Saturday, January 19, 2013

Soup N Crackers and a Detox Update


Guess what?! I've surpassed my two week sugar detox. I did 17 days without any sugar/stimulants, and am feeling great! I'm surprised at how satisfied I feel. I haven't experienced any cravings, or headaches, or anything other than a more balanced me over the the past 16 days. From my past experiences I already know that I respond well to this plan and now it's just a case of reigning in my sweet intake (yesterday I broke the cleanse with a carob treat sweetened with stevia and a sampling of chocolate) on a regular basis because it's just too easy for me to get caught up in it. In the past I have all too easily disregarded a proper meal in favor of eating raw dessert or snacking on raw chocolate all afternoon.

During my cleanse I've seen my body/mind shift back to where it should be. My metabolism has gone up and my food digests so much better without the excess sweet stuff and cacao - despite the fact that I'm eating more than I normally do! There's no calorie counting. Just eating real food every several hours throughout the day. A shift happens very quickly on this sugar free plan. Within only a few days I feel a positive difference. At this point my body feels leaner and while I don't weigh myself, I'd estimate that I've lost about 4 lbs.

Here's why I would recommend a sugar free plan to you (for at least 5 days):

- Reset your metabolism
- Reset the part of your body and mind that craves sugar
- Begin to clean sugar and other toxins from your body
- You can eat ample amounts and never feel deprived (unlike diets/juice fasts that limit calories and can cause binge eating afterward)
- It's a great time to be creative with healthy savory recipes
- Sleep better
- Think more clearly
- Less depression/irritability if you're prone to that from too much sugar (I am)
- Feel more calm overall

A few other things to keep in mind (from what I've learned):

- You may feel tired as your body adjusts to no stimulants/sugar (I take this as a time to rest more than usual and don't do any workout for the first few days except some yoga.)
- You may possibly have withdrawl symptoms like headaches if you're used to drinking lots of coffee, sugar, etc. (Fortunately I don't experience this)
- Drinks heaps of water to flush your body out
- Even though this is a "detox", don't drop your calories too low. In my experience, this is one of the things than can cause cravings. So eat up plenty of the good stuff. Hungry? Eat!
- Eat enough protein and fat to stay satisfied. This makes a huge difference.


Onto some food! Remember the creamy cauliflower soup I made recently? I loved it so much that I also made it with broccoli and it was absolutely delicious. The recipe is the perfect creamy soup base. I want to try it with zucchini and mushrooms too one of these days. I find it so warm and nourishing on these cold snowy days. 


Creamy Broccoli Soup

This delicious creamy soup is actually dairy free. It's so smooth and rich that you'd never guess it's actually healthy and its beyond easy to make. I made it using my homemade chicken stock but you can easily use a veggie stock if you prefer a vegan option.

1 medium broccoli (florets only) roughly chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
Chicken or veggie stock
1/2 can coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste

Add the broccoli, onion, and garlic to a big pot.
Pour enough stock over to cover with a bit extra liquid.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through.
Carefully transfer (because it will be so hot) to a blender and puree until completely smooth.
Stir or blend in the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Add more stalk to thin to desired thickness.


I've made so many crackers in the past two weeks. I find them to be such a great snack with avocado herb dip, or just mashed avocado, or crunched up into a salad like croutons. They also seem to compliment many meals. I plan on sharing some new recipes with you as soon as I do a little teaking on them. 

I made these delicious Nacho Cheese Chips from the Comfort Belly (although I prefer to call them crackers). I love the simplicity of these crackers and they provide the perfect flavorful crunch - all while being gluten free and grain free. 




Nacho Cheese Chip Crackers


1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Use raw cheddar cheese. Its white, not dyed orange like regular cheddar!)

1 cup almond meal or almond flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
2-3 tablespoons water (enough to roll into a ball of dough)

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Blend the cheese and dry ingredients together in a food processor or bowl then add the water. 
Press the mixture together to shape it into a ball of dough. 
Place the dough on a non-stick surface that you can transfer to a cookie sheet. 
Flatten the dough with your hand and then place a piece of parchment paper on top (or other non-stick surface).
Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough until very thin.
Use a pizza cutter or knife to score the dough into triangles. I create squares and then I cut them diagonally across the square to create triangles.  
Sprinle some more chili powder lightly across the chips. 
Place the chips on the parchment paper onto the cookie sheet. 
Bake for 15 minutes or until they start to turn darker. 
Cool the chips for a few minutes and then flip over and bake on the other side for another 5 minutes. Cool. 
If they're not as crispy as you would like place them in the oven at 200F for 10 minutes. 



I made dehydrated raw ranch flax crackers, and raw mexican crackers that both turned out great and would love to share them with you but I need make them again and write down the measurements. I've also made some great baked vegan crackers that we've decided are out favorite so far but I need to make again and get measurements for those too. 




These were made with sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chili powder, chilpotle, himalayan salt, onion powder, and apple cider vinegar. Thin and crispy.

Bread was another dehydrated item I made last week. Raw vegan veggie bread is always a hit and J especially loves to make sammies out of it, or have a piece with his breaky. I like it slathered with avocado and slices of tomato. Everyone needs this bread in their life!



