Let’s face it: cooking healthy meals at the end of a long work-from-home day (in the current state of the world) is at the bottom of our likely-to-do lists — but, it may be the exact thing we need most. If there’s one lesson lockdown has taught us (besides the fact that sitting for 8-hour increments in tight denim is uncomfortable), it’s that our bodies and our budgets cannot survive on takeout alone. For me, rediscovering cooking nutritious food has become a vital part of my quarantine routine — one that I actually look forward to most nights as a fun(!) activity. (You know you’re getting old when Friday’s consist of meal prep instead of bar hopping.) This is where Sakara Life comes into play: aka one of those Goop-adjacent meal programs I’ve spotted across fancy influencers’ and off-duty models’ social-media feeds and finally decided to review myself.
The chic company is an all-natural food subscription service that delivers plant-based, organic, and vividly-hued clean ingredients to your doorstep — many of which you’ve probably never heard of (even as a six-year vegan, I was stumped). The founder’s, Whitney Tingle and Danielle DuBoise, approach focuses on nine pillars of nutrition; ranging from “eating” your water to embracing good fats and leading a calorie-counting-free lifestyle. But, it was one pillar in particular that compelled me: “Eating enough greens (4–6 cups!) every single day is one of the secrets to getting that Sakara Glow. Greens are one of the most potent and powerful foods on the planet,” and Sakara’s meals come packed with them. So, with my tofu-soaked tongue itching for a little more variety, I signed up to document my Sakara Life reviews from a week spent eating its premium meals exclusively. Join me on my gluten-free, rainbow-bowl journey below (complete with IRL snapshots) to find out if this luxurious service is really worth all the hype — and if it actually made me glow.
How are Sakara Life’s meals delivered?
Late in the evening, with my serums sinking in and my silk scarf wrapped, I heard a slight knock at the door followed by my Yorkie’s piercing yelps. The delivery had arrived — and it arrived in style. Talk about convenience! Sakara delivers directly to your front door, packaged in round recyclable containers carefully tucked below sealed bags of ice. You receive two orders during a 5-day meal plan, which arrive between 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on your specified day of choice (mine arrived on a late Sunday evening).
How are Sakara Life’s meals prepared?
The entire menu is planned out by the company’s team of experts and chefs, but the program still allows for personalization where subscribers can opt out of potential allergens or particular ingredients they don’t care for. The meals are complete breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that contain fresh organic ingredients like wildflower honey, Mizuna lettuce, and seed-crusted avocados — things that I previously breezed right past in my weekly Whole Foods strolls.
First, let’s talk breakfast: these aren’t your average milk-and-cereal combos — Sakara provides everything from sweet caramel-dripping muffins to cakes, granola medleys brimming with oat clusters, and sweet potato bowls that brought me into a full-on autumnal mood. Now, onto lunch: my favorite dish altogether was by far the pesto-pasta lunch — which consisted of five herbs and a creamy sauce that made me squeal. You can also opt-in to receive their ever-so-coveted Metabolism Powder: a chocolatey mix made from fancy things like black pepper piperine, antioxidants, and Ayurvedic herbs that promote digestion along with a natural dewy glow. Then, came dinner: my favorite dinner became a bowl made with purple cabbage and macadamia feta piled on top of earthy lentils, yellow beets, and sweet butternut squash — a vast list of ingredients I didn’t think could taste so flavorful. (And yes, I do know how to season my food!) This just in; Sakara’s newly released powder, the Super Greens Powder, features your daily dose of needed greens and plant-based protein all in a floral-covered package. It has a naturally sweet, mildly earthy flavor that mixes well with smoothies and blends into other recipes.
Over the course of five days, I consumed everything from things called “Balance Bowls” to a cobb salad made with coconut bacon. Yes, coconut bacon. I even tried Beauty Chocolates that tasted more like a treat than health food, while also indulging in Detox Bars (made with blue spirulina) that tasted of dark chocolate niblets. It felt like there was a personal chef in my small-apartment kitchen, whipping me up healthy, bright, and beautiful recipes while doling out glowing compliments.
How much does Sakara Life cost?
