OMNIVOGUES

Sakara Life Review + Experience

A NON-VEGAN'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE VICTORIA SECRET ANGEL APPROVED PLANT BASED, ORGANIC, DAIRY FREE, NON GMO, NO REFINED SUGAR, SLIGHTLY EXPENSIVE MEAL SUBSCRIPTION THAT I HAVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH FOR YEARS BUT HAVE ALSO BEEN LIVING ON A COLLEGE BUDGET AND FINALLY SCRAPPLED ENOUGH COINS TO GIVE IT A GO...

I cannot completely recall when I became uber obsessed with Sakara Life, but it has definitely been more than 2 years ago or so. Being the "zillenial" I am, I can hardly cook, but hey at least I can properly execute Pythagorean Theorem and all the other essentials I was taught in grade school...besides cooking. Therefore, I am the utmost perfect candidate for the meal delivery lifestyle.

Sakara slightly varies in cost depending on where it was being shipped to, so total I paid $363.32 including a 20% off promo code for a 5-day program [Tuesday dinner to Sunday lunch]. If I was to subscribe for multiple weeks the price would go back to the original $454.15 weekly without the promotional [again this price fluctuates depending on where it is shipping to].

The menus come out 3 weeks in advance to give enough time to decide if you are feeling it or not. I went for the week that stood out the most for the upcoming dates. Here's how that alllll went down.

My week went a little something like this:

MORNING [PRE WORKOUT]: I always began my day by squirting a dropperful of Sakara Beauty Water Drops into my water. This does NOT come with the meal subscription, but they sell it in their online shop and it is recommended. Now maybe you are pondering on the though of if I grew increasingly beautiful. Not too sure, but it's packed with some fabulous ingredients and I felt wellness surrounding me sip by sip. For real.

MORNING [POST WORKOUT]: Following my morning workout, I would have breakfast and take the included probiotic.

MID-MORNING: Time for an excessively large pot of detox tea.

LUNCH: Due to my rise and shine schedule, I ate lunch around the 2pm timeframe.

AFTERNOON: Sakara preaches about giving your body time to digest, but also listening to your body if you feel the need for a low glycemic snack.

EVENING: Time for dinner and another probiotic.

PRE BEDTIME: I would add the Detox Water Drops to a glass of H20 [like the Beauty Water, this is a separate purchase from the meal subscription].

Now for the food diary...here are the notes I took following each and every meal:

TUESDAY:

Receiving the package on Tuesday was like Christmas. I was waiting for the FedEx man all morning, no joke. I carefully studied each packaged meal even though I already knew what each meal would be. Everything was still cold from the ice packs. My only disappointment was that 2 of the leafy meals had contents coming out of the sides of the plastic container. The lids were on tightly, but whoever packaged it did not make sure all the lettuce was completely in the bowl, so I had a pieces of sticking out of the closed plastic bowls. It was not a biggest deal, but for the cost of Sakara I would prefer perfection. Besides the meals, there had a palo santo ritual stick which I burned to set good intentions, probiotics for morning and night, enough detox tea sachets for each day, an insulated lunch tote bag, and an energy bar. This delivery contained food for Tuesday dinner to Friday lunch. Then the second package with the other half came on Friday to maintain freshness.
It just looks SO beautiful in my fridge, wow.
DINNER | EMPRESS RICE [brown rice, veggie medley, sauteed spinach, tamari glaze]: Honestly, I was not that hungry, but due to the anticipation and cost of the program I planned on eating every taste and smell. Sakara gives instructions as to which meals are heatable and this was one of them. I threw it in a pan for 5 minutes to warm her up. I was impressed with the overall flavor. There were a lot of greens, but the rice turned it into a bowl.
Sakara Life is about more than the food, but an entire lifestyle. I was encouraged by their tips to be more appreciative when I ate by not eating in front of my phone or TV. I would transfer my food from the plastic bowls, which are fabulous to reuse or recycle, and placed them into a more aesthetically pleasing bowl and sorted the food out to look like their website images.

WEDNESDAY:

BREAKFAST | BLUEBERRY EARTH CAKE [berry breakfast tea cake infused with a peach-cinnamon topping]: I LOVE that the breakfast lineup for the week is all slightly on the sweet side. I am a big sweet over savory morning person. This meal looked small, but I ate it slowly, so I did feel fulfilled at the end.
LUNCH | SAKARA EARTH BOWL [hemp + dulse avocado, sprouts, radish, quinoa, lentils, mustard sesame dressing]: It hit me on this meal that despite the cost of Sakara, I really feel that it is worth it simply because of the special ingredients used. All of the meals are understandable when reading the nutrition facts, but I do have to say it is very hard to find certain ingredients when I am living in upstate New York compared to when I am living in NYC. There were some things in this dish like lotus root which I never tried before. Without Sakara, a recipe with this probably would not have enticed me but I am glad I tried it because it was gooood. The sesame dressing was amazing, and this is coming from a girl that "hates mustard", so I was impressed. I also loved that there was an entire half of an avocado.
DINNER | PROTEIN POWER PLATE [curried green lentils, roaster cauliflower and rainbow carrot, cooling coconut yogurt and turmeric flatbread]: I heated this one up and was excited about it due to the flatbread [remember when Orprah said "I love bread"...], but this was just not it for me. Besides the cauliflower and carrots, I was not a fan of the lentils and the flatbread was a bit too potent for my liking. I basically forced myself to eat this one.

