Detox Day s.i.x. – balls save the day
January 16, 2011 1. I’m obsessed with raw chard leaves.
2. I’m obsessed with wrapping my breakfast with raw chard leaves.
In all seriousness, I love this breakfast. This was my best green wrapped breakfast yet! I blame that on the melted coconut butter. :) Don’t be fooled as this breakfast looks somewhat small. It packs a mean nutritional punch!
What’s inside + on top?
Green Wrapped Breakfast
- 1 banana, split between 2 rolls
- 1/4 apple [ate the rest on the side]
- 2T unsalted/unsweetened peanut butter
- 1/2-1T coconut butter drizzled on top
- 1-2T flax sprinkled inside
- ~2T raisins sprinkled inside
- 1-2T coconut flakes on top
- handful of walnuts on top
This will leave you feeling completely satisfied, but not weighed down. It’s a great way to get your greens in, in the morning. The raw chard provides a superb c.r.u.n.c.h.
I’ve been having some pretty intense sweets cravings this week. I haven’t had any added sugar, processed sugar, or syrups of any kind. The only sweets I’ve had have come from fruit. The biggest cravings I get are right after lunch + dinner. I crave a piece of dark chocolate or something minty. It hasn’t been easy to ignore, but not impossible by any means. My favorite way to curb the craving is by eating a few dried apricots. They are super sweet and have great chew.
However, sometimes apricots just don’t cut it. And for those times, here is what I came up with.
Similar to a Larabar, but better. This totally curbed my craving for chocolate + sweet, without giving in to my detox plan.
Chocolate Coconut Dough Balls [yields 12, 1” balls]
- 1c ground walnuts + almonds
- 1/2c lightly packed ground medjool dates [~12 dates]
- 1-2T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1T unrefined coconut oil [optional]
- can sub 2T unsweetened shredded coconut as well
- Process [in food processor, vita-mix, magic bullet, etc] nuts together, until crumbly with some larger pieces. Be careful not to process to long.
- Measure out 1c and empty into a bowl.
- Cut out pits in the dates by lightly slicing down the middle. Remove pits with fingers.
- Process dates into small pieces. They will stick together.
- Lightly pack into a 1/2c measuring cup.
- Add nuts + dates back into food processor, along with cocoa powder + coconut oil [if using].
- Pulse until mixed together. Do not over process! Scrape bowl once or twice.
- When you can form a ball with the dough, it’s done!
- Roll into balls or form into bars. Wrap in saran wrap and store in the fridge.
*They should hold together very easily and firm up in the fridge.
*I made mine with 2T cocoa powder for a very dark chocolate taste. Reduce to 1T if you want the chocolate flavor a bit lighter.
*The coconut oil is not crucial for this to work. If you don’t want a coconut flavor, leave it out. Do not sub in other oil. It’s not needed.
These tasted like dessert but were an extremely healthy snack! Perfect anytime.
These will be great to have on-the-go, as it’s harder to find detox-friendly snacks while out and about. The possibilities are endless with recipes like these. It’s so fun to experiment. I would love to create a lemon-ginger bar next!
Anticipation.
Excitement!
Can you believe I was able to eat out twice in 1 day, sticking to the detox? Chris and I grabbed a delicious, simple lunch at Tasty Harmony, in Ft. Collins. It’s a veg-friendly restaurant, featuring an almost all vegan menu. They do offer some local cheeses on a few items. They also have a great selection of tea, green juice, and raw items. I got a 3 part tasting plate, so I could be sure to avoid gluten/dairy/soy. Here’s what I had:
- quinoa/millet mix [unseasoned]
- steamed seasonal veggies – butternut squash + root veggies lightly steamed
- side salad with house dressing
They brought me an extra dish of the house dressing, which is probably the.best.dressing. I’ve ever had. Ever. I’m sure there was some salt in it, but it didn’t taste overly salty, which I was happy about as I’m trying to reduce my sodium intake.
Dining out meal #2 was eaten along with lovely Pat + Natalie [BIL + SIL] and Kurtz + Ann. We headed to Watercourse, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, in Denver. Denver is a little over 1 hour drive from where we live. Our main reason for going to Denver was to see comedian, Daniel Tosh [you may have seen his show, Tosh.O].
[Kurtz + Pat]
Their menu was perfect for my current plan. All items were marked if they contained dairy, gluten, or soy. They had a huge “build your own salad” option too. There was definitely not a shortage of things to choose from, but it was funny being at a vegetarian restaurant and not being able to pick from anything I wanted on the menu.
I decided on the corn tortilla, sweet potato + black bean soft tacos with peppers + onions. It came with guac + salsa on the side. It was delicious and hit the spot. Although, it left me juuuust satisfied. I thought there would be more potatoes. It wasn’t a problem though, because I packed balls in my bag. [that sounds so wrong]
[Chris + Ann]
Comedy shows are so much fun to see. It’s a great ab + cheek muscle workout too. ;)
Daniel Tosh was HIL-freaking-arious. Totally worth the money + drive to and from Denver. Although, since I’m not drinking right now, I was DD. This meant driving home at 1am back to Ft. Collins. It was tough, but we made it!
