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 16

I woke up feeling light, refreshed and healthy on Day 16 of the sugar detox. My clothes just keep fitting looser, which is a great affirmation that I’m on the right track. It feels good knowing that everything I’ve been feeding my body has been nothing but beneficial and nutritious for it. I'm sure my body's thanking me given my junk food binge streak just before the detox.

Breakfast: Diane Sanfilippo’s Grain-Free Banola

I was excited to eat the leftover banola. It tasted just as good the next day as it did out of the oven. Next time, I plan on making it like pudding (basically the recipe's same steps except I won't bake  them).

Lunch: Diane Sanfilippo’s Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I ate this with quinoa for a hearty meal since soups don’t normally fill me up. Now that I’ve made this, I’m inspired to make other homemade soups, like recreating Trader Joe’s roasted red pepper and tomato soup or butternut squash.

Appetizer: Fried Japanese Sweet Potato

Fried Japanese sweet potatoes

I found that these were easier to fry since you only had to flip them once. Just like the fries though, these were baked first for about 45-55 minutes, cooled, and then fried. (But it's a lot easier if you bake a few potatoes the night before and store them in the fridge if you know you're going to fry them up the next day.)

Dinner: Tofu Asparagus Marinara with Quinoa

Tofu asparagus marinara with quinoa

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 15

Well, the final week of the vegan sugar detox is finally here. I'm feeling great, my clothes are fitting loosely and comfortably (I no longer feel like I'm being vacuum-sealed into my clothes), and I'm actually kind of sad that this sugar detox is winding down. While I will go back to occasionally eating foods with sugar, I am feeling confident that I can stick with my vegan lifestyle.

More importantly though, my diet is now completely aligned with my beliefs ... and it feels freakin' good. (There's something to be said about the constant inner turmoil of living a contradiction and how it adds to the stress.)

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

Grain-Free Banola - 1

Grain-Free Banola - 2

Grain-Free Banola - 3

Grain-Free Banola - 4

Grain-Free Banola - 5

Grain-Free Banola - 6

Grain-Free Banola - 7

I've been meaning to try this recipe from Diane Sanfilippo's 21-Day Sugar Detox book. Since it's Sunday and I have more time on my hands, I figured I should try something new. Plus, I'm sure you're all probably tired of seeing the same pics of food on this detox.

Ingredients I used for this particular recipe (adapted from Diane Sanfilippo's recipe):

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Cook Time: 30 minutes     Servings: 7-8

• 2 cups of raw pecan pieces and raw almonds slices (this will be partially ground)
• 1 cup of raw almond slices 
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds, unsalted
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp raw hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 2 green-tipped bananas 
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (I used Sunfood Super Foods Raw Cacao Powder)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use a food processor (I used a Ninja) to partially ground the 2 cups of pecan pieces and almond slices into small chunks. Pour the ground nuts into a large mixing bowl and add the other cup of raw almond slices, seeds, raw cacao powder 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.

Scoop the nut mixture onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. You can either drop dollops of the mixture and flatten each one out like a cookie, or you can smooth it all out into one thin, flat layer (as pictured). 

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Check on them every 7-10 minutes, especially in the beginning since oven temperatures vary. Turn them over once or twice to ensure they're dry on all sides. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Diane's recipe says you can eat it plain as a snack, or with your favorite milk alternative as cereal. I actually enjoyed the taste and texture before I baked it. It was like a cinnamon banana pudding with granola. Yum!!  

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

Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower in Blender

Roasted Cauliflower Soup - 1

Roasted Cauliflower Soup - 2

This soup looks nothing like the one featured in Diane's book even though it's adapted from her recipe. She uses bone broth, but I used vegetable broth that included ingredients like carrots and tomatoes, hence the reddish color. I also added asparagus because I needed to use it before it went bad. 

Here are the ingredients I used:

• 1 bag of cauliflower florets
• 3 tbsp coconut oil, divided
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 2/3 cup diced carrot
• 3 1/4 cup vegetable 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread a thin layer of the cauliflower over a baking sheet (I lined mine with aluminum foil). Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and drizzle over the cauliflower. Liberally season with Himalayan salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roast the cauliflower for about 30 minutes until lightly brown around the edges.

While the cauliflower is in the oven, prep the rest of the ingredients. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a pot over medium heat, and add the onions and carrots. Sauté until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft. Add the asparagus and sauté for about 2 minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Set aside about 1/2 cup of roasted cauliflower for garnish. Put the rest of the roasted cauliflower in a blender along with 2 cups of the vegetable broth. Make sure not to fill the blender too much because hot liquids expand. Cover the blender firmly with the lid, but remove the center "valve" and use a thick kitchen towel to cover the hole. Blend on low, and just before it's done, blend on high to create a creamy texture. You can either add this blend to the soup that's simmering, or you can blend the rest of the broth in small batches. I ended up blending the rest of the soup. 

Serve the soup with the reserved roasted cauliflower as garnish. You can also drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil or truffle oil.

Snack: Japanese Sweet Potato Fries

Japanese sweet potato fries

Dinner: Tofu Asparagus Marinara with Quinoa

Tofu asparagus marinara with quinoa

• 1 bottle of Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce
• 1 can of organic fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 bundle of asparagus, chopped
• 1/4 container of Trader Joe's organic sprouted tofu
• Himalayan salt to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• Onion powder to taste
• cooked quinoa, seasoned

Put the marinara and fire roasted tomatoes in a pot. Slowly bring it to a light boil. Add the asparagus and bell pepper, stir, and increase the heat to low-medium. Let it simmer for about 5-8 minutes. Add the tofu and let it simmer until desired thickness. Serve over a bed of quinoa or spiralized zucchini.

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.