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 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

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

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:

• 1/2 jar of Trader Joe's Creamy Almond Butter, Salted
• 5 organic zucchinis, spiralized
• 1/3 bag of shredded organic carrots
• 1 container of Trader Joe's Organic Sprouted Tofu
• Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• 3 tbsp of organic coconut oil

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 14

By now you’re probably thinking, “How can she eat the same food over and over again?” Well, the answer is … convenience. On my first sugar detox, I was really ambitious about cooking new recipes almost every day. My boyfriend and I would joke about how our entire detox was spent in the kitchen. When we weren’t at work or asleep, we were cooking. The important thing is that you do what you need to do to successfully complete the detox. You’re bound to run into days/nights when you just don’t feel like cooking. And since you can’t just order takeout or buy a pre-packaged meal, you resort to some form of convenience. For me, that’s quinoa and whatever food I have in the fridge or pantry.

Breakfast: Green Apple and Almond Butter with Cinnamon

Green apple and almond butter with cinnamon 

Lunch and Dinner: Black Bean Quinoa Zucchini Twist

Black bean quinoa zucchini twist

Side Dish for Dinner: Spiralized Cucumber Lemon Salad

Spaghetti-like cucumber with lemon and tomatoes

I used the same spaghetti-like spiralizer blade that I used to make the shoestring sweet potato fries. I think I actually prefer this cut over the flat noodle-like blade for this particular salad. It gave it more of a crunch. I also added an organic thai seasoning from Whole Foods, garlic powder and onion powder to give it a flavor kick. 

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 13

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!

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 10

I woke up starving since I didn't eat much the day before. I didn't get a chance to have breakfast until I got to work, but at that point, I was already past the point of hunger. It was the first time I woke up super hungry, fought through it, and the hunger pangs just leveled out. I guess this was my body finally adapting to the sugar detox.

Breakfast: Green Apple with Almond Butter & Cinnamon

Like the Sunflower-Flax Seed and Almond Mix, this is a treat I look forward to eating every day. 

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

Maybe it's because I hadn't eaten this in two days, but I thought this was delicious! I didn't even feel the need to add guacamole and salsa to it. 

Black eyed peas with vegetable and quinoa medley

Snack: Hemp, Sunflower, Flax Seed and Almond Mix

I switched things up a little and threw in some roasted flax seeds. For such tiny seeds, they surprisingly made a pretty big difference in terms of flavor and texture. I seasoned it with the usual Himalayan salt, onion powder and garlic powder. 

Dinner: Spiralized Zucchini with Mama Jess Bean Good Organic Bean Pasta Sauce

My boyfriend discovered this amazingly rich and healthy pasta sauce at Rainbow Acres, our favorite local health food store. It's called Mama Jess Bean Good and it combines organic tomato puree with organic white bean puree. Genius!! The beans give it a thick and creamy texture, but more importantly, they deliver a nutritional punch: protein, fiber and complex carbs. Best of all, the sauce contains ingredients allowed on the detox. 

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 9

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

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. 

Spiralized cucumber salad with lemon and tomatoes

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?

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.