I always like reading about what other bloggers are eating in a typical day. I think it’s similar to my love for watching HGTV shows like House Hunters – a little peek into their lives, and I’m often left inspired and wanting to put my own spin on whatever it is they’re doing.
I go through phases with my food, but since cutting out gluten and processed sugar, I’ve started to find a style of eating that’s both satisfying and makes me feel good physically. As in, not itchy from what I presume was a constant gluten rash and not craving sugar after every meal. Here’s an example of what I’ve been enjoying…
Lemon water. First thing in the morning, I drink anywhere from 16-32 oz. of filtered water with the juice of half a lemon. I used to struggle with drinking enough water during the day, but this is a new habit for me, and it sets the tone for my day, as silly as that may sound. The more water I drink, the more I want to drink it.
Organic green tea, usually with some mint tea thrown in the mix. I’m working towards drinking it plain, but for now, I love it with a little unsweetened almond milk and a few drops of stevia. I share this pot with Aaron in the morning and sip two big mugs while I check email and get started on whatever freelance work I have that day.
A massive green smoothie. The wine bottle is only for size comparison – promise! Some days I juice, but I find smoothies to be much more satisfying most of the time (probably because of the fiber). I throw in whatever we have in our produce drawers, but this one was particularly good: cucumber, carrot, 1/4 avocado (I love the texture this creates), a few big kale leaves, grapefruit, and a small apple. I add a couple of cups of water to thin it out and always enjoy it with a straw. It’s just more fun that way! I tend not to get hungry until 11am most mornings, and then this holds me over for at least a couple of hours after that.
Leftovers! If lunch isn’t a big salad, I heat up whatever leftovers we have in the fridge. I usually have conference calls scheduled in the afternoons and tend not to have much time to prep anything extravagant. Salads are also a little less appealing when it’s -14 outside. This lunch was awesome, in part because Aaron made it and I didn’t have to cook! He used a recipe from Clean Start with wild rice, lemon, fennel, dried plums, and chickpeas. I am now obsessed with wild rice and also dried plums.
Homemade kombucha. I haven’t completely squashed my sugar cravings, and kombucha is now my go-to treat mid-afternoon. I like to play around with the flavors, but blueberry is always on rotation.
Dinner is usually the meal I’ll spend the most time making, because it’s a chance for Aaron and I to catch up on our days. This was another new favorite from the Clean Start cookbook: French lentils, mushrooms, red onion, lemon, thyme, and parsley, served over roasted rutabaga and celery root. Extremely filling and I can also add celery root to my list of new favorite foods.
And dessert? I’ve been loving Dandy Blend mixed with a spoonful of raw cacao powder, almond milk, and vanilla stevia. I bet this will also be great served over ice in the summer.
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What foods have you been enjoying? Any advice on satisfying a sweet tooth sans sugar? I find myself reaching for the almond butter more than usual…

















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Oooh! I love your idea for dessert. Might have to try that tonight with coconut milk since I have 3 days left before I can drink almond milk again (kinda ready for this paleo thing to be over if you can’t tell)
It’s really good with coconut milk! I’ve been following along with your paleo challenge and I give you major credit. I keep thinking how gourmet all of your meals look – it’s obvious you’ve been spending a ton of time in the kitchen.
I am OBSESSED with these kinds of posts (I’m such a voyeur!). And, our days are pretty similar, food-wise (ignoring that I’m not vegan, of course), which makes me happy for some reason.
I do want to look into this dandelion tea, which I’ve seen around a bit recently. I need to mix up my tea stash. And, perhaps someday I’ll figure out the kombucha thing. For now I’m paying the horrible $4.99 a bottle because I have stage fright when it comes to making it on my own (despite reading your very clear instructions!). :/
As for after-dinner, sweet-tooth satisfying treats, I’ve been making coconut hot chocolate with raw cacao dissolved in melted coconut oil, with a little maca added in and then I use full-fat non homogenized milk for the base and top with shredded coconut and goji berries (and I may or may not also include a little spoon of cashew butter on the side
).
I love Dandy Blend! I don’t love coffee (mostly because it upsets my stomach and makes me jittery), but I find myself craving Dandy Blend. Definitely give it a try!
You can totally brew your own kombucha. I promise it’s really, really easy. I recommend buying a starter kit from Kombucha Kamp (there’s a link in my kombucha post) and that will take out a lot of the guess work. You literally just boil a bunch of water, dissolve sugar, add tea, and then once that’s cooled, toss in the SCOBY and starter liquid and let it do its thing for about a week in a dark cabinet. So cheap and really minimal effort. I wonder if I could even mail you an extra SCOBY…hmmmm. That would be a fun conversation at the post office.
When you put the instructions like that, homemade kombucha sounds much less scary. Maybe it’s just all the crazy new words that intimidate me? (I keep saying “SCOBY” in a spooky voice to myself—definitely not helping).
