Eating Out on the Abundance Diet

Last week, I mentioned that I'd start eating out every Thursday night and Sunday brunch on my 28-day Abundance Diet. For most of the days this month, I'm following Somer McCowan's meal plan in her Abundance Diet cookbook to a "t," but the way the leftover meals are planned out, the Monday meals repeat two more times — on Thursdays and Sundays (so three times total). Meals on the other days only repeat twice.

So in an effort to not have to make 3/4th of a recipe to have enough to repeat three times (each of her recipes makes 4 servings, with the exception of the smoothies and juices, which just serve one), I'm dining out on those days. Eating out on the cleanse gives me a chance to put my healthy eating pledge to the test.

Last Thursday, I dined at Fuel Cafe with my friend Ted and ate the healthiest meal on the menu (the tofu dragon bowl). Tonight, I went by my friend Cassi's Pink Diva Cupcakery for takeout. Lemme tell ya — walking into a vegan cupcake bakery when you're on a sugar-free cleanse isn't easy. I have a ton of willpower, but those cupcakes looked damn good. I've not missed much on this gluten-free, white sugar-free, processed food-free, low-oil diet, but two things I do miss are cupcakes and chocolate. She had chocolate cupcakes. Sigh.

Anyway, I resisted, knowing I only have 10 days left on the cleanse. And knowing that I'll probably get a sweet treat cheat on Stephanie's birthday next weekend. Special occasions allow for cheats on my version of the plan! Until then, though, I'm on the wagon. Pink Diva also has a savory lunch (and early dinner) menu, but most of it isn't allowed on my Abundance Diet (due to things like gluten, fried wontons, plant meats, and tater tots). I really wanted totchos or nachos or a pho-rito (Cassi's vegan pho soup-inspired burrito with hoisin tofu and rice noodles). But nope. Those will have to wait.

Instead, I ordered the only thing I could eat — the Veggie Plate with Spaghetti Squash & Tempeh Marinara, Sauteed Veggies, and Avocado-Kale Salad.

The spaghetti squash was my fave, probably because tempeh. And it's been awhile since I've had spaghetti squash. It's a great gluten-free alternative to pasta.

The rest of my plate involved lots of kale, which is great because I've been mostly using spinach in my green smoothies. And I've been without kale for several days. I'm always a fan of Cassi's avocado-kale salad, which is loaded with sun-dried tomatoes.

And the sauteed veggies — a mix of kale, carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes — were well-seasoned and satisfying. Her broccoli is cooked to perfection — not too hard, not too soft.

Okay, there. I've eaten my veggies! And they were delicious. But next time I go into Pink Diva (once my cleanse is over), I'm getting a cupcake to balance out my kale.