Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 5

Breakfast: Cauliflower Apple Pecan Salad

Cauliflower Apple Pecan Salad: A little tart, a little sweet ... and oh so refreshing.

I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself because this was the most ‘adventurous’ I’ve been when it comes to experimenting with recipes. I made this salad last night so I could have it for breakfast this morning and break up the monotony of my meals. I devoured it—partly because I was starving by the time I got to work, and largely because it was delicious. I will definitely be making this again, even when I’m done with the detox!

Here are the ingredients:

• Juice of 2 lemons
• ¾ green apple, sliced thinly into cubes
• 1 bag of cauliflower florets, chopped
• 1 generous handful of fresh parsley
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• Himalayan salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Use a food processor (I used a Ninja) to chop up the cauliflower and parsley, and put them in a bowl. Cut up the 2 lemons (use more if you want it tarter), and squeeze the juice over the cauliflower parsley mix. Let it marinade for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, cut up the green apple into tiny cubes and chop up the pecans. Mix the remaining ingredients with the cauliflower and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Put in the refrigerator to chill before serving.

Snack: Hemp, Sunflower & Pumpkin Seed Mix

Lunch: Queen of Quinoa’s Detox Salad

Well, I finally polished off the remaining leftovers. Good thing too because I don’t think I could eat it for one more day. My taste buds need a change.

Snack: Green Banana & Almond Butter

By 5 pm, hunger was really starting to set in. I cut up a green banana, drizzled it with almond butter and sprinkled some cinnamon. 

Dinner: Black Bean Veggie Fiesta with Quinoa

So far, nothing I've made on this detox has been as filling as the two black bean dishes. I ate it again tonight and was so full I barely finished one bowl. That's a first!

Black bean veggie fiesta with quinoa

Dessert: Sunflower-Flax Seeds and Almond Mix

Sunflower-flax seeds and almond mix

It's cookie butter, no it's a graham cracker crust ... no, it's a sunflower-flax seeds and almond mix! I thought almond butter was the only thing that would satisfy my "sweet tooth" on this sugar detox but I was so wrong. My boyfriend mixed roasted sunflower and flax seeds with raw sliced almonds, cinnamon and pumpkin spice mix, and put them in the Ninja. Instead of the usual creamy, buttery texture of cashew and almond butters, this mix turned out to taste most like cookie butter with the texture of granola. 

This. Is. A. Game. Changer. 

It's perfect as a dessert AND a snack, and one that I'll be eating A LOT of throughout this detox and beyond.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 4

Every day is a countdown on this sugar detox. Only 17 days to go until I can go back to eating normal foods! And by normal I mean tempeh, vegan sausage, a variety of fruits … and, of course, some sweets.

Breakfast: Black Bean & Fajita Veggies

I ate my leftovers without quinoa this time since I forgot to cook some last night. I ate it with the usual salsa and guacamole. By the way, there are very few sauces, dips and salsas that are allowed on the detox. Trader Joe’s Double Roasted Salsa is one of them … and it’s delicious. As someone with a low tolerance for spicy foods, it has just enough of a kick to get my taste buds dancing—not burning. It takes any dish on the detox to the next level. I also love that my favorite guacamole also happens to be allowed on the detox: Trader Joe’s Avocado’s Number Guacamole has no sugar! Yay!

I thought today’s breakfast was actually more filling. Maybe it’s because I ate more beans instead of quinoa.

Snack: Green Apple

Thank goodness for green apples! They’re great as a snack (and dessert when dipped in almond butter). Today I ate it on its own, thinly sliced so it was more like chips.

Lunch: Queen of Quinoa’s Detox Salad

I drizzled some extra rice vinegar to give it a punch of extra flavor since I’ve been eating it for a few days now. It was still delish but I’m getting preeeetty tired of it. I have one more serving left!

Snack: Almond Butter with Cinnamon

I don’t know what I’d do without almond butter on this detox. Combined with cinnamon, which tricks your taste buds into thinking you’re eating something sweet, it makes for one tasty snack! It’s almost like a melted peanut butter cup—without the chocolate.

Dinner: Black Bean Veggie Fiesta with Quinoa

This dish is pretty similar to the last Black Bean and Fajita Veggie dish except I added spinach, tomatoes and tofu. I know tofu isn't allowed on the detox, but I needed something a little more substantial. 

Black bean veggie fiesta with quinoa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 serving of tofu
• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 2-3 cups of black beans
• 1 tbsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 cup of garlic and onions
• Himalayan salt to taste

Black bean veggie fiesta with quinoa, guacamole and salsa

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 3

Today was definitely better than Day 2 of the detox. The only issue I had today was my insatiable hunger. Even though I was pretty much grazing all day, the hunger pangs never really disappeared, they just decreased in intensity. I was still having sudden cravings for something sweet, but not as intense as yesterday.

Breakfast: Black Beans, Fajita Veggies & Quinoa 

I decided to switch things up and start off with a hearty breakfast instead of a smoothie. I ate the leftovers from my dinner last night for breakfast today. 

Snack: Raw Hemp, Sunflower and Pumpkin Seed Mix

It wasn't long after I got to work that I already needed a snack. Surprisingly, this seed mix is remarkably more filling than it seems. It at least kept the hunger pangs down until I had lunch, which was a lot earlier than I usually eat. 

Lunch: Queen of Quinoa's Detox Salad

I'm still not tired of this salad even though I had it for the third time. I also thought it was a little tastier, probably because the ingredients marinated in lemon juice and rice vinegar longer. 

Snack: Green Apple & Almond Butter

Almond butter is a great source of protein at 7 grams per 2 tbsp. I helped myself to about 3 tbsp, just enough to enjoy with every bite of apple.

