If you’re dealing with candida (or think you are), or just want to clear sugar from your diet, the Candida Kick-Start is the program for you. The five-step program provides all the tools and strategies you need for a successful candida cleanse–plus the live, real-time support that you won’t get in other similar programs. An anti-candida diet can be a challenge, and having the resources you need can make all the difference! Find course details here.
And now, on to the cookies!
One of the consequences I recall about moving from my “regular” diet to an anti-candida way of eating is how despondent I was about giving up sweets. I know: “despondent” seems like an awfully strong adjective, one you’d more likely use for someone mourning the loss of a loved one than someone mourning the loss of milk chocolate. (But let’s be honest: milk chocolate, in my world back then, actually was a loved one).
I spent a lot of time concocting treats and desserts that would comply with the Stage One guidelines so that I could still enjoy a sweet treat and not feel deprived.
But things have changed since then. I’ve learned an enormous amount about candida and how it works in the body, as well as which foods work best to root it out and evict it from the premises. (And I broke up with milk chocolate).
In addition, a huge variety of new products and ingredients have been introduced to the market since then: coconut butter (drool!), lucuma, lo han guo, psyllium, and lots more.
Well, when it comes to playing in the kitchen, I’m like Chaser with a bone: I could focus on that activity pretty much all day, blissfully unaware of anything else around me. It wasn’t until one of the Candida Kick-Start alumni posted a message on our Facebook group, saying, “I am looking for the “ultimate” ACD cookie for stage one (maybe chocolate chip, etc). Maybe I am dreaming. . . “. that I realized I’d never created what I consider to be the “perfect” ACD-friendly cookie during my previous exploits in Stage One.
Challenge accepted!
I’m here to tell her (and all of you), you can go ahead and live the dream! These cookies are a dense, chewy, and satisfying chocolate (or in my case, carob) chip cookie that actually tastes good–and that helps you clear out the candida, too.
I’ve been baking up batches over the past couple of weeks as I tweaked the recipe, and had to keep intercepting the HH with his hand in the cookie jar! (I mean, really, the guy can eat anything. . . can’t he leave my cookies alone?).**
** Hmmm, yes, that does sound vaguely naughty.
[Hot out of the oven.]
So, what makes this cookie so good for you?
- Psyllium: psyllium husk is high fiber and water soluble, which means it acts as a “brush” to help trap and push out toxins from the digestive tract–candida and others. One of the most popular candida cleanses by Innovite uses psyllium right in its formula. Psyllium is also great to keep you regular–whether or not you’re dealing with candida!
- Chia: like psyllium, chia seeds absorb and expand to help flush toxins from the colon and remove byproducts of candida. They’re also a yummy superfood that offers protein and Omega 3s.
- Coconut flour/coconut oil: It’s well known that coconut oil contains caprylic acid and lauric acid, both highly effective against candida albicans. You can eat whole coconut meat as well, but the oil on its own is the most potent yeast-fighter. And besides, coconut just tastes good.
- Stevia: Because it’s a natural sweetener and has a zero glycemic index, stevia doesn’t affect blood sugar at all, and it won’t feed the yeast. It’s the only natural sweetener I use in Stage One of the diet.
- Sweet Potato: naturally sweet, this low glycemic vegetable won’t spike blood sugar levels, and will provide excellent fiber and a host of antioxidants to help reduce inflammation (a major symptom for many with candida). Sweet potatoes are also a great source of beta carotene, and may help to reduce risk of heavy metals (another factor that’s present in many people with candida).
So what are you waiting for? Go bake some cookies!
Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are dense and chewy cookies that will really satisfy a sweets craving. Packed with psyllium and chia, they’ll also help support your body as it detoxifies; and coconut is a powerful antifungal. A perfect anti-candida cookie, I’d say.
