Food Diary: A Vegan (and a Non-Vegan) Do a Week of Sakara.

update: for the month of May 2019, take 25% off with code REF_GRACE25!

If you follow along on social media, then you know that last week Christina and I both did a week of Sakara! We each kept a food diary, and then shared our notes at the end. Sakara is offering readers of my blog a 15% discount if you want to try it out. Just use code TheStripe15!

What Is Sakara?

Sakara is a plant-based meal delivery service. Every day, you’ll receive three nutrient-packed meals. (Deliveries occur on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.) You’ll also receive their beauty water (for morning), detox water (evening) and detox tea to drink in between. I like it to a cleanse, but with real food. Personally, I find juice cleanses to be really hard to do… it’s hard to spend 5 days subsisting solely on liquids… I need to chew something! This is the best of both worlds. You get three delicious, filling meals every day… feeding your body with amazing nutrients and produce… and while yes you may find yourself a little hungrier than usual, you’ll still feel satisfied.

A Few Things to Note:

Christina is a vegan; I am definitely not. I have cut back my meat consumption a lot and mostly only eat fish and sometimes chicken BUT I definitely love a steak or a burger from time to time. (In the spirit of honesty; post Sakara, I had a burger on Saturday night.)

I thought it would be interesting to share both of our experiences here. I have done Sakara several times before and tended to feel like it wasn’t enough food and get really hungry. I’ve been experimenting with restricted eating (I try to eat all of my food for the day between noon and 8pm) and that helped a LOT. I noticed that when I ate all of my food in between those hours I was a lot less hungry. I also had a social activity packed week… luncheons, parties, etc. so it was definitely hard to stay “on the wagon,” but I did it, except for one night when the circumstances were dire!

One more thing to note is that I let myself have coffee. Technically (I think?) Sakara discourages that but I love coffee and since I did this more for a healthy habits reset (and will always drink my coffee) I did have a black coffee every morning. I need my coffee or I’m a bit of an unproductive monster.

Why We Did It:

Grace: I really, really wanted a reset. I have been all over the place this summer (and had just gotten home from Cape Cod where I drank a LOT of wine with my family, had ice cream every day, and multiple lobster rolls throughout the week) and felt a little gross. I love doing Sakara when my body needs a reset. (As I mentioned above I like it better than a juice cleanse as it’s three big, delicious plant based meals) or when I am super busy and know that I won’t be able to cook healthy meals for myself. I first discovered Sakara back in 2014 (read my first post about it) and like to do it a few times a year if I can swing it. I used to do it during the holidays when I was still working for BaubleBar and doing my blog and I’d be too busy to cook plus tempted by all the treats in the office.

Christina: I‘ve been working at Sakara for nearly 3 months now (who even KNOWS how that much time has gone by?!) and although I get treated to our delicious breakfasts and lunches while I work, my old snack-till-I-drop habit lives on. Seriously. Every night when I’m home from work it’s every woman for herself in the pantry. I can’t be around a jar of almond butter or a bag of cashews without mindlessly digging in while I binge on all the social media posts I missed throughout the day.

When Grace and I committed to a week of Sakara we committed to more than just three organic, plant-based meals a day (sans my beloved snacks) — we committed to the lifestyle. To honoring our bodies, to carving out time for ourselves, to taking a step back and letting our bodies be fully and utterly nourished. We committed to self-love (the best kind of commitment, if you ask me).

Day One:

Grace: I immediately tore into the first delivery, hoping that we’d get waffles (they’re the best!!) for breakfast at some point. No such luck. But the sweet thai oatmeal with kaffir lime coconut mylk was amazing. I drank all of the mylk upon finishing the cereal; so yummy and flavorful. That LIME! I think this was my favorite breakfast of the week, though Friday’s pancakes were a close second. I need to figure out how to make Sakara’s mylks (or something like them) myself.

The day went fine – all of my food was really good. That night I had a friend’s birthday party so I just stuck to seltzer (and devoured the champagne gazpacho + hydration summer roll when I got home). Starting with breakfast at noon definitely helped me to not get as hungry as I usually would!

Christina:  When I wake up I am ravenous — in fact, most nights I go to bed dreaming of what I’ll eat for breakfast! We started our week off with one of my absolute favorite Sakara breakfasts: Sweet Thai Oatmeal with juicy mango, accompanied by a tangy and vibrant Coconut Kaffir poured on top. The first time I had this breakfast I fell in love.

The flavors are so rich but so refreshing, and the oatmeal keeps me full and focused up until lunch — which, now that you ask, was delicious as well. After work I capped off my day with the Champagne Gazpacho and Triple Hydration Summer Roll. Give me anything in rice paper and I’m guaranteed to love it. Fill the rice paper with fresh, crunchy veggies? Now I’m obsessed.

Day Two:

Grace: Okay the eggplant florentine from lunch tasted like it was STUFFED WITH CHEESE. So good. I devoured it. But there was no cheese in it, because it’s vegan. Magic. Today was a little trickier as I had work luncheon at Bobo in the city. I was prepared to just not eat and wait til I got home but I explained my food sitch and they made me a lovely watermelon + tomato salad. So yummy. Overall, I feel pretty good. I will say that I felt VERY gassy. This has happened in the past with doing Sakara (and on a yoga retreat where we only ate whole grains + veggies). I don’t know if my body is just getting used to an all plant based diet, or if I am reacting badly to something I’m eating. Besides that, I felt great.

