I’m an RD Who Ate Sakara Meals for 3 Days — Here’s How It Went

I’m a registered dietitian who spends countless hours educating and helping others make healthy nutrition decisions. But sometimes even I struggle to find time for meal prep and cooking. Between work and family responsibilities, it can feel like there are not enough hours in the day — but that’s why a meal delivery service like Sakara can be a game changer.

Sakara, which was founded by two friends inspired by the concept of “food as medicine,” aims to nourish your body with organic, plant-based meals. The premade meals are designed to optimize gut health with fiber-rich foods and essential nutrients. I heard about Sakara from friends who raved about the fresh meals, but I hesitated due to the cost and the brand’s use of words like “clean” food and “detox,” which I associate with the empty promises of diet culture. Also, while I value good food and am willing to pay a bit more for quality and taste, I wasn’t sure if any meal delivery service could truly match my expectations.

Still, with my schedule, anything that combines taste, convenience, and nutrition is a huge win. So, intrigued by Sakara’s promise of ready-made meals filled with variety and high in fiber, I decided to try it for three days. Here’s how it went.

Signing up for Sakara was straightforward. I chose my program and how many meals I wanted each week.

Sakara offers three programs:

• Signature Nutrition
• Sakara Experience
• Level II Detox

I chose the Signature program, which allowed me to pick two, three, or five days of food per week. Each week has a set menu, so you can’t pick and choose your meals, but you can order breakfast, lunch, and dinner or individual meals (like all lunches or all breakfasts).

I did, however, do a little research into the other programs before making my choice.

Sakara Experience is a four-week commitment that includes an Alo Moves membership, a talk series with health professionals, access to a community, and “limited-edition Sakara gifts,” (which consist mostly of salad dressings and beverages). This program doesn’t appear to be offered all the time, but at the end of it you’re automatically rolled over to the Signature Nutrition program, which is what I tried.

Aside from program selections, I wasn’t asked any questions about dietary preferences or allergies, but because the meals are premade, there isn’t much room for customization.

Choosing the Meals

While you don’t get to choose the meals, you can swap out up to seven meals based on the number of days you’ve scheduled.

For my three-day order I was allowed to swap out four meals. The website shows menus up to five weeks in advance, and you can skip up to eight weeks using the app. The app also lets you swap some meals, check delivery dates and menus, and manage the program, but I used the website. The “clean boutique” also offers add-ons like teas, supplements, granola, bars, and chocolates.

I was excited by the veggie-rich, brightly colored meals and looked forward to a curry soup with homemade naan (gluten-free), a lentil pasta dish, and several salads. All the meals in the Sakara programs are also organic and free from meat, dairy, gluten, and refined sugar. And if you’re in the detox program, all sugar (even natural), grains, nuts, soy, and nightshades are excluded, too.

My three-day order included the following meals:

• Black Forest Breakfast With Cherry Sauce
• Georgia Peach Parfait
• Maize Muffin
• Summer Sun Salad
• Golden Hour Tropical Salad
• Smoky and Sweet Seasonal Bowl
• Five-Herb Pesto Pasta With White Bean Pesto Sauce
• Clarity Curry Soup With Housemade Naan
• Red Beet Burger

I also ordered some add-ons from the “clean boutique,” including:

• The Chocolate Trio (3 bars)
• Clean Protein Smoothie
• Metabolism “Latte”
• Signature Green Smoothie

The delivery day you get for your order depends on how many meals you order in a week. If you order a three-day program, it arrives on Sunday; if you order a five-day program, you’ll get a second delivery on Wednesday.

My delivery arrived by 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, and the food was packed in an insulated box with ice packs. The ice packs were labeled nontoxic, food-safe, and recyclable — and sufficient to keep my food cool and safe because all my meals were fresh with no spillage or spoilage.

All the food is wrapped in plastic, which I didn’t love initially. However, the containers are made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PCR PET), which is created from recycled plastic bottles and thermoforms. Sakara’s FAQs address the reasoning behind using plastic instead of compostable containers, including the ability to recycle and how long packaging takes to break down. The boxes were made from corrugated cardboard using recycled materials. The box liners are also made from recycled materials, and the boxes, liners, and meal containers can all be recycled curbside.

Preparing the Meals

Many of the premade meals were designed to be eaten cold, and the containers were spacious enough to mix the ingredients. Smoothies were ready to drink straight from the bottle. I appreciated that ingredients like nuts and seeds that might get soggy were separately packaged. Sauces were also packed in separate cups.

When heating was necessary, the instructions were printed on the label. While the suggested method was stovetop heating, I used the microwave and estimated the time needed, and everything still tasted delicious. This was the only time I needed extra dishes because I prefer not to microwave plastic containers. Aside from nutrition, the minimal meal prep was a primary reason why I enjoyed Sakara. It was so easy to have every meal in the fridge ready to go.

When food is marketed as being “free from a lot of ingredients,” a part of me expects it to be bland or repetitive, but this wasn’t the case with Sakara Life. Here’s a closer look at each day:

Day 1

I prefer savory breakfasts, but the Black Forest Breakfast With Cherry Sauce I received surprised me in the best way. I warmed up the cake-like meal and drizzled the cherry sauce on top. The crumbly texture wasn’t overly sweet and came with a small plum. Even though it was lower in protein than I’d usually eat for breakfast, I was satisfied until lunchtime.

Lunch was the Summer Sun Salad that was piled with zucchini, hemp seeds, and carrots and topped with a yummy wildflower dressing. I love salads with texture and added elements: This one included puffed quinoa, dried tart cherries, and sliced almonds.

Day 2

The Georgia Peach Parfait I received was a tasty start to my day, with layers of coconut yogurt and peach puree. Ingredients like maple syrup, pecans, carrots, vanilla extract, almond flour, and date extract were a little sweeter than I usually prefer, but not overwhelmingly so. The granola wasn’t crunchy, but it didn’t feel soggy and had a pleasant texture.

I felt satisfied for the next three hours until lunch, when I had the Golden Hour Tropical Salad. It featured mango, cashews, chickpeas, pickled onions, curried spices, turmeric, and forbidden rice (black rice) with an avocado-based dressing.

Dinner was my favorite: Clarity Curry Soup served with naan. With a blend of Indian flavors, the soup was creamy and included chunks of kabocha squash, lentils, spinach, crushed tomatoes, and aromatic spices. The naan, made with high-fiber psyllium seed husk, was perfect for dipping. It also came with coconut raita (yogurt sauce), mint chutney, and pickled onions, which I enjoyed.

Day 3

Breakfast consisted of Maize Muffins made from cornmeal with a Probiotic Berry Coulis. The moist muffins were made with coconut oil, applesauce, coconut sugar, and blanched almonds and garnished with hemp seeds and blue cornflower. This meal felt especially light on protein, so I added eggs on the side.

Midmorning I tried the Metabolism Smoothie, made from a mix of almond milk, date syrup, cacao bean, and various ingredients like MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) oil (a faster-dissolving type of fat often used by people on high-fat, low-carb diets), chicory root, and cinnamon. The chocolate-cinnamon taste was pleasant, but not something I would reorder.

Lunch was the Smoky and Sweet Seasonal Bowl with wild rice. It was my least favorite simply because the flavors were less interesting than other meals. The standout of this meal was the crunchy wild rice and creamy, flavorful sauce.

My last meal of the day was the Red Beet Burger With Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. This meal was another surprising win: The “burger” and gluten-free bread had a nice texture with a lot of flavor. I adore poppy seed dressings, so this was a pleasure to eat.

Overall, I was impressed with the flavor and variety of Sakara meals. If I’m paying a premium price, I expect high-quality, nutritious meals with interesting flavors and textures ─ and Sakara delivered.

Add-Ons

Sakara offers an array of add-ons, but I tried the chocolate bars and smoothies.

The chocolate bars I tried were rich, but not overly sweet. I enjoyed the complimentary Metabolism Bar, but the bars are pretty pricey — $50 for eight bars — so I probably wouldn’t order them again.

The premade smoothies were $13 each, which I found expensive compared to making my own at home, and I didn’t love the texture. While the convenience of a ready-to-drink option is a plus, these items weren’t my favorite.

Other add-ons include nutritional supplements like water drops, protein powder, teas, and capsules geared toward gut health and beauty. I received several samples of Detox Tea, a sweet rooibos with rose petals, lemon peel, and orange peel. My delivery also included a week’s worth of the Complete Probiotic Formula, which contains a broad-strain probiotic blend, digestive enzymes, and prebiotics. The add-ons are fun, but they didn’t impress me as much as the food.

