21 Day Sugar Detox week 2

"Cheat Days"

This term is frustrating. I prefer to call it "give into convenience & temptation and suffer from headaches and stomach aches all day while complaining and swearing to never do it again" day, because that's what they end up to be for me.

It started with a quarter of a sandwich mid afternoon on Day 10 and went to Taco Tuesday dinner, morning snack of doughnuts Day 11, uncle Julio's lunch and cheesecake and cookies snack.

Minus the doughnuts and cheesecake, that 24 hours easily resembles my normal food choices and sweets. 

This time though, it hurt.

My brain: mind became foggy by 2pm. I found it really hard to focus on anything let alone have the ability to think all the way through. I started spacing out and felt a sugar crash.

Sinus pressure: I get the worst sinus pressure from allergies on my cheek bones. From there it goes to the temples then eventually at the base of the head/back of neck. Not fun.

Stomach: bloated, loud (I swear they put a microphone in there when they did surgery and adjusted things), & hurt. The worst I've been in awhile.

Energy level: slim to none

Saving redemption: starting the crock pot of a 21dsd recipe at the beginning of Day 11 so I knew I will have a good end of the day.

So basically, my relapse really set me back. I was feeling really well for the most part, enjoying the foods I was making and feeling awesome the days I ate properly. I wasn't really craving the sugar, until I saw the table of doughnuts. Being at work is the worst time for me to want to cheat because I'm not limited to my own foods in the pantry or fridge.

So now that I've finished describing why a "cheat day" isn't as easy as it sounds & straight up not worth it, let me touch-base on the exciting things of the week.

New foods:
-Butternut squash mash: tasted similar to a carrot souffle my mother-in-law makes for Christmas, except it was sugar, egg and dairy free! I really liked it, but I don't think James went back for more.

-Caulirice (grated cauliflower to a rice texture): Once again, I liked, unsure about James. We don't eat a bunch of cauliflower so it was a nice veggie rotation at the very least. Didn't cause discomfort for me the next morning.

Is it rice or is it caulirice? Chicken Abado with Caulirice.

-Zucchini noodles, aka "zoodles" using my new Spiralizing machine: nomz

A pretty nifty machine.

Zoodles! Turned out to be like a Lo Mein

Nomz

-Sunflower seed butter, aka sunbutter (like peanut butter): Cheaper than buying a jar but I'm not patient enough to make it as creamy as the recipe showed or of that we buy. Perhaps it was my food processor? Yeah we'll go with that. But still equivalent taste!!

-Coconut butter: honestly, fail. My food processor isn't powerful enough to make this. When in doubt, blame the food processor. Ended up buying for week 3. Coconut butter was used to create sunbutter, so that might be another reason that wasn't as creamy as recipe showed.

-Tuna steak: though I used it differently than the original recipe for which it was purchased, it turned out well and was a pleasant surprise. A bit expensive to purchase, I will add this meat to my list of "only buy when on sale or super special occasion"

-Brussel sprouts: I have never cooked or even eaten brussel sprouts before but they were exceptionally tastey! A winner in James's book, and I have added them to my mental "frozen veggies to have on hand" list (including spinach and green beans), though I bet fresh tastes better. Sometimes I just prefer having frozen veggies to throw into a meal last minute instead of fresh produce that is normally planned!

-Parsnips: as mentioned in my first blog, I had to google what these even were in order to find them in the produce section. Upon cooking, they had an interesting taste. Unlike carrots which tend to have a sweeter taste, the parsnips tasted...bitter? Different, though I haven't given up on them. Purchased more for week 3. Once again, first time I cooked with and eaten this vegetable.

Recipe flops: 

For the first time I made a recipe that we weren't fond of. In part I blame me not reading it all the way through when I chose to make it. If I make it in the future, Cottage Pie will only have a quarter of the spices for which the recipe called. Just a bit too hot, even for me! (Says a lot, really. I prefer salsa that makes you sweat and buffalo wings that make your mouth burn the remainder of the day.)

Looks similar to shepherd's pie

Used leftover pork shoulder from last week as the meat instead of ground hamburger.

