Hi! I’m Sarah Scherer, two-time Olympic Summer Games competitor, participating in the 10 meter Air Rifle event in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 and dietician/nutritionist for the Shaklee Pure Performance Team athletes. During the Shaklee Pure Performance Team presentation at the Shaklee Global Conference in Las Vegas in July of 2019, I shared an image of my Shaklee shaker bottle in the foreground of a beautiful glacier lake in Glacier National Park. At the time of the photo, I was completing the Prove It Challenge™ to emphasize that the challenge can be completed ANYWHERE and ANYTIME. The strip and shake a day were especially manageable, which brings me to the first item on my list of favorite things I experienced when completing the Prove It Challenge:
- It was so flexible for my very booked, busy lifestyle! Consuming a strip and shake a day saved me from skipping a meal, and I felt confident I was receiving all my nutrients every day.
- It fueled my workouts. Workouts felt great and I had plenty of energy, especially when hiking 12 miles with a 50-pound backpack through altitude. Also, I loved saving my Chocolate Life Shake™ smoothie as my pleasure treat after I put in the work at the gym.
- It excited me to try different recipes in the kitchen. I am a major foodie, and having a Life Shake each day challenged me to keep things interesting. Check out my recipe suggestions below!
- I was still able to indulge with moderation. While completing the challenge, I gave myself a meal or snack each week to indulge and I still stayed on program. On strict programs, indulging can make you feel guilty because it is “off program,” but not with the Prove It Challenge! It is a start to a healthy lifestyle, not a strict diet program. I love it!
- Finally, wow, I felt great! I had far more energy, fewer headaches, no energy crashes, and more strength during workouts. It actually simplified my household meal planning and I saved money on groceries!
There are so many benefits to the Prove It Challenge. If you’re just starting on the 7-Day Healthy Cleanse, I encourage you to review the resources page and find some positive support around you in the official Shaklee 7 Day Healthy Cleanse 2019 Facebook group. YOU can do it! If you are in the strip and shake portion of the Challenge, I encourage you to think about how YOU are shaping your healthy lifestyle with these tools. A healthy lifestyle means starting each day by deciding that your health is WORTH it! You deserve THRIVING health!
Here’s a concept all registered dietitians advocate: Veggie rich = Nutrition rich.
With many menus now including nutrition facts, we are becoming much more aware of the calories we consume; this is a great tool for a healthy diet. But I want to take you a step further and discuss “nutrient density.” Nutrient density is a wonderful tool to better understand how much “nutrition” we consume. A great example is brown rice versus white rice. When we eat white rice, we are eating a food that has been stripped of nutrients during the processing. On the other hand, brown rice is far less processed and therefore has more nutrients like fiber, calcium, and potassium. Another example is the nutrient density of spinach versus mango: 1 cup of spinach is about 40 calories and 1 cup of mango about 100 calories. Both contain great nutrients, but the spinach provides lots of nutrients for half the calories. That’s what makes vegetables so special and why any healthy diet from around the world contains a lot of vegetables.
Yes, I am a dietitian who recommends a nutrition plan with LOTS of vegetables—shocker, right? So, since we all know vegetables are healthy, why don’t we eat them all the time? The roadblock isn’t knowledge; instead, it’s prepping and making them taste really good. One secret to eating more vegetables is including puréed vegetables in your smoothies or even other recipes. I use this technique on my husband all the time to sneak vegetables into his diet and he can’t even tell! Also, Shaklee makes this technique easy with Organic Greens Booster.
Here are some prepping tips to get you started.
- To save time, you can “batch” steam and portion vegetables and smoothie ingredients all at once and store in individually portioned containers. “Batch,” as the name implies, is preparing and cooking many meals’ worth of ingredients all at once. Add any additional vegetables or fruit to your containers and refrigerate or freeze together for each individual Life Shake recipe. Freeze if you want to use the ingredients in a few days to reduce oxidation. Take your portioned smoothie ingredients out of the freezer and place into the fridge for a few hours before you plan to blend.
