As most of you know, I'm a huge advocate of the 21 Day Fix {original & extreme} because of the results I felt and saw in just 3 weeks. Check out my journey HERE.
The secret sauce with this program is the NUTRITION, which is most people's down fall when it comes to achieving results or even maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Within the 21 Day Fix meal plan, you have your categories, the recommended foods within each category and the appropriate serving size of each. Based on a formula that calculates your caloric needs from your activity level, current weight, etc you will be told how many portions of each food category you should be ingesting on a daily basis.
The gist is: portioned whole foods + shakeology + 30 minute workouts = results
..and it's legit.
So let me show you the food list that I created when I started the 21 Day Fix, which made my life mega easy and straightforward when it came to selecting food items.
On the list- YES. Missing from the list- NO.
I do very well with black and white boundaries, so if you're the same I hope this helps!
After really just a week, I figured out which foods I like the most and what was easiest to prep --> I cook ONCE a week. I believe that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. My nutrition is no exception. Sundays are my day to prepare & the rest of the week is HEAT & EAT.
From this list, here is what I found myself eating most often.
PROTEINS
Chicken, Ground Turkey, Turkey Burgers, Eggs and Greek Yogurt.. oh my!
There are so many different ways to season, mix, and prepare these proteins that they just don't get old for me!
*Food Prep Tip:: When selecting meals to cook each week, try to stick with recipes that use the same 2-3 proteins to save $ and time!*
GREEN VEGGIES
Romaine for salads, Snap Peas for a snack or stir fry, Cucumbers to munch on and Roasted Broccoli as a dinner STAPLE. Of course, I might wash and chop carrots, zucchini, onion and tomato too- but you get the gist. These are veggies I can interchange for various meals and use in multiple ways!
FRUIT
I like fruits that can be eaten alone as a snack, mixed into my breakfasts or serving with a nut butter. I also like fruits that don't cost a bunch of money, since I get two large servings every single day.
CARBS
Oh my precious carbs. Going with HEALTHY options that are a blank canvas: Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes and Steel Cut Oats. I mix my oats in the morning with berries and a side of greek yogurt ALL.THE.TIME. The quinoa can be served plain as a side, mixed with veggies as a salad dish OR serving steamy on top of a bed of greens with taco meat or something! Seriously, y'all.. give quinoa a change. It's SO so good! Lastly are my beloved sweet potatoes. You can microwave and half these bad boys OR cube and roast them for a side. Serving tip: roast cubed sweet potatoes with carrots and top with goat cheese (yellow+green+blue) . HOLY HEAVENS.
Healthy FATS
Avocado, Cheese and Hummus.. need I say more?
SEEDS & DRESSINGS
For my salads, I make my own 21 Day Fix dressings directly from the meal plan! Usually, I make one new dressing each week or two. Instead of getting multiple seeds and nuts on hand, I get a medley of unsalted nuts to use as a snack or to top a salad.
OILS & Nut BUTTERS
Typically, I cook with olive oil and bake with coconut oil. I also like to blend in a half TSP. of coconut oil into my coffee.. so darn tasty. And the only nut butter I ALWAYS keep stocked is an all natural crunchy peanut butter. I eat it with fruit, on it's own or mixed into my morning oats/greek yogurt.
So I'm guessing you're wondering how the amazing Shakeology fits into this meal plan? Besides perfectly, these are the appropriate categories!
One scoop of shakeology counts as one protein serving. If you like to mix your shakeology with a splash of unsweetened almond milk, it would count as a part of a carb serving.
Seasonings
It's important to me to spice things up a bit, so that the foods I like to eat often don't seem boring and overly redundant. It's amazing how a little cinnamon on apple slices, red pepper flakes on green beans and cumin on ground turkey can make a world of difference. There are TONS of approved spices in the meal plan, as well as fresh herbs. These just so happen to be my favorites.
Condiments
Only because hard boiled eggs are LAME without hot sauce and my turkey burgers would be lonely without dijon.. these are two approved condiments that are ALWAYS stocked in my fridge.
No-Guilt Sweetener
I understand that plain greek yogurt can be a little shocking if you've never eaten it that way before. Sprinkle a little trivia or stevia on top to take the sharp sour edge off. If you're on the traditional 21 Day Fix meal plan, you are allowed to use honey, I believe. On the extreme version's meal plan, this is as good as it gets- and it works for me!
Creative Hydration
Hydration is SO important for anyone, but the way I keep my water intake from becoming dull is with a daily La Croix and with lemon or lime infused water!
Thanks to Autumn Calabrese, the creator of the 21 Day Fix, writing her new cookbook called "FIXATE" (check it out, HERE) I can switch things up even more!
Follow my blog as I cook through some of her new recipes including what's pictured here: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (1 purple + 1 orange), Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites (1/2 yellow) & Almond Chocolate Protein Squares (1/2 red + 1/2 yellow).
I'd love to answer any of your questions about the program and see if this might be a good fit for you.
Off to get my Plyo Extreme Fix on. Happy Monday, friends!
Lindsey
