Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 19

One of the changes I’ve been noticing during this sugar detox is that my dreams are more vivid and I can remember them when I wake up now. Before the detox, I felt like I didn’t have dreams anymore because I couldn’t recall any of them. Who knew that sugar could really have that affect? It probably means I’m getting better sleep quality and actually reaching the REM stage.

Breakfast: Diane Sanfilippo’s Grain-Free Banola (Raw)

Grain-Free Banola Mix

Grain-Free Banola 1

Grain-Free Banola 2

As I was making this last time, I thought it tasted great raw. So I made another batch last night without baking it. The flavors, especially the vanilla extract and cinnamon, are more prominent. I think the only thing that would make it taste even better is adding more bananas so that the portions are more like 4 parts banana, 2 parts nuts and seeds. That would make it taste more like pudding with banola. Or another version could be baked banola sprinkled in a separate banana mixture as the pudding. Either way, you can’t really go wrong--it makes for an amazingly sweet-ish sugar-free treat!

Ingredients for this raw version of banola:

• 2 green bananas
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• ½ cup seeds (equal parts raw pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds)
• ½ cup almond meal
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Use a food processor to partially ground the 2 cups of cashews and almond slices into small chunks. Pour the ground nuts into a large mixing bowl and add the seeds and almond meal. *Note: If you don't have almond meal, simply use the food processor to pulverize the almonds into almond meal consistency. 

Put the bananas, vanilla and cinnamon into the food processor and blend until all the ingredients are pureed into a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour the puree into the bowl of nuts, and stir until the nut mix is completely coated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Easy peasy.

Lunch: Spiralized Zucchini Pad Thai

Pad Thai using spiralized zucchini as noodles

Appetizer: Fried Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Dinner: Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

Vegetable coconut milk curry

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 12

It's hard to believe that I'm already almost two weeks into the vegan 21-day sugar detox. Since this was by far the most challenging of the three other sugar detoxes I've done, I thought it would be painfully slow. Thankfully, it hasn't been, and things keep getting easier as I go along. 

Today started out very unusually. I didn't eat until around 1:30 pm today (so nothing in my stomach for almost 14 hours) because of some unnecessary drama at work. 

Lunch: Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

When I did finally eat, it tasted twice as good because I was extra hungry. I think this dish is my favorite one on the detox because there are so many ways to modify it to make the flavors fresh and exciting. You can add lime and basil or cilantro, radishes, or use different sweet potatoes. It's also great as leftovers because the flavors become more prominent the next day and it's easy to reheat.

Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

Dinner: Roasted Broccoli and Japanese Sweet Potatoes

It was tapas night tonight ... mainly because it was much easier to create small, simple dishes. I just didn't have the energy to cook.

Ingredients for Roasted Broccoli:

• 1 bag of organic broccoli florets
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika to taste

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease it with oil (I used coconut oil). Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Evenly spread out a layer of broccoli over the cookie sheet and season with salt, pepper and paprika to taste. I like to make sure every floret has equal amount of seasoning. Roast in oven for about 15 minutes. Mix the broccoli around on the sheet, and roast it for another 10 minutes. 

Lightly fried Japanese sweet potato fries

Ingredients for Japanese sweet potato fries:

• 3 baked sweet potatoes
• Himalayan salt
• 3 tbsp coconut oil

To bake sweet potato: Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes, dry, and prick them all over with a fork. Place on foil-lined cookie sheet and bake for about an hour. Flip the potatoes after 30 minutes. Check again after 15 minutes to see if they need to be baked for the full hour. Place in fridge to cool.

To fry sweet potatoes: Once the potatoes are cool, cut them into thick fries. Using 3 tbsp of coconut oil, lightly fry small batches of the sweet potatoes on medium heat. Season with Himalayan salt immediately after frying.