In the beginning, I was getting rail thin and then I discovered buckwheat which has been my staple grain for some time now. I make pancakes with buckwheat flour, biscuits, croquettes, pizza crust, you name it. However, I am an omnivore,so I was not quite as limited. Prior to having candida and mercury toxicity issues, I ate very little animal protein but had to increase my intake because I had read that vegetarians have difficulty recovering from mercury toxicity. Plus I could not eat enough veggies to fill me up.

I also tolerated small servings of quinoa and some corn meal as long as I didn't eat too much too often. Maybe 4x a week.

I have been on an anti candida diet since Feb and am now seeing improvement where I can eat more variety. I can eat a couple of slices of Ezekial Bread with no problem now. Your body will tell you when you can start expanding your diet.

I have never been a soy lover and have heard of some who do not tolerate it but it never bothered me. However, my first month or so, I would make these soymilk drinks with cinnamon and stevia which got me through the worst part of the diet. It was sort of like a treat. So if it doesn' bother you, it's ok.

Re: fruits - Only green apples, grapefruits, lemons, and berries until you get the candida under control. The only sweetener that is ok is Stevia. I use the NuNaturals and it is not bitter. Also cinnamon makes everything taste better and supposedly candida doesn't like pungent stuff like that.

Maybe you could learn to make some soy yogurt. Homemade yogurt is excellent for your probiotic. Even if you use goat or cow's milk, if you ferment it long enough, it won't really have any lactose left in it.

Have you done any bowel cleansing? While I hate doing the PB&C shakes because they make me feel bloated. I am sure this has helped me clean out where the candida was living. I do them off and on.

I am tired and maybe not making sense anymore. Read through old posts on this forum and you will get plenty of ideas.

It is important to note that tofu exacerbates candida. I would avoid all soy products indefinitely. Not only does it feed candida, it is difficult for the liver to metabolize.

Sorry I know of no veg/candida cookbooks. Maybe in your health journey you can create one.

Grains that are okay on a candida diet are buckwheat, quinoa , and millet. Some can get away with whole grain oats ( the long cooking time kind).

I lost weight initially, eating buckwheat helped me keep weight on. Oddly , it does not raise blood Sugar at all which is why it is so perfect for the candida diet.

Soy, is fine. Not sure what is in tofu, but it is pretty hard to find a soy product that does not contain a food that should not be consumed such as vinegar, sweetners etc. Even soy milk is tricky, most of them have sweetners. Try West Soy unsweetened brand. Only one I found with no sugar.

You would mainly be eating veggies, salads, beans and possibly some nuts. Nuts should be raw and fresh and hopefully not moldy, which is hard to come by. I routinely eat almonds, sunflower seeds, and lentils with no problem.

Most of us with candida come to unerstand our bad reaction symtptom to a food and that makes it possible to eliminate. What will work for you might not work for everyone and vice versa. It is really a game of elimination.

I can tell you it is very important to get enough protein. Many with candida also have adrenal issues and so we need to eat protein, grain and vegetable at each meal to sustain blood sugar. As a vegetarian you will need to find yourself some proteins that will work for you.

And NO FRUIT! Fruit is full of sugar. If candida is what you have then fruit will make it much worse. Anyone who tells you fruit is okay on a candida diet is only telling you what you want to hear. Sugar of any kind is a big no no. You will not get well eating it, not in the short term anyway.

Sweetners...supposedly xylitol and stevia. I have not tried either one truthfully since they are both controversial and again you will test and see if it reacts with you.

Michelle