21 Day Sugar Detox - Day 8 - Figuring Out Issues

Did anyone see the drunkfest that was the Golden Globes last night? It was HIGHLY entertaining, got my mind off those bread cravings real well.  I didn't tune in til about halfway through, and then P was like "whaaat?  They drink and THEN accept awards??" And I'm like hell yeah that's why it's so awesome at least one trainwreck WILL happen.  So I'm pretty sure next year we'll have an official viewing of the Golden Globes in all of its drunken glory.  Maybe I'll even write up a Golden Globes drinking game (I need to share with you some movie drinking games I've made, but they'll have to wait until after this detox).  ANYWAY, on to business...

Day 8 has proved challenging.  In part I think it's because I wasn't totally in love with everything I made yesterday, so eating leftover versions that didn't heat up well made eating really not fun and only done out of necessity so I didn't pass out in the middle of work. Just FYI, that quiche doesn't heat up so great. It got all stiff and so the texture was really unpalatable.  I kind of just picked at it til it seemed like I ate enough to make it to lunch and chucked the rest.  Then the reheated meatballs were just dry, and screaming for some sauce.  I'm also really not in love with that cabbage slaw, the amount of lime juice in it just makes it really acidic and it becomes sort of one-note acid flavor.  In fact, I am so not into it that I ended up chucking the rest unfortunately.  I hate that because it is literally throwing money away.  Live and learn - not a fan of red cabbage and lime juice.

I think that this is at least part of the reason I'm really unhappy on this detox right now.  I'm pretty sure I've identified the other, MAIN REASON that I'm unhappy though, thanks to chit-chatting with a friend.

I was talking to a good friend of mine today who is really fit and healthy (she's quite the inspiration!) and I came to the realization that maybe the reason I'm so grumpy with this detox right now is that I'm OVERMEATED (yes I just made up a word, so??).  What I'm saying is, I naturally prefer a balance of meat and non-meat aka vegetarian meals.  I think this may be due to the fact that for the majority of my adult life, I was a vegetarian.  It's what I'm used to and I often prefer meatless options.  I would tofu simply because I like it even though there is research about soy and its evils (a girl can't win!). 

My idea of delicious.

Normally, when I'm not watching what I eat closely, I do not eat a ton of meat.  I don't eat meat even every day necessarily and that's not on purpose, it's just the kinds of foods I go for.  For instance, on the weekends I might make bacon for us as part of our breakfast, but on weekdays I'd usually have a protein shake or a meal bar or some oatmeal, maybe an English muffin with some peanut butter for breakfast.  Lunch would often be a frozen meal (convenience), soup, or a sandwich (usually pbj because I love them).  Or I might bring snackie foods like veggies and some sort of dip, fruit, and some cheese or a yogurt or both.

I've even eaten this healthy for lunch before...it doesn't happen often though hahaha.

For dinner I usually make stir fries, coconut curry, sandwiches, pasta, rice dishes, a cheese plate, etc.  Sometimes I'll pick up a rotisserie chicken, or we'll have steaks or brats once in a blue moon.  Or I'll make us some other meat-centric dish for dinner maybe once or twice a week (like steak and roasted asparagus).  And then if we go out to dinner, I'll order something with meat in it usually. 

But mostly, I don't eat a lot of meat.  And now, on the 21DSD, where meat is in every meal, I am getting really sick of meat.  Like bacon doesn't even sound good right now.  And normally I LOVE bacon.  I don't know if I'm the only person out there on the 21DSD who is sick of meat, but if you're out there, I sympathize.

With that in mind, I present to you, my non-meat cheap and delicious dinner because sometimes not eating meat is A-Ok!  And I totally made this recipe up so I can share it without feeling like a recipe thief, holler!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND HERB BUTTER

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 yellow onions (1 will work but I wanted extra for other stuff)
• Cooking oil (e.g. olive oil if you're unhealthy like me, or coconut oil)
• 4 tbsp. grass-fed butter
•  1 clove garlic
• 1/2 to 1 tsp dried parsley

I did a really bad job at photos for this, mostly because by this point I wasn't feeling hungry, but I was starting to feel physically ill.  That being said, preheat your oven to 350ºF.  Get 4 tbsp of butter out of your fridge, put it in a small mixing bowl, and set it aside for later use.

