A very close friend of mine has been dealing with some health issues and her doctor, both trained in holistic/natural and traditional medicine, has suggested she follow a Candida-diet in the short term until they are able to fully identify the cause of her illness.

After learning more about the Candida Diet, I realized that it’s really not that far off from the Paleo diet. Where hers has a few more restrictions when it comes to sugar (she cannot have any fruit whatsoever, and has to avoid most starches), she’s allowed a few grains that are normally prohibited from the Paleo diet. Other than those few differences, though, we’re basically following the same basic guide: lean meats, healthy fats, and lots of green vegetables.

She told me she had baked some bread and, knowing I pay $8.99 per loaf for my coconut bread from Julian’s Bakery, she suggested I try out her recipe, which is both inexpensive and easy to make:

Ingredients (in her original recipe):

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour (can also substitute millet or buckwheat)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (creamy part on the top works best)
• 5 eggs
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp Stevia powder

Directions:

Since I was craving bread sticks and Italian food, I decided to modify her recipe a bit with additional seasonings and try to cut the calories down a tiny it, since her recipe was over 140 calories per slice. While I try not to focus on calories, 140+ for a small slice seemed a bit steep.

Here’s the modified version I made, which came out WONDERFUL:

Ingredients (a la Victoria):

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cashew milk (a huge calorie savings)
• 3 whole eggs, 3 egg whites (another 200+ calories saved)
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp Stevia powder
• 1 tbsp dried basil leaves
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tbsp thyme

I baked it according to her instructions, and the texture was PERFECT. It’s like a thick, earthy, mountain bread. The seasoning gave it the perfect savory flavor, and I could imagine myself toasting the slices to use as croutons after a few days.

The picture isn’t fancy — I was tired and baking this at 11pm at night.

I contemplated making a sweet version of this bread, using unsweetened organic applesauce in place of the oil and blending in raisins, cinnamon, and crushed pecans to make a dessert-style bread. Perhaps that will be tonight’s experiment!

In the meantime, I’m so in love with this Italian bread, I had a slice with my breakfast:

Look at all that grain-free goodness! NOM NOM NOM.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori