21 day Sugar Detox-week 3

Week 3 was probably the hardest for me. Partly because I got tired of cooking and doing dishes every night, and partly because I spent 4 days making flowers for my first wedding weekend of 2014 and I was just straight up exhausted. Knowing my upcoming schedule, however, I was able to properly plan my meals with adequate leftovers and food to eat during the week when I didn't want to cook.

Planning ahead
Cooking beforehand: I made a triple batch of the pork sausage at the beginning of the week. Cooked 2/3 of the batch and froze half of the cooked, then froze the remaining uncooked 1/3 in a sausage roll, like what you'd purchase from the store. James cooked this ready to make sausage Saturday morning when we had friends spend the night after the Friday wedding (that I did flowers for and James was a groomsman for so we attended...more on that below) while I finished the flowers for my Saturday wedding.

Oh you know, just another meal as a florist.

Floral photo props make great food props too!

Large meals: I planned roast for mid week as my last meal that would be cooked among the floral frenzy that explodes in the house for wedding weekends. It was cooked in the crock pot so not a lot to clean up, and I didn't have to take time away from designing to cook dinner.

Comfort foods: We didn't experiment with any new recipes this week; we stuck to the basics. While I followed the 21dsd recipes as compared to my own, the food was about par to our normal meals: chicken thighs, meatballs & spaghetti squash and roast.

Same ol' same ol' breakfasts: Breakfast meals are about the same every day. Meat (bacon or sausage balls), spinach (usually) and an occasional piece of fruit possibly with nut butter. Routine only because I love it so much and I feel so much more energetic during the day!

New adventures for week 4
Mashed Cauliflower: technically this fell on Day 22, but because I ate leftovers for half of week 3, I thought I'd highlight this meal: shepherd's pie. Another comfort food that we have grown to really enjoy but this time I made mashed cauliflower for the top instead of using white potatoes, to remain a 21dsd meal. It was tasty and I honestly couldn't tell the difference. A winner in our books. Need to stock up on cauliflower now.

Chicken Pot pie: I waited until after my initial 21dsd to make this recipe because it contains dairy in form of butter and eggs. I have never made a chicken pot pie before and I'm not so sure how successful the pie part was but it was tasty, warm & filling.

Pumpkin spice smoothie: made with full fat coconut milk (from a can, not the carton "beverage"), this smoothie is the creamiest non-dairy smoothie I have had yet. The spices are those used to bake a pumpkin pie: nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, or simply "pumpkin pie spice if you buy the pre-mixed bottle. And I had a Sam's 3 pack of pumpkin I needed to use up, so I have been making this smoothie farely often.

Easy Salad dressing: Olive Oil, juice of a lemon and an herb (I've used oregano and basil). A guilt free salad dressing that has a great texture and taste! Simple to make one serving and is ideal for a dinner salad!

Baked Nutty Apple: I grew up eating a similar treat, made with simply butter and cinnamon. Adding the nuts was a fun twist for me! I create it with coconut oil so it remained dairy free!

The disaster: Wedding food. My problem with not eating at home is the temptation to just throw my hands in the air and just eat any and everything. This happened on the Friday wedding. There was a vegetable platter, in addition to the fruits and cheese. There was shrimp cocktail, in addition to the rest of the Hors d'oeuvres that contained gluten, dairy, eggs and everything else I shouldn't normally eat, let alone while on my detox. And don't get my started on the beverages and cakes. I take full responsibility of my actions (threw self-control out the window when I went back for the second piece of cake-gotta try each type), and so the next part is mere observations rather than complaints. For the first time in my life, I was bloated. I had complained about it before, but no prior situation was as bad or painful as how I felt after the wedding. I believe because I had cut everything out of my diet that my body just went into full rejection of sugars, food allergies and intolerances and everything I ate. Before bed I had a good long look in the mirror- I looked 4 months pregnant and my abdominal muscles were stretched to the max and HURT. That night made this detox worth it and my solidified my permanent lifestyle change. It took me close to 3 days to return to normal. 3. days. Never before had I experienced this, and I hope to never again. This is me being real here; I'm not regretting eating cheese and sweets because of the calories. In fact if you know James and I you are right in the assumption we were burning up the dance floor and probably danced off more calories than we even consumed.

[[Side note- This year's goal is to learn the footloose line dance and the thriller dance so I can obtain the ultimate wedding guest status. Invite us to your wedding or event for a good gift and to guarantee dancing on the dancefloor to any song! Dancing includes but is not limited to two-step routines, Cotton-eyed joe, copper head road, electric slide, cupid shuffle and the macarena, but that's rarely played anymore. ;) We can provide full résumé including references if needed.]] 

This week was the end of my 21 days, so I will follow up with my review which is in the works, as well as a look into what we are continuing to implement even after the detox!

~RR

"Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, 

loyalty, and persistence." -Colin Powell