Vegan Two-Week Test: Coconut Chia Pudding & Squash Bowl

Today marks the first day of the second week of my carb-elimination test. You can read more about why I'm doing this challenge here. But basically, it's a vegan version of Phil Maffetone's Two-Week Test to eliminate most carbs from your diet and then slowly add them back in, one at a time, to see how you feel. I'm a big fan of carbs, and I think low-carb diets for the long-term are a bad idea. This plan is part of a larger running program I'm doing from the Born to Run 2 book.

But this is just a test to see how your body reacts to each kind of carb when you add them back in, one at a time. Next week, I’ll have bean day, fruit day, grain day, and bread day, and then Friday will be “everything is back” day. And I cannot wait.

Until then, here are some things I’ve been eating. Most days, I run in the mornings, so I’ll have a handful of nuts before and a shake with Complement protein, almond butter, and almond milk after. But on non-running days, I’ve been enjoying Coconut Chia Pudding made with full-fat coconut milk and chia seeds. I’m supposed to avoid all sweeteners, even stevia and monkfruit, so this was only sweetened from the coconut.

Another breakfast that I’ve been loving is a super-simple Whole Avocado with Salsa. I sprinkle a little black salt on it so it's like scrambled eggs with salsa!

A favorite dinner so far is this Butternut Squash Bowl with kale, mushrooms, avocado, and almonds. Squash is the carbiest veggie I can have, so it was pretty satisfying. I’m finding, in general, meals without carbs are very unsatisfying. Even if I get full, it just feels like something is missing.

Last Thursday, my friend Susan and I went out for dinner, and there are only a few salad-y places in town where I know I can eat something Two-Week Test-friendly, so we went to one of them — Cheffie’s. It’s a build-your-own salad place, and I built this massive bowl with tons of avocado, artichokes, olives, onion, sundried tomatoes, almonds, and oil-vinegar dressing. Thankfully, wine is allowed on this thing! Whew. That makes it all more bearable.