With just 4 days away from the end of my vegan sugar detox, I'm starting to feel the drudgery of cooking. I would say that that has probably been the biggest challenge on this detox--not being able to order takeout after a long and exhausting day. The temptation to just grab food at Veggie Grill is greater than the temptation of desserts, savory snacks and Starbucks hand-crafted lattes.

This usually results in late dinners because I don't like to jump right into the kitchen when I get home from work. But since I'm never completely stuffed, I don't feel so bad about eating late at night.

Breakfast: Diane Sanfilippo's Grain-Free Banola (Vegan Version)

Next time I go grocery shopping, I'm going to load up on bananas so I can double up on the ingredients for this recipe. I was so sad when I got down to the last bite. The 7-8 small servings the recipe yields just isn't enough.

Lunch: Diane Sanfilippo's Roasted Cauliflower Soup (Vegan Version)

As always, I ate this with quinoa to make the soup more filling. Either I'm just used to being hungry or this soup really kept me full up until dinner at around 10:30 PM. 

Dinner: "Not Your Momma's Black Eyed Peas" Part 2

Tonight's meal was more of a mix of whatever I had left in my refrigerator and pantry. 

Ingredients:

• 3 celery stocks, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 1/4 cups of black eyed peas
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika to taste
• Onion powder to taste
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

Fill a pot with black eyed peas and cover with water. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 60-90 minutes. Drain and refill using 3 cups of water per 1 cup of black eyed peas (about 6 3/4 cups for this recipe). Bring to another boil, then partially cover, lower heat, and let it simmer for 60 minutes.

Add the garlic, vegetables and seasonings. Stir in pot until warm. Serve over quinoa and top off with a dollop of guacamole.