¾ cup (180 ml) sweet potato puree (bake a sweet potato, then puree the flesh in a food processor)
6 Tbsp (90 ml) natural smooth nut butter or seed butter of choice
6 Tbsp (90 ml) coconut flour
1 Tbsp (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
6 Tbsp (90 ml) ground chia seeds (from about 3 Tbsp/45 ml whole seeds)
2 Tbsp (30 ml) whole psyllium husks
½ tsp (2.5 ml) English Toffee flavored pure liquids stevia (I use SweetLeaf)
¼ tsp (1 ml) pure stevia powder or ½ tsp (2.5 ml) pure stevia liquid, or more, to taste
1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
½ tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder
¼ cup (60 ml) virgin coconut oil
2 Tbsp (30 ml) unsweetened alternative milk of choice (almond, hemp or seed milk)
½ cup (120 ml) unsweetened carob or homemade chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F (180 C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
Place all ingredients except chips in a food processor and process until it comes together in a very thick dough. Stir in the chips by hand (don’t process again).
Using a small scoop or tablespoon, drop mounds of dough on the cookie sheet about ¼ inch (.5 cm) apart (these cookies won’t spread). Flatten the mounds until they are about ¼ inch (.5 cm) thick.
Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 10-15 minutes, until the bottoms are deep golden brown. Allow to cool completely before removing from parchment and eating (these taste much better at room temperature or cold–and even better the next day). Store in the refrigerator up to 4 days or freeze. Makes about 2 dozen.
Suitable for: ACD Stage 1 and beyond, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, soy-free, yeast-free, vegan, low glycemic.
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that is amazing it has taken you so long to develop an ulitmate ACD choc chip cookie – when I saw them I was sure I had seen a few on your blog – these sounds fantastic though I would have to skip the stevia 🙁
Ha ha! Yes, there are a few other chocolate chip cookies on the blog, but none of them is suitable for Stage One of an anti-candida diet. These are! If you don’t need to use stevia, then you can certainly indulge in one of the other recipes instead. 🙂
Sweet potato is not candida friendly. Candida feeds on all vegetables that grown below ground, except for carrots, as the anti-fungal properties of carrots outweighs the sugar content 🙂
It depends whose diet you follow. Some don’t allow any starchy vegetables at all, while others allow some, and more as you go along. I was able to eat sweet potatoes from the very beginning (they were a lifesaver for me), but I know that they don’t work for some people. As always, you should do what your own practitioner suggests, and what works for your body. 🙂
Definitey will be trying these… i’ve totally fallen off the wagon recently and been eating a lot of dried fruit, more than my body enjoys. These will be a good way to bring me back into balance!
I hope they do the trick for you, Jo! I know that dried fruit can cause lots of problems for me, too. 🙁
You truly are a magician in the kitchen Ricki! You truly saved me with your recipes during those months I was following the candida diet and I know your next book is going to help so many more people. ACD-friendly cookies would definitely have been appreciated during that time!
Glad to know that my recipes helped a bit, Emma (though I recall many magical recipes of your own, too). And I don’t know why I didn’t get on this one sooner–ACD cookies are appreciated all the time! 😉
Haha Ricki, I totally know what you mean about catching HH with his hand in the cookie jar…. I have the same problem and it makes me so mad because there is always a plentiful supply of goodies that I’ve tortured myself by baking and smelling the delicious aromas but can’t eat myself! Keep you’re hands off my cookies indeed!!! 😀
I know, right? You’d think they’d have the decency. . . LOL! Well, glad to know he likes them enough to eat them even when he can eat ANYTHING he pleases! 😉
These ultimate candida diet cookies look like something I definitely want to try. I love having low sugar treats around!
Thanks, Marly! And NO GUILT. 😉
I don’t have to eat any special way, but I have cooked with coconut flour and almond flour for someone. I am surprised this cookie would not be dry with this much coconut flour and not much liquid and eggs. Amazing!!! This is the trickiest flour I have ever used.
The sweet potato really helps with moisture, Charlotte. They’re soft and dense. Let me know what you think if you try them! 🙂
These look absolutely amazing!!! If you asked me to create an ACD Stage 1 chocolate chip cookie I wouldn’t even know where to start, you did a great job 🙂
-Cassidy
Thanks, Cassidy! I’ve been baking ACD-friendly desserts for over 15 years, so I guess I have a head start. 😉
I haven’t tried liquid stevia yet. I have used powdered stevia and always have an aftertaste. Anyone else have problems with bad aftertaste? If so, did you find a stevia brand you like?
