Candida and Antibiotic Free Meat

I’m back!  After a year and a half of writing two papers each week for graduate school, my final course is almost completed.  Thus, I am eager to post about all I have learned about living with celiac over the past year.

Let’s begin back in December, when my thoughtful fiancé took me to a gluten free cooking class at Georgetown Market.  During the class I talked with a nutritionist who suggested I pursue further allergy testing as a result of recent acute stomach pains.  After waiting for nearly three weeks, IGG testing gave me some insight to the continued pains as it showed an allergy/sensitivity to 9 of the 14 tested foods including: eggs, dairy, onions, strawberries, beef, oats, wheat, gluten (duh), and almonds.  From here the nutritionist suggested I might suffer from Candida, and that I needed to follow the extremely restrictive diet for the next six months in an effort to restore my stomach’s bacteria and yeast to healthy levels.

Candida is a yeast overgrowth in the body where yeast multiplies to unhealthy levels and overtakes the good bacteria in your body resulting in unwanted symptoms.  In my case, the symptom was food allergies.  With yeast feeding off sugar, those on the Candida diet must rid any unnatural sugars from their bodies.  While the overall guidelines for the Candida diet varying depending upon the doctor or nutritionist, there is a long list agreed upon foods that cannot be consumed.  Sugar (in any form), yeasted breads, wheat, any refined grain (white rice), dairy, alcohol, vinegar, mushrooms, pistachios, peanuts, farm raised seafood, meat from animals grown with antibiotics, and melons – honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon are included in this list.  Additionally, my nutritionist made some further boundaries to my diet.  In order to heal my stomach, I was not allowed to consume any of the flagged foods on my allergy testing.  She also limited my fruit intake to two servings a day and my whole grained carbohydrates to four servings a day, as the yeast can grow from the natural sugars released during the digestion of these foods.

As I left my meeting with the nutritionist a wave of helplessness ran over me as I began to imagine how I would survive.  Learning I had Celiac was difficult enough, but now I had to eliminate many of my remaining favorite foods…cheese, chocolate, peanut butter and wine.

The beginning days seemed to inch along as I began the search for foods and recipes I could safely consume.  To my disbelief, the craving for sugary foods subsided after the first week…but not my desire to enjoy a glass of Cooper’s Hawk’s red wine!

Having been on the diet now for nearly five months, I am questioning whether my food allergies are a result of Candida or the gut damage caused by Celiac.  Those of us who suffer from Celiac Disease are likely to have other food allergies or intolerances, with eggs, dairy, and oats being quiet common.  I have talked with several other Celiacs who can eat eggs baked in breads, but feel great discomfort of consumed in other forms.  Additionally, lactose intolerance is quite common for Celiacs and can sometimes be compensated with the use of Lactaid.  Now, as I transition “off” of the diet and begin to reintroduce foods back into my diet, there are two guidelines I will continue to follow.  While I will occasionally buy a gluten free sweet treat from a local bakery or an ice cream (with Lactaid) from Grater’s, I will continue to use only unrefined sugars in my own recipes.  Stevia, xylitol, and brown rice syrup are excellent choices for those of you wanting to use unrefined sugars in your diet.  Buying antibiotic free meat is the second guideline I will continue to follow.  Let me just say, antibiotic free meats’ flavors far surpass those of animals pumped with antibiotics.

With this, I will conclude my post by making five recommendations of restaurants/delis in Indianapolis serving both gluten free menu options and antibiotic free meat.

 1. Ted’s Montana Grill – Without the ability to eat beef, this restaurant has been a great option.  Ted’s offers both bison burgers and steaks, and the list of burger toppings is quite extensive.  If you have never tasted bison, I suggest you make reservations for this weekend.  Yum!  Not only do they serve bison, but they also have a decent selection of fresh caught fish.  While I have only tried the salmon, each time it has been delish!  Also, unlike most other restaurants, the fries they serve are indeed gluten free.

. Divvy – Located in Carmel, this restaurant prides itself in its selection of wine and small plates.  When ordering, be sure to select two to three dishes per person as they are created to share.  With each of the dishes Grant and I have selected, the exquisite mix of flavors from the meat, vegetables, and sauces have left us anticipating our next visit.  Some of our favorite dishes include the Andouille Sausage, Sizzlin’ Shrimp, and Lamb Medallions.  Now, if you are on the Candida diet, you may want to ask for the sauces on the side or for the chefs to simply cook the meat in a butter garlic sauce.

 3. Café Patachou – For those of you who love brunch, you will absolutely love this place!  They offer a wide variety of omelets, egg sandwiches, cinnamon toast (which is a popular favorite), fresh deli sandwiches, gourmet salads, and soups.  Any of their sandwiches or sides can be prepared with Udi’s Gluten Free bread.  While I was quite limited on my visit as a result of the Candida diet, their Chopped Cobb Patachou was divine…even without the egg, cheese, and dressing!  Café Patachou is also famous for their coffee and offers a wide assortment of regular and decaf flavors, which I strongly recommend. 

. Chipotle – Who doesn’t love Chipotle?  Not only do they only serve antibiotic free meat, but also, all of their menu options are gluten free besides the large tortillas!  For those of you who have reactions with distilled vinegar, you should also stay away from their spicy red salsa.  I was somewhat leery of burrito bowels without cheese and sour cream at first.  Now, having gone five months without it, I won’t go back.  Just give me a container (or two) of the guacamole and life is good.  This is as close as you can get to “fast food” on the Candida diet!

5. Georgetown Market – For those of you on the Westside of Indianapolis, this grocery story has an excellent assortment of gluten free, vegan, fair trade, antibiotic free, and organic foods and supplements.  They also have a small café where they serve deli sandwiches (gluten free upon request), chicken wings, soups, side dishes, and nutritional smoothies.  This has become one of Grant and mines favorite lunch spots, and we can never leave without picking up a few other necessities.