But, I’d love to get some mail (even with vaguely threatening gelatinous masses in it!)! Although, if you wanted to bypass raised eyebrows at the post office, and if I don’t get over my kombucha fears anytime soon, we could even try a little I-95 meet up some day
(oh goodness, hope that last thing wasn’t a weird thing to say…especially combined with my previous “voyeur” comment! eeeks.)
Not weird at all. Well, as not weird as meeting up to trade a SCOBY can be…haha
Wow, you are so healthy. I love your eating style. Everything sounds like something I would want to try. I have to admit, though, that if I drank that much liquid over the course of a day I would be in the bathroom all day. I hope that’s not TMI.
Don’t be fooled – there are plenty of splurges worked into my week! Most are just of the whole food variety since I cut out gluten and processed sugar.
You’re definitely right about the bathroom breaks. haha But I work from home, so it’s no big deal.
Damn you eat healthy!
Everyday, I always have bananas, peanut butter, cereal, coffee, blueberries, almond milk and lots of water (not in that order) – those are definitely my daily staples!
I haven’t tried kombucha or dandy blend but have seen both all over the internet, I’ve got to get on board!
I agree with the water thing, I used to never drink enough, but now I crave water and it’s the main thing I drink besides one cup of coffee in the morning and a cup of tea at night.
Both of the recipes from Clean Start look awesome!
I highly recommend Clean Start and Clean Food too. Simple, but really great flavor combinations. I also love that they’re organized by season.
I love that they’re organized by season! I will have to look into the books, I am a cookbook collector aka hoarder, and just bought Let Them Eat Vegan a couple weeks ago.
I’m a cookbook hoarder too! I don’t even cook from a lot of them, but I love to just read through the recipes and stare longingly at the photos. haha
I love myself a green smoothie or any kind of smoothie for that matter. My daughter is obsessed with making smoothies every day when she gets home from school too. Her new favorite is Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, so yum. Made with almond milk, organic unsweetened peanut butter, frozen banana, flax seed and just a tsp of honey, it’s delish! I also love making myself a chocolate avocado smoothie made with unsweetened cocoa powder and just a tsp of maple syrup.
Instead of refined sugars, we have been using a lot of maple syrup and honey to sweeten things up just a bit. Is that something you are open to? It works great in homemade muffins, breads, granola bars etc!
That’s awesome that your daughter is into making smoothies when she gets home from school! I love pb & banana, and also avocado and chocolate. Such a surprisingly good combination. And that reminds me I need to make an avocado chocolate pudding sometime soon!
I’ve been avoiding maple syrup and honey for now, but I may reintroduce those in moderation a little later.
I try to satisfy my MASSIVE sweet tooth as naturally as possible and use a bit of honey and maple syrup to sweeten things (like coffee). After meals, a date or a small amount of dried fruit can usually do the trick. At least once a week though, I need something truly sweet like banana bread or a muffin to kill the cravings!
I’ve been loving dates recently and also dried figs. Dried fruit is what’s been getting me through the sugar cravings.
I love posts like this! The stalker in me really loves knowing what people eat every day
I suffer from a killer sweet tooth, and having dried apricots with almond butter works pretty well for my sugar cravings.
That sounds really good. Adding dried apricots to my grocery list now…
I have to look into this kambucha of yours….
I am with you 100% about setting the tone for the day with water! I find that I have my best days for productivity, mood and healthy eating when I start off with water. Sometimes I have to force it, but I’m always glad that I did.
I just started drinking smoothies again and having lemon water in the morning – I usually drink it warm though. Really seems to perk up my day. How on earth do you get so many bubbles in your kombucha???
The secret to extra fizzy kombucha is fruit and those glass bottles! I usually use frozen berries, and strawberries seem to give it the most bubbles. I also let it do a 2nd fermentation in the bottles for about 3 days, making sure to release the pressure once a day so they don’t explode.
I love that tea pot- I usually start and end my day with green tea. I just love it and add honey when I am craving sweeter tea. I love taking look at other peoples eat too. its just fun and I get to learn too about new products like the dandy blend mix. sounds pretty delicious!
Definitely give the dandy blend a try, especially if you enjoy coffee.
I loved seeing all the different beverages you drink! Its gives me some inspiration for switching up my routine of water/tea/fresh juice.
What a great idea! I find inspiration in your post today. When we can afford it, we spend a day juicing and have enough for three days. As for main dishes, we usually make a rice dish that also lasts for three days. I love my tea. Green tea, Mango Passionfruit and Pomegranate are my faves.
My wife and I are also huge fans of House Hunters, House Hunters International, and the Property Brothers. We are trying to find a way that we can juice every day because we love it so much.
If you like carrot cake, try these as a sweet treat. Really quick and easy and sweetened with dates. (I would recommend putting the cashews and almonds through the food processor before adding them to everything else.)
http://glutenfreehappytummy.blogspot.com/2013/01/carrot-cake-bites-gf-v-scd-raw.html
Those sounds great! And I think I have all of the ingredients.
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