Detox Day 5 – overview
- Day 5 was actually pretty rough in the morning + afternoon. During day 4 I felt sluggish and it continued to day 5. Although, I was also in a terrible mood, for no reason. I really have almost never felt like this. I was angry for no reason, felt tired, cranky, and off. I wanted to just sit on the couch all day, but knew I needed to get my body moving. It took a good 2 hours + ball baking experiment to finally convince myself to hop on the bike trainer. The best way to flush out toxins is to sweat. I knew that a rest day was not what I needed. When I hopped on the bike I felt mad. The biking was going slowly, I felt like I was suffocating, my feet were claustrophobic in my shoes, our Christmas cards were staring at me from the mantle, the TV was on with football but muted, everything annoyed me. There was no reason for me to be mad, but I finally blurted out to Chris how I was feeling. Then, I demanded he remove all the Christmas cards from the mantle. This is sounding hilarious to me now, but at the time they were only 2’ away from me and stressing me out. It was horrible, but I continued on for 45min, sweating more than usual. I got off the bike, did some dishes, chugged some almond milk + amazing grass, put away some clutter [that was making me feel claustrophobic], and then did an arm + ab workout, with some lunges thrown in. I also mixed in some yoga stretching and began to feel completely fabulous. I was crossing my fingers that that would happen and it was such a relief when it did. I felt 100% better. I dry brushed, to get rid of all the crap I released, took a hot shower, then drank some detox tea. Maybe Day 4 + half of day 5 was my detox release. Who knows! All I know is it has passed and I hope it doesn’t happen again!
- The rest of the night was great and my stomach has been feeling so so so much better!! I typically get the “food baby” [bloated to the point you look pregnant] at least every other day. By the end of the night, I’m always at least somewhat bloated. I haven’t felt like this at all in the past few days. I’ve had a few periods of feeling bloated, but they seem to pass [haha] much more quickly than normal. I’m so excited about this!
Nothing else major to report!
Off to enjoy Sunday! We’re headed to the mountains on Monday for a powder day at Vail, so we’re just relaxing today. Chris has Monday off and there is supposed to be a lot of snow, so we’ll be heading out at 4:30am! eeek!
~Ashley
Just catching up?
detox day 3 – part 1, part 2 [dry brushing + swimming]
detox day 4 – getting creativedetox day 5 – juiced!
Family + Friends, Recipes, apple, banana, chard, cocoa, coconut, coconut oil, detox
Reader Comments (82)
Those chocolate coconut treats look so good! I think I shall try making them, but with pecans because I am allergic to almonds!
BOTH recipes look so amazing! I made balls today too, oat truffles- they were a huge succes with my little nieces, so cute.
x sabine
I really want to try those treats! That's great that there are so many vegan-friendly restaurants in Colorado! Made it easy on ya.
Not to sound creepy or anything, but you mentioned how you were doing this detox during your time of the month. That would explain the sugar/chocolate cravings and the crankiness. I find with myself, it totally depends on the time of the month whether I can resist sugar or not. Aaaand, I was actually reading how women need more calories around that time of the month! I really didn't know that before. Plus, exercising can balance your hormones and blood sugar levels so that would explain why you felt so much better after :D
Those balls looks awesome!! Ha. Oooh Daniel Tosh!! I'm jealous. I've totally had days like that where you just are annoyed at everything. That in itself is annoying. Glad it has passed though. Hope you have a fun powder day!! :-)
this food looks amazing! keep up the good work with your detox your doing a great job so far!
hey i wanted to let you know that i got diagnosed with ibs and a gluten allergy this past summer and had the bloated belly you are talking about too. it wasn't until i eliminated ALL corn, grains (with the exception of gluten free rolled oats now and then) and dairy (this is a big one) that my sypmtoms and GI tract were satisfied. i eat a moderate fat/protein/lower carb diet. one of the worst things for me are super starchy sugar things (banana/apple) or dried fruit. it's very hard for me to digest those! it may seem hard at first but you get used to it and get to experiment with loads of new groceries! i have tons of recipes on my blog that could help you if you decide to keep detoxing :) best of luck!
You look so pretty in that first picture! Your hair looks darker!
I'm glad you had fun at the comedy show! The chocolate coconut balls look awesome!
Heheh I laughed at the part when you were getting annoyed by everything because I TOTALLY have those exact moments! Had one this morning in fact!
Glad you were able to eat out and still detox! Sounds like you had some great meals.
And I'm sure you worked off any calories at Tosh! I'd love to see him - his shows sold out so fast here!
That is EXACTLY what happened to me the third day into my detox. I started to feel like absolute hell, and for the first 20 minutes of my workout, I felt so sick and stressed I didn't know what was happening! Then all of a sudden, I began pouring sweat and I felt so much better.
