This year has been unpredictable, to say the least. My husband and I quickly saw our busy Los Angeles lifestyle turn upside down in a matter of days. No more coffee dates, happy hours, or dinners out with friends. And to be honest, we didn’t even order takeout for the first few months of quarantine. We went from relying on our neighborhood restaurants and bistros for most of our food to slowly but surely becoming proficient home cooks.
However, as the months rolled on, the thought of cooking yet another meal seemed unbearable. When Sakara, the celeb-favorite meal delivery service, reached out to see if I’d be interested in trying it — it was a no brainer! Not only could I hang up my chef’s hat for a few days, but their organic, plant-rich foods are touted for being a great nutritional reset. We were excited to give our bodies a break for a few days and eat as clean as possible.
Nine meals (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners) were delivered early on Monday morning, packaged neatly in an insulated box. Thankfully, we had been expecting it, so there was plenty of room in the fridge — it took up an entire shelf to store everything. Our initial thought was that it was a lot of plastic, but Sakara both encourages reusing the containers and makes it clear that nearly everything can be recycled curbside.
Breakfast may have been our favorite, as each recipe was really tasty and filling. We enjoyed a Blueberry Earth Cake (similar to a tea cake, with a peach-cinnamon topping), a Chocolate Love Muffin (this was drenched in a superfood honey + almond “caramel”), and Sakara’s signature Glow Granola, with a very Instagrammable pink mylk. The ingredients were clearly clean, but each morning felt more like dessert. And though Sakara suggests removing caffeine from your diet while on the program, we agreed that an espresso wouldn’t kill us — and the flavors totally transported us back to our favorite pre-Covid cafe.
Lunch was typically a salad and the portions were more than enough! Monday was a Balance Bowl, with bright fall flavors like golden beets, butternut squash, and a creamy tahini dressing. Tuesday’s colorful Burrito Bowl was just spicy enough, and reminiscent of our favorite Mexican taco stand. On the final day, we enjoyed a Daydreamer Soba bowl, which had a mix of buckwheat soba noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and plenty of arugula — a recipe we can’t wait to recreate. The dressings are where Sakara’s salads really shine. The flavors are surprisingly vibrant given the limited ingredients. (If they ever start selling the dressings, I’ll be first in line.) Each day, I found myself grateful to have a quick and super healthy option, as opposed to wandering into the kitchen around lunchtime, unsure of what to fix.
Dinner is where the “clean eating” side of things became more apparent. The meals were absolutely fantastic — Bibimbap with brown rice and kimchi, Five Herb Pesto Pasta, and a Phuket Bowl with Thai Sticky Rice. However, my husband and I both workout for about 45 minutes each day, and found ourselves super famished each evening. We had no complaints about flavor, we just found ourselves wanting a bit… more. If we were to order again, we’d have some easy chicken or salmon on hand for extra protein. (Sakara doesn’t list calories or nutritional information, which would have been helpful or more motivational, if I knew that I had in fact consumed enough protein. They explain more here.)
Initially, the price felt a bit jarring (a 3 day program is $239 a person, which is about $80 a day for three meals), but we do feel it was worth, given the quality of ingredients and the impressive flavors. While it may not be realistic or sustainable for each and every week, I would definitely try it again — it’s great for a reset (we both felt like our digestion really improved and my skin was glowing). Plus, not having to cook for a few days? Priceless.