Review: BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge

This detox couldn't have come sooner for me. After a long stretch of holiday gluttony, my body needed a shock to the system.  

You have to start the challenge on a Sunday - BuzzFeed refers to the days of the week for prep and leftovers needed for various meals - it will just be too confusing to convert the days (especially in such a weakened state...)

This detox is extremely time consuming, even from day one. I've never spent so much time at the grocery store. We also tried to make the trip fun by grabbing a glass of wine at the Mariano's bar (last tox before the detox), so then I was stuck trying to open those produce bags with one hand...it's really difficult (and putting down the wine just wasn't an option). I'm pretty sure this added at least 20 minutes to the shopping trip. Our fridge was 95% empty before the grocery store trip - and barely fit all of our produce!

The prep and planning is pretty intense. I like to cook, and am used to the prep and cleaning that accompanies cooking, but I usually don't make 5 meals a day. Lots time spent cooking and washing dishes. If you really don't like to cook, I think this challenge may be too labor intensive.

Smoothie Packs

Lunch prep after dinner - for the next day's lunch at work

Pros

• Printable grocery list, itemized with portions
• Delicious and interesting menu
• Filling (the first couple of days I was hungry but after that Struan and I were both fine)
• Inexpensive (week one cost $300 and week two cost $200 - that's 70 meals for two people!). I also bought as much organic as possible and didn't pay much attention to the prices, so you can reduce the grocery cost easily if you want by being a smarter shopper.
• Buzzfeed does an awesome job of utilizing leftovers and ingredients so that you don't have to buy as many different things (even though you are still buying a sh*t-ton). Nothing went to waste though!
• Easy to replicate after the detox and nutritional info is itemized for each meal. For those who don't want to commit to the whole enchilada, I would recommend integrating some of these recipes into your routine.
• IT WORKS! Mind you, I had an epic holiday season followed by an extreme night of binging before the detox (steakhouse dinner followed by pizza. I. Know. So bad.), but I had some really great weight loss results. Struan did as well (of course more than me because guys are annoying like that).

Cons

• TIME CONSUMING! From the first grocery store trip, to the prep and cooking, our lives literally revolved around the meal schedule. I'm not exaggerating. You would need to have a pretty reliable work schedule and have evenings free to cook and prep. It also helped that Struan and I both could tackle cooking a meal and prepping for the next at the same time.
• Directions for ingredients needed as "leftovers" weren't as clear as I would have liked. While BuzzFeed did indicate what would  be used as a leftover for later (i.e. roasted chicken), I wasn't sure for how many meals I would continue to need that chicken (I may have overlooked something, but this happened with a couple of different meals). I ended up needing to go back to the grocery store midway through the week to pick up more supplies.

All in all, we both were really happy we went through with the detox. We had great results and discovered new, healthy recipes that we will definitely be making again.

The breakfasts were our favorite! We've already made the Overnight Oats and Banana Kale Smoother (pictured) again now that the detox is over.

Our usual breakfast is an over easy egg - the Buzzfeed plan includes more interesting options like this Green Onion and Feta Omelet. And so easy!

The Turkey Meatballs and homemade sauce was one of my favorite dinners. You use the leftover sauce to make an amazing poached eggs breakfast dish the next morning.

Stir fry without the self shame and MSG

Cauliflower Steaks with Lentils - it doesn't look that pretty, but it's really good. I found a new love for cauliflower during the detox and also now have an arsenal of vegetarian meals (while still high in protein).

I would love to hear feedback and recommendations from other BuzzFeed Detoxers! Let me know your success and war stories :)