THURSDAY:

BREAKFAST | CHIA AND COCONUT PROTEIN WAFFLES [served with coconut nectar drizzle]: THIS IS THE ONE. I don't care what breakfast is served the rest of the week. I know this one cannot be beat. The natural sweetness was so good I felt like I was eating something that would be deemed unhealthy, but it was not. There was more than enough "syrup" to go around. The only thing was the unfortunate portion. Lunch and dinner seem more abundant. Despite the word "waffles" in the title being plural it was just one waffle sliced in half. I was satisfied with my fulness, especially because I drank lots of water, but deep down wish I had another piece. YET, DELICIOUS. 10/10.
LUNCH | YOUTH AND BEAUTY SALAD [a Sakara classic topped with pomegranate, hydrating v vegetables, seed mix, superfood dressing]: I was still ecstatic about how good breakfast was and still feeling satisfied after mid-morning tea, but this meal was a bit sad. I took this one passenger seat one-the-go and it was just a very simple salad with nothing too special to make me feel, well, special. The taste was okay, but there was nothing to write home about. I was also a little disappointed that the image of it on the website had these cute edible flowers on the salad which would have made a fabulous IG story, but mine did not have any in the container.
Today between lunch and dinner I was not starving, but when I smelled my mother making plantains I couldn't help but to take a few. According to Sakara rules and regulations you are allowed a low glycemic snack if your body desires it, so I went with it. I successfully avoided afternoon snacking completely all the other days.
DINNER | BUTTERFLY BOWL WITH TIE DYE CARROTS [blue pea flower rice, massaged lacinato kale, and elderberry dressing]: This bowl is truly a beauty appearance wise. There was so much color down to the pink dressing. I didn't even know rice could turn blue. The dish, though, was okay to me. There were no heating instructions for this meal, but it seemed like something that would be better warm since there was rice.
Today I noticed that I was not a fan of having two very "greenery focused" meals back to back for lunch and dinner. I basically had a salad for lunch and what seemed like salad for dinner with a bit of added rice. During the evening, I prefer something more dense. Just taking a glance at the menus for other weeks had me jealous with meals like sultry pink pitaya tacos, prosperity pad thai, and kimchi banh mi dumplings.

FRIDAY:

BREAKFAST | CLASSIC SUPERFOOD GRANOLA [paired with a spirulina-infused green goddess mylk]: Yes, it is mylk, not milk, meaning it's plant based, duh. This one HIT THE SPOT. Sakara breakfasts have not disappointed whatsoever. The coconut shavings added a great flavor and it also contained goji berries which are my favorite. I really didn't want this one to end. I also loved the look of the green milk.
LUNCH | FIVE HERB PESTO PASTA [herb + pumpkin seed pesto over gluten-free pasta]: I was super excited to finally see pasta. It felt much needed. I heated this one in a pan for a few minutes and it was ready to go. I didn't think it was amazing, but it was good because...pasta. I think I was just hoping for the pasta to be doused in calories and lots of sauce and pecorino like the days when I lived in Italy.
DINNER | BLACK GARLIC BBQ BURGER [pickles, superseed avocado salad, roasted potato wedges]: Loooooved it. The plant based burger had the perfect spice to it. The BBQ sauce didn't taste like actual BBQ sauce, but it was very good. Prior to eating, I was just staring at the amount of greens kind of overwhelmed, but let me tell you, the dressing made it a breeze. The only minuscule disappointment was the very little bit of avocado that was in the bowl compared to the picture. The picture on the menu showed a full half of an avocado meanwhile I received about a spoonful. The dish I had on Wednesday for lunch had an entire half, so not sure what happened in the kitchen when making this meal.
Sakara has over impressed me with their dressings and sauces to say the least. This really makes the meals complete and there is always a generous portion to go around.

SATURDAY:

BREAKFAST | AVO-CACAO PROBIOTIC PUDDING [topped with our light and sweet lavender tea biscuits]: It was like chocolate pudding, but a bit less sweet, of course. Tasted like cacao. The little biscuit on top was pretty tasty, I wish I had a few of them in all honesty. I enjoyed this breakfast, but I think I prefer one with a bit more substance like the days before.
LUNCH | PANZANELLA WITH GINSENG CRUNCH [seed croutons]: After a light breakfast I was hyped for lunch, but this one was not really it for me. It was a bit too water based for me with a ton of tomatoes. The watermelon did add a nice sweet touch, though.
DINNER | PINEAPPLE GLOW BOWL [caramelized pineapple, roasted zucchini and cilantro-lime rice with a creamy coconut red curry]: I cannot put my finger on it but something was spicyyyyy. This was a dish meets soup type of thing and it had a good flavor, but some bites had my mouth on fire.

