Shred10

Shred10 Recipes & Favorite Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks & Dinner

August 5, 2018 No Comments

Contemplating your first Shred10 or just tired of the same foods every month? This post is all about my favorite Shred10 recipes and meals. New to Shred10? Check out this page to learn more – Shred10.

During Shred10, we are trying to follow these guidelines:

Shred10 Recipes & Favorite Meals

Breakfast

Juice Plus+ Complete shakes

My typical breakfast is a Complete shake or two. With 13g of plant-based protein and 8g of fiber per serving, it makes for a complete meal to start the day. Mixed with unsweetened almond milk, I always add chia seeds to my shakes for even more fiber and omega-3. Of course, you can also blend with even more fruits and vegetables; like banana, strawberry, kale, and spinach.

Juice Plus+ Complete

Vegan French toast

When looking for an egg-less french toast recipe recently (eggs are Shred10 friendly, we just happened to be out), I happened upon a recipe from The Minimalist Baker for vegan french toast. We also use gluten-free bread from Aldi to make this work for our family.

Recipe

Sausage & Eggs

When I start my day with protein, it helps me stay full longer, so sausage and eggs are another favorite breakfast of mine. Sometimes I’ll even make an omelet with mushrooms and spinach as well.

Gluten-Free Waffles with Nut Butter

Dairy-Free Yogurt with Fresh Fruit

Smoothie Bowl

Snacks

Fruits & Vegetables

Apples, bananas, berries, snap peas, bell peppers, really any fruit or vegetable. You can dip in no sugar added peanut butter or hummus for added protein.

Juice Plus+ Complete bars

Juice Plus+ Complete bars are great for a mid-afternoon snack or post-workout. Low-glycemic, gluten-free, non- dairy and vegetarian with 5 or 10g of protein and 5g of fiber. My favorite is Tart Cherry + Honey, but if you crave some chocolate, the Dark Chocolate + Fig may be right up your alley.

Juice Plus+ Complete Bars

Popsicles

Popsicles don’t have to be full of sugar, especially if you make your own. Blend fruit with coconut water, almond milk, or your favorite dairy-free milk.

Popsicle Recipes

Lunch & Dinner

Stir-fries with protein, rice & veggies

Our go-to, in a rush dinner is to stir fry some chicken or beef with veggies (broccoli, carrots, peppers, bok choy) and serve over rice or quinoa. In an even bigger rush, the veggie steamer bags are great.

Burrito Bowls

My son’s current favorite meal is to make Qdoba-style burrito bowls. We even make the ingredients ahead of time and pack for his lunch. We use brown rice, blacks beans, chicken, avocado, and various salsas.

Sunbasket

One of the best solutions for my family has been to subscribe to meal prep boxes, Sunbasket being my favorite! You can read more about my experience with meal prep boxes here – Meal Delivery Services. One reason I love Sunbasket is they offer 18 different meal options each week and clearly identify meals that are gluten-free and dairy-free. They are also very easy to prepare with most ingredients ready to go.

EveryPlate

We’ve also started using the meal delivery service EveryPlate. Their meals are a lot simpler than SunBasket and good for the whole family. Most of their meals incorporate butter, but we omit or use a substitute. Even without using EveryPlate, you can follow the same concept – protein, rice or potato, and vegetable. Proteins include steak, pork chop, chicken breast or thigh, and fish. And a large portion of the veggies and potatoes are baked in the oven with just a little oil and seasoning.

Read my full review of EveryPlate here.

Additional Shred10 Resources

Healthy Living Revolution & Shred10

Shred10 | 5 Steps to Prep

Taste of the Shred & A Shred10 Potluck

Ready to Shred10?

Save For Later

Nutrition

Shred10 Prep – 5 Steps to Prepare for the 10 Day Health Program

November 4, 2017 No Comments

Are you trying to figure out how to complete a Shred10 prep? Or wondering how you could survive 10 days without dairy, gluten, refined sugar, alcohol and caffeine? Preparation is key! It’s very easy to fall back into unhealthy habits, but with a little advance work, you can do it!

Shred10 Background – What Is It?

Shred10 Prep

Meal Plan

Meal planning is key! When you schedule your meals in advance, you can grocery shop for several meals at a time, and be prepared when dinnertime has come. I like to meal plan early in the day on Sunday while looking at the calendar for the week, then head to the grocery store later in the day. It’s important to look at your calendar when meal planning so you know when a quick meal is needed. For my family, we have one day where we go straight from work to soccer practice, then it’s nearly bed time for our little one. I can’t be planning a meal that requires an hour prep that day. That would be a perfect example for when a crock pot meal is needed.

