Aging with beauty is really an inside-out project. When we feel good physically and mentally, we radiate well-being. I have tried various diets and styles of eating over the years, and as I have gotten older my digestion feels off. My stomach is sensitive to spicy and acidic foods, plus I don’t think I digest some proteins and oils very well.
I have tried protein powder shakes in the past and when I found out that Suzanne Somers had come out with a protein powder that focused on gut health, I decided to try it and take her Gut Renewal 30-day challenge.
For the challenge, you have 2 smoothies, 1 meal, and snacks for 30 days. Suzanne’s website calls it a “gut make-over”. There are several options to get started including added supplements if you think you need additional support. I opted for just the basic package that included a book full of recipes and information on gut health, along with the Gut Renew Powder. Before I started I took the product and book to my doctor and asked if this would be okay for me to try. My doctor gave me the go-ahead and I was off to dust off my blender!
Let me start by saying this is a high-quality protein powder with a price tag to match. I took the challenge seriously because I wanted to feel better and I wanted to get the most for my money.
The program was easy to follow. It is low-carb and sugar-free. I thought the sugar-free part would be hard, but I was wrong. In fact, the best thing about this challenge for me was it helped me break my sugar addiction. Now, remember I stated that I have tried many varied diets over the years and this has made me comfortable with flavor adjustments. So for me, the flavor of Suzanne’s Gut Renew Powder is good. She uses stevia (normally I am not a fan of the taste) mixed with cinnamon and vanilla or chocolate and it surprised me how much better it was than other protein powders I have tried.
I got a little creative and thought outside the box, working within the parameters of the challenge but tweaking some of the meals. I had a smoothie for breakfast or a bowl, my large meal at lunch and I turned the second smoothie into a dessert in the evening. I did this by using frozen cherries and unsweetened cocoa powder, into the mix and using water instead of milk until I had a thick frozen pudding consistency. I also purchased no-sugar dark chocolate to have as a treat.
By the second week, my taste buds began to change. I could taste the natural sweetness of the food more easily. I figured out I could play around with the carbs and split up meals into snacks. So I would make vegetable dips and garbanzo flour pancakes to fill the desire for certain textures in my meals.
I definitely ate more fruit than I was supposed to during the challenge. I made acai bowls for example and put fruit on top of the fruit smoothie. I used water instead of milk for a more intense fruit flavor.
Sometimes I used milk in a recipe, for me it was unsweetened almond milk. I even made a warm smoothie at one point. I had a sensitive tooth that needed dental work. So for a few days, before I could see the dentist, I used cooked sweet potato, milk, Gut Renew powder, and added cinnamon and nutmeg. The hot sweet potato and cold milk created a warm smoothie. It reminded me a little of egg nog. If I put a carb, like sweet potato in my smoothie, I left it out of my meal later.
My results at the end of the 30 days made me very happy. I was free from sugar addiction, my digestion was good, my stomach was flatter, and my bloating was gone. I continue to use Gut-Renew for my smoothies. If I need to I know I can always take the challenge again and get myself back on track with healthy eating. So after the holiday season, I may need to take the challenge again at the start of 2023!
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Here are some of my meals while on the Gut Renew 30-day Challenge:
Would you like to see some other Suzanne Somers products? Check out this post:
Enjoy the holiday season!
Your Fav Make-Up Maven,
LN xoxo
Ellen Carey Writer 