GRAZING WITH DANI: Sugar-Detox Meal Plan: Week #5

Better late than never! I had wanted to get this meal plan up Friday, but sometimes life gets in the way. Friday night I found myself on a train to Switzerland to visit my father who was only there for a few days on business. It was a whirlwind trip filled with everything that is Switzerland to me: extended family, mountain hikes, quiet villages, the Alps, happy animals grazing on green pastures and, of course, cheese, rösti and chocolate. Don't worry, I didn't eat any chocolate (yet). I did bring home a huge milk chocolate bunny for later, though.

Speaking of chocolate, though, I also knew the weekend would presented some challenges in terms of staying on track with regard to the sugar detox. As a guest in someone else's home, I couldn't control my diet 100%. And I'm sure some if not all of you have found yourself in similar situations over the last few weeks or expect to be in one soon. Company events, family gatherings or special milestone celebrations. Life happens and I'm a firm believer that you shouldn't let your diet get in the way. You don't want pursuing healthy dietary choices to turn into an obsession that causes you more anxiety and guilt than good, because those can wreak havoc on your overall health as well. Nobody is perfect and you can't always control everything.

That said, you don't have to throw your diet completely into the wind when this happens. Make smart choices when you can, come prepared with healthy snacks and indulge on stuff that really matters to you and then get back to business when it's over. In short: be intentional and thoughtful in your choices. Over the weekend, I decided to try to adhere to the points below.

Come prepared: I brought along nuts and various fruits so I had emergency food on hand.
Take initiative: Since I was visiting family, I offered to cook one of the nights so that at least one of my main meals would be detox friendly... and of course, because I just love cooking. The next morning, I went out and brought the stuff for the dinner along with a few breakfast items that were detox-approved (oats and yogurt).
Make smart decisions: At a resturant, I ordered a delicious rösti (massive hash brown pancake) with raclette cheese and veggies. I didn't have to miss out on anything and it was so, so delicious.
Indulge on stuff that matters to you: I passed on a store-bought Black Forest Cake and made myself a bowl of strawberries and greek yogurt. If it had been homemade, I would have had to reconsider that decision.
Be gracious and realize when to go with the flow: When my grandmother cooked up chicken pasta for lunch, I was not about to pick around the individual noodles. Just dig in, smile and enjoy the food in those situations.

In the end, five of my six meals were sugar-free and filled with healthy fruits and veggies. I feel guilt-free and had a great time, no feelings were hurt, and the world continues to turn. Hopefully the points above will help you decide how to handle similar situations and the recipes below will provide more inspiration for healthy meals.