candida muffins

As a breastfeeding mother of an infant of almost 2 months, I have been through many of the trials of what can occur during the early stages. After having a bacterial infection, mastitis, my breasts also developed a secondary fungal infection: candida. I have been working to clear it from my system for over three weeks.

For many years, I have been helping clients with chronic overgrowth of candida albicans yeast. Now, I'm truly starting to understand how difficult it can be to restore balance once the system is out of alignment.

Candida albicans is a yeast that lives naturally in small quantities in our digestive tract. However, like any beneficial microorganism, when it grows out of proportion and over-colonizes the digestive tract, it can create problems in the body. Systemic candida can include nail and toe nail fungus, digestive distress, cramping, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and a host of additional issues, including eczema and other skin rashes.

The best way to help the body return to balance is to eat pre-biotic foods, like onions and whole, gluten-free grains. These nourish beneficial probiotic bacteria as well as being part of a diet that does not allow the yeast to flourish. Yeast thrives on sugar dairy products and refined carbohydrates. These are the ingredients to avoid.

To reduce candida overgrowth, focus on eating vegetables, non-glutinous whole grains, animal protein, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats that are also antifungal - like coconut oil and olive oil. In addition, taking a probiotic like Mega Foods' Megaflora can be extremely helpful.

Because I love to bake creative treats, I decided to take all of the most healthful ingredients that also tastes the sweetest and combine them to make a cookie that still fits the parameters of the candida cleanse. I hope you will enjoy this recipe! My husband drizzles cookies with maple syrup for a sweeter treat.

Cinnamon is extremely powerful at stopping the overgrowth of candida yeast. Coconut helps with this process as well and is also pre-biotic due to its high fiber content. Berries are the only allowable fruit on this diet, so I decided to include those, too!

Blueberry Coconut Muffins - Unsweetened!

You will need:

• 11/2 cups almond flour

• 1/2 cup coconut flour

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, forked out into small chunks

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom

• A pinch of salt

• 2 cups almond milk

*For a sweeter treat, add 1/4 cup honey and 1 extra tablespoon of coconut flour to compensate for the extra liquid.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix almond flour, coconut flour, flaxseed meal and shredded coconut together. Add cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Mix again.

Add the coconut oil and mix well so that small, pearl-sized pieces are evenly coated with the flour throughout the batter. Add the berries and mix again. Finally, mix, add the almond milk and mix one more time.

Oil muffin tins with sunflower oil. Fill each tin three quarters of the way.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Let me know what you think!