Onion Veggie Bread


1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 large carrot, shredded
2 large onions, shredded in a food processor
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tbs nama shoyu (or tamari)
1/2 cup water
1 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt (added by me)

Mix together the veggies, olive oil, water, and shoyu in a bowl.
Add the seeds and mix to combine.
Spread a thick layer of the mixture evenly on teflex sheets. Score into desired sizes.
Dehydrate at 145F for 1 hour and then turn the temperature down to 115F and continue dehydrating for 6-8 hours, flipping over to the mesh screen halfway through.

I hope you're inspired to make some healthy crackers and soup! 

21 comments:

  1. YAY!!! Congratulations on rocking the detox! I knew you'd get through it without any problems. Proud of you :)

    DELICIOUS soup, crackers, and bread recipes!

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    1. Thank you so much dearest! :) I think im addicted to broccoli and cauliflower soup!!! haha

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  2. Fab post sweetie! And a great list of reasons to try a sugar free detox :-) I'm currently fancying more sweet stuff than I normally do - I've heard it's common during breast feeding because your body extracts sugar from your blood to go into the milk. Therefore, I don't mind enjoying a little more sweetness at this time in my life. :-) Love the sound of the nacho crackers - might have to get my dehydrator out :-) xxx

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    1. Well that sounds like a good reason to eat a few extra sweeties!!! You don't even need the dehydrator for the nacho crackers - just the oven. Hope you try them out. Sounds like you're doing greally great!! xo

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  3. That soup looks delicious. I was craving broccoli (weird but true).

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    1. Thanks girl. LOL, too funny about the broccoli. I get random cravings like that too!

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  4. Excellent post! Thanks for sharing your new awareness with us.. Gonna have fun making these crackers.... :)

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    1. Thank you so m uch Yolanda! Im sure you'll like the crackers :)

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  5. Hi! My name is Maria, and I am part of the KrisCarr.com team. We would love to feature you and this recipe in an upcoming newsletter. E-mail me at maria@crazysexywellness.com and let me know what you think! Thanks!

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  6. I've still never made savoury crackers, but I swear I want ALL of these! And I want you to create a goats cheese or blue cheese version of the nacho ones :P

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    1. OMG you need to make crackers! They are such a great snack... blue cheese?! Ewww I dont think so haha... goats cheese I'm open to :D

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  7. Such wise words my dear- I think doing sugar detoxes once in a while is a really valuable practice. It's so easy to let sugar creep back in without even noticing! I love your tip to make sure you get enough fat and protein- that is so important! It makes me realize too that I don't always get enough in my normal "non-detoxing diet" and maybe that's why I go for the sweets!

    Anyway, great post and wonderful recipes as always!

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    1. Thanks girlie. Definitely helps me rebalance because Im so prone to wanting to eat too much of it. Agreed, as soon as I stop getting enough of the protein/fat combo I go for more sweets. Funny how that is?!

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  8. The soup, cracker and bread recipes all look fantastic! I'd love for you to link this up at our Gluten Free Fridays party this week! Its live now! I hope you make it this week! :) Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

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  9. Hi Heather! I really want to do a sugar detox (for just a week to start, I'm thinking) and am wondering if you exclude fruit/dried fruits too. I apologize if this is a dumb question! Please let me know :) -Laura

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    1. Hey Laura! I think that's a great idea! :) I personally thing everyone would benefit from doing it every once in a while. That's right, especially dried fruits have heaps of sugar. I only included berries because they're low glycemic and had them in my daily protein shake. YOu can read about what I ate in this post: http://foodandyogaforlife.blogspot.ca/2013/01/my-new-year-no-sugar-detox.html, and in this post (also what I DIDNT eat) http://foodandyogaforlife.blogspot.ca/2013/01/sugar-free-detox-food.html
      Best of luck :) I know it can be hard at first but you can do it!

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    2. How weird, sorry the words went all funny and the links doen't even show links, you can just copy and paste :)

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  10. Thank you so much, Heather! I appreciate your friendly, helpful response :) I'm going to start the detox tomorrow. And after I post this I'm going to read your post from the link provided--thank you!!

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  11. hi Heather, firstly let me tell you i love your blog..i am looking to start a blog myself i am currently working part time and studying part time to become a personal trainer...i too am passionate about wholesome food, i hate labelling food and i am strongly against animal cruelty. i am also passionate about crossfit training and alternative medicine. i have so much knowledge i have self taught my self a lot in the past 5-6 years however i have no one to help me set up a website .. i am really not great at technology i only have my iphone and mac air for videos and photos. Is it essential i get a good camera and learn about lighting, photoshop and text editing as i know nothing in this area.. i thought tumblr may be a good starting point as it is fairy straight forward. Do you work alone. HOw did you learn ??? i have watched some youtube tutorials but i work better one on one!! any tips... much love and soulshine shosh x

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  12. Hi Shosh, Thank you! Its really easy to start a blog. Just find a platform you're interested in like blogger or wordpress and everything is laid out for you - templates, etc. Then you just do the writing, photos, etc. Its really best just to jump in and try - super easy, you'll see. It all depends how far you want to go but I recommend a good camera for blogging. I use a cannon Rebel xs.

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