If you follow us on Instagram, then you know that I did a 5 day detox last week from New York based Sakara, an organic meal delivery program based on a whole-food, plant-rich diet. Their philosophy is that it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle and I’m totally down with the lifestyle they are promoting.
You can order their 3 day or 5 day Signature Program or do their Level II Detox an expert level cleanse that eliminates meat, dairy, gluten, all sugar (including fruit), nuts, soy, nightshades (white potatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, chili peppers), pesticides, harmful chemicals, GMOs, toxins, alcohol and caffeine. In addition to the programs above they just released a 10 Day Reset which contains supplements and recipes for your to do a DIY Detox at home for about $20/day.
photo by Sakara
Because I already eat organic and plant based (unless I’m in France), I chose the Level II Detox. After a fun filled Summer fueled by French wine and cheese, I needed a quick reset before the Holidays come around. You see I have a thing with always being able to fit into my skinny jeans. They are my weight barometer. I don’t care how much I weigh, I pay attention to how my clothes fit and how I feel. Once they stop fitting or I start to have brain fog I know it’s time to dig deeper and do a clean out.
photo by Sakara
I don’t label myself, but if I had to I would say that I am a Pescatarian with vegan tendencies. I don’t eat meat and limit my dairy and sugar to necessary indulgences like being in France for a week. We eat gluten free at home, but if I’m out I will eat whatever pasta presents itself. My real goal is to stay as alkaline as possible so I work to avoid foods that are acid forming and try to fuel myself with alkaline forming ones. It’s been shown that most illnesses and disease are directly linked to over acidity in the system. The polluted air we breathe, the chemicals that surround us on a daily basis (especially in food!) are just part of the issues. Stress is also a big contributor. From the standpoint of pure energy pH is the measurement of the electrical resistance between negative and positive ions in the body. Everything that we consume or experience that affects the body leaves either an acid or an alkaline residue behind. *
Obviously the body is a very complicated machine and it’s constantly working to maintain homeostasis. It makes sense that what we put into our bodies and our minds has a huge effect on what we get out of it. The output always has some element of the input, so make sure the input is the best it can be. This is my perspective from a naturalistic and spiritual viewpoint – dealing with the body in terms of what it really is and that is energy, but that’s another post. If you want a good list of alkaline and acid forming foods and why paying attention to it is important then check out the book Alkalize or Die. Dramatic I know. Wait until you see the cover; it gets better.
But anyhow, back to The Detox. It arrived in a sweet little box with all kinds of inspirational things written on it. I really enjoyed how neatly everything was packaged and the fact they they give you a carrying tote and ice packs so that you can take your meals with you during the day. I also appreciated the prepackaged supplements making them easy to carry with me if necessary.
My one challenge (and I have this with all meal delivery services!) is the amount of waste that is created from them. Of course I recycled all the containers and shipping boxes, and Sakara made sure to emphasize that, but there is definitely more of an environmental impact when using these kinds of services as opposed to making the food yourself.
I’ll spare you all the details of the cleanse, you can find that here, but my favorite dishes were the Rainbow Kitchari w/ Chia Tortillas, The Root Veggie Detox, the Medicinal Broth, the Alkalizing Carrot Ginger Soup and the Purifying Cabbage Dumplings w/ Healing Galangal Broth. I found the food to be delicious, filling and fresh and it was liberating to not have to think about what to eat for 5 days!
If you followed along on Instagram you saw my daily stories about how I was feeling. If you missed them, you can still find them in the story highlights here.
Day 1: Felt full and satiated. Couldn’t finish my breakfast because it was so large.
Day 2: Got some hunger pains and in the afternoon got super forgetful and unable to communicate.
Day 3: Felt good. Woke up feeling congested but that went away after a few hours. Got a huge burst of energy later in the evening and stayed up until 2 AM making a Ritual Room in my house.
Day 4: Woke up feeling congested again and annoyed. By the time the afternoon came around I was in full blown anger mode so closed myself in my room and took a nap (and a few hits from my Dosist vape pen) to take the edge off.
Day 5: Fully recovered from the meanness that always comes when I cleanse (I think of it as an emotional cleansing/burn), I attended a baby shower AND a birthday party where I snacked on carrot sticks and snap peas and finally succumbed to a teeny piece of cake at the end of the night. I rationalized that the cleanse was over. It tasted incredibly sweet so after a few bites I was done. I also must have peed 50 times, no exaggeration.
Today marks Day 7 since starting the cleanse and even though the cleanse is over, I am still seeing the effects. Yesterday I was exhausted despite having slept well. It was almost like my body was putting me to sleep so that it could finish it’s job of cleansing.
Overall I thought it was a wonderful cleanse. I don’t do juice cleanses so the fact that I was eating real, whole foods was great for me. While I did get hungry (full disclosure I had a handful of pine nuts and pumpkin seeds on Day 4), I found that by drinking the Digestive Tea and focusing on something else the feeling passed and I was able to forget about being hungry.
I will definitely do the program again and I can see myself doing it twice a year or so. I plan on trying the 10 Day Reset after the new year. I would love to have their meals delivered each week, but sadly my bank account won’t allow me to. Organic, plant based food ain’t cheap, you have to pay to play, and it ends up costing about $90/day for the detox depending on where you live.
However, because Sakara is amazing (and so are you guys!) they are giving our readers 15% of any meal program if you are trying it for the first time. Order here with code REF_MYKA15. Feel free to share with friends as well and if you do give it a try, hit me up on Instagram and let me know your thoughts!
