I'll try pretty much any health food trend that pops up on my Instagram feed. From chia seed pudding to celery juice and all the kale salads and avocado toasts in between, it seems like every day there's a new, fun, and delicious way to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet. One of the buzziest health trends I've been reviewing and testing on and off for the past two years is Sakara Life. I first heard about the celeb-loved diet years ago (again, through Instagram) when I was in college.

Being vegan, my diet is a *little* restricted, and it can be a serious chore to make a variety of fun meals. But Sakara Life's fully plant-based pastas, cakes, and muffins practically had me drooling over my phone screen. I promised myself I'd try it out when I could afford to (more on that, later!). I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to test out three of their programs and plans over the past two years to see if the popular meal delivery service is really worth the hype.

Sakara

Sakara

Sakara

$109 at sakara.com
Pros
  • Every dish is plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
  • All meals are delivered fresh and ready to eat
  • Comes with a schedule of what to eat each day
  • Specific goal-oriented plans are available, from metabolism-boosting ones to bridal programs
  • Meals are designed to be nutrient-dense
  • Deliveries come with teas and snacks
  • Meals come packaged in recyclable boxes and ice packs
Cons
  • Meals are only provided Monday through Friday
  • May be hard for meat-eaters to eat plant-based
  • Some plans may need to be supplemented with more protein for active lifestyles
  • Pricey

What is Sakara Life?

Those of you who are really tapped into the health and wellness world have likely already heard of the meal subscription service (Kate Hudson, LeAnn Rhimes, and Hilary Duff are all huge fans, to name a few!). But ICYMI, Sakara Life is a fully plant-based, gluten-free, and soy-free program that brings ready-to-eat meals straight to your door along with a full schedule of what to eat every day.

And, when I say "ready-to-eat," I mean that each meal, with the exception of the occasional soup or curry, literally comes in its own container, fully ready to eat without prep. Basically, it's the next best thing to having a chef in the house.

And, that's exactly the point. Co-CEOs Danielle DuBoise and Whitney Tingle founded Sakara Life to make eating healthy easier. I mean, if you've ever had the thought "If someone could just bring me a healthy meal right now, I'd eat it instead of ordering take-out," you're absolutely not alone.

But for me, the most exciting part of their philosophy is that it isn't centered around a "diet." "This is a lifestyle, not a diet," Tingle and DuBoise told me. "There is no dieting, no failing, no guilt, and no wagon to fall off."

After speaking with the founders and trying three of the plant-based, gluten-free meal plans out myself, here are my honest thoughts.

fridge filled with two days of the sakara meal delivery service
My first two days of meals in the fridge!
Courtesy

How does Sakara Life work?

Though the meal delivery service offers a range of goal-oriented programs from a five-day detox to a gut health reboot, metabolism reset, and even a month-long bridal program, the most popular one is their signature nutrition program (their ongoing subscription). They also have limited-edition programs, like special detoxes and seasonal resets. I tried the signature program and gut health reboot at different points last year, then the spring summer reset most recently—each for one week.

Now, it's important to note that one "week" for Sakara Life is five days. For those five weekdays, you get 15 fully organic meals (three for each day) that are divided between two different deliveries since all the food is made fresh. Each delivery also came with bags of their detox and digestive teas, along with a few single-serve packs of their cult-favorite cacao metabolism powder.

The goal is to pack in as many nutrients as possible—most lunches and dinners are largely based on leafy greens. "We pack at least six cups of leafy greens per day," say Tingle and DuBoise. "Soon enough, you'll be craving them." I mean, I personally wouldn't say that after five days I started to crave spinach, but there were some particular meals like rainbow pad thai and quesadillas that I do still daydream about now, a year later.

plate with sakara vegan quesadilla plant based cheese and salsa on it
Still drooling over these quesadillas.
Courtesy

How are meals packaged?

Each meal comes in a simple cardboard box with liners and ice packs—all of which are recyclable. I've tried and tested a lot of meal delivery services, so trust me when I say that this is one of the easiest one to unbox. Not only were there zero spills, there wasn't excessive packaging I had to worry about, and none of the food was freezer burned or soggy, either.

They even provide a full calendar for the week, detailing which foods to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so there's practically no time between you deciding you're hungry and grabbing a full meal.

How much does Sakara Life cost?

