21 Day Sugar Detox - Day 3 - Golden Beets With Crispy Herbs

First of all, I overhauled my blog!  I hope you like the new look.  Also, some interest has been expressed in me recording every day of my detox journey so I'm going to go ahead and try to do so.  Hopefully you will get a picture of what changes can happen from the average American diet to something much healthier.

Add some protein to the picture on the left and that's where I'm headed!

With that in mind, according to the 21DSD emails which I get every morning, this is what was in store for Day 3:

YOU MAY EXPERIENCE: Fatigue, cold- and flu-like symptoms, low blood sugar, or self-doubt. Day 3 is the beginning of some of the hardest days for most folks!  Just know that this reaction is common and will subside within a few days. Focus on the positives that are ahead—liberation from your cravings and a healthier you inside and out.

Not exactly the morning inspiration one would hope for!  But the day ended pretty well.

I can attest to the tiredness part at least, because most of the day I was feeling fatigued and achy.  I had more resolve today and less insane cravings thankfully.  But I was a little hungrier than the last couple days.  Then again, my lunch was pretty disappointing so that could be why I was hungry - more on that in a minute.

We started this hectic day out with a Bacon, Parsnip and Carrot hash, which I ate with an over-easy egg.  It was really good!  I'd actually never used parsnips before and I'm glad I finally have.  P enjoyed the hash too.  Yet another victory from the 21DSD book.  I think we say something akin to "why haven't we been eating like this all along" to each other at least once a day since I started this detox.  We also say "we'll have to make that recipe again" more than once a day.  To be clear, P is not doing the detox, but who's going to turn down fresh made hot meals?  Nobody, that's who.  And he is striving to be healthier too so this works out nicely.

Now, onto the one recipe so far that I have not liked one bit.  For lunch I had "Banola" which is kind of like a mix of 21DSD approved nuts and seeds with a green tip banana puree made with vanilla, cinnamon, and an egg, that you bake into a sort of close version of "Granola."  Despite the green bananas, vanilla, and cinnamon, it really just tastes like a mouthful of nuts and seeds to me.  I tried the suggested "eat it like a cereal with some coconut milk" and it just tasted like nuts covered in coconut milk.  AKA not good.  It was the one time so far I was like "Blech.  Just eat it so you're not hungry and hope dinner rocks." 

And my friends, dinner did rock. We had "Mustard-Glazed Chicken Thighs" and "Golden Beets with Crispy Herbs."  I'd never cooked chicken thighs before but man, they are tasty with that glaze.  We refrained from overindulging only because we wanted some for lunch tomorrow.  And the beets, wow, they did not taste like boring old beets at all.  So, without further ado, I present to you, a delicious side dish recipe (even if you aren't detoxing!): 

GOLDEN BEETS WITH CRISPY HERBS

•     3-4 medium golden beets
•     3 tbsp. coconut oil, divided
•     1/2 tsp. sea salt
•     1/4 tsp. black pepper
•     1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
•     12-14 sage leaves

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.  Slice the tops and bottoms off the beets, and peel the skin off of them. Next, cut them in half.  Then take each half and slice them into 1/4-inch slices.  THEN, slice those suckers in half so you have nice half moon looking slices.  Toss the beets with 1 tbsp. coconut oil and the salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Half moon slices!

Spread the beets in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes.  Flip the beets and roast for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the edges of the beets are golden brown.

Roasted goodness.

While your beets are roasting, get your herbs ready.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp. of coconut oil in a small skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot and a bit of smoke is coming off of it, add the herbs - watch out, this WILL splatter - and cook for about 30 seconds.  Scoop the crispy herbs out of the oil and serve over the beets.

I'll probably double this recipe in the future - YUM!

The beets recipe works really well with the chicken recipe since they cook at the same temperature.  And then you can have a yummy delicious meal without taking up tons of time, hurray!  This meant for me that I got some sitting on the couch time tonight.  Oh it was so very nice to not be doing tons of dishes and prepping more food.  I have leftover hash for breakfast tomorrow and leftover chicken for lunch so I'm set.  Which brings me to Lesson #3 - Plan Ahead.  Seriously, plan out some meals and figure out things that go together to make your life easier.  Also prepare enough food to have leftovers so you aren't cooking every single meal.

For more amazingness, please check out the 21DSD website (I'm not sponsored or even known by that website, I'm just saying...the recipes are really good so far).