- Another time-saving option is to purée vegetables and fruit and freeze in ice cube trays. Using a high-powered blender, you can add the ice cubes of vegetables and fruit into the blender, add other ingredients, and blend. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, take the portion of cubes out of the freezer to let them thaw a little before blending.
- Don’t like bananas? Swap out banana with jicama, carrots, pears, apples, or cooked sweet potato for a sweet and nutritious boost.
- What can boost the creamy texture without adding cream? Cauliflower, broccoli, banana, avocado, sweet potato, pumpkin, even butternut squash. If you are having a hard time making your vegetables creamy, cook them a little longer. They should be soft without any “bite.” And to avoid overcooking your vegetables, cook them in uniform pieces and test multiple pieces. Blend on low to chop vegetables and then on medium or high to make smooth.
When I was designing the recipes below, I made and tried each one. With all of the vegetables plus the protein in the Life Shake, I was so full and satisfied. Try out a recipe from the list or be adventurous and discover your own favorite smoothie—and Share It!
Dairy-Free Creamy Vanilla Smoothie
1 cup steamed cauliflower (microwave in steamer/covered bowl with water for 4 minutes)
1/2 cup banana slices
1 cup ice/5-6 ice cubes
1 cup milk/milk alternative
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional, to taste)
Pinch of nutmeg (optional, to taste)
Blend together cauliflower, banana, and then ice and liquid until completely smooth and creamy. Add scoops of Vanilla Life Shake and additional spices if desired. Turn it into dessert: Freeze for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, mixing the smoothie every 15 minutes to maintain a smooth texture. After it is frozen, scoop and enjoy.
Chocolate Mint Smoothie
1/2 cup peeled cucumber
1/8 cup avocado chunks
1 cup milk/milk alternative
1/2 cup ice/2-3 ice cubes
2 scoops Chocolate Life Shake™
A few mint leaves (swap for cinnamon if preferred)
Blend together until completely smooth. Add additional water or serve on ice for a lighter consistency.
Very Berry Green Goodness
1/2 cup peeled cucumber or (lightly) steamed green zucchini
1/4 cup spinach
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup strawberries
1/8 cup or 1 oz. avocado chunks
2 scoops Strawberry Life Shake™
1 cup milk/milk alternative
1/2 cup ice/2-3 ice cubes
Blend together until completely smooth.
Café Latte Frappuccino Delight
1/2 cup steamed cauliflower (microwave in steamer/covered bowl with water for 4 minutes)
1/4 cup banana slices
1 cup ice/5-6 ice cubes
1 shot of espresso or 1/2 cup coffee
2 scoops Café Latte Life Shake™
Add additional milk/milk alternative for desired consistency.
Blend together cauliflower, banana, and then ice and coffee until completely smooth and creamy. Add scoops of Café Latte Life Shake. Add 1 Tbsp. of milk/milk alternative and blend to desired consistency. Turn it into a Mocha Frappuccino by swapping 1 scoop of Café Latte Life Shake for Chocolate Life Shake.
Berry Mint Magic
1/2 cup peeled cucumber or (lightly) steamed green zucchini
1/2 cup strawberries or favorite seasonal berries
1/8 cup or 1 oz. avocado chunks
Mint sprigs, to taste
2 scoops Strawberry Life Shake™
1 cup milk/milk alternative
1/2 cup ice/2-3 ice cubes
Blend together until completely smooth. Add additional water or serve on ice for a lighter consistency.
BYO nutrition-rich smoothie:
Vegetables for smoothies (add about 3/4 to 1 cup total):
Spinach
Kale
Squashes (choose from many varieties)
Cucumber
Jicama
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Various greens
Nutrient dense fruits for smoothies (add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup total):
Berries
Banana
Apple
Pears
Melon
Other ingredients to use in moderation:
Avocado
Coconut milk
Spices or other ingredients you can try:
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Mint
Vanilla
Oats
Quinoa
Nuts