Then start with the onions because caramelizing takes FOREVER. For this recipe, you probably can get away with just one onion.  I used two because I really like onions, and I wanted some leftover for other uses.  Also, just so you know, yellow onions caramelize much better than other types of onions such as red onions.

I only had one red onion and one yellow onion though, so I said eff it and threw them in together.

Use a large skillet or something similar to cook the onions (I used a 12" with rim).  Slice the onions up, and put about 1tbsp of your oil in the skillet per onion.  Heat your oil over medium heat, put the sliced onions in the skillet, toss to coat the onions with the oil, and reduce to medium-low heat.  You'll need to turn your onions about once every 10 minutes, give or take.  Don't poke at them and stir them a lot, they need to just sit there and let the heat work its magic.  Eventually you'll get them to a point where they look like this or even browner:

Perhaps due to the amount of onion I was cooking (2 large onions) or a misfortune on my part, it took 2 hours for my onions to get to this point.  Generally people tend to reach this stage at 45 minutes to an hour though so never fear.  Just don't try to shortcut by making the temperature hotter, you'll burn your onions and it won't come out right.  Also, don't add sugar or salt or anything.  Just let the onions cook.  If they seem to be getting dried out, add a little more oil.

Once you've got your onion cooking underway, microwave your squash for 4-5 minutes.  Seriously, you don't need to poke any holes or anything, just stick it in the microwave and nuke it.  If it starts making noise, stop microwaving it, it's ready to be cut open.  If you don't have a microwave, sharpen your knife up before slicing the squash in half.  I have cut many a spaghetti squash in half raw, it can be done.  Microwaving just makes it easier.

So cut your squash in half lengthwise.  Then, get a baking dish that can comfortably fit both squash halves.  Before you set your squash halves in the dish, fill it with about 1/4 inch water.  Then put both halves in the dish, cut side down.  Place the baking dish in the oven on the middle rack and bake for approximately 40 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through to ensure even cooking.  Your squash should be kind of soft by the time you're taking it out, so if there's no give when you press on it, cook it 5-10 more minutes.  Also, if the squash starts to burn for some reason, tent some foil over it.  I've never had this happen, but you know, be prepared and such.

Yay baking squash!

While your squash is baking, get your butter.  By now it should be around room temperature.  Mince a clove of garlic and add that to the butter, and then measure out the amount of dried parsley you want, about 1/2 to 1 tsp, and add that to the butter too.  Using a fork, work the ingredients together thoroughly so you have a nice herb butter.

Mmm butter.

When your squash is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes.  They will cool faster if you can flip them over.  I usually take a fork and stick it under a half and use the fork to flip it because they will be REALLY HOT.  Otherwise, just let the dish cool for a bit.  When you can handle the halves without getting burned in the process, turn them over and scoop out the seeds part with a spoon.  Then get a couple bowls and scrape out the strands of one squash half into each bowl.  Top each bowl of squash with some caramelized onions and 2 tbsp of butter.

My onions were only halfway caramelized at this point, but I needed food and didn't care.  Still tasted yummy.

It's not the prettiest or most colorful dish, but I mixed my bowl up and then ate it!  I would have scarfed it down, but unfortunately by the time my food was ready, I was feeling sick.  As in ready to throw up sick.  I knew it was because I didn't eat much today, so I slowly ate my dinner.  By the time I finished, I was feeling much better.  But, since this meal is pretty light on calories, I did add in a "dessert."

I scooped some full fat plain yogurt into a bowl and topped it with slices of a green tipped banana.  It was really nice as far as sugar free healthy desserts go hahaha.

And the meat-free meal really hit the spot.  In fact, I don't think I will be eating meat until tomorrow night and I couldn't be happier.  This little break is exactly what I needed.  And in my planning for the rest of this detox, I now know that I need more meat-free meals (and my wallet and the environment will thank me!).

As an aside, I just want to state, in regard to recipe thieving, this is why I haven't been sharing recipes from my detox.   I've been trying to figure out what is allowed, what isn't, and how best to give credit where credit's due.  After reviewing copyright laws applicable to recipes though, and considering my own views on the topic, I will be providing reviews of different recipes from the 21DSD book and other books I love with my version of how to cook the recipe in the future, and any ingredient modifications, so look forward to more recipes soon!

Also, I'm really stubborn, so of course I'm not quitting the detox even though I was hating food today.  Still feeling good physically minus the major nausea before I finally had a real meal.