OMG I definitely have those "mad" moments!!! Sweating is sometimes the only thing that can make me feel better. My husband would be SO jealous about Tosh!!
I love Tosh! That man is hilarious! Its pretty impressive you were able to eat out and still stick to your detox, its great when restaurants around you are accommodating to different lifestyles.
I'm interested in what you figure out is causing your stomach upset once you start incorporating things back in. I also have a very finicky stomach and have yet to figure out what causes the daily bloating. Of course, I haven't done a detox like you're doing, but I'm feeling a bit more encouraged to do one now. Don't you just LOVE the food baby?! Ha!
I had a day like that the other day during my detox. It seems to have been the only *grouchy* moment thus far. Those balls look perfect! Too funny that last night while grabbing a raw dinner on the go I grabbed dried apricots to curb my sweet tooth!!
Daniel Tosh is one of my fave comedians ever. His show is one of the funniest things I've ever seen!!
thank you for posting in so much detail about your detox. i'm doing a detox in february and my fiance has been less than excited about it, but he saw your breakfast rolls from this morning and said "oo, what's that? it looks good". so i told him i'll make it for him in feb!
I love your chocolate balls! I have a similar recipe..and yeah, coconut oil is not needed, it will kinda overpower other flavors (At least for me) but...that's a very good thing (at least for me) :)
You having a minor lil freakout about xmas cards...girl. I have them over far!!! less :) and thanks for keeping it real and blogging about it!
Glad it's going as planned and well thus far- You make it look so fun, easy and yummy! Just so you know, I look forward to your posts each day as their creative and I always learn something new :-)
I am ALL over those chocolate- coconut balls, seem and look WAY better than Larabars!
Great detox post. Breakfast and the dough balls look wonderful, I have a freeze full of almond milk pulp that I may try those with. So jealous you got to see Daniel Tosh, I love Tosh.0.
Tosh.O is so funny, I bet his comedy show was good too! Those balls looks awesome, but I just realized I left my food processor at home when I went back to school.
Your constant support and kind words are so motivating. Thank you!
The coconut oil seemed to leave a very light hint of coconut. mmmm so good :) And, you're welcome!
You're welcome! Good luck to you both!
So much in this post to comment on.
I need to make coconut butter
I need to make dough balls
I need to find a Daniel Tosh performance, buy tickets and surprise Pea Daddy.
I'm blaming all bad days on detoxing from now on.
:)
I'm glad someone else can relate! :)
I just got so sick of feeling that way...the food baby is no fun!
Thanks Amanda!
Too funny. I'm glad you understand what I went through. It was like I was possessed or something! And yes...way more sweating than normal!
I've honestly never felt quite like that before..it was terrible, but funny now..hehe
Aw, thanks! I think it's the lighting making my hair look dark.
Thanks for your comment Melissa. I appreciate hearing what you found out. I have been tested for celiacs and know that I don't have that. I've had a few other tests done and know that IBS is not an issue either. I'm glad you figured out what was causing your discomfort!! Good luck to you too!
HAhaa, not creepy! However, it's not normal for me to get mood swings or intense sweet/chocolate cravings during my time of the month. I've never ever felt like I felt yesterday. It was really strange!
LOL!! I've never ever felt like that before!!! You would love these dough balls!!
Hmm, let me know if the pulp works!
Tosh.0 is such a great show, I can only imagine his standup being even better! Your balls look amazing (I love how dirty that sounds!), and it is so interesting to hear about your mood swing/annoyance time. Christmas card would probably bring it out in me too! ;)
So interesting to hear how you are being affected physically and psychologically. I appreciate your honesty and openness in sharing all of this, ashley.
Never commented before, but I LOVE your blog. I just saw a video today where it was suggested to take L-glutamine supplements to curve sugar cravings. If you have a really bad craving you put the powder under your tongue for a few minutes before swallowing it and your craving should disappear. It was this youtube video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11IQYaHAONs. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
YUM look delicious!! i just started using coconut oil and really enjoy the flavor! its coconutty but not too overpowering! MMM
I completely understand the bloating problem. I feel that way many days too and find that by the evening my stomach bloats and cramps. Not fun. I'm glad the detox is working for you, I might have to give it a try to try to find out what's causing my stomach/digestive issues. Also,I'm jealous you went to see Tosh, I love his show!
I loved finding restaurants that I was able to eat at during my last detox -- it makes it so much more of a treat! Congratulations on how far you've gotten so far!
I think your anger was hormone related : ) I get the same way about things making me so mad that don't normally
Oh BLESS you. I need a sweets replacement in a bad way with the no-refined-sugar kick. I'm so excited to make these balls.
So glad your feeling better. You look absolutely gorgeous! Your skin is GLOWING!
I hope you like the balls!!
Thanks Jodi!!! :) You made my day!
lady baby. I want your balls.
It could be, but I'm not sure! I've never ever felt like that before...really weird!
I hope you figure out what's bothering your stomach!!
Oooh, fun!! There is so much you can do with it!