IN LOVE WITH

-The avo-ziki sauce. We used it as a substitute for dip with veggies. Along the lines of guacamole except no cilantro or pico to give it a spicy kick. Who doesn't loved mashed avocados? Best part, it didn't turn brown in the fridge by the next morning. Most likely the lemon juice played here but hey, cool!

The perfect dip for veggies or chips!

-Perfectly grilled chicken. When reading the recipe once through James thought I was crazy for picking it, because it was exactly how we prepare chicken anyways! Marinade in balsamic vinegar (okay we used balsamic vinaigrette before-an easier cheat we discovered last summer) and a few herbs. HOWEVER butterfly cutting the chicken made all the difference when it came to grilling. So yay for learning new techniques more than exciting recipes (though still a good recipe for someone who hasn't tried this way before!)

Perfectly grilled chicken breast with butternut squash mash and brussel sprouts

-Pumpkin spice smoothies made with coconut milk (from a can not beverage from a carton), canned pumpkin, frozen banana and pumpkin pie spices (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice).

Breakfast Meals:

Root Hash made with parsnips and carrots. I got inpatient so the parsnips just got chopped.

Brought back the homemade sausage in form of balls. Plus spinach and some apples with sunbutter was a lovely breakfast.

As always I am enjoying trying new recipes, these recipes are awesome in that I really don't have to modify them! Always a nice change of pace to not be googling substitutes and hoping for the best. I still highly recommend this 21dsd!

Week 3 is in the works, sorry I got a bit behind! 

~RR

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing.
That's why we recommend it daily." -Zig Ziglar

Cooking Adventures of the Paleo/Vegan Diet

We recently learned my husband James has quite a few allergies: dairy, egg, gluten (to name a few).  We've decided to change our diets for awhile to see if the change affects headaches and stomach aches he has recently been having.  In our attempt to find allergy-free recipes, we have decided we are really adapting a paleo/vegan diet: eliminating processed foods and staying away from dairy and eggs, but still eating meats.  So far we have cleaned out our pantry, restocked it with allergy-free ingredients and products, researched appealing recipes and have started adapting to our new lives.

As my doctor told me, allergies are like a cup of water: as you are exposed to an allergen, imagine pouring some water into a cup; the more allergens you are exposed to, the fuller the cup, until your body goes completely haywire and your cup overflows.  When my younger brother was in the 8th/9th grade, this is exactly what was happening. He was skin and bones and had stomach issues.  We did a blood test on him and found he was severely allergic to soy, gluten and eggs, basically the only food groups he was eating.  Since he has changed his diet, he feels great, looks great, and is now a healthy senior in high school. I admire him; I couldn't imagine being 18 years old and not eating cake, hamburgers, drinking pepsi, and so much more.

With my brother's experience, my whole family changed our diets, so this new diet to accommodate to my husband's newly found allergies wouldn't be too different for me. The change, however, will be the cooking of the foods, as I have rarely cooked many allergy-free foods.

Today I changed up my usual crock pot roast so that it would be soy and gluten free. Normally I plop the roast in the crock pot, empty about half a packet of Lipton Onion soup mix packet on top and add some water. Today however, I used some different ingredients:

Roast from the 'Lewis Place', half of a small cooking onion, half of the package of dried portobello mushrooms, and half of the carton of organic, allergy-free mushroom soup.

We absolutely love returning home from work to the smell of a crock pot creation, especially roast! 

The roast tasted the same, if not better, than my traditional onion soup mix recipe; the main difference actually comes with the higher cost of the allergy free ingredients. I altered my mashed potatoes to use only Original flavored Almond Milk (normally I pile in the butter and regular milk).  The mashed potatoes were creamy and tasted just the same! Of course the gravy from the roast would have masked any odd flavors if there were any!

All in all, we had a successful dinner and, besides for the initial 'full' feeling, felt amazing! No discomfort or drowsiness at all. I look forward to adapting more of my recipes and trying new ones as we experiment with our new life change!

Is anyone else trying a new diet due to dietary restrictions? Any suggestions or recommendations out there?

Yours truly,

RR

"Do not live life attempting to make your presence known, 

but live in a way which makes your absence felt."