SUNDAY:

BREAKFAST | ZEN ZUCCHINI MUFFIN [served with a side of coconut bliss creme]: So clean, so pure. This muffin was good good good. It had the perfect light sweetness, was moist, and had such a unique taste. I gotta find a recipe like this somewhere.
LUNCH | SAVANNA GINGER ALMOND NOODLES [with protein-rich black bean noodles and savory almond butter ginger sauce]: This was the second meal I had to take on-the-go. There was not much flavor to it, but the portion was fulfilling. It was also a nice treat to have noodles tossed into the greens instead of just greens alone.
OKAY. So overall, I really did enjoy my Sakara Life experience. Yes, I would do it again. Heck, if I was a millionaire maybe I would do it all the time. There were definitely some meals more unfavorable than others and some that were not as pictured on their website. The best part were the lessons learned which was that my body was able to adapt to being comfortable with eating 3 smaller sized meals that were not typical oversized American, unhealthy portions. My body felt satisfied and on track with the program by the end. My mind felt proud of myself.

lifestyle

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#WFH Femme Luxe Edition

I'll just say it. Over this [almost] year of pandemic life I think I'm used to being trapped in the house and I'm not sure how to feel. I graduated from college, began grad school early, and uh now, will be complete with that in a few months.

I've been enjoying the whole work at home, but make it fashion vibes across social media. Personally, I like being in bed for class disheveled from the neck down, but I have tried to make it a thing to put on real clothes just to vibe with normalcy. Femme Luxe spiced up my week with some trendy pieces. Each one is giving me all of the feels for summer and what will hopefully be an uphill on the state of the pandemic rollercoaster.

Now let's go through these pieces, shall we...

1. Pink Mesh Floral Sleeve Bodycon Mini Dress
THE SLEEVES. THE SLEEVES! I love that this pink bodycon dress is long sleeve, but mesh, so some breeze can go through it making it practically short sleeves, but long sleeves.

2. White Polka Dot Mesh Sleeve Cuffed Crop Top
The cuuuutest. Pair this puff sleeve top with any color wash jeans, a little skirt, whatever. The versatility everyone needs.

3. Black Layer Mesh Ruffle Strappy Top
I am not sure if Carrie Bradshaw ever wore anything like this, but I felt her presence. The girly vibes on this funky black top keeps it chic and not like a child on Easter.

4. Black Cape Extreme Sleeve Bodycon Mini Dress
Trés chic, baby. I love a little black dress, but the cape sleeves on this one absolutely changes the game.

fashion

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HOLIDAY TRAVEL GUIDE | Brussels, Belgium

This past weekend I found myself in Brussels, Belgium for a quick weekend trip. I've been traveling all throughout Europe while studying abroad for the past few months and lemme just say, Brussels surprised me. Reading up on it beforehand many forums were saying that Brussels isn't the most exciting place to be, but I completely object. Being a New Yorker, it gave me slight NYC vibes with high-rise buildings and a lot of bustle. There are cute shops all over the place. Surprisingly I did not shop, except for seeing a Mason Pearson brush inside of a hair salon window and caving into buying my dream brush that I've wanted for years. Oh, I also managed to bring my open Belgian chocolate through TSA.

STAY

First things first, thank you so much to Martin's Brussels EU for the ultimate treatment. Walking into my suite with Belgian chocolate and champagne was such a treat. I was upgraded to the Exceptional suite which made me realize how much more relaxing it is to stay in a suite that makes you feel at home. Over my weeks of traveling everywhere, most of the time I resorted to hotels on the outskirts of the town or Airbnbs with a decent price that is basically the size of a box. Being in a beautiful suite that I looked forward to heading back to at night put me at ease and helped me enjoy Belgium that much more.

The room had a plush king size bed along with a double-sink bathroom with the most flawless "getting ready" lighting. There were TV's in both the bedroom and living room, which has a divider that can separate the two sides. It is also the perfect room for business with lots of desk space to work with.

On the morning of check-in, I arrived a bit early so I went to the hotel's restaurant Icones for the business lunch which is €26,50 for 2-courses. I had the tartare starter and farm chicken for my main course.

EAT

CAFÉ MORT SUBITE- they only have small bites because they are more well-known for their beer hall which has some of Belgium's finest
CAFÉ GEORGETTE- best frites ever, need I say more...
BEAT- order one of the hashtag burgers and you'll thank me later
LA GAUFRERIE- this place has every waffle combination you can think of and you cannot leave Belgium without eating waffles
GOUP LE FOL- this bar is totally unique with vintage vibes and an eccentric, cozy feel
BELGA QUEEN- tablets as menus, beautiful detailing, fabulous food, the coolest bathroom, and a cigar bar/club to end the night downstairs

VISIT

CHRISTMAS MARKETS- if you visit during the holidays head into the center and walk throughout the streets full of vendors and festiveness
ROYAL GALLERY OF SAINT HUBERT- a gorgeous shopping center that lacks mainstream stores and has some of the best chocolate around
GRAND PLACE- check out this main square which has gorgeous architecture and is right in the center of it all