The Phills: Sugar Detox Update

Day 6 here on sugar detox! Shannon and I are doing fabulous. It surprises me that I don't miss fruit. I mean REALLY surprises me since I am a fruit LOVER. Fruit is what I snack on all day long every day. But, because of this 21 day sugar detox, I am limited to 1 green-tipped banana or granny smith apple, and 1 sweet potato a day. I shockingly have not cheated. I thought I would end up eating more green apples a day, but I haven't. I have been forced to turn to more nuts for snacking as well as carrots, celery and almond butter (homemade), grape tomatoes, roasted veggies etc...

Have you ever tried jicama? It's a Mexican root vegetable that is slightly sweet and has the texture somewhere between that of a raw potato or apple. It is pretty good. I was surprised. It is a great pair for homemade guacamole. Good snack.

I have always drank almond milk but when needing a snack at night or craving "milk" I had to have the real thing. I wonder why? Cow's milk is super sweet! I have been drinking almond milk exclusively and haven't missed cow's milk. I feel great. I don't feel deprived and I'm being honest. Because I'm eating more vegetables and protein, I feel satisfied after eating. And because I haven't been eating sugar, I don't crave or want sugar. It's been such a neat experience and shocking too. I really thought I would have a harder time not having anything sweet.

I never realized how much sugar (even natural) is in EVERYTHING we eat (recipes) and buy. Here have been some of the shockers for me at the grocery store: some salsa, peppers in adobo sauce (extremely spicy...ticks me off they would put sugar in it!), most brands of chicken and beef broth, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Cavender's seasoning (greek seasoning)... Prepackaged seasoning mixtures are almost always full of junk. So, I'm learning to make my own seasoning mixtures.

I LOVE pork chops. Grilled or baked pork chops are the way to my heart. Seriously. And my favorite seasoning for them? Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Because I can't use it, I looked up a recipe to alter and make my own.

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

I splashed the pork with some beef broth (without any sugar!) and then sprinkled the mixture above on it. Baked it up and it was incredible. I served with roasted brussel sprouts, bacon, and apple tossed with red wine vinegar. Favorite meal this past week.

For most people, breakfast includes something sweet. Most people don't do just eggs every morning. And I'm not different. We would usually have a fruit/spinach smoothie for breakfast because it is sweet. Breakfast has been the most difficult to get creative with but this morning was a definite success. Make these muffins as written and I bet they're delicious, but because I'm on this detox I altered it a little and ate it with warm coconut butter.