What Do You Eat on The Crazy Sexy Diet?

I just finished week 1 of the Crazy Sexy Diet (CSD, 21 Day Adventure Cleanse). This is the third time I have done this detox, and this time around, I have tried to be even more mindful, especially when it comes to gluten and sugar.

I am striving to:

• Abstain from all alcohol
• Abstain from ALL animal products
• Abstain from gluten
• Abstain from sugar (I need to do a better job of reading the ingredients on EVERYTHING. It’s amazing how many products have sugar hidden in their lists.)
• Dry brush everyday (cleanse off dead skin cells that contain released toxins)
• MOVE for at least 30 minutes each day. Even if it’s a 30 minute walk with my dogs, I need to get in some form of exercise each day.
• Do a minimum of 20 minutes of yoga each day.
• Meditate for a minimum of 20 minutes each day.
• Sleep at least 8 hours every night.

On other rounds of the CSD, I have eaten gluten, even if it was just in the form of sprouted, whole grains. This time, I am striving to eliminate it from my diet, (for the 21 days) to see what the results may be.

So what does one eat when they are trying to abstain from animal products, gluten and sugar? Here are a few of my dinners, from the week:

Hummus + carrots + corn tortillas

My husbands’ homemade hummus is my favorite. He added in roasted peppers and cilantro to this batch. It tasted incredibly fresh and vibrant. I dipped sliced carrots and warmed corn tortillas in it. I ate A LOT of corn tortillas this week!

Stir Fry

This is one of my quick, healthy and bulky go-to meals. It makes plenty for left over lunches and even another dinner.

I start by sautéing cubed tofu in coconut oil with 2 cloves of minces garlic. Once it has browned, I add in my veggies. I pretty much use whatever may be in my fridge. For this batch, I added in; edamame, 1 red pepper, green beans and snap peas. I cooked about 1.5 cups of brown rice. Once the rice was finished, I tossed it into my wok with the tofu and veggies, and added the seasonings. To taste, I threw in; ginger, turmeric, curry powder, chili oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar and Bragg’s aminos. This stir fry is spicy, flavorful and full of nutrients. This made enough for dinner and a few lunches.

 Dijon Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette

I am fortunate enough to be recipe tasting again for Joni Newman’s new book. We have a fig tree and I literally wait ALL year for it to bloom. This is my favorite time of year for fresh produce and I love how this recipe incorporates figs in a fun, unique way.

This dressing is made by first making a balsamic glaze reduction, then blending the ingredients together. The result is a nice sweet, yet savory vinaigrette. I topped some blanched kale with the glaze, along with slivered almonds and hemp seeds to add crunch.

Red & White Quinoa

This is another delicious recipe from Joni Newman. I loved this so much I will be making it again this coming week. It is pretty simple, with a few, delicious ingredients. The cooked red and white quinoa is combined with kale, almonds and cranberries, and bound together beautifully with a tahini dressing.

The first thing my husband said when he took a bite of it was: “it tastes like cheese!” Maybe it’s been so long since he has had cheese, but I can see how the tangy sauce, combined with raisins and cranberries, could give off a herbed cheese taste.

Organic Circus Café

I am so delighted that at my local Farmer’s market, there is a raw, vegan, gluten-free stand. For the past few Thursdays, while we shop for our week’s worth of fruits and veggies, we enjoy dinner from Organic Circus Café. Their dishes are innovative, bursting with flavor and health, not to mention delicious.

Each week there is a new dish, so we enjoyed the Raw Spaghetti Bowl (made with spaghetti squash) & Mediterranean Kracker. The spaghetti bowl was surprisingly filling, but the kracker was my favorite; the sundried tomato hummus was amazing!

Thoughts after Week 1:

It was nice to transition into the CSD after the juice cleanse. I feel like I am only filling my body back up with goodness after detoxing some crap out.

I really felt the effects of this when one evening this week, I was not very hungry and only had homemade popcorn for dinner. I woke up the next morning feeling almost like I had a hangover; which essentially I did, just from too much salt. My body told me right away that I did not eat balanced the night before. A few glasses of water cured me, but it was insightful to know how much more in tune and connected I am becoming with my body, when it is healthy.

Another thing I have realized is how hard it is to stay away from sugar, particularly, those hidden sugars! I have stuck to fresh fruit when I need something a little sweet, but while shopping for food this week, I had a hard time finding products with 0 grams of sugar! I ended up selecting items that did not have sugar listed in the ingredient list, and that was still difficult to find. There were so many things I had to put back on the shelf, after reading the ingredients. Why does it have to be everywhere?!

I feel this first week was a success. Another benefit of the juice cleanse was 3 days with no food, makes any food after that point seem like a treat, even if it did not have gluten or sugar. We will see how this next week goes, please let me know if you have any questions about the CSD!