Review: Cook! SF Cleanse offers unique detox that helped shed pounds and improved overall diet

    Healthy ingredients used by Cook! SF
    Photo: Cook! SF

I recently participated in a few days of the Cook! SF Cleanse, which I first wrote about in September. I have to say it was an amazing, eye-opening experience. It helped me shed some pounds and improved the way I eat long after I finished.

The physician-approved Cook! SF Cleanse isn’t your typical detox. There’s none of that going hungry and subsisting on broth or teas for days. Instead it felt balanced and healthy.

During the cleanse, I got to eat a wide variety of fresh, delicious foods – from Mediterranean chicken to a banana coconut smoothie – and still managed to take a break from foods linked to illnesses and accelerated aging. I didn’t feel deprived and yet I lost three pounds in three days. And it couldn’t have been any easier – all the meals were delivered to my home.

Heal Thyself
What I found most interesting was the way it changed the way I look at foods. As I did the cleanse, I read UltraMetabolism by Dr. Mark Hyman, the book the cleanse is based on. I learned we can heal ourselves, lose weight with ease, and prevent illness by eating whole foods and by getting away from processed, refined products that wreak havoc on our bodies.

I also learned that eating fewer processed foods doesn’t mean I have to live on salads, that I can eat interesting meals that are filling and taste good.

The Cook! SF Cleanse is a weeklong program designed to detoxify the body (which, by the way, is said to clear up the complexion), aid digestion by healing the gut, reduce inflammation, recharge energy, reduce fatigue, and break sugar addiction.

It’s endorsed by Dr. Hyman and was developed in partnership with Bay Area wellness physicians Dr. Marsha Nunley and Dr. Neha Sangwan, who says the cleanse “is a great way to get the body back on track.”

The Effects
After a few days detoxing, I experienced fewer allergy symptoms that I’d become accustomed to, like sneezing and an itchy nose. As I mentioned earlier, I also lost three pounds in three days. The weight has stayed off and I’ve since lost a few more pounds, because of I’ve been applying what I learned from my experience and am eating much better these days.

The Food
I liked that I was able to eat “real food” that tasted good and didn’t leave me feeling hungry. Cook! SF delivered three meals a day free of common allergens, like gluten, soy, and dairy, and made with ingredients that are primarily local and organic.

They encourage skipping caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugar during the cleanse, and getting plenty of rest and drinking lots of water to flush out toxins and keep energy up.

Snacks are allowed – things like blueberries, almonds, and seedy crackers. Cook! SF offers the option to include them with the meal kits or you can pull them together yourself, which is what I did.

Some dinners, like the Mediterranean chicken, involved a little sautéing (clear, easy instructions are provided). While other things, like the banana coconut smoothie and grilled turkey salad, required no prep on my part.

Everything was fresh – not frozen. I enjoyed most everything and especially liked the smoothie and the chili. There was only one thing I didn’t like: the gluten-free granola. It was too dense for my taste.

Some Things I Learned
By not having my usual sweets after dinner, I learned I tend to eat some kind of dessert compulsively after dinner even though I’m not really hungry. When I had amaranth and apples for breakfast, I learned I didn’t need brown sugar on a warm cereal – that the apples and some raisins add enough sweetness.

I did miss cheese quite a lot. As I snacked on my favorite crackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers, which are wheat- and gluten-free, I realized I associate them with eating them with cheese. Fortunately, I could snack on avocado with a splash of lime, which helped with my cheese cravings due to the creamy factor of the avocado.

   Cook! SF Chef and Co-Founder Nona Kim

To Participate
Cook! SF offers their cleanse a few times a year and delivers throughout the Bay Area. The next one is scheduled for January (perfect after stuffing yourself at Thanksgiving and all those holiday parties). They plan to offer it every other month in 2010. Clients tend to participate more than once. I can certainly see why.

The seven-day plan with three meals is $315. A new 14-day plan has been added and runs $600. For more information about the Cook! SF Cleanse and how to participate, visit cooksf.com.

What Do You Think?
What do you think of detoxing the body? Have you ever tried a detox? What do you think of this one?

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