A couple years ago Beyonce decided that it was high time she take a different approach to being healthy and stay ing fit. She decided to go on a a raw vegan diet for 22 days and encourage her fans to do the same. As someone who has tried so many juice cleanses including the Lemonade Diet aka The Master Cleanse aka The Beyonce Cleanse, I desperately wanted to follow Bey’s lead yet again and give a raw vegan diet a try but did not have the will to force myself into yet another form of what I perceived would be dietary torture until now.
After an incredible summer of eating everything in sight at the best food festivals LA has to offer like The LA Food and Wine Fest, LA Times The Taste and Dessert Week LA I decided it was time for me to “Woman Up” and just do it. For science, of course. 22 days seemed excessive, so I decided on seven.
I had no idea where to start in my quest and the idea of just munching on bunch of raw carrots for a week was not going to cut it so I enlisted the help the nice people at Rawvolution who specialize in changing the minds of sworn carnivores like me with dishes the kinda blew my mind.
I looked at all the ingredients for every dish which they proudly display on their website Rawvolution and placed my order for a box. My meals arrived at my door fresh and ready to eat. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, but what did I have to lose?
The Juices
I began day 1 drinking their Lime Cilantro Apple Juice that was delicious AF. Seriously, I could bathe in a tub of that stuff. I didn’t expect it to taste that good. I mean I love cilantro in a my Chipotle lime rice but in a juice? Trust. It IS that damn good.
The Food
In my box I received the following all organic, all raw vegan dishes:
Asian Vegetable Nori Rolls with avocado, daikon, carrot, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, clover sprouts, collard green and nori.
Broccolini Salad with broccoli, olive oil and sea salt.
Chocolate Coconut Brownie with walnuts, coconut, cacao and raw coconut nectar.
Fresh Corn Salad with corn, celery, onions, cashews, pine nuts, coconut water, lemon juice, olive oil, curry powder and sea salt.
Mock Tuna Salad with sunflower seeds, celery, onion, cashews, coconut water, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, dill, dulse and sea salt.
Peach Cream Parfait with peaches, almond, cashews, coconut water and raw coconut nectar.
Rawsagna with zucchini, sunflower seeds, wheat-free tamari, olive oil, tomato, lemon juice sea salt, garlic, onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano, basil and olives.
Red Enchilada with coconut, cashew, lettuce, mango, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, wheat-free tamari, garlic, chili ancho powder, cumin and sea salt.
The Pros
1. The Lime Cilantro Apple Juice! I already said that but it bears repeating.
2. I LOVED the Rawsagna. Seriously, I am stunned that there was no meat in there and that it was so good even though it was cold.
3. They include dessert. Most food delivery services do not give you dessert and that is such an missed opportunity. Rawvolution’s desserts were amazing. My favorite was the Peach Cream Parfait.
4. What I love most about Rawvolution is that every dish was well seasoned. In fact, I think that is their secret making dishes that really satisfy.
The Cons
The only con was not getting a second juice that normally comes with the box but they did include a nice note telling me their machine was broken. It’s all good though. Are you sensing my obsession with this juice yet?
My Results
After seven days I thought I would feel starved, deprived and generally unwell but it turned out to be the opposite. I felt energized and my roommate said my eyes looked shinier. I don’t know how eyes can look shiner but I will take it. Plus, I lost five pounds.
Could I do this for life? I don’t know. I surely could see myself doing it for more than just a Meatless Monday kind of thing—maybe six days a week. The idea of not having to grocery shop and prepare it all is a HUGE plus and no doubt the food is delicious.