Janis, which brand did you use? I find that the powder requires so little that it’s easy to overdo it. . . and then experience the aftertaste. My two favorite brands are Nunaturals and SweetLeaf (I love their English Toffee!). I find that neither one has an aftertaste for me. . . then again, I’ve been using stevia for 15 years now, so I’m clearly used to it! 😉 (Oh, and if you’re a fan of xylitol, you could use that instead. . . but I have never really liked it much myself).
I’ve used Sweetleaf and don’t like it. Don’t think I’ve seen Nunaturals. Maybe I’ll try that and see if I like it better.
Wonder if I’d like the liquid ones better.
Sorry I missed this! I’d try the NuNaturals in that case. And yes, liquid is easier to control in terms of sweetness level, as you can be more precise with the measures (ie, a drop at a time). 🙂
Good luck with the routine / cleanse! I’m a bit confused though, on the dark chocolate. Since it contains sugar, how is it allowed? I’ve done so many Candida cleanses, and the one I keep going back to is the Lady Soma Candida Cleanse – it gets me regular and I have seen the best results with this supplement. I keep trying new things, but the Lady Soma is definitely my favorite. I’d much rather do the cleanse while eating dark chocolate!
Thanks, Marcie! Sorry if it wasn’t clear–do I say anywhere that you can use regular dark chocolate in this recipe? The recipe ingredients call for UNsweetened carob chips or homemade chocolate chips. I make my own without sugar. So to answer your question, no, sugar is definitely not allowed (sorry!). 😉
Could you perhaps subsitute a type of squash or pumpkin for the sweet potato?
Thanks so much!!
Hi Kay,
Yes, absolutely! I’ve made these with pumpkin puree as well as kabocha squash puree and they worked just fine (you might need to add a wee bit more liquid with the kabocha). I am guessing–though haven’t tried it yet–that unsweetened applesauce would work just as well, too. 🙂
hi Rikki,
Subbing in 1/4 cup dried cranberries and 1/4 cup currents (Donna Gates said they were okay on an anti-candida diet so I eat them from time to time) for the carob chips makes for beautiful and festive cookies. Thanks for this great recipe!
I pre-ordered your book. I CANNOT wait for it to come in. Oh anti-candida diets…
Thanks so much, Faye! But I must clarify about the fruits, because dried fruits are a definite “no-no” on my version of the diet, and every other anti-candida diet out there that I’ve ever seen. My understanding of Donna Gates’s version is that unsweetened fresh cranberries or black currants are okay. If you are using dried cranberries, they are almost certainly coated in sugar (they are intolerably sour without it), or if “naturally sweetened,” coated in maple syrup (just as bad as sugar for someone on an anti-candida diet). Dried currants are basically like raisins, which are extremely high in natural sugars and not allowed on any anti-candida diets (sorry!). Fresh black currants, like fresh cranberries, are tart, juicy fresh fruit that look like blueberries and are VERY sour naturally. So, if you’ve been using the dried ones, you are likely feeding your candida with them. 🙁 However, if you’d like to add “dried berries” to the cookies, you could always use my oven-dried cranberries (and the recipe works great with blueberries, too–just don’t bake as long). I hope that helps! And thanks so much for the kind words about the book (I hope you submitted your info to get your free 10-recipe ebook, too!!).
Thanks Rikki,
There is a cranberry supplier in our area who sells dried unsweetened cranberries. I just add an extra mini scoop of stevia to my recipes when I use them. I avoid all sweetened dried cranberries. http://www.uc-cranberries.com/products.html
Alternatively, at Christmas and Thanksgiving, I stock up on those cheap bags of (fresh?) cranberries. Through the year, I defrost them, rinse them, and pulse the amount I need in my food processor. They bleed a little in my recipes, but it works and it’s much cheaper. I used to actually cut each cranberry in quarters, but that was crazy. The food processor does the job just fine.
