Amazing Vegan Lemon Bars

I’m sharing my experiences during a 21-day food detox. If you’d like to start reading from Day 1, click here. Receive all of our blog posts via email—simply email us at info@life-adopted.com and we’ll add you to the list.

Yay, we made it! It’s been 21 days since I first started a food detox and I survived! Here’s me right before drinking my last detox shake today at lunchtime:

So, what’s next?

After the main 21-day detox period there is a reintroduction phase which is an opportunity to gradually add foods back into the diet and observe any reactions or sensitivities. If you feel bad after eating a certain food or notice strange side effects, there’s a good chance your body can’t tolerate it. (This is much like moms do with babies by trying one new food every two weeks to make sure baby isn’t allergic or sensitive to a certain food.)

I already know I’m allergic to dairy (confirmed by a blood test) and this one is always so tough for me since I love half-and-half in my coffee in the morning (and cheese and ice cream are pretty awesome too). I’d love to stay completely off of dairy for a while and see how I feel. We’ll see how that goes!

So, the final stats: As of this morning, I was down eight pounds and two inches around my waist. (Pretty excited about that!) Of course, there are many other benefits to detoxing besides weight loss but certainly, going straight back to eating junk after a detox would be reckless. I love that my habits have been somewhat “reset” over the past 21 days and I believe making smart food choices will be easier moving forward. However, temptations will abound so the goal I’ve set for myself is this: Stop and think before eating anything that can potentially harm my body and only indulge in small amounts of the not-so-healthy-stuff whenever possible. I don’t want to feel deprived but I also don’t want to undo all of the hard work I’ve just completed.

I have one last recipe to share—it’s not one of my own but comes from minimalistbaker.com. Dana creates amazing vegan dishes and baked goods. I’m not vegan but I love her approach to eating lots of plant-based nutritious foods (most are gluten-free too), and she magically makes everything taste sooo good that you hardly notice it isn’t laden with processed ingredients! The recipe I want to share is her Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars (GF). I am a lemon freak and I truly love how these turned out! The crust alone is an amazing, toasty blend of oats and almonds. I hope you’ll consider trying them (and some of her other recipes too)! (They do have maple syrup in them so they’re best enjoyed after a detox.)

Day 21:

Wins: Enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air today, rested and recharged my batteries. I’ve been feeling really run-down this weekend and it was just what I needed.

Flubs: The lemon bars I mentioned…yeah, I celebrated with one at the end of the day. I technically should have waited until tomorrow.

Thank you, thank you to everyone who followed along on this journey. Your support has meant more than you’ll ever know and gave me the fuel to keep pushing on. I hope you’ve been inspired to try a detox, or even to try making some of the healthy recipes I’ve posted during this journey. I truly believe that if we make a commitment to improve our health, taking one consistent step at a time can do so much! Bye for now—I’ll be back soon with more stories and recipes!

P.S. I’d like to send out a special thank you to my hubby, Todd, for being patient with me over the past three weeks. Now we can finally get caught up on our DVR’d shows since I’m not blogging every night, right?

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