Christina: Yesterday I didn’t have too hard of a time kicking my snack habit. But, today, the munchies came back with a vengeance. Don’t worry, I didn’t give in! This morning’s breakfast was the Zen Zucchini Muffin — so good! I could have eaten at least three of these babies. Not because it wasn’t filling, but because it tasted so darn good I just wanted more. I savored the taste of this sweet little baked good all morning, anxiously awaiting another one of my favorite meals for lunch: Eggplant Florentine. A.K.A. a wildly tastey plant-based take on the classic Italian dish. The cashew ‘cheese’ wrapped up in tender eggplant gets me every time…plant-based cheese, I would marry you if I could.

Day Three:

Grace: Today was a hard day. I was dealing with quite a bit of passport drama. Yesterday was spent at the DMV and today was a solid 5 hours at the passport agency (and then staying up late to get all my work done since I was out all day). It all worked out but there were definitely some tears and a mad rush to FedEx. So I cheated when I got home… I did have a piece of dark chocolate and a tequila and soda. The food was delicious though – I loved the Sakara Bibimbap; a bowl of rice/veggie deliciousness. I felt guilty cheating but it could have been worse, and it was a REALLY BAD day. Also, the cacao milk we had with our morning granola tasted so decadent and indulgent. I wanted more for dessert!

Christina: This morning marks our halfway point through our week of the Sakara Life, and I am feeling good. 🙂 Having been vegan for about 3 years now, my body craves a fresh, whole-food diet. Sakara’s pillars of nutrition literally speak to my soul, and always leaves me satiated. The only challenge I’ve noticed with committing to the Sakara Life is not reaching for food when I’m bored, sad, tired, or just because.

This is a habit that always seems to creep back into my life, and I’m so grateful for special weeks like this that make me reevaluate my cravings. Today’s menu was definitely my favorite! For breakfast we were treated to the Coconut Praline Granola (granola always = love) with Cacao Mylk (the best chocolate ‘milk’ to ever grace this planet).When breakfast tastes like dessert, how could I possibly have a bad day? Lunch, the Daydreamer Soba Bowl, really picked me up out of my midday/midweek slump. And dinner? The Sakara Bibimbap, filled with sautéed veggies and greens on top of fluffy rice, drizzled with a perfectly spicy sauce. I’m constantly in awe of the array of flavorful recipes co-founders Danielle and Whitney create. My cooking is pretty good, but it doesn’t come close to these dishes!

Day Four:

Grace: I woke up feeling great (despite the tequila soda from the night before). I’m a lot less bloated and gassy (maybe the alcohol helped LOL JK), and the morning smoothie bowl was absolutely scrumptious. It felt like dessert. I loved the rest of the food from today… the truffle kale salad + mushroom toast were paradise (I love truffle anything and literally licked the dressing off of the plate when I finished with lunch). So damn GOOD.

Christina: Today is Thursday. Normally, on Thursday, my mind is set on Friday time and my body is set on my bed. Although my mind is still set on Friday (no amount of food can change this), my body feels lighter and more energized than it has in a while! I’ve been filling myself with clean, wholesome fuel all week long, and I can absolutely feel the difference.  Today’s standout meal was the Truffle Kale Salad with Wild Mushroom Toast we had for lunch. The truffle dressing on this salad was no joke. It took me right back to Italy! Seriously… I considered booking a flight

Day Five:

Grace: Friday! Breakfast was a standout. It was my favorite. I am a pretty healthy eater, so would ordinarily never let myself have pancakes for breakfast but today that’s what we had! The prettiest rose petal pancakes, served with a peachy buttercream. My only complaint is that I wanted more. The matcha udon bowl for dinner was also incredible. Pancakes and noodles, all in one single day. Doesn’t feel like a cleanse to me!

Christina: Our last day! Todays breakfast was the prettiest breakfast I’ve ever seen: Rose Petal Pancakes with Peach Butter Cream. Pretty, peachy, petal pancakes are the only way I want to start my mornings from now on. Today was a typical  hectic Friday at work filled with meetings and to-do’s, so taking the time to settle down and grab my Sexiest Salad for lunch was much needed. Luckily, I didn’t have any extravagant Friday night plans — I ate my Matcha Udon Bowl in peace after spending 40 super sweaty minutes in the infrared sauna. Self care Fridays are the best kind of Fridays.

Overall thoughts!

Grace: I always feel amazing after a week of Sakara and this week was no exception. Physically I felt lighter and more energized, and emotionally I just felt really well taken care of and nourished. I’ll also add that it was a LOT easier than it had been in the past since I didn’t start eating til 11 or 12 and then stopped eating at 8. Honestly, I really want to be better about keeping my fridge stocked with tons of fruit + veggies but it’s hard when you are on the go a lot. I really needed this! I have quite a bit of travel planned for September but when I am back in town I’m planning to incorporate more vegan cooking into my repertoire.

Christina: This week was much needed. I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, on the road a lot and not feeling settled. Dedicating these past 5 days to filling myself with only the best, most nutritious food was such a gift. I feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and in love with the abundance of health we are able to indulge in. Just what I needed before my family vacation to the U.K.! And just what I’ll need afterward, post beer and potatoes. But we’ll worry about that later. 🙂

Thank you to Sakara for providing us each with a week of meals. While this is not a paid partnership, if you use my discount code (TheStripe15), I will earn a small affiliate commission.