Anti-Candida Seaweed Glass Noodle Salad - grain free & soy free!

I used to think it was impossible to make Japanese food (or Asian food for that matter) on a candida cleanse since soy is such a huge ingredient and we use soy sauce in everything. Well, thanks to Coconut Merchant's Coconut Savoury Sauce, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE NOW. Since this soy sauce alternative made of coconut aminos is candida friendly and is low GI, I've come up with a Japanese salad dressing that is anti-candida and delicious! Here's my gluten-free, grain-free seaweed glass noodle salad using three types of healthy and detoxing seaweed: atlantic dulse, wakame, and hijiki.

Seaweed is a great detox food as it'll help to remove heavy metals from your body. As Anthony William puts it, dulse nicely packages all the heavy metals that have been removed from different organs and ensures it exits the body. I use Atlantic dulse from Atlantic Kitchen that you can easily buy online. Wakame is easier to find and is sold at supermarkets due to the popularity of miso soup. Hijiki might be harder to find but is very nutritious and high in iron, calcium, magnesium and iodine as well as fibre. If you can't find it at your local Asian store, you can use arame instead (if that's easier to find).

One of my favourite herbs of all time is shiso, and it makes this dish taste so wonderfully Japanese. I've been lucky enough to find fresh, local and organic ones around London by Wild Country Organics. Look out for their stand at a local farmer's market near you! Not only are they tasty but are full of anti-inflammatory properties, minerals like calcium and vitamins. Add them to any salad to boost the flavour profile!

How is this recipe anti-candida? Removing heavy metals from your body with seaweed means you're removing the very food pathogens like candida feeds off of. You're also not feeding candida by removing sugars, dairy and grains. Plus, there are other anti-fungal ingredients like raw garlic and ginger. Now, eating mushrooms on an anti-candida diet is a controversial subject. After reading every article on the internet, I've concluded that the health benefits of eating healing mushrooms like shiitake vastly outweighs the theory that mushrooms feed candida (which has not been proven). This is why I've decided to reintroduce shiitake and maitake into my diet earlier than most would recommend and I have had no adverse affects from it. We cannot underestimate the healing powers of food!

Seaweed Glass Noodle Salad

Gluten free, grain free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free, vegan, paleo, keto, low carb

Serves 2

Pre time: 20 min

Ingredients:

• 2 bundles of mung bean glass noodles, dried
• 1 handful Atlantic dulse
• 1/4 cup dried wakame
• 1/4 cup dried hijiki
• 1 cup fresh organic shiitake mushrooms (or dry ones rehydrated)
• 1 tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin coconut oil
• pinch of himalayan salt
• 1/2 cup fresh baby organic spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh organic shiso
• 2 tbsp fresh organic lemon juice
• 4 tbsp Coconut Merchant's Coconut Savoury Sauce 
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 1 clove organic garlic
• small cube of organic ginger

Instructions:

Grate the ginger and garlic using a traditional
Japanese grater!

1. Soak the glass noodles in a pan or bowl with boiling water according to instructions (approx. 10-15 minutes). 
2. In a separate bowl, rehydrate the dulse, wakame and hijiki with boiling water for 15 minutes.
3. Cut shiitake mushrooms into slices. Heat up a frying pan and cook on medium heat with coconut oil and a pinch of himalayan salt for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. Wash and clean the shiso and spinach. Chop or tear the shiso into pieces. Set aside.
5. To make the dressing, grate the raw garlic and ginger then whisk them together with the lemon juice, coconut savoury sauce and olive oil. 
6. Once all the seaweeds have been rehydrated, drain them, run them through cold water and chop them into bite-sized pieces.
7. Once the glass noodles are ready, drain them and run them through cold water. You may want to cut the noodles if they're too long for you or eating with a fork.
8. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss until mixed thoroughly.