How to Eat Out Without Messing up Your Candida Diet

We all eat out. It is a social event perhaps much more than feeding our bodies. Eating out while on the candida diet has become a challenge to many people that are concerned they will make poor choices or simply lose control and eat bad foods. Many people are so terrified to mess up their diet, that they find excuses not to go out with their friends!
Others make mistakes that delay their progress.
So what is the best way to eat out without ruining your candida diet? We get this question a lot..Lately, for some reason, we have seen this question much more often, so…we got the hint 🙂 and we are here to help!

BTW…If you have any creative idea what happened lately that made this question become so popular…please comment! We really…want to know!

Let’s start with the good news – since diets are so popular these days, it is socially acceptable to order healthy meals and make a comment that you decided to eat healthy for a while. This comment may also act as a powerful commitment.

“…What’s the big deal … I will only cheat this time…this (cake, ice-cream, pizza, etc) is so…good for me”

We all know this voice …The red devil sitting on our left shoulder. The secret is not to cheat, but to eat smart, so you enjoy foods that may not be ideal but will not ruin all your hard efforts. The key is to optimize your digestive system to support this eating and…eat smart.

General Guidelines to Optimize Digestion

Eat out occasionally, but don’t abuse it!
Make sure to start your candida program with an oxygen colon cleanse to ensure your colon works efficiently. A congested or constipated colon is much less forgiving than a cleansed one
Drink between your meals but not during the meals
Avoid bad food combinations
Eat slow, chew well and swallow only after the food turns to liquid consistency. Digestion starts in the mouth! This also helps to avoid over-eating. Remember – it takes up to 30 min for most people to feel full after a meal. Also, as awkward as it may sound, focusing on your company and listening to the conversation brings a refreshing change – many people do not fully listen to conversations during meal time
Take plant based full spectrum digestive enzymes with your meal
Have fun! Eating out is not only about the food…

The Best Case Scenario – Great Foods to Eat Out

Candida Diet Salad eating out The best thing to do when you eat out, is to make sure you get a lot of veggies and greens. Even if it is not exactly on the menu, it is acceptable to build your own “salad”.
Aim for raw/steamed/grilled vegetables and green leafs, preferably organic. Brussels sprouts and asparagus usually taste delicious grilled; broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, kale, spinach – all great choices.
When you order steamed or grilled veggies, always ask for raw vegetables or leafy greens with them. This helps to balance the meal, since raw foods have live enzymes and other health promoting benefits that are usually destroyed when cooked.
For the complete list of the recommended foods to eat on the candida diet that are specifically high in key vitamins & minerals, please see our candida diet food list.

For flavor add tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers. squeezed lemon juice. One tip we recommend that works very well for many people is to bring with you a few healthy small add-on items you like to boost the flavor:

Himalayan pink salt (to replace the table salt)
Sea vegetables can really enhance the flavor and also fantastic nutritional powerhouses
Bragg Liquid Aminos or Coconut Secret Organic Raw Coconut Aminos for healthy alternatives to the standard high sodium processed soy or teriyaki sauce (look how we use them in our restore nutrients cauliflower rice)
Organic raw seeds such as hemp seeds, sprouted pumpkin seeds and sprouted sunflower seeds can turn a simple salad into a complete meal thanks to their healthy fats, proteins and minerals. Sprouting makes the seeds easier to digest by the body and improve their taste as well.

Avoid: croutons, parmesan, any suspicious dressings or sauces that can have many hidden processed ingredients and empty calories. Make sure the veggies are not deep fried or cooked with oils, butter, etc.

The “Still Good” Scenario – Good Foods to Eat Out

Unless you eat in a very good healthy place, it is best to avoid fish or meat when eating out due to the fact that they are usually not organic and not the best quality. If you know great places you would like to recommend – comment please 🙂
For example whole foods can grill the meat or fish you buy there, and they have great selection of organic veggies. Then again, is that considered eating out? depends who you ask…

If you feel you must have fish or meat, keep the meat/fish consumption to no more than 3 times a week, and choose lean meat such as skinless organic chicken/turkey breast. For fish, wild Alaskan salmon is a good choice. Avoid big fish that have high mercury content as well as farm raised fish that usually cause inflammation. Always ask to grill them without using extra oil or marinate them.
Add greens or veggies like we mentioned to balance the meal.
It is best not to add starches or legumes (rice, pasta, beans, etc.) in order to avoid digestion issues since they don’t digest well with meat or fish.

Drinks & Beverages

It is best to have spring or alkaline water. You can add a slice of lemon or squeezed fresh lemon juice from half a lemon, but remember not to drink with your meal.
You can also have natural herbal teas as long as they have no added sugars or high caffeine content. Stevia is a good natural sweetener you can bring with you.
Avoid alcohol, tap water, sodas or other beverages…they are bad news…