Sweet and Kickin' Pecans

Welp, I am doing another mini-sugar detox right now. This time for 2 weeks before I'm off to Buffalo for a family member's wedding. I find detoxing is so much easier when you have a lot of items on deck, especially snack type food. One of my favorite go-to detox snack is nuts, but sometimes just eating plain nuts gets boring, so I decided to get a little creative and spice things up a bit.

The bag that inspired it all

My inspiration came from the back of a bag of pecan halves I got from my local Albertson's. Their recipe included corn syrup and sugar, so I had to make a few modifications to make my version 21DSD approved. I was a little nervous as I wasn't sure what exactly was a good substitute for corn syrup (and I am sure I could have just Googled it, but I was feeling lazy) and I wasn't sure how to balance out for omitting a half a cup of sugar (again, probably could have Googled it, but what's the fun in that?). Also, because I've never cooked nuts before.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results as there were quite a few moments of panic (Can you really use coconut oil instead of corn syrup? Where's my pure vanilla extract? Oh no! The butter just exploded in the microwave! Was that too much cinnamon? Was that too much cayenne pepper?). But my worries were unfounded as the final product was delicious.

Sweet and Kickin Pecans

16 ounces pecan halves
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a cookie sheet with greased aluminum foil. In a large bowl, mix together pecans, coconut oil butter and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well coated. Spread onto the cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Stir and continue baking another 5 minutes. Spread pecans onto parchment paper and let cool.

Bacon and Eggs Muffins

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So...the girl who has a blog about baking, mostly sweet treats, decided to do a 21 day sugar detox. It was tough; you would be surprised as to how many items have sugar in them that you wouldn't even realize. Never before have I looked at so many labels! It also forced me to plan ahead and prep a lot of food. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun (especially since hubby did most of the cleaning after I destroyed the kitchen almost nightly).

Most of the recipes I used were directly from the 21-Day Sugar Detox book and cookbook, although I did make up a few of my own and modified some from the books, one such modification is below. 

This Bacon and Eggs Muffin is an adaption of the author's Buffalo Chicken Egg Muffins, which are quite delicious, and that you should totally try.

I'm not what you call a dieter, although one time in college I did Atkins and I felt gross. Really gross. Having basically only meat and cheese and grease does not work for me. And neither does eating a set number of meals per day. 21DSD (that's what the cool kids are calling it) has lots of food on the approved list and you eat when you're hungry; which makes sense to me.

I suppose now you want to know my results. Well, my skin cleared up and I have been sleeping better.

And I lost 6 pounds.

 

Nope, this isn't one of those before and after photography tricks. I'd be much skinnier in the after if it was ;)

It was a great kick-start to getting out of "fat season" and getting back on a healthy track. While I don't plan to eat like this forever, I have picked up some good habits that I hope to continue.

Yup, I totally took a pic after I'd had a few bites

Bacon and Eggs Muffins

1 1/2 pounds bacon

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

12 eggs

1/4 cup sliced green onions (scallions)

sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Prepare 12 cups of a muffin tin with parchment paper muffin liners (I've tried it with regular liners - does not work!).

Cook bacon your favorite way until fully cooked and chop into pieces.  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the green onions, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture into muffin cups, filling about halfway. Gently spoon about 1/4 cup of the bacon on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until the muffins rise and become golden brown around the edges.