As isolation lifts and we head full force to the beach and sunny days al fresco, health and wellness continues to be top-of-mind for us all. Never mind at this point we are all so tired of cooking for ourselves, right!? Our Daily darling Sophie Sumner test-drove a week of The Sakara Life organic meal delivery program to get summer ready and feel great. Did she find it to be as life-changing as some of the testimonials have said? Read on to find out her honest take!
Hello friends, Sophie here! My friends at The Daily challenged me to give totally honest reviews of some of today’s most popular wellness trends. Having been in the modeling industry for over ten years and tried everything from a month of eating cottage cheese to being electrified while I workout, one can safely say I will literally test-drive anything. So when they asked me to put down my cooking utensils and let Sakara Life takeover my kitchen for a week, I happily agreed! And then I got nervous – this is no ordinary food delivery, and after eating everything in site during COVID quarantine, I was going to be faced with some serious detox.
The night before I started my 5 day journey, I sat hunched over my chicken tikka masala and pondered two things:
1. Could the food taste as good as Sakara’s gorgeous Instagram looks? These are works of art.
2. Can plants alone really curb my curry addiction and how freaking hungry am I really going to feel?
If only I knew then what I know now…the results would have had me shooketh! Without further ado, here are some highlights from my 5-day diary of my adventure:
Day 1
Breakfast: Maize Muffin w/ Probiotic Berry Coulis
Shockingly, as a Brit I am not a muffin type of person. As I take my first bite into my next 5 days I was impressed with how flavorful and spongy the muffin was. NO cardboard taste in sight – my biggest fear of cleanses is that everything will be tasteless cardboard.
Lunch: Sakara Burger w/ Chili Cashew Creme
All I can think of, starring at this delightful dish is how on earth they managed to grow salad leaves that are so brilliantly green! Sometimes when I make a salad I always get that tart taste, slightly bitter, which I dread and then tend to not make another salad for 5 months in fear of it. Yet these salad leaves were so crisp and delicious, I was blown away. I suddenly felt guilty and ashamed of not having eaten salad in a long long time. The meal was outstanding – I’m not a burger person but this I would eat again and again and again!
Dinner: Pineapple Glow Bowl w/ Sweet Ginger Curry
Full disclosure: I have an issue with pineapple – alone, it is lovely! In a Piña Colada in the Caribbean – OH YASSS. On pizza or anything savory – absolutely not. So I approached this dish warily… and on first bite – ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Straight away I googled Sakara cookbook to see how I can eat this dish every night!!!
Day 2
Breakfast: Cherry Vanilla Parfait
Very yummy, sweet and tart, the perfect blend. I imagine magical scientists in a very pretty powder pink factory working day and night to come up with new flavors, because frankly I am not quite sure how all these dishes taste so uniquely different.
Lunch: H20 Glow Salad w/ Mint Tahini Dressing
More pleasing greens to gaze upon, and even though it really was just a big bunch of salad, the mint tahini dressing really elevated this dish. So nutrient dense I didn’t manage to finish it – who knew greens were so bloody filling!
Dinner: Rustic Tomato Soup w/ Grilled Cheese
Admittedly at first look, all I saw with this meal was cardboard. But as a soup lover, I was willing to put all feelings aside. And boy was I happy to have done so, as this was really yummy! The biggest surprise for me was that the vegan cheese was actually tasty – I even made my boyfriend try it to see if he noticed it was vegan. He did NOT, and let me tell you the smugness that wafted over me of my new found healthy lifestyle was epic.
Day 3
Breakfast: Dark Chocolate Granola w/ Vanilla Almond Milk
WHAT A TREAT!!!!! I could eat this every day for brekkie, I even drunk the milk that I didn’t finish with the granola. It’s like one of those healthy indulgences that you can’t believe is good for you. Such a positive start to the day and a hell of a lot better than a bagel and schmear.
Lunch: Butterfly Bowl w/ Tie Dye Carrots
I found myself staring at this for at least 20 minutes, it is a work of art. It EVEN has a flower as decoration, so it brightened my mood before my first bite!! I really must emphasize how I am NOT a salad person – but my taste buds seem to have adjusted quickly and my body is reveling in all these vitamins and minerals. I also can’t get my mind around how all these dressings just enhance the meals like 159502034%.
Dinner: Matcha Udon Bowl w/ Yuzu Vinaigrette
Noodles are my favorite thing in the world, so with my excitement through the roof, I ate this cold and only later realized I was meant to heat it up. For some reason it made me so mad that I didn’t eat this meal as it was intended to be that I ended up going to bed in a foul mood. Could this be the start of my body breaking down and longing for some fats and sugars? Or am I just so obsessed with Sakara that I want to do everything perfectly?
Day 4
Breakfast: Sweet Thai Oatmeal w/ Coconut Lime Milk
Any hint of a bad mood is erased with four words: “ Sweet Thai Coconut Oatmeal.” Where has this meal been all my life? I demolished it in one bite, though I did my best to take time and savor it all. Since starting the meal plan I now seem to be taking longer with my meals. I think the tastes are each so unique, and mentally I know how good these meals are for me that for the first time in my life, I am not multi-tasking while eating. Which seems to enforce a stillness to my day, love it!
Lunch: Prosperity Pad Thai w/ Kelp Noodles
The noodles are pink – another thing that just puts me in a good mood!!! I am beginning to realize how poorly I have been eating, pre-Sakara, and how much that affects my mood. It is so simple and we are always told “you are what you eat” – and this has reminded me that we have to nourish our insides first and foremost. I am finding myself being way more focused and calmer in decision making, less reactive to stressful situations and generally just on a beautifully crafted Sakara happy cloud 🙂
Dinner: Peruvian Coconut Lime Ceviche
This ceviche is my stand out dish!!! I love ceviche to begin with, and this reminded me of being in Capri looking out over the sea. How on earth did they make a fish-less ceviche that’s so tasty and spot-on to the real thing that it brings me back to Italy? I don’t know, but I thank you Sakara.
Day 5
Breakfast: Raspberry Tea Cake
What a lovely little British inspired start to my day. I remembered I needed to warm it up (crisis mood adverted) and thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn’t even allow my boyfriend a taste. Don’t tell anyone, but I also licked the container clean!
Lunch: Equinox Salad
An exploration in ingredients – I would never mix together and echinacea and peach, who even thinks of that? My magical Sakara scientists – that’s who! I have been blown away with the lack of bloating this week, something I normally always have. I can tell by listening to my body and feeding it such high quality food, it is so much happier.
Dinner: Healing Baked Veggie Moussaka
Such sadness that this is my last meal, I kid you not, I really feel sad and afraid of heading back to normal eating and having to think and prepare my own meals. After finishing this delicious tomato-based veggie spectacle, I check my credit card to see just how much is available so I can keep doing this forever and ever.
Closing Thoughts
Man, I really don’t want to go back to normal, this program has all just been a complete dream!
Everything was so FULL OF FLAVOR. It has changed my mind completely on a plant-based diet, and I am truly convinced that there are some magical chefs and scientists in the Sakara kitchen. The 5-day program has already significantly changed my mood for the better, my skin is better, my eyes are clear and my energy levels are stable. This is how I always have wanted my body to feel (and how it always should).
I am going to get the cookbook and figure out how to incorporate this into my daily routine. I have lost bloat and for the first time in months my stomach has properly flattened. I feel stronger and healthier and like I have restarted my life in a positive manner. Thank you Sakara, consider me a convert!