Dinner: Black Beans, Fajita Veggies & Quinoa

If there's one thing I learned from the past sugar detoxes, it's to cook enough food to last several days--even if it means having to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Luckily I wasn't tired of this dish even though it was my third time eating it.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 2

Day 2 of the detox was pretty rough. I was dealing with headaches that left my head cold and tingly, nausea, and sudden cravings for anything with sugar. Visions of Nutella crepes, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and honey danced in my head. Maybe it's because I feel extra restricted, not being able to eat eggs, dairy and sugar on this detox.

The headaches may have also stemmed from not drinking coffee today, my usual morning staple. It can be irritating on an empty stomach, and my stomach has been feeling empty since I started detoxing.

Here's the breakdown of my day's meals:

Breakfast #1: Chocolate Banana Coconut Smoothie 

The smoothie's consistency today wasn't as thick, but I still ended up having to 'drink' it with a spoon. 

Breakfast #2: Raw Hemp, Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds Mix

I seasoned about 1 cup of the seed mix with Himalayan salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and onion powder. That first bite of the mix blew me away. It almost tasted like a well-seasoned potato chip (or maybe I was just trying to imagine that it was). 

Lunch: Queen of Quinoa's Detox Salad

I ate the leftover salad from last night. Still delish!

Dinner: Fajita Veggie Stir Fry + Quinoa

I used precut fajita veggies, black beans, crimini mushrooms, baby spinach and garlic. I fried the garlic and onions first, then the mushrooms, fajita veggie mix and baby spinach next. I layered it on a bed of quinoa and topped it with double-roasted salsa and guacamole. 

Day 2 Summary

Overall, Day 2 on the detox proved to be more challenging than Day 2 of my previous sugar detoxes. There were a lot of things that may have been a factor: from binging (pre-detox) on sugary foods thanks to Halloween, to skipping coffee, to not eating enough on Day 1 and my body adjusting to portion control. I figured once my body gets back into the groove of eating healthy, things will get easier.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 1

This is my fourth time doing the 21-Day Sugar Detox, but this is my first time doing it the vegan way. For the past few months, I’ve pretty much cut out eggs and cheese (the two things that got me through the last three detoxes). Aside from resetting my body, I hope that after this, becoming vegan will be simple after having done it for 21 days without sugar. I also hope that by sharing my journey on this detox, I can give vegans recipe ideas allowed on this detox (since the recipes in Diane Sanfilippo's 21-Day Sugar Detox book are mostly centered on non-vegan/non-vegetarian diets).

Loading Up

I got up early to go to Trader Joe’s before it turned into a madhouse. I bought $50+ worth of food to make meals for the next couple of days. Among the items I got were kale, shredded carrots, cauliflower, lemon, hemp seeds and raw pecans. I decided to go with the Queen of Quinoa’s detox salad recipe for my next few lunches and dinners. I made some adjustments to omit the ingredients not allowed on the 21DSD. Side note: I’m so glad I stumbled upon the Queen of Quinoa’s site because, as a vegetarian (and as of today, vegan), quinoa has been my #1 staple. When my fridge and pantry are empty and all else fails… quinoa it is!

Breakfast: Chocolate Banana Coconut Smoothie

Chocolate banana coconut smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 frozen green bananas
• 1/2 can of unsweetened organic coconut milk
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp of Sunfoods Super Foods Raw Cacao Powder
• 1 cup crushed ice

Cut up green bananas and place them in the freezer for about 2 hours (the longer, the better). Put the ice in the blender first, then the bananas, coconut milk and raw cacao powder. Be sure to shake the can of coconut milk really well because I forgot to do this and my smoothie came out super thick. On the plus side, it ends up tasting more like chocolate mousse if you put it in the fridge.

Lunch: Zucchini Stir Fry

I just had some leftover zucchini stir fry from the night before. The original meal had tempeh bacon, but for the leftovers today, it was just zucchini, onions and seasoning. 

Dinner: Queen of Quinoa’s Detox Salad (with some modifications)

Queen of Quinoa's Detox Salad (modified)

For this recipe, I omitted quite a few ingredients to simplify it and to make it sugar-detox-friendly. These are the ingredients I used:

• 1/2 cup parsley
• Juice of 2 1/2 lemons (I like it really tart)
• 3/4 cup chopped raw pecans 
• 1 bag of cauliflower florets (from Trader Joe’s), chopped
• Hemp seeds to taste (a few sprinkles)
• 1/2 bag of kale, chopped
• 3 tbsp of rice vinegar
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa, seasoned
• 1-1/2 cups of shredded carrots

Cook 2 cups of quinoa (I used a rice cooker). Wash all the veggies. Using a food processor (I used a Ninja), chop up the cauliflower, parsley, kale and pecans separately.  Put the chopped kale and parsley into a bowl, squeeze the lemons, mix and let it soak for about 45 minutes. 

Once the quinoa is cooked and cooled, mix everything in a bowl. Start with 2 tbsp of rice vinegar and add more based on your preference. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

I loved the fresh, clean flavors of this dish, which I'm sure I'll be making more of throughout this detox. The prep time takes a while because my Ninja is pretty small so I had to chop things up in batches. On the plus side, it's a salad so you don't have to cook anything after all the prep work!

Day 1 Summary

I found the first half of the day to be the most challenging. I always wake up hungry, so not having something hearty and readily available to eat was the hardest part of Day 1. I woke up at 8 AM but didn't actually eat anything until 11:30 AM, which is pretty late for me. I just felt continuously hungry throughout the day.