cucumber lemon salad — Vegan Living

Whenever I’m home all day, my eating schedule gets thrown off because I’m not very good about sticking to my usual workday routine. Such was the case for Day 13 on the sugar detox, which is why my first two meals weren’t very substantial.

Brunch: Spiralized Cucumber Lemon Salad

This dish has seriously renewed my love for cucumbers. It is so crisp and refreshing, and makes for a perfect snack or meal. There are so many ways to modify the recipe so you don’t get tired of it. Aside from tomatoes, you can add bell peppers for extra crunch, fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro or basil), garlic, onions, etc.

Spiralized cucumber salad with lemon and tomatoes

Snack: Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinnamon

Guilt-free dessert for brunch: green apple with almond butter and cinnamon

Appetizer: Shoestring Sweet Potato Fries

I’ve been on a fries craze lately. Can you tell? It’s my most sinful snack on this detox. I have to have something, right? I decided to spiralize the sweet potatoes and fry them up in a pan. The only bad thing about them was that there wasn’t enough! They shrink once they’re fried; so what seems like a mound of fries turns out to be a small bowl-full. I guess it makes me feel less guilty about eating them.

First, spiralize raw sweet potatoes (after washing them). I used the thinner of the two spaghetti-like blades. Put a spoonful of coconut oil in a pan, and bring to a smoking point. Then put a small batch of spiralized sweet potatoes and continuously toss them in the pan until they get crispy. You’ll know once they’re almost done because they’ll shrivel up. Repeat this process in small batches. Season immediately with Himalayan salt and whatever other seasonings you want.

Dinner: Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist

I know I’ve made this dish quite a few times now on this detox, but it’s so easy to make and oh so good! This time I threw in some leftover spiralized zucchini from the zucchini pasta dish. The texture and color enhanced the dish, even if it didn’t really change the taste.

Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist - 1

Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist - 2

Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist - 3

Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist - 4

Ingredients:

Bowl of spiralized zucchini
2 cans of organic black beans
1 bell pepper, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
Cooked quinoa, seasoned
Himalayan salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper

Heat a spoonful of coconut oil in a pan on light-medium heat. Add crushed garlic and diced bell peppers and sauté until brown. Add spiralized zucchini and keep tossing it in the pan until it starts to soften up. Then add black beans and keep mixing it around. Once the beans are hot, add the tomatoes at the end to long enough to warm them up. Serve over quinoa, top off with guacamole and salsa, dig in and enjoy!

The hunger level on Day 9 of the sugar detox was pretty minimal. Something I ate at my friend's birthday dinner wasn't sitting well with me so I didn't have the appetite to eat hearty meals. I think it was the freekeh grain and the black currants in the "Freekehlicious Salad". I guess that's why you're not supposed to go back to eating normal foods right after the detox because your body will go in shock. (You're supposed to gradually reintroduce foods.) Even just a week into the detox was enough to send my body into a tailspin after eating a "normal" meal.

Breakfast: Sunflower-Flax Seed and Almond Mix

Lunch: Spiralized Cucumber Lemon Salad

I forgot how much of a difference spiralized veggies taste versus just chopping them up. It could be all in my head (and the excitement of using a spiralizer), but I think this cucumber salad came out a lot tastier than when I slice them into circles. The thinness allows the cucumber to really soak up the lemon juice, which it had been marinating in overnight.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber (I used Trader Joe's Organic English Cucumber)
Juice of 1-2 lemons (depends on how tart you want it)
2 Roma tomatoes
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Tip: Let it marinate in the fridge overnight for more flavor.

Snack: Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinammon

Green Apple and Almond Butter - 1

Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinnamon - 1

Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinnamon - 2

Dinner: Zucchini Avocado 'Pasta'

I'm sad to report that this meal ended up being a bit of a flop. The avocados were not ripe enough and no matter how much lemon juice I used, I couldn't prevent the avocados from turning brown. More lemon meant more tartness, so what was supposed to be a creamy garlic 'pasta' sauce ended up tasting more like guacamole ... especially because I made the mistake of adding cilantro. I wanted to use it up before it went bad, plus I had already inadvertently turned the sauce into guacamole. You just have to roll with it, right?

Spiralized Zucchini with Avocado Pasta Sauce

These were the ingredients used, but I highly recommend you play around with the measurements as I'm sure you can do a better job than me.

3 avocados (ripe!)
Juice of 1-2 lemons
4-5 cloves of garlic
A small handful of cilantro (you probably won't want this in your recipe)
Onions (sautéed is better, otherwise it'll emphasize the guacamole taste)
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp of olive oil
4-5 spiralized organic zucchinis

Cut up the lemons first so that you can immediately squeeze them over the mashed avocados before they turn brown. Chop up the garlic and cilantro in a food processor (I used a Ninja). Next, add the avocados and blend into a creamy consistency. Pour the mix into a bowl and add the seasonings and olive oil. Sauté the onions and pour into the mix. Stir well and serve over spiralized zucchini.

Note: You can eat the zucchini raw or sauté it in a pan with light oil until you get the texture you want.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 13