There was a lot to love nutritionally about these meals. The variety of plant-based ingredients translates to more fiber — and that made my dietitian’s heart very happy. I also love much of Sakara’s nutrition philosophy, which follows its “9 pillars of nutrition,” including no calorie counting, eating the rainbow, and nutrient density. However, I was surprised that I couldn’t find the nutritional content of the meals anywhere on the packages or website.

After contacting customer service, I received a prompt, friendly email letting me know I was correct; the company doesn’t provide nutritional information. The email explained that Sakara works with a team of doctors and nutritionists to ensure all meals are designed to give the body what it needs “for optimal function,” which I’m all for — in theory. But in reality you can’t say that you’re creating meals that give everybody the nutrients they need because all bodies are different.

The email did go on to say that providing calories and other nutritional information “goes against our philosophy.” Despite that, the company shared the Sakara Nutrition guide, which provides nutrient estimates for an average day of Sakara meals:

• 1,600 to 2,000 calories
• 95 to 115 grams (g) of healthy fats
• 20 to 30 g of saturated fat
• 45 to 55 g of plant protein
• 155 to 200 g of carbohydrates
• 10 to 25 g of added sugar
• 35 to 45 g of fiber
• 3,000 milligrams (mg) of sodium

How does this translate to daily nutrition goals? The calories are on the lower side for some people, which I expected based on portion sizes. While it fits my calorie needs, someone like my husband (who is more than six feet tall) would likely need more food. Theoretically, he could add snacks between meals, which is part of the Sakara philosophy of “body intelligence” that allows you to consume more food based on how you feel.

So would I recommend Sakara based on nutrition alone? I think it depends on your needs. The food was well-made, tasty, and could support health by promoting eating more plants, increasing fiber for microbiome health, and limiting refined processed foods. Mixing Sakara meals with food from home would be ideal to ensure a balance of nutrients.

Sakara wins for flavor and fresh, organic, premium-quality meals compared to other similar meal delivery services I’ve tried, though Thistle offers a similar organic meal delivery service at a lower price. Still, I found that the flavors at Thistle didn’t match Sakara’s.

Another option, Daily Harvest, provides frozen offerings that add convenience and are also entirely plant-based, similar to Sakara. Even though Daily Harvest’s meals lack all the fresh produce Sakara offers, it could be another way to add more plants if you add your own fresh produce to the meals.

Sakara is also more convenient than traditional meal kits — like HelloFresh or Purple Carrot — that require cooking, providing healthy, plant-based meals without the hassle of meal preparation. However, this convenience comes at a higher price point, so it will ultimately depend on personal preferences and budget.

Reflecting on my experience with Sakara, I have mixed feelings. I loved the taste, ingredients, and flavor, but the price was just too much for the average person. The meals were tasty, with high-quality ingredients and delicious flavors, but it bothered me that I was unable to get access to the nutritional information for each meal I ordered. If you have to follow a specific diet due to a health concern, not being able to see specific nutritional breakdown could also be a deal-breaker.

For those who can afford it, Sakara might be a great way to jump-start a healthy lifestyle or maintain a busy schedule. I’d love to order regular lunches and have fresh salads in my fridge ready to go. Ultimately, Sakara is likely worth it for those with a budget that allows it. But you can also find other options that support your health and don’t cost as much.

Everyday Health has tested more than 50 different meal delivery services, including Sakara, to identify the best available options. Each company is closely evaluated with hands-on testing by consumers and RDs like myself to share our unbiased reviews.

We look closely at the following:

• Sign-Up Process Is the sign-up process easy and user-friendly?
• Delivery How are the meals packaged, how long do they take to arrive, and what is their condition upon delivery?
• Taste and Flavor Do the meals taste good?
• Cost and Value Does the cost of the service align with its value and benefits?
• Quality of Ingredients Are the ingredients fresh and high-quality, and where are they sourced?
• Nutritional Value Do meals meet recommendations to support health goals?

As a dietitian and someone who has tried many meal delivery services personally and professionally, I aim to provide reliable, science-backed insights into the nutritional quality and overall experience of these services. My goal is to empower readers to make informed decisions about their food choices.