Hopefully this will give you a new insight to eating and will encourage you to stick with it.

Listen. I was a chocoholic and when I found out that I wasn't going to be able to eat sugar for 30 or 40 days I thought I would die. If I can do it, anyone can, and I can help you with some secrets I discovered along the way...

Before I get into the details, let me first reiterate that this is a low-carb, no-sugar diet.  You should try to keep your carb count to 50 gm or less.   So while "breads only if well toasted" is on the list, don't say "Oh, yippee! I'm going to try THIS diet because it says I can have bread!"  NO NO NO. 

You need to realized that all carbs convert to sugar, and sugar feeds the candida. The point of this program is to STARVE the candida by not feeding it.  The SF722 will keep the candida at bay while you eat, but you must be SMART about what you eat.  Don't start the day with 2 pieces of toast ... because there's a big chunk of your daily carbs right there. Instead, have an omelette for breakfast and have an open-faced toasted tomato sandwich at lunch ... it's all about PLANNING your daily menu so that if you DO want to include some carbs, try not to go overboard.

I'm including this section because soooo many people read the Forbidden Foods list and say "what's left?" or "what do you eat?". Well, look at what's allowed and build your day as follows:

Breakfast: Toast with sesame seed butter and decaffeinated coffee with half'n'half cream, or toasted tomato sandwich. And that is if you MUST have grains.  Try to AVOID GRAINS.  They are starchy and starch converts to sugar.  Also, you want to keep your carb count low and if you start the day with 2 toast... well...

People ask me all the time what I eat for breakfast. I eat ANYTHING for breakfast, but NOT grains. I open the fridge - I reheat leftovers, I cook up a stir fry, I make a salad, I reheat some homemade soup, I use veggies in my juicer... Whatever you would normally eat for lunch, a snack, or dinner you can eat for breakfast. There is no law that says you have to have grains.  Besides, your stomach doesn't know what time it is and it doesn't care what you feed it.  Read the "Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan" book to understand why starting your day with grains causes you to CRAVE starches for the rest of the day... 

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with sauteed celery, green pepper and green onion, sprinkled with parmesan cheese (remember - you can have cheese as long as it's melted). Or make a crustless quiche with chicken and vegetables... Soups are always a winner - don't think of opening a can, however, make your own!

Dinner: Barbecued steak with garlic salt and pepper, red-skinned baked potato smothered in butter (red-skinned ones are recommended in Donna Gates' book The Body Ecology Diet, but potatoes are still a starch so I'd avoid them), steamed broccoli, boiled yellow garden beans, carrots and cauliflower with cheese sauce made from cornstarch, milk and cheddar.  Cook up a roast of beef or pork in the crockpot with lots of garlic, add some curry and crushed almonds to some yellow beans... sharpen up those taste buds!  

Dessert: Tapioca pudding, Kraft sugar-free, fat-free chocolate pudding - check out my recipes link because I am experimenting with stevia desserts.  Carob chip oatmeal cookies, unsweetened chocolate cake with unsweetened chocolate sauce smothered in whipped cream made with vanilla and stevia.  Like jello?  Make some of the unsweetened jello and layer it in a flute glass with some whipped cream, topped with crushed walnuts...  Now PLEASE understand that dairy is one of those "best avoided" foods for lots of reasons. The main reason is that it contains lactose.  But it's it a protein and if you're not lactose intolerant (many people are and don't know it), a little dairy during the day will not compromise the program.   I'm not a dairy lover, it creates mucous and is hard to digest, there are lots of reasons why I wouldn't have it in my house, but I know lots of you love it.  I'd rather use soy milk or rice dream or something like that myself.  Watch the naturally occurring sugars in these, however. 

Snacks: popcorn, cheddar melted on a triscuit, sesame seed butter on celery sticks, blue corn chips, potato chips (yeah, go figure, just read the ingredients first, make sure it says nothing but potatoes & salt), oatmeal cookies made with carob chips - gulp - say what? You can have cookies?? Make them yourself, however, because nothing in the store is sugarfree. Check out my recipes link!

If you substitute whole wheat flour for white, carob chips for chocolate chips, butter for margarine (imagine), nutrisweet for sugar (well, it's the lesser of two evils and it's only for a month), you can make delicious cookies. Remember you're supposed to eat them heated and in small amounts, however. But so what. If you're taking the candida busters at the same time, that kind of cheating will not harm the success of the diet.

There's LOTS to eat on this diet. I did not starve! I ate caesar salads but I made my own... try this!!

Karen's mold-free caesar salad: crushed clove garlic, egg yolk, vegetable oil, dry mustard, salt & pepper, dollop of plain low-fat yogurt (the kind with acidophilus). Now for the cheese: take some parmesan and heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. Grate it as soon as you can because it hardens to a rock. Mix in the lettuce and... voila! All your friends will want your recipe.

Yogurt contains lactose, so don't have a lot of it because of the acidophilus.  Buy your acidophilus in pill form.  You can have a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt without compromising the success of the program.  It works great as a substitution for buttermilk and sour cream. I put it in my Caesar salad dressing all the time and my "I-hate-yogurt-friends" love it.

Now go back to your cookbooks and reconsider just what you think you can't eat on this program.

Think about this: you can have lasagne! The cottage cheese will be melted when you eat it (or you will reheat the leftovers so that it is). Always make your own sauces to ensure there are no preservatives or sugars in them.   Make a custard dessert with heated milk and decaf coffee, some beaten eggs and artificial sweetener.

You think you're going to suffer on this diet? Not a chance!!

And the best thing is: you'll feel wonderful right away.