Those of you who have heard about Sakara Life know that it comes with a seriously luxurious price tag. Five days of 15 meals cost $460, which is about five times the amount I spend on groceries from Whole Foods for seven (or more) days in New York City. Granted, I'm not meal prepping gluten-free donuts and healthy pasta on a daily basis.

Here Are Some Of The Sakara Life Meals I Tried

I'll admit that being vegan, I had a bit of a head start here. Meat lovers may have a bit of a harder time cutting out animal-based proteins and dairy. I was personally overjoyed to find out that I could eat foods like cake and burgers that weren't overly-processed like some vegan alternatives can be. Despite the fact that every plan I tried had distinct goals, each one actually had extremely similar foods. In fact, some meals were the exact same.

For example, I had the same red beet burger in the signature reset program as I did in the gut health reboot program. That's because Sakara Life works with in-house nutritionists and wellness coaches who specifically make sure you're eating the right foods on the best days and at the most ideal times in order to achieve your goals. The strategic timing of each meal in your day (and week) is what makes each plan distinct.

In terms actual dishes, the breakfast items were some of the best I've ever had—there were crispy donuts, a rich chocolate cake topped with chocolate sauce, waffles, parfaits, and more. (Need I remind you that this was all completely organic, plant-based, and gluten-free?!)

I swear I had moments at which I thought I was being lied to. There's no way these foods could be healthy and taste as good as they did. You get the gist. Breakfast was a home run every single day.

On most days, lunch was typically a salad or a nourishing bowl. These were a bit more hit-or-miss, which brings me to one of the cons of the program. When you cook your own food or go to a restaurant, you can choose ingredients you like or dislike to keep out of your meals—that's not the case with these.

A few of their salads were heavy on fruit like pomegranate and oranges. I simply prefer my salads sans fruit, so those were a bit harder to get through. Other days, there were delicious, savory lunches like a pad thai salad I am actually still thinking about (I could have eaten it straight out of the fridge, but decided to heat up a bit).

rainbow pad thai bowl sakara in a pan
Sakara Life’s rainbow pad thai bowl was *chef’s kiss* exquisite.
Courtesy

Dinner was always a more fun meal. I had a delicious black bean pasta, chickpea coconut curry, and quesadillas that even featured drool-worthy vegan cheese. As I mentioned, you can eat everything straight out of the fridge, but I threw some things (like donuts and waffles) in my air fryer for a few moments because I generally prefer hot meals.

Are Sakara Life’s meals filling?

On my first couple of days on the signature reset program, I got super hungry in between lunch and dinner. I was either eating dinner early and then eating something else a few hours afterwards, or I would snack on some nuts in between lunch and dinner. By the third day, something switched. I don't know if it was my body adapting or if the meals just got more filling, but I was barely able to finish all the food given to me in one day.

On the gut health reboot and spring summer reset programs, I felt full and satisfied most of the time. There were a few days I needed to supplement my meals with a protein shake or some nuts. I typically run and do Pilates or yoga every single day, so I found myself needing more fuel on the days I did more intense workouts.

before and after pictures of me trying the sakara life nutrition meal program for one week
Before starting the signature program, and five days after.
Courtesy

Do meals come with supplements or any extras?

Each Sakara Life delivery I received came with bags of their detox and digestive teas, along with a few single-serve packs of their cult-favorite cacao metabolism powder. Though the detox and digestive teas weren't particularly noteworthy, they were nice additions to the plan. Since they're both caffeine-free, I typically enjoyed these in the afternoon or post-dinner.

The metabolism powder was a huge standout for me. It's been a staple in my pantry ever since I tried it two years ago. Essentially just raw cacao powder with coconut powder and a few other minerals like kelp and horsetail extract mixed in, I don't truly believe that this actually does anything for my metabolism, but it's delicious. To me, it tastes just like hot chocolate without any sugar. Yah, that may sound unappealing to some, but as someone with an aversion to sweets, I love it. I simply add a bit of hot water and soy milk for a hot, creamy treat in the winter time or blend it with cold oat milk and ice in the summer. But, if you have a sweet tooth, Sakara Life recommends adding a scoop of the powder to smoothies.

Besides food, each plan also came with an informative manual containing details on the plan I was doing, why certain foods were chosen for it, and tips on how to best optimize my time on the plan. Each of the three times I tested different programs, I appreciated how comprehensive this was. For example, a lot of their dishes feature unique ingredients that I'd heard of but didn't actually know about, like chlorophyll or kelp. (Idk about you, but those aren't exactly on my weekly grocery list.) The booklets would do a deep-dive on each of those ingredients and explain all the benefits. Knowing exactly what I was putting into my body really enhanced my experience.

