Hey guys, I'm so excited right now because I experimented and came up with an awesome, and ridiculously easy, brownie recipe! They actually have the texture and flavor of regular brownies! I took my skillet bread recipe and got creative with it, and it somehow turned out great the first time around. It will need some touch-ups, but I thought I'd at least post the initial recipe for now, because who knows when I'll get time to revamp it.

Brownies
½ c raw sunflower seeds (ground up in blender)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ c *corn starch or arrowroot powder
½ - ¾ tsp stevia/chicolin mix*** (approx)
3 T *wondercocoa (Try organic Dutch process cocoa powder and only use cocoa if you can feel very well during and after eating it)
¾ T oil
¼ c water
1 egg
2 T vegetable glycerine

Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly. Add wet ingredients and stir just until mixed – be careful not to stir it too much because it will change the consistency. Fry in skillet like pancakes or else pour into a brownie pan & bake in preheated oven @ 350 degrees (not sure how long, approx 10 min?)- both ways work well. This makes a small batch (I didn't want to make too much at first in case it was a flop), so you might want to double it. I think the brownies could have been a little sweeter, and if that is the case for you, there are 2 ways to make up for it: 1)make the chocolate sauce listed below and drizzle it on top (or douse them with it if you're like me! ) 2)just sprinkle some stevia/chicolin mix over the top of them when they come out.

***The stevia/chicolin mix is definitely an approximate amount. I'm at the bottom of my container and it seems like I've had to use more and more of the mix to achieve the same taste as I previously did, so I think the stevia didn't mix all the way through the container and that what I used was predominantly chicolin. So be careful with how much you use, adjust it to your own taste. Just make sure you don't stir the mix too much! Remember you can sprinkle it on top when they are done, if you want to avoid stirring it more.

Luscious Chocolate Sauce
Coconut oil (melted)
Wondercocoa
Stevia/chicolin mix
Vegetable glycerine

Mix together in warm pan and pour over brownies (once they are done). (Don't add the stevia/chicolin if the mix is super hot, it just clumps. Wait until it is moderately hot or warm.) Serve while still warm. (Sorry, I didn't measure the ingredients- When I revamp both recipes I'll get more precise measurements.)

Enjoy!

~Tia

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Linda,

You are SO creative Tia--I can't wait to try some of your recipes for my birthdaY this year--I hope you're planning a cookbook someday!!!

Ashley

Thanks Ashley! I am still planning on writing the candida diet cookbook. I have created 1 word document to keep track of my recipes, 1 for ideas that I would like to include in my cookbook (CRC info, resources, etc), and 1 of ideas for recipes that I need to create. But I'm trying not to spend too much time on it right now because I'm supposed to be studying for & taking the GREs, researching & choosing grad schools, and then going through the laborious (aka - pain in the ***) process of applying to schools. But as soon as I'm done with that whole process (probably January), then I'll really focus on the cookbook. I have one more year off before I have to go back to school, so I hope to get it written in that time.

~Tia

Good for you Tia,

Maybe Linda and Tarilee will sell it on the site for ya!!

jan

Now I remember! We've had this conversation somehwere before!! Good for you going after grad school--that's one thing I'm NOT looking forward to--the GRE's to start with!! I've got a bit to go...In any case, good luck with it all and please let us know the minute you've got your cookbook ready--we're all ready for it!!

Ashley

Deja vous or is it vu? Whatever! Yes, it is so true, Tia. We can all find gluten free cookbooks and recipes, but they all have sugar of some sort or honey or maple syrup and it is rather disheartening, but a true gourmet candida cookbook would be a very welcome addition to my kitchen.

Sandi

Ashley- yeah, I haven't been looking forward to it either, which is why I have procrastinated and put it off for far too long (quite typical of me . I exasperate myself). But I'm getting going on the process now.

Sandi- That's exactly what I thought, which is why I would like to write this cookbook. There are so many cookbooks out there, but I can only find bits & pieces in each that are valuable (food rotation charts OR a couple of ok recipes OR substituting advice). I can never find it all in one place, and they are never filled with recipes that are specific to our specific anti-candida diet. So when I write it, I am going to use the Whole Approach diet lists to create recipes we can eat, and hopefully have a decent amount of info/resources listed as well.

Jan- I can only hope that my cookbook would be good enough to be considered. But I don't want to get my hopes up...

Thanks so much for supporting me in this girls! That really helps to give me motivation.


