet of stevia (available at any local health food store)
- A few dashes of cinnamon (optional)

Recipe adapted from The 7 Day Candida Cleanse Challenge
by Tracy McCullough of www.TheLoveVitamin.com

Blend all of these ingredients in a blender and voila! You get a delicious, nutritious smoothie packed with all the vitamins and minerals that will really keep you going for the day. I don't know about you, but there is nothing more satisfying to me than putting something good and healthy in my body.

Rutabaga Chips

Today I decided to be a little adventurous and made some rutabaga chips. 

Rutabaga! Just saying it is fun. 

For those of you who don't know what a rutabaga is ("what the heck??"), it is a Swedish turnip. Yea, who knew? Now I don't know what people usually use rutabagas for but I came across a recipe for turning them into chips and I was sold. Plus, they are also suppose to be much healthier for you than potato chips because they contain much less sugar since they are not starchy like potatoes. 

Well it just so happens last week that I came across some at the farmers market, and well of course I had to try it. What did they taste like? STRANGELY like kale, yes, kale! Even as they were baking in the oven I thought they smelled a lot like kale.

 Here's what the end result looked like:

Yes, I did burn a few pieces.

I also decided to pair it of with some last minute guacamole.

Was it worth the effort? To be honest I'm not sure. Perhaps I didn't bake them at the right temperature or sliced them thin enough but they weren't crunchy enough for me, and the flavor was rather bold and kind of bitter. If I do make them again I'll definitely consider coating them with honey. Let me know if you have made rutabaga chips before and have tips on how to improve them!

Best,
H