In each manual, DuBoise and Tingle also advise you to moderate your intake of caffeine, meat, alcohol, dairy, and processed foods. "We don't prescribe cutting them out entirely—you're not on a diet—but you'll see the best results if you take an occasional break and allow Sakara Life nutrition to fully work its magic," they say. Personally, I love my morning chai so I didn't cut out caffeine, but I did completely abstain from meat, alcohol, dairy, and processed foods. I woke up every day feeling a lot less bloated, so I'm sure that was a big part of it.

How much weight did I lose with Sakara Life?

Though my personal goal was not weight loss, I actually did lose two to four pounds in five days on each program I tried (which I gained back after getting off each plan, to be clear). Let's acknowledge that was probably mostly water weight since I was only doing this for five days, but I will say that I felt way less bloated and loved knowing that I was packing so many nutrient-rich vegetables into my diet without feeling like I was just eating boring salads.

Does Sakara Life have good customer service?

You can reach out to Sakara Life's representatives by phone or email from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST on weekdays. I reached out to them a few times about questions I had regarding my meals and deliveries, and they got back to me within 24 hours each time.

Is Sakara Life easy to cancel?

Though Sakara does have the ongoing signature plan you can subscribe to, most of their plans are a week to a month long. For the plans that have a finite amount of time attached to them, you can cancel them seven days before starting to get a 100 percent refund. If you want to make any changes to your deliveries outside of that, or wish to cancel your ongoing subscription, you have to let them know via e-mail by midnight on Wednesday the week before you're supposed to receive your next delivery.

Ultimately, is Sakara Life worth the money?

Simple answer? If you have the cash, then yes, Sakara Life is *absolutely* worth the money. You're getting high-quality ingredients and delicious foods that most of us can't cook in our own kitchens.

I actually didn't realize that the minor stress of figuring out what to eat every day, three times a day, was taking its toll until it was completely eliminated. And, rather than waiting to get a break in my day to eat, I could listen to my body and grab a quick meal whenever I started feeling hungry.

Of course, Sakara Life's clientele isn't exactly the average American—it's no secret that access to health food in our country is oftentimes limited to those with privilege. According to the American Journal of Public Health, communities of color have the least access to healthy foods.

And, as an Indian woman, I would be failing myself not to mention that "sakara" is actually a Sanskrit word, despite the fact that neither founder identifies as South Asian. The website says that Sakara translates to "thoughts becoming things," though I am personally unfamiliar with that translation. For me, the word and many of its derivatives actually translates to "sugar."

Despite all that, Sakara Life does its part in offering a "Sakara Scholarship" where they offer select women the ability to try the nutrition program for free based on the answer to the question: "Why are you applying for the Sakara Scholarship?" They also donate ingredients to City Harvest, an organization dedicated to ending hunger in New York City.

Eat Clean, Play Dirty: Recipes for a Body and Life You Love by the Founders of Sakara Life

Eat Clean, Play Dirty: Recipes for a Body and Life You Love by the Founders of Sakara Life

Eat Clean, Play Dirty: Recipes for a Body and Life You Love by the Founders of Sakara Life

$32 at Amazon

If you're like most of us and can't afford to subscribe to the full program for years on end (though tbh, I'm manifesting it), I recommend doing it for even just a week—perhaps before a big event where you want to feel your best.

And, if that's not an option for you either, they have a cookbook for $26 on Amazon that includes tons of the recipes Sakara Life's meal program has, like red beet burgers and pancakes. I already own a copy and love making the cauliflower steak sandwiches—if only to get me one step closer to living my best Hilary Duff-adjacent life.

Headshot of Neha Tandon
Neha Tandon
Senior Commerce Editor

Neha Tandon is the senior commerce editor of Women's Health—she's an expert in discovering the best products and services you can buy and giving recommendations. She discovered her love for magazines when as a teen, she started stealing her mother's magazines. Determined to see more women who look like her and her family members on the glossy covers of magazines, she was guided by seasoned editors and mentors to write for brands including New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan, BRIDES, Harper's Bazaar, Business Insider, Byrdie, and Well+Good. When she’s not grilling dermatologists about the latest skincare trends, she’s doing candlelit yoga or watching Humphrey Bogart movies over vegan pizza. Follow her on Instagram