“7-Day No-Added-Sugar Meal Plan That’s Actually Doable” : Day Three
Cooking

“7-Day No-Added-Sugar Meal Plan That’s Actually Doable” : Day Three

This is a continuation of my My Experience with a “7-Day No-Added-Sugar Meal Plan That’s Actually Doable.” Today’s post shall focus on Day Three, with any additional notes. (Want to catch up? Here’s the introduction, shopping and meal prep, and Day One, Day Two.)

I do feel a need to point out that the Day Three dinner was a BEAST. I actually made all of the individual elements at the end of day two after glancing ahead. There was no way I could have done that meal after working a full day. The menu for Day Three involved the following items, which I shall explain in further detail below:

  1. Creamy Peanut Butter Toast With Banana
  2. Ratatouille Frittata With Fresh Greens
  3. Sweet Potato Veggie Tacos With Lime Crema

Breakfast: Creamy Peanut Butter Toast With Banana

no added sugar peanut butter toast with sliced banana
Creamy Peanut Butter Toast With Banana. It was also a Cortisol Pump Site Change Day.

Once again, breakfast was toast. And yet, I was completely satisfied by it. It was also a Cortisol Pump Site Change Day, so I snapped the picture while I was waiting for my solu-cortef to dissolve in the sterile water.

Yields one portion. Took very little time to assemble.

  • 1 slice of sourdough bread, toasted
  • 2 TBSP peanut butter
  • 1/2 banana, sliced
  • 1 TBSP chopped peanuts, roasted
  1. Smear peanut butter on toast and top with sliced banana.
  2. Garnish with peanuts.
  3. Enjoy.

I am cutting corners where ever I can. I did not chop and roast the peanuts but instead used them straight out of the can. Also, I would typically combine peanut butter and bananas with honey. Yet that would be considered an added sugar. Honestly, the toast did not need the honey. It was delicious.

Lunch: Ratatouille Frittata With Fresh Greens

No Added Sugar Ratatouille Frittata With Fresh Greens
Ratatouille Frittata With Fresh Greens

Lunch was created with the frittata leftovers from Day One. I did laugh that they have now changed the name of it. Oh well, I enjoyed it the first day, so I shall enjoy it again on the third day. This time I topped my fresh greens with leftover edamame (dinner, night one), leftover shredded carrots (dinner, night two), and leftover diced red onions (pico de gallo). It was fun to throw the leftovers together to create new dishes with different flavor profiles.

Yields one portion. As everything was leftovers, it came together very quickly. Requires a microwave.

  • Ratatouille frittata (leftover from Day One)
  • ¾ cup spinach
  • balsamic glaze or vinaigrette, to taste
  1. Reheat the frittata.
  2. Serve with spinach and vinaigrette (and perhaps a few strawberries).
  3. Enjoy.

Once again, I elevated lunch by using my own quick vinaigrette salad dressing recipe:

Quick Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
  • 1 part olive oil
  • 1 part balsamic vinegar
  • 1 dash of salt
  • 1 dash of pepper

Stir together and then drizzle over the greens.

Dinner: Sweet Potato Veggie Tacos With Lime Crema

No Added Sugar Sweet Potato Veggie Tacos With Lime Crema
Sweet Potato Veggie Tacos With Lime Crema

Dinner for day three involved making several separate items:

  1. Roasted Sweet Potatoes
  2. Pico de Gallo
  3. Lime Crema
  4. Taco Assembly

This annoyed me. Why would they have us prep ahead chickpeas that do not store well but not the sweet potatoes that store incredibly well? I am thankful that I glanced ahead for this meal and knew to try to get a head start so that this meal would go more smoothly.

There is no way I could come home from work and create this entire meal. I would be too fatigued.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
No added sugar sweet potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yields seven cups and requires the use of a baking sheet and the oven. Took me about 10 minutes to prep, but almost an hour to cook.

  • About 2 lbs of sweet potatoes, skin-on, diced into 3/4 in cubes
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt (I used pink Himalayan)
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Toss sweet potatoes with garlic, olive oil, and salt.
  3. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with foil.
  4. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

This is another regular recipe that I make often, but I don’t use garlic. Garlic does make them taste good. But I probably should have diced them smaller.

Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo
No added sugar cherry tomato pico de gallo
Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo

Yields about 2 cups and it took me over 30 minutes to make. I think I slice things very slowly.

Note: I have since elevated my kitchen game through the purchase of a “Hand Powered Food Chopper.” I highly recommend purchasing one. It would have allowed me to make the Pico de Gallo in around ten minutes, instead of thirty.

  • 16 oz multicolored cherry tomatoes, quartered (I just used red)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1 jalapeño, minced and seeded
  • 2 TBSP lime juice
  • 1 TBSP roughly chopped cilantro
  • 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt (I used chili lime sea salt)
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic (I used one small clove)
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  1. Gently toss all ingredients into a large bowl.
  2. Drain any excess liquid and store in the fridge.

I have complained before with how they organized the printable PDF recipe list, and this highlights another example. When I say pico de gallo, you would think of it as a sauce or a dressing, yes? After all, it is considered a salsa. That is literally the Spanish word for sauce.

BuzzFeed calls it a vegetable. It is listed under the “Vegetable Recipes” section on their PDF. Why????

Additionally, this would be another recipe that could benefit from being prepped ahead of time. They said it should take 25 minutes to make, but it took me way longer. I slice things slowly, and I absolutely hate cutting onions.

I made this the night before and let it rest overnight in the fridge.

Lime Crema
No added sugar lime crema
Lime Crema, but the photo does not do it justice.

Yields 1/2 cup and takes very little time to prepare. Requires a bowl.

  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, 2% fat (I used full fat)
  • 1 TBSP lime juice (I used 1/2 a lime, which was way more)
  • 1/4 tsp lime zest
  • Salt, to taste (I used chili lime sea salt)
  1. Combine all ingredients and stir.

Don’t worry Clearly Alive Family! This is a sauce according to BuzzFeed and can be found in the sauce section of their PDF. It was also prepared the night before, allowing the flavors to develop overnight in the fridge.

I do think the chili lime sea salt elevated the flavor of this dip. Also, this taught me how versatile Greek yogurt is. I am going to continue to use Greek yogurt as a sour cream substitute as an easy way to get more protein without reliance on meat.

And now that all of that is out of the way, we can create and enjoy dinner!

They tell me this yields 2 tacos, but yet they want 3 corn tortillas? Once again, this was excellent Buzzfeed math. Regardless, I had three tacos and it took about 15 minutes to reheat and combine everything.

  • 3 small corn tortillas
  • 3/4 cup diced roasted sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomato pico de gallo
  • 1/2 cup canned black beans, strained
  • 1/4 cup lime crema
  • 1 TBSP roughly chopped cilantro
  • Salt, to taste
  • Ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 lime wedge (we so fancy!)
  1. Heat tortillas directly on a burner until warm and slightly charred.
  2. Divide sweet potatoes, pico de gallo, black beans, lime crema, and cilantro between the tortillas.
  3. Season with salt, peper, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
  4. Enjoy.

I have mentioned previously how this was too large of a dinner to create after a full day at work. So I cheated and prepped almost everything the night before. That made assembly much easier, and for it to be an actually do-able task.

The flavor of the pico de gallo balanced nicely with the sweet potatoes and the lime crema. Overall, it was a very good dinner, if the majority of it was prepped ahead of time. I do not recommend trying to do this all in one night.

Concluding Thoughts for Day Three

Day three has been completed! This included Creamy Peanut Butter Toast with Banana, Ratatouille Frittata with Fresh Greens, and Sweet Potato Veggie Tacos with Lime Crema. They try to sell you on an easy breakfast and lunch with a warning that “Dinner will take a little bit longer.” I will staunchly argue they should have made you prep many things the day ahead.

And I shall end with my standard disclaimer. Once again, this is not a diet. I want to create for myself a healthy, sustainable life-style. I want to remain Clearly Alive.

This is part of a continuing series. Here are the other Parts: Introduction, Shopping / Meal Prep, Day One, Day Two

Amber Nicole is Clearly Alive