See my full post on how I meal plan here – Meal Planning

Advance Prep

Prepare veggie strips (like carrots, celery, bell peppers) that you can keep in the fridge to snack on during the day. When you have a healthy snack ready, it is much easier to avoid the chips or candy so readily available. You can also roast veggies ahead of time to reheat for meals or snacking. Great veggies to roast include sweet potatoes, broccoli, squash, and brussel sprouts.

Going to the grocery store before Shred10 starts is also good advance prep. If you haven’t bought good food, you can’t eat good food. Planning and buying in advance prevents you from going through the drive-through, as you know you have something good to eat at home and you don’t want to waste the food that you have already paid for.

Mindset

Mindset is key in so many areas of life, but is essential in believing that you can accomplish your goals, including completing a Shred10. I love affirmations and here are a few that will work well as you prepare and complete your Shred10:

I always succeed.
I love and respect myself.
This is the greatest day of my life.
I am very positive at all times.
Everything I do turns out exquisitely better than I could have ever planned.

I use an app called My Affirmations that would periodically provide a notification with one of my affirmations. You can also write down your affirmations on index cards and pull them out throughout the day to read.

Get Your Kids Involved

The great thing about Shred10 is that it is safe for children too! Have your kids pick out their favorite fruits & veggies at the grocery store for lunch and snacks. My son loves coming up with new combinations to blend with his Complete shake, from blueberries and peaches to peanut butter and kale.

You can also let your kids help prepare meals. Give them age appropriate tasks like stirring and cutting. My son also loves forming meat balls and anything that involves his hands. When kids help pick out their food and help prepare it, they take so much pride in the food and can’t wait to try it.

Clear the Cupboards

As we just wrapped up Halloween, there is so much candy on our counters and throughout the house. Before Monday, I will be gathering all the candy and hiding it in a low, minimally used cabinet so I won’t be tempted. Out of sight, out of mind. If you think you’ll still be tempted, you can go ahead and throw it all away or donate it to the many organizations who collect for military overseas.

Now is also a good time to clear your cupboards of other non-Shred10 approved items – sugar filled, processed, and gluten. If it’s not there, you can’t eat it.

Ready to Shred10?

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Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Shred10 Day #4 – I’ve Made It This Far

June 8, 2017 No Comments

I’ve made it to Day #4. By Thursday I am usually running out of healthy snacks and feeling deprived by the afternoon, but I’ve been full and satisfied this week. I switched up when I drink my shakes for this round of the Shred10 and I think that’s made a ton of difference in keeping me full in the afternoon. I usually drink both shakes in the morning or have 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, but this week I haven’t started my shakes until the afternoon. This does usually leave me finishing up after 6pm, but I’d prefer missing that guideline than eating something unhealthy because I’m starving.

Breakfast

I enjoyed 2 scrambled eggs with a slice of bacon from the office cafeteria this morning for breakfast. Quick and easy protein!

Lunch

As you know from Day #2, I have a real weakness for Chinese food. The special in the cafeteria was sweet n sour chicken with rice and a bottle of water.

Snack

I had prepped my 2 shakes again at home before leaving for work. Craving some chocolate mid-afternoon, the Chocolate Complete shake just hit the spot. Unsweetened almond milk, chia seeds, and Chocolate Complete, shaken until smooth. Perfect treat!

Dinner

I made a simple dinner of salmon and arborio rice. Looks pretty plain, but pretty tasty. After dinner, I finished my shake that I hadn’t finished in the afternoon.

Sleep / Movement

Blogging has been keeping me up late at night, so I missed my sleep goal today, but I’m working on the blog earlier today, so hopefully I can catch up tomorrow. I also met my step goal! I use my Garmin’s autoadjusting goal, so when I meet my goal, my step goal for the next day goes up, and when I miss the goal, it goes down.

Water

I did a little better with my water today, but still short of my goal.

Conclusion

I definitely attribute my blog to helping me be more accountable during this Shred10. I’m not perfect, but I feel the shred is a great tool to make you more aware of your food choices. There is always room for improvement, but without tracking my choices, I know that I wouldn’t be doing as well as I am.

Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Shred10 Day #3 – Recap

June 7, 2017 No Comments

It’s Day #3 of Shred10. This is usually the day when most people start feeling the detox and may actually feel a little sick. I’ve felt pretty good so far, and have actually been feel full on less food than usual. Here’s the recap of the Shred10 guidelines I am following.

Breakfast

This morning, I blended together unsweetened almond milk, strawberries, blackberries, and chia seeds with some ice for a refreshing smoothie.

Lunch

I had to take my son to the dentist this morning, so we stopped at Qdoba on the way home. I ordered the burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, adobo chicken, salsa verde, and lettuce. It had been a long time since I was last at Qdoba, and they’ve added quite a few options to their menu. Many of which are quite healthy.

Snack/Dinner

Working from home today, my son wanted to make a smoothie with all the fruit we had on hand. So we blended unsweetened almond milk with Dutch Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete, strawberries, chia seeds, blackberries, blueberries, and a whole banana.

My son didn’t drink much of his smoothie, so I saved his for later and drank it after our Family Fitness Night.

Family Fitness Night

I’m president of my church’s Ladies Club and we hosted a Family Fitness Night tonight at a local park. I led the kids in a warm up, helped demonstrate the obstacle course, and ran a game of nutrition red light green light. Instead of yelling red light or green light, I would shout out a healthy green light food or an unhealthy red light food. The kids had a fun time learning about new vegetables.

We also led the kids through a yoga story through the jungle and handed out jump ropes, bananas and apples.

Water

Even less water today. Something I need to focus on for sure.

Sleep/Movement

I met the 7 hour sleep goal again, but fell way short of my step goal. Working from home really takes me off my feet as I work at a large campus that requires a bit of walking to get to/from parking and around for meetings.

Conclusion

Nutritionally, I did pretty good today. Ate healthy meals, with lots of fruit. It’s tough to finish all meals before 6pm with a busy family and working full-time, but the key is to try and eat early enough that your body has time to start digestion. My focus tomorrow is WATER!

Exercise, Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Shred10 Day #2

June 6, 2017 1 Comment

Thanks for following along with me to Day #2 of the 10 day Shred10. Let’s review the guidelines I’m following.

Breakfast

I finished off the Mango-chia overnight oatmeal that I had started on Day #1. Still delicious on Day #2. I’ll be trying out different variations of this recipe including strawberries and whatever fruit I can find fresh.

I also took my Juice Plus+ trio capsules, Juice Plus+ omega, and Doterra probiotic and TriEase.

Exercise

I made it to the gym today! My first time in weeks. I attended a 30 minute Strength class at my office gym. It included 3 groups of 4 exercises that we completed twice for 45 seconds per exercise. Having not been to class in awhile, I chose a lighter weight (8 pounds). The exercises ranged from bicep curls with an overhead press and tricep dip to various ab work like planks. Definitely a great work out!

Lunch

My weakness at work is when the Lulu Dim Sum truck comes to campus. I love their General Tso Chicken! I splurged, after just working out, and ordered the General Tso, but with green beans instead of rice. Even though I’m not perfect with the Shred10, I love how it makes me aware of my food choices. I chose a vegetable instead of a starch. I then spent my lunch hour googling the ingredients in General Tso, what is gluten free, and what is considered processed food. The traditional General Tso sauce recipe includes sugar and soy sauce (which may or may not be gluten free). But I did learn that the chicken is battered in cornstarch, which is gluten free.

Snack/Dinner

I had several meetings this afternoon, leaving me to start my double shake at 4pm. I took a break when I got home from work and didn’t finish it off until 9pm. So, I missed that 6pm cutoff, but just didn’t feel hungry. Again, I had made my shake in the morning with just Dutch Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete, unsweetened almond milk, and chia seeds. I throw everything in my shaker bottle, shake, and refrigerate until I’m ready to drink.

Sleep/Movement

I met the 7 hours of sleep goal, and fell a little short of my step goal, but I did get in that exercise as mentioned earlier.

Water

Fell much shorter on my water goal today. I do pretty well at work, but seem to stop drinking water when I get home. I have the same water bottle at work and home, so need to work on keeping it within arms reach, especially as I’m sitting at the computer working on my blog and social media posts.

Conclusion

Today was much tougher than Day #1. Having the accountability of this blog did make me choose a healthier option at lunch than I would have otherwise, but nearly every aspect will use some special attention tomorrow, especially as I am working from home and won’t get the movement around the office.

Missed Day #1? Catch it here.

Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Shred10 Day #1 – How Did I Do?

June 5, 2017 1 Comment

Guidelines

Over the next 10 days, I’ll be following the guidelines of the Shred10 program and sharing my journey here. What aspect of the program would be most difficult for you? For me, exercise will be a challenge since my husband is out of town and I have 2 small children. I also struggle to drink enough water, so I’ll be focusing on that aspect as well.

Breakfast

I prepared the Mango-chia overnight oatmeal from Sun Basket Sunday evening in preparation for Shred10 starting on Monday. The recipe used almond milk and gluten free oats, making it fit the Shred10 guidelines, and honey is any acceptable sweetener too. The recipe made 2 servings (picture shown is 2 servings – filling 1 pint sized mason jar).

I also started my day with the Juice Plus+ trio and Omega blend. I love how easy it is to get 30 fruits and vegetables, and start my day off nutritionally sound.

I also take the Doterra probiotic and TriEase, as seasonal allergens are on high right now in St Louis.

Lunch

I’m lucky to have access to an amazing cafeteria at work, with lots of healthy options. Today, I went with the salad bar and choose mixed greens with mushrooms, egg, broccoli, grilled chicken, and sunflower seeds.

It was hard for me to stay away from the cheese and roll, but I did it!

Snack/Dinner

I started drinking my 2 shakes around 3pm and continued working on them until the 6pm cutoff, counting as a snack and my dinner. I made my shakes at home before work and left in the fridge during the day. My favorite preparation is to shake the Juice Plus+ Complete powder with unsweetened almond milk and chia seeds. The chia seeds take on some of the milk and make the shake more like a milk shake. Delicious!

Water

I drank 60 oz, just short of my 70 oz goal. I like the Hydra Coach app to track my water. It breaks down your goal during the day, so you can see if you’re on track and will give you notifications if you’re falling behind.

Sleep / Movement

I use my Garmin Vivoactive to track my sleep and steps. I did very good on sleep, going to bed early Sunday night. But fell short of my step goal and didn’t do any organized fitness activity.

Conclusion

Day #1 went pretty well, just need to find a way to add more movement during the day.

Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Taste of the Shred – A Shred10 Potluck

June 3, 2017 2 Comments

Thursday evening, my friend Sherry hosted a Taste of the Shred event, to highlight food that is approved during Shred10 (see my post here for more information on the Shred10 program). She asked each guest to bring a dish that fulfilled the Shred10 guidelines of no dairy, no gluten, no added sugars, no caffeine, no processed foods, and no alcohol. We had a large spread of fresh fruits, vegetables, and prepared dishes.

As people gathered, we snacked on hummus with gluten-free crackers and asparagus, and grapes. Sherry had prepared a beautiful lemon-lime infused water, along with a decaf peppermint tea.

Many children were in attendance as well, and they enjoyed snacking on the Juice Plus+ gummy chewables.

One of my favorite dishes was a mixed greens salad with a variety of toppings to choose from, including peas, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, white beans, tomatoes, walnuts, and radishes. Sherry also made a homemade dressing of vinegar, olive oil, and honey. Most store-bought dressings have added sugars, which we are avoiding during the Shred10. If you haven’t tried making your own dressing yet, it’s very easy. Sherry learned her recipe directly from the White House chef and it is delicious.

Other popular dishes were a butternut squash dish baked with onions and tomatoes, a Mexican fruit salad (recipe here), and Chocolate Complete Energy Balls.

Chocolate Complete Energy Balls — Juice Plus+ Chocolate Complete can be purchased here.

After enjoying dinner, we all went around the table introducing ourselves and sharing our health goals. Many people were looking for improved health and more energy. It was a great variety of guests and an event that we plan to host monthly during the week prior to each new Shred10.

Stay tuned for my posts sharing my journey on this month’s shred.

Juice Plus+, Nutrition

Healthy Living Revolution & Shred10

May 29, 2017 3 Comments

Is your health exactly where you want it to be? What if you could learn about tools to take your health back? That’s why I’m so excited to have found the Healthy Living Revolution and the tools it provides for 10-day jumpstarts and overall nutrition guidance.

Healthy used to be SIMPLE! It wasn’t the latest superfood or the new diet craze.

Healthy was fresh vegetables from grandma’s garden. Kids played outside until it was dark. You drank water straight from a hose. We had energy all day long and 70% of us weren’t on medications. Healthy was a lifestyle that we lived and we can again.

This Healthy Living Revolution is about taking our health back, our families’ health back, our schools’ health back, our country’s health back.

Toxic Chemicals

Part of the reason we need to #takehealthyback isn’t something that we can easily control. In our world today we are exposed to toxic chemicals that are putting our health at risk. Many of the health challenges and diseases that we are facing can be linked to these toxins.

Silent Spring researchers found that BPA and other toxins could be reduced significantly after just 3 days by eating whole foods! Fruits and vegetables are powerful not just because they detox us but because they contain ANTIOXIDANTS. Antioxidants reduce oxidative stress which causes aging and disease. They also contain thousands of phytonutrients – plant nutrients! These phytonutrients prevent cancer and other diseases. The second image shows a list of 400 ingredients in an apple but scientists believe there are probably 10,000 or more ingredients yet to be discovered. All of these ingredients create synergy which means they work together to prevent disease. An isolated supplement or multivitamin has maybe 20 ingredients. We need ALL of those thousands of ingredients in fruits and vegetables every day. WE DON’T HAVE A VITAMIN DEFICIENCY WE HAVE A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE DEFICIENCY. I loved learning this!!!!

And not only are we eating fewer fruits and vegetables, but the mass-produced produce that many of us find in the grocery store is packing less nutritional punch than just 2 generations ago. According to Tim Lang, a professor at the Centre for Food Policy in London, you would have to eat 8 oranges to get the same amount of vitamin A your grandparents got from a single orange. And you would need to EAT FIVE to get the same level of iron.

The Answer!

Can you imagine FLOODING YOUR BODY with 45 whole foods daily? We found a way to do this. It’s called Juice Plus+! Juice Plus+ is 30 raw, vine-ripened fruits, veggies, and berries in capsules or chewables. It’s juicing made easy! The Juice Plus+ Complete is a powdered shake mix that can be blended with plant milk or even water. It’s low fat, low sugar, low glycemic, gluten-free, vegan, and 100% NON-GMO plants. It has 13 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, and wonderful ingredients. And the JP Complete is delicious!

Cleansing

This image shows us why counting calories and even exercising without proper nutrition can do more harm than good. Look at the top portion. When you diet and exercise without proper nutrition, it causes stress to your body. You burn fat but toxins are exposed that have no way to get out of your system because there is a lack of good nutrition to help cleanse the toxins while losing that fat. This will make you feel worse because it creates a rebound effect. In an effort to self-protect, your body will increase fat production to protect your vital organs. You can see why dieting is a vicious cycle! Now, look at the bottom portion. FLOODING YOUR BODY with fruits and veggies every day will help your liver convert these toxins into something that can be carried out of the body.

Blood Sugar

Did you know that willpower is a function of blood sugar? Think about a time when you skipped a meal or you were too busy that you just forgot to eat. We all have those days, right? And then you want to eat anything in site 🙂 Here is why.

Will power is a function of blood sugar. Normally our blood sugar will fluctuate after every meal when we eat one without crunchy raw veggies which is represented by the light blue graph below. Crackers, bread, soda, box cereals, soup, baked goods, alcohol, dessert, and candy; all these will suddenly raise our blood sugar and then there is a drastic dip that follows. Or we may skip a meal and our blood sugar drops and we then have no self-control. This also happens first thing in the morning when we wake up on an empty stomach and even though we might not feel hungry our blood sugar is very low and we are convinced we need caffeine to wake up.

JP+ Complete Shakes are an awesome solution to this problem! The fiber content creates a low glycemic load, which means sugar enters the blood slowly… like what happens when you munch on fiber-rich broccoli. It stabilizes the blood sugar and makes it easier to avoid bad habits and food addictions that we reach for when our blood sugar drops. Many people who start on the JP complete also notice they are craving more good food and less junk. It’s literally liquid WILLPOWER 🙂

A great way to jumpstart your health and implement the concepts just covered is the Shred10 program!

The free Shred10 Guidebook includes Q&A from experts, Shred10-friendly recipes and options for meal planning, nutritional shake recipes, and more! The Shred10 is not a fad diet, it is a jumpstart into lifelong health.

Healthy Living Community

The final way to be part of the Healthy Living Revolution is to be part of our Healthy Living Community. Our hope is that your experience in our community is filled with positive engagement, encouragement, and on-going education.

Our Healthy Living Community Offers:

Facebook Inspiration to keep your healthy lifestyle fresh, fun, and inspiring. Join here today – Fueling Healthy Families
A free cookbook that you can download!
Children’s program
LIVE Events, which will be in person and online to reach everyone, no matter where they are.
Continuing education from a variety of healthcare and fitness professionals.

If I gave you $2.38 to buy produce at the grocery store how much do you think you could buy? Maybe one organic orange and one apple?

That’s what I love about Juice Plus+! Starting at just $1.67 a day, you can get the nutrition of 20 different fruits and vegetables!

Next Steps

Watch the Shred10 Introduction video
- This video briefly explains what Shred10 is (<3 minutes)
Order your Juice Plus+ products
- Go to rachelflavin.juiceplus.com or contact Rachel at 314.496.8303
Watch the Shred10 Informational video
- 23 minute video that explains in depth what will occur during the Shred
Request the Shred10 Guidebook.