Thanksgiving and Christmas are now fond memories. The sugar high of birthday cake and girls’ weekend are sadly in the past. Now I’m ready to move on. Sort of. I enjoyed each bit of sweet treat that passed my lips, but I’ve found myself wanting needing something sweet after every meal and sometimes between meals.

Some people are not susceptible to the addictive qualities of sugar and some of us are. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter category. I’ve known this about myself for a long time. As I follow a Paleo diet, the sugar I’m eating is either naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables or from naturally sweet foods like maple syrup and honey. Yes, this is better than refined sugar, but it’s still sugar and I want more of it than I should have.

A little over a year ago, I gave my first 21 Day Sugar Detox (21 DSD) a try. My husband and son were away at Scout camp so with just my daughter and I at home, it was easier to eat this more limited diet. It was not easy, but I was making it. I can honestly say that I had reached the point where I had lost my appetite for sweets. I had actually lost my appetite altogether. It was hard to get enough calories in. Hard to believe, I know.

I think it was about day 10 when my husband came home. He was very kind and happy to see me, but he eventually said, in a very hesitant way, “You smell kind of strange.” I was horrified! I had bathed while he was gone! I brush my teeth often! How can I smell funny? Well, I sort of noticed this myself. I think. As hard as it was to hear, I was thankful for his honesty. Detoxing is removing toxins from your body. And toxins do not smell roses and lilacs.

Then I got sick. I’m not sure what it was, but something gave me food poisoning or I got a stomach bug and I absolutely had to eat something. Meat and vegetables would not set well. I needed carbs. I remember going to Wendy’s and having a baked potato with bacon and “cheese” and a small burger with the bun. That was back in the days when I would eat a little gluten on rare occasions.

I started to feel better after getting some nourishment in my body, but my detox was over. I had survived long enough to see the value in breaking my addiction to sugar. The idea of trying again has crossed my mind many times since then, but I’ve always found an excuse not to do it.

Until this past weekend. I was talking about it with a friend, really in an off-handed way, and she piped up, “I’ll do it with you.” Well, ok! It is amazing what a little accountability will do.

I had intended to start yesterday, but she could not and I still had one piece of birthday cake in the refrigerator. So I took her one day delay in stride and gobbled down that birthday cake.

Day one is almost over and I’m doing ok. I’m going to chronicle for you here how it’s going. I see this as another form of accountability. Ideally, I would have chosen a time with no trips or special occasions coming up, but that never happens. Three weeks isn’t long, but it certainly can seem long at times. I know there will be eating out and at least one weekend away, but I will do my best.

Here’s what I ate today:

• Breakfast was two slices of thick-cut bacon, one egg scrambled and half a green apple (my only sugar allowed)
• Mid-morning snack prior to working out: two more slices of bacon
• Lunch: one of my AIP tortillas, Boars’ Head low sodium chicken and coleslaw with vinegarette dressing (the tortilla was probably not allowed)
• lots and lots of water
• black coffee (Yes, I am drinking coffee again – occasionally. I had some extensive allergy testing that told me coffee is ok!!! I will write more about this after I meet with my functional medicine doctor and understand better what is going on.)
• Dinner: cauliflower soup (basically chicken broth, cauliflower and sausage)

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One goal I am really focused on for this blog is bringing you great tasting recipes that do not take a long time to prepare. I love to cook and have been doing it for a long time. I rarely follow recipes and just quickly throw things together. Part of the reason I cook this way is that following a recipe takes a lot longer than winging it.

At the end of the day, we’re all tired and few of us have the luxury of time and energy to prepare something involved. This week I have two recipes for you that are low maintenance.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Sauce is quick and hearty. Steam or saute a green vegetable or throw together a quick salad, add a baked sweet potato or some rice and you have a balanced meal.

Baked Chicken Thighs with Citrus Glaze is super easy and one of my kids’ favorite meals! This one takes a little longer, but it’s all passive oven time. The prep is extremely quick. As a matter of fact, I’m typing this now while the chicken bakes. I’ll get up in a minute to saute some squash and mushrooms and dinner will be done. If you’re always pinched for time, buy boneless thighs because they will cook much faster. I like the bones though because I can save them to make broth later.

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If you’re interested in completing the 21 Day Sugar Detox along with me, leave a comment. I’d love to have more buddies struggling through this alongside me!

One more recipe went up on the blog in the past week. It was the last of my Christmas goodies. If you’re doing the 21 DSD, close your eyes now. Fudge Bars are a Christmas tradition in my family. They are so rich and gooey and chocolatey. I have lots more I could say about them, but I won’t because I am TRYING NOT TO EAT SUGAR! If you aren’t on a new year’s diet or the 21 DSD or an elimination diet or some other form of torture, then hop over and check out that recipe.

That’s it for this week. As I said before, my goal is to give you more quick and easy recipes. If you have time over the weekend, whip up a batch of AIP tortillas. Having those in your fridge will give you the ability to make all kinds of quick meals throughout the week.

I’d love to hear from you and get to know you. If there are recipes you’d like me to try to paleo-fy or specific food intolerances you’re having a hard time working around, please let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can come up with. I’d love to help you create some healthier meals that can not only nourish, but heal your body as well.