Menu Plan Monday: Back to Eating Clean

A couple months back when CJ was battling weight gain and reflux issues, I abided by a very healthy, strict diet. No wheat or dairy, very little sugar and lots of greens and good fats. Recently, however, our wee man's been improving and, consequently, I've eased up.

A li'l too much.

That is, cashing-in-on-a-Groupon-for-6-half-liters-of-Marble-Slab-ice-cream too much.

Lemme tell ya - their peanut butter flavour is to die for. But, following a few evenings of indulgence, I've been waking up feeling terrible. Even after an adequate amount of sleep.

A little more research has revealed I likely have a candida overgrowth. For those unfamiliar with this, in a nutshell we all have a naturally occurring yeast called candida albicans in our guts, but various factors (e.g. taking antibiotics or birth control pills, periods of high stress) can cause this yeast to grow out of control. Many medical practitioners (mainly holistic/naturopathic) are convinced that this can result in the body being in a toxic state which then causes various unpleasant conditions / general unwellness, however other authorities feel this is bunk. At this point, I'm leaning toward being a believer. My past is littered with the main overgrowth-promoting factors I mentioned earlier and I've definitely noticed a correlation between eating the notorious "yeast feeding" foods (sugars, starches, alcohol, etc.) and feeling like crap.

So now what? Given I'm breastfeeding, I can't do any sort of detox or full-out cleanse. But I do feel compelled to start eating clean again, and to incorporate a number of candida diet-friendly recipes into our upcoming meals.

On this note, I created a new Pinterest board for inspiration, and whipped up my first official Menu Plan Monday since last January. Has it really been that long? Well, no time like the present to kick things back into gear!

Monday: Rotisserie chicken from Sobey's (love these!) and Spinach Quinoa Bake
Tuesday: Ground turkey and chili stuffed peppers
Wednesday: Chicken avocado salad (using remaining rotisserie chicken) and leftover Spinach Quinoa Bake
Thursday: BBQ at my aunt & uncle's. We'll bring an organic greens salad with this yummy sounding tahini dressing and I'll have this with whatever (bunless) meat they're cookin' up!
Friday: Chicken noodle soup with zucchini noodles. Our garden's beginning to explode with zukes, so I'm hoping some will be ready to harvest by end of week.


Are you familiar with the idea of candida overgrowth? What are your thoughts? Have you ever attempted a candida diet, or another type of cleansing or detox diet?