Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 21

in

Day 21 of the vegan sugar detox came and went without any pomp and circumstance. It's not that I wasn't excited about it, it's just that it happened to be a Saturday and I was too busy to really give my last day a grand finale. I would've liked to have ended it with some fancy sugar-free, vegan meal.

Here are the positive changes I experienced on the vegan sugar detox: 

I'm sure I'll experience more positive changes as I continue on my vegan journey, which I will happily share here. 

Without further ado, here were the last meals I had on the final day of the vegan sugar detox:

Brunch: Avocado Tomato Salad

Avocado tomato salad with lemon juice

Avocado tomato salad with lemon juice

This is something I made the other night. I had avocados that I needed to use before they became overripe. 

Ingredients:

  • 4 avocados
  • 1 organic tomato, diced
  • juice of 3-4 lemons
  • Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
  • Garlic powder to taste
  • Dried thyme to taste

First, cut up all the lemons and remove the seeds. Cut the avocados into cubes. Immediately squeeze the lemon juice all over the avocados, mixing it to ensure the lemon juice coats the avocados (to prevent them from turning brown). Add the tomatoes and seasonings, and mix well. Place in the refrigerator to chill before serving.

Snack: Diane Sanfilippo's Grain-Free Banola (Raw)

Dinner: Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

Coconut milk curry with vegetables

Coconut milk curry with vegetables

This turned out a little oilier than the night it was first cooked. It may be that I put a little too much coconut oil when cooking the quinoa. It was still very delicious though! 

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 20

in

Day 20 on the vegan sugar detox didn't feel that different from the days leading up to it. What I did feel was excitement about being so close to the finish line. And yet, it was also bittersweet knowing that it was coming to an end and feeling like this was the pinnacle of eating healthy in terms of not eating sugar--the culprit of many ailments. Even though I'll still be sticking with my vegan diet after this, there's nothing quite like constantly seeing and feeling the positive effects that abstaining from sugar has on your body. (I know I've said this many times, but you really do wake up feeling lighter and lighter, even if the weighing scale doesn't always reflect it.)

Breakfast: Diane Sanfilippo's Grain-Free Banola (Raw)

Diane Sanfilippo's  Grain-Free Banola (raw version)

Diane Sanfilippo's  Grain-Free Banola (raw version)

Lunch: Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

Vegetable coconut milk curry

Vegetable coconut milk curry

Snack: Green Banana and Almond Butter with Cinnamon and Pumpkin Pie Spice

Green banana drizzled with almond butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice

Green banana drizzled with almond butter and sprinkled with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice

Dinner: Marinara with White Beans and Asparagus

Marinara with white beans and asparagus served over quinoa

Marinara with white beans and asparagus served over quinoa

My boyfriend and I were too tired to cook yet again, especially on a Friday night when the temptation to eat out is just too great. But of course we couldn't break the streak after getting this far on the detox. So we decided to cook a really simple meal: pre-made marinara sauce with asparagus and canned white beans over quinoa. I was actually surprised that this dish surprised me: the white beans actually tasted like a creamy cheese when mixed with marinara. Now I'm wondering if the white beans could be used as a cheese substitute for other dishes, or used to make a vegan creamy alfredo sauce. Hmm...

Ingredients:

Pour the marinara into a pot and simmer on low heat. Put the chopped asparagus in next, then add seasonings to taste. Add the white kidney beans last, just long enough to heat them up. Once the asparagus has softened, remove from heat and serve over quinoa.

Vegan 21-Day Sugar Detox: Day 19

in

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)

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

Pad Thai using spiralized zucchini as noodles

Appetizer: Fried Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Dinner: Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

Vegetable coconut milk curry

Vegetable coconut milk curry