A Birthday Dinner Without Sugar

We’re officially into Week Two of Crazy Sexy Diet Cleanse. Woooooo HOOO! And in our office, all of us made it through Week One with **no** slip ups. We are so lucky to have each other to cheer us all on AND to peer-pressure us into staying on the straight and narrow. There’s something to be said for being inspired by others’ successes. I am sending out daily updates to our email group of virtual cleansers with recipes, experiences and support. If you’re missing those emails, be sure to post and let me know and I’ll get you on for the last 14 days of this great experience. The most positive part about the entire first week? I have found *so many* amazing vegan and gluten free blogs online with inventive and interesting recipes. This week has got me back in the kitchen and excited to be there!

I had a fun challenge this weekend. It was my Dad’s birthday (happy birthday Dad!). I wanted to make him a fabulous birthday dinner but needed to do it vegan, gluten free AND sugar free. Holly in Customer Service is doing the Crazy Sexy Diet Reboot with us (and she’s been incredibly inspiring to do it with – I love her exuberant attitude!). She had a great suggestion: poached pears! Voila, my Crazy Sexy Vegan No Sugar Poached Pear recipe below!

4 pear halves, peeled

½ cup orange juice (I fresh squeezed but you could use juice from the store)

Mulling Spices (1-2 tea bags worth)

1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract

Heat orange juice, mulling spices and extract to a low simmer. The more mulling spices you use, the spicier the syrup will be. I went too heavy with 4 bags and would do less next time. Peel the pears, leaving the stem intact. Cut pears in half, lengthwise.

Add the pear halves. Turn heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. Turn heat off. Allow pears to marinate in juices.

One hour before serving, pull pears out and put into serving dishes.You’ll re-heat the pears in the microwave before the sauce goes onto them.

Heat juice up again and reduce orange juice into a sauce. Serve with Ginger ice cream for those partaking in sugar (which, eh hem!, we are not). If the syrup needs more sweetness, add 2 Tablespoons of sugar and mix in, over low heat. Keep in mind, if you add sugar to this, it’s no longer naturally sugar free and those on a strict cleanse will need to skip the sauce.

Other items on my Dad’s Birthday Dinner menu? Hidden Ranch Cashew Dressing (recipe here) on greens, spinach kale broccoli cauliflower soup (blend it all up and cook it with some hemp milk – easy!) and faux fettuccine rice pasta with an avocado sauce (recipe here). The dinner got rave reviews AND was splendidly healthy. It was a win win.

PS – This is what happened the first time Jamisen saw Kale: