Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 18

I accidentally fell asleep super early last night before posting about my Day 18 on the sugar detox. I'm really amazed how much my body has adapted to not eating as much. You may have noticed that I've been posting fewer snacks because I don't feel the need to graze all day, unlike the first week on the detox. Now I can go a full night not eating anything until breakfast, which was just an apple yesterday. 

Breakfast: Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinnamon

I feel like it's been a while since I've had this, but really, it's only been just a few days. Oh how I've missed it!

Green apple and almond butter sprinkled with cinnamon

Green apple and almond butter sprinkled with cinnamon

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

It took me 3 hours to eat this because I ate lunch at my desk at work. It always takes me forever to eat whenever I do that--at least it helps with the digestion!

Dinner: Spiralized Zucchini Pad Thai

Pad Thai using spiralized zucchini as noodles

Pad Thai using spiralized zucchini as noodles

I haven't made this dish since the previous detox, which was back in March. If you love peanut-butterlike sauces and Thai food, then you'll enjoy this one. 

Ingredients:

Using a wok, sauté minced garlic in about 2 tbsp coconut oil until the garlic is a very light golden brown. Add the tofu and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. While sautéing the tofu, generously drizzle it with coconut aminos. Place the cooked tofu in a bowl and set aside for later. Heat the remaining coconut oil in the wok on light-medium heat. Once it gets to a smoking point, add the spiralized zucchini and keep stirring to ensure that it's cooked evenly. After about a minute of cooking the zucchini, add the almond butter and seasonings. Keep tossing the zucchini until it's evenly coated with almond butter and the almond butter has melted. Taste and add more seasonings and coconut aminos to your liking. Just before turning off the stove, add the tofu to absorb some of the almond butter sauce. Remove from heat and sprinkle the dish with shredded carrots. You can cook the carrots, but I like it raw--just like how it's served with Pad Thai at Thai restaurants. 

About coconut aminos: 

Coconut aminos is a great and healthy alternative to soy sauce. Made from coconut tree sap, it's gluten-free, soy-free, mineral-rich and contains 17 naturally occurring amino acids. For those watching their sodium intake, coconut aminos has 73% less sodium (about 270 mg per tablespoon) than soy sauce. You can find it at health food stores like Rainbow Acres and Whole Foods.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 17

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.