~Tia

Hey, Tia!
I love to cook and bake, but all these ingredients and ways of fixing things are new to me. So I have a question that I'm embarassed to ask, but gotta do it anyway. Are the sunflower seeds that you mention that you grind up, is it the entire seed or just the sunflower nut? Thanks for your help! And you go girl on that cookbook!

Melodee

Melodee,

Nonsense - don't feel embarassed! We all have questions like that here and there. You would just use the sunflower seeds themselves, without the shells. Just toss them in the blender and grind them up as fine as you can get them. There will usually be a few bigger pieces left in it, but it still works out well.

~Tia

PS - last time I made them, I added a little bit more water (after letting them sit for a minute & they puffed up a little from the baking powder) and stirred it more. They ended up more like a cake & I was happy with the results. Now I just need to work on a frosting .

Thanks, Tia, for your explanation. I can hardly wait for a chance to give them a whirl! If I could get my cravings for something sweet under control, I'd have this diet licked! Many times I just need a taste of something sweet at the end of a meal to satisfy me...I blame that on being *farm* raised.

Thanks again!
Melodee

hi everyone,

what is wondercoco? also, is coco powder and carob powder ok to stage one?

-smiles

Hi Smiles...I don't know what wondercoco is...I have never found it. Cocoa is not on the stage one diet and I don't think carob is either...but maybe someone else knows for sure. Sorry I am not much help on this.

Take good care.

Sandi

mshappy,

if you do a search on wondercocoa, you'll find your answer. there is a lot of info on this site, but some of it..you have to do searches for.

Are you familiar with that function on this forum?

hopes this helps you..

jan

Smiles,

Hi, you can find wondercocoa on the internet for about $5 plus S&H, but I get mine at Whole Foods Markets (some other natural foods stores might have it, or might be willing to order it for you). Unlike regular cocoa, this one is caffeine-free, so it is ok to eat at any stage (I'm pretty sure). Carob could be used too- it would be considered a Limit food in stage 1 because it still contains a decent amount of natural sugar.

Cheers,
~Tia

hi everyone,

yeah. i found wondercoco at my local health food store. life is good.

-missy

hey mshappy,

we are so easily pleased with the little things aren't we? what a great attitude!!

jan

Wondercocoa is 99.7% caffeine free. Which is good. The downside is that for some people, that 0.3% is enough to make them sick. As well, it does not claim to be organic, which raises issues with toxins (I usually don't care, but cocoa beans are one of those high pesticide/toxin foods). Cocoa Camino makes an organic cocoa powder, but I don't know the caffeine content.

From what I've read, most 100% cocoa powders have less than 1% caffeine content (they usually vary between 0.5 and 1).

Just an f.y.i. for people looking at these recipes and trying to judge whether it is right for them or not.

Danielle,

That's a good word of warning - thanks. Cocoa beans can have pesticides on them, and then there are some other major issues in the cocoa business (abuse of labor). For now, since we have so few options, I am still eating it. Most everything else I eat is organic, so I hope that one nonorganic item won't be too detrimental to me. But I'm keeping close track of my food diary to make sure no bad symptoms develop from it. I'm VERY sensitive to caffeine & I've actually never had this bother me. But if you do, carob powder is another alternative. I would MUCH prefer to eat organic cocoa, but I think regular cocoa has a decent amount of caffeine in it still. At least, according to the caffeine chart on the bottom of my tea box, it says:

Caffeine Meter:
expresso 160 mg
coffee 90 mg
cola 45 mg
chocolate bar 25 mg
decaf green tea 5 mg
decaf coffee 5 mg
herb tea 0 mg

Since we shouldn't even have decaf coffee, it sounds like the caffeine in organic cocoa would be way too much for us. I guess you just have to go with what you feel most comfortable with, and what seems right for your diet.

~Tia

PS - when I write my cookbook, I will definitely include a discussion of the pros/cons of wondercocoa.

Tia,
I tried this recipe yesterday and it is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing your ideas with us.

Kasey's Mom

Tia...or anyone else who can help me,
I am dying to try this recipe and have managed to track down most of the ingredients. The only thing I can't seem to find is the chicolin. None of my local stores carry it. I found it online, but I'm sure it would be much more pricey that way. Also, I was wondering if there is any difference between the Wondercocoa and any other unsweetened cocoa brand?
Thanks!
Julie