It’s hard to discuss Sakara Life without mentioning the steep price; this meal-delivery service is not that affordable. One single day of meals is about $110 (aka more than I would spend for a week of groceries at Trader Joe’s). However, there are ways around this: Sakara is available on Afterpay and offers a variety of recipes on its website as well as inside its beautifully curated cookbook, ‘Eat Clean, Play Dirty.’ A good tip, if you want to try it out but don’t want to commit to the budget-crushing price: order three days’ worth of lunches first. That way, you can continue the lifestyle with fun recipes on your own time that are mixed in with your own grocery budgets.
Is Sakara Life worth it?
As a plant-based eater myself, I am no novice to fresh food and healthy ingredients. It’s an expensive lifestyle that I personally find worth it after discovering my intolerance to dairy, gluten, and meat. But, Sakara Life changed the entire game for me. Although the price is steep and the recipes are tedious, my body has never felt better (and that’s not an overstatement). I’ve been eating “clean” for years but, until these past five days, I’ve never felt so revitalized. TMI: I have horrid digestion issues that cannot be fixed with lemon water or coffee in the mornings SO it takes a lot for me to go like a normal human being. I initially had my doubts, but after a week of eating Sakara my bloat and constipation had completely disappeared, my skin looked dewy, and I woke up easily each morning — especially when I paired it all with the brand’s bestselling probiotics.
As my brain fog dissipated and my stomach deflated, I finally understood this expensive meal program’s worth. I felt like crying the day it ended and ended up purchasing a few more meals from the service myself — I also quickly carted the cookbook and started grocery shopping in a way more mindful way; instead of going to Whole Foods on a whim, I went with a list of fresh, colorful, and specific items to plan out my meals and pre-cook them during workweeks. I’ve told everyone I know about it, from the freshness to the packaging and the damn-good way I feel. I’ve been grocery shopping for fun and cooking things from scratch that I never imagined I’d have time for before. So, as my final takeaway: IF you spend a similar amount on groceries already and are looking for specific clean-ingredient options, THEN Sakara is worth it. If you’d rather save, I’d recommend the cookbook and taking away fundamental notes from its overall lifestyle plan. And, if you’d like to see how I’m continuing the Sakara life in my own not-a-fancy-off-duty-model-girl life, then follow along with my Instagram here.
Sakara Life Cookbook Eat Clean Play Dirty, $29
As mentioned above, one way to hack a more affordable Sakara Life meal plan is by picking up the founders’ bestselling cookbook Eat Clean Play Dirty. Featuring 240 pages detailing its most popular recipes, healthy lifestyle tips, and more, Sakara Life’s cookbook will only cost you a comparatively low $29 on the Sakara site or $24 on Amazon. Our Beauty & Wellness writer, Karina Hoshikawa, was able to cut the cost of a Sakara Life meal plan in half after she spent a week whipping up its recipes on her own from scratch. “For those who are curious about trying Sakara, I honestly recommend giving the cookbook a go as a start. In total, three days of eating straight out of the cookbook (which again, cost me about $100 in groceries) ended up being $140 cheaper than the three-day meal plan,” Hoshikawa shared in her Sakara cookbook review.
Best Sakara Life products…
“World, I’m back on my chlorophyll water BS — and all thanks to a TikTok trend (of course). A few years back, I went through a fervent but relatively short-lived phase of chugging bottles of the stuff; I loved the slightly minty taste and how it motivated me to drink water but didn’t love the single-use plastic. Enter Sakara’s genius solution: I put one dropper in a glass of water, stir, and voilà: Refreshing H20 with a side of health benefits. After regularly drinking the stuff for a month, I’ve noticed fewer breakouts and more energy during my day,” our Beauty & Wellness writer, Karina Hoshikawa, shared in her under-$100 MVP review of Sakara’s Detox Water Drops.
Shop all Sakara Life products
More Sakara Life reviews…
“I can confirm that the nourishing meals are hyped up for delicious reasons.” – Karina Hoshikawa, Refinery29 Beauty & Wellness Writer
“This program is life-changing. After eating so incredibly for a month, I can’t imagine eating any other way.” – Sakara Life Reviewer
“With Sakara, I am nourishing my body exactly how I want to, but in a way I never had time to.” – Sakara Life Reviewer
“Nothing sounds better to me than that Sakara salad in the refrigerator.” – Sakara Life Reviewer
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