The currents I use are unsweetened. This was Donna Gates’ stance on it: http://bodyecology.com/articles/the-6-best-body-ecology-travel-snacks-for-your-vacation#.VKlGlHurGME. Ill have to look into this further. She indicates unsweetened sour fruits are safe.
And I did sign up for the free recipes!
Thanks so much for the reply and information.
This is fabulous, Faye! I’ve never been able to find dried cranberries or currants that are unsweetened. Thank you so much for the links–I will share this with my Candida Kick-Start group as well! (And too funny about cutting the cranberries one by one. . . yes, sounds like A LOT of work!) 😉
I’m very allergic to Stevia. Are there any other natural sugar alternatives? You have so many wonderful recipes with it in there, and it makes me sad to think I won’t be able to make any, when they look so good!
Tempest, I’ve been experimenting with xylitol lately and happy with the results. But it’s a totally different kind of sweetner (this recipe would take at least 1/2 cup or 120 ml of it). You could try subbing some and see what happens. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of other sweeteners like stevia, that have such an intense concentration of sweetness with no effect on blood sugar. If you can eat coconut sugar, in recipes where I use both that and stevia, you could try just adding more coconut sugar. I hope that helps!
I would like to know if agave syrup is accepted cause stevia is GMO, also the after taste is not pleasant. Should I live it without any of those?
Anyway the sweet potato have sugars of their own, I guess that would be enough. Please let me know.
Hi Eunice,
As far as I know, you can find stevia that’s not GMO. You are certainly welcome to use agave if that works better for you and if you can tolerate it! Most anti-candida diets don’t allow agave at the early stages, though. For my palate, the sweet potato isn’t quite sweet enough–but if it is for you, go for it! 🙂
I just made these and they are delicious! However I used cacao nibs which are kind of bitter. Can you tell me what carob chips you would recommend? The only ones I know of that are unsweetened have hydrogenated oil in them Thanks!
Mine just say “palm oil.” I think the only way to know is to contact the company directly, Jenny. You could always make your own (there’s a recipe in my book, Living Candida-Free, and lots on the web). The carob chips I use are from Grain Process Enterprises in Toronto. It looks like the ones I used to recommend on amazon are no longer available, though 🙁 . Hope that helps!
I just got told to cut yeast out of my diet altogether and have had a hellacious week not eating sugar. I didn’t realize how addicted I was. Specifically to chocolate chip cookies. I was about to break down and just stuff my nose in a pint of mint chip ice cream., (my favorite) and then I saw your recipe. I feel like a new woman. It’s silly how our comfort food makes us able to get through the tough times, but now I can also continue to eat healthy because I didn’t cave. Thanks so much for this!
SS
Glad this could help, Sofia! And congratulate yourself for sticking with it. It’s a tough program, but the end result is worth it. 🙂
I appreciate the recipe as I love chocolate chip cookies, but I thought sweet potatoes (along with carrots and pumpkin) were not allowed on the diet. Maybe it’s only during a certain stage. It’s all a bit confusing. Thanks for any info.
Lesa, it depends whose version of the diet you follow. There are many different approaches; some include sweet potato, squash, etc. as well as some nuts and fruits while others don’t. The diet I followed (and the one I shared in my book, Living Candida Free, ) does allow for these ingredients. I think each person needs to decide, along with their practitioner, which diet is best for them.
Thanks Ricki
I came across your blog while looking for Dairy-free Christmas recipes for our daughter
These chocolate chip cookies look great and we are going to give them a go over Christmas holiday.
Merry Christmas
Thanks so much, Lisa! Hope she (and you) love them. Happy Holidays!
I just want to know if I can get a cookbook that has recipes for all stages of Candida in book stores
Both my books are carried in bookstores. However, if they are out of stock, you’d need to ask them to re-order a copy. Both books are also available on amazon. I’d suggest Living Candida-Free, as it has recipes for all stages as well as a complete guide to following the diet and lifestyle.