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šŸŽÆ NoStove 19: A Splurge on Sakara

and what I learned using a glucose monitor for three months

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Hey Meal Delivery Enthusiasts!

Welcome back to The Scoop by NoStoveā€”your go-to guide for all things meal delivery.

Today we have:

  • Spotlight on Sakara Meals

  • Glucose monitors for healthy eating

  • Noodle soup mason jars

  • The Weekly Deals List

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šŸŽ† Spotlight on Sakara Life

Sakara Life is a premium plant-based meal delivery service that offers organic, gluten-free, and dairy-free meals designed to promote overall wellness. Founded in 2011, Sakara Life aims to make healthy eating both convenient and enjoyable.

Iā€™d been curious about Sakara for a while but struggled to justify the price, especially with so many other optionsā€”including just pressing ā€œcookā€ on my rice cooker. Eventually, I gave it a shot, and I really enjoyed it. The meals felt light yet filling, fresh, and like a reset for my body - the healthy diet I aspire to, but donā€™t acheive. It also gave me inspiration for making heartier salads on my own. Though Iā€™m not vegan, I appreciated the variety of plant-based meals. The portions were generous, but at around $30 per meal, itā€™s more of an occasional splurge rather than a weekly regular.

Key Features:

  • Location: Delivers nationwide across the United States.

  • Menu Info: Provides ready-to-eat meals that are plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. Many meals are salads and grain bowls. Sample dishes include Chia Coconut Protein Waffles and Technicolor Quinoa Salad.

  • Ordering: Order each week for 2 to 5 days per week, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  • Fun Fact: My delivery box came with a stick to burn as a cleansing ritual. I simultaneously felt weirded out yet intrigued. I did not burn it, but was tempted to dive in fully to the process. šŸ˜‚

What are your thoughts on Sakara Life? Reply and let me know.

Nutrisense Glucose Monitor. Left: Nutrisense Image Right: screenshot of my day.

šŸ©ŗ Giving Glucose Monitors a Try

Part of my goal of meal delivery is to eat healthier than takeout or when I might cave into eating unhealthy at home. Iā€™m in good health, but read a lot about controlling glucose levels and avoiding glucose spikes for long term health. Since my goal is to be able to do cartwheels in my 90s, I decided to try a glucose monitor for three months to learn about how my body reacts to the foods I eat.

Every body is different, so my takeaways might be different from yours. A few months will be plenty and you keep the knowledge forever.

Hereā€™s what I learned:

  1. Sleep is a big deal. I had the worst glucose spikes when I was short on sleep. After a redeye flight I ate a caprese panini for lunch that normally would not have phased me but instead made me practically comatose and gave me one of the largest spikes on my record.

  2. Cocktails = liquid sugar. I will sometimes have a drink at dinner out at a restaurant. I was totally unprepared for the skyrocketing glucose measurements I saw after what seemed like just a few sips of my cocktail.

  3. Carbs cause spikes. Everything else for me was pretty much as I expected, but very helpful to see in real-time. Breads, pastas, and other carbs spiked my glucose if they werenā€™t eaten in moderation with other foods like proteins and fats. Overeating spiked my glucose. Going longer periods without eating, generally stabilized my levels.

  4. Staying accountable. Having the monitor on made me say no to unhealthy options regularly because I knew Iā€™d be seeing the consequences on my monitor immediately after.

The patch was comfortable in the beginning. By the end of the three months though, I was tired of having the patch on my arm and glad to get rid of it. I havenā€™t restarted, but I might add a month every year or so to check in.

I highly recommend trying one yourself to see what you learn. If youā€™re diabetic, you can get one prescribed to you by your doctor. If youā€™re healthy, there are a few options on the market.

Nutrisense is what I used. I chose a three month plan, they mailed me a glucose monitor each month and I tracked it in their app.

Levels Health is another option. You need to subscribe to their app and then pay for the CGM on top of it. The glucose monitors are cheaper though Levels, so it becomes a math problem of how many months you want to do and which of the options is cheaper.

Have you tried a glucose monitor? Reply and let me know. Or just tell me what you want to be able to do in your 90s :)

šŸœ Noodle Soup Mason Jars

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base

  • Snow peas

  • Shredded carrots

  • 3 oz cooked and shredded chicken (can use rotisserie)

  • Noodles (rice noodles are a good or mung bean noodles)

  • Cilantro for garnish

šŸ”„ Deals & Discounts

Hereā€™s a list of our current deals and promo codes to meal delivery companies that ship nationally.

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In Partnership with Eat Clean To Go

Eat Clean To Go offers chef-prepared, nutritionally balanced meals designed to support a healthy lifestyle. Their meals are crafted with fresh, high-quality ingredients, free from preservatives, artificial flavors, and refined sugars. Get 50% off your order with this link.

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