When I first heard about Urban Remedy’s Bridal Meal Plan ($210), my interest was immediately piqued. Before my own wedding, between greeting family members from out of town, putting together last-minute decorations, and (for some reason) cooking brunch for 15 people the morning of my own wedding, I forgot to eat, which is never a good thing when you’re in a high-stress situation. The idea of having healthy meals completely laid out for you in the hectic days leading up to a wedding sounded like pure bliss.
The plan is plant-based, low-glycemic, organic, and, unlike so many other cleanses, actually includes two meals a day with food you can actually chew (accompanied by the requisite juices, of course). I was sent the meals to review at no cost by Urban Remedy. There were certain things I loved about the plan (cayenne lemon almonds!), and others I wasn’t so fond of (the “slimming” tea), but overall I was pleased at the end of the three days.
Day One Menu
First Thing in the AM: Like anyone starting out on a new diet, I woke up feeling bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for a new adventure. The first thing on the menu was a cup of Herbal Slimming Tea. The tea itself is a blend of Chinese herbs like eleuthero root (Siberian ginseng), ginger, loquat leaf, and peppermint that allegedly reduce cravings and decrease bloating. While it was refreshing to sip first thing in the morning, any sort of tea that’s marketed as “slimming” gives me pause. Usually such products contain herbs that are diuretic, meaning you just pee more. Also, if drinking any kind of tea would actually make a person slimmer, you’d think medical science would have figured that out by now. Nonetheless, I sipped on, deciding to think of the tea as just a calming part of my morning routine, and it was very pleasant.
Breakfast: I had a bottle of Glow juice, made from cucumber, celery, lemon, blue-green algae, kale, and parsley, with a little container of the Diet Tincture, which is green tea leaf extract. Savory and just slightly acidic, it had none of the funkiness that drinks containing algae sometimes have. I especially loved that it wasn’t too sweet, so I felt like I was actually getting hydrated with each sip, not gearing up for a sugar rush and crash. The tincture had no discernible taste.
Mid-Morning Beverage: Next, I drank a Time Machine juice made of water, lemon juice, açaí powder, stevia, and cayenne, with a Youth Tincture (resveratrol antioxidants, cane sugar, and molasses) and Diet Tincture thrown in. I was surprised by this juice’s spiciness. I love spicy foods, but it was a little much for me, since there wasn’t anything to help tame the heat. Plus, I’m also not a huge fan of the aftertaste of stevia. I ended up drinking about half, then filling the bottle back up with water to make it more to my taste.
Lunch: I had the Vegan Caesar Salad; it shocked me how delicious it was. I would absolutely buy this salad again if it was available at Whole Foods or the like. The dressing was creamy yet tangy; there were savory bits of vegan parm made from cashews and seeds; and crunchy chickpea croutons added texture to each bite. It left me satisfied.
Afternoon Snack: This consisted of Spicy Lemon Almonds and a Slender Green juice with Youth Tincture and Diet Tincture. The almonds were so good! They were spicy and bright from the lemon, and the portion was perfect for my slight afternoon tummy rumble. Like the salad, the nuts are something I would be more than happy to buy in stores to keep on hand as a tasty, nutritious snack. Slender Greens was another savory juice blend made from cucumber, celery, lemon, spinach, and parsley, which I really enjoyed.
Dinner: I had the Veggie Chopped Salad, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s honestly pretty rare to find plant-based salads that are full of flavor, but Urban Remedy has that part of the meal plan down pat. Eggplant bacon and smoked VeganMozz (made from cashews) are what really set it apart from most pre-made vegan salads.
Before Bed: I sipped on another cup of Slimming Tea, to which I added a squeeze of lemon. Not a bad first day!
Day Two Menu
Day Two was the same as Day One, except for the two different salads. For lunch, I had an Asian Kelp Noodle Salad that wasn’t as filling as the Caesar. I didn’t love the texture of the kelp noodles (made from kelp and sodium alginate), and though the zesty ginger vinaigrette was tasty, the meal still didn’t feel substantial enough.
By the time afternoon snack approached. I was pretty hungry, and so I cheated a little. Along with the cayenne almonds I was allotted, I ate a granola bar too. For dinner, I had a Zen Salad, a riot of crunchy veggies and creamy avocado, along with almonds for protein. I went to bed that night a little hungry, dreaming of the next day’s lunch.
Day Three Menu
The exciting thing about Day Three was that along with the usual juice and tea routine, for dinner I’d be eating the Veggie Pho soup, a welcome change from the previous days’ salads. First, there was the Rainbow Salad for lunch. As the name implies, it was full of colorful veggies, including bell peppers, root veggies, and no fewer than seven different greens. It was light and refreshing, but chewing through all those veggies made it feel like a substantial meal.
Finally, for dinner, the soup! Technically there were two two-cup servings of soup, but I was hungry. Instead of rice noodles there were zoodles in a savory vegetable broth flavored with shiitake mushroom, cilantro, ginger, mint, basil, and jalapeño. If you were following the program as they company recommends brides do, this is the last meal you’d be eating before your wedding. It was as soothing a meal as one might hope for when tensions are high. It was also pretty light, and considering that many people have digestive issues when they’re nervous, this seems like a good thing. I had one last cup of tea before bed, and my three-day experience was at an end.
What I Love
- The food’s actually good. Urban Remedy’s salads were, for the most part, truly delicious, and I’m still drooling at the thought of the spicy, citrusy almonds.
- It made eating healthy food completely mindless. Rather than stressing over what I was going to eat and how I was going to include veggies, protein, healthy fats, and enough liquids into my day, I just trusted the process. I really wish I had done something like this for my actual wedding, and I can also see it being useful for other busy life events, whether that’s a big deadline at work, a party to plan, or an exam to study for.
- The juices weren’t too sweet. I liked how the juices in this cleanse were fairly light and savory in flavor.
- You get to *eat.* Too often cleanses and meal plans rely on just juices, shakes, and smoothies to give you what you need during the day. While you can technically get all the nutrients you need in a day with a liquid diet, it’s hard to feel satisfied. Because there was actual food involved, this is probably the easiest meal plan I’ve ever followed. I was also the least hungry, thanks to the generously portioned salads.
- It made me want to commit to healthy eating and hydrating. Drinking all of that juice made me realize that I was actually pretty thirsty throughout the day, so I was inspired to drink more water even once the plan was through. I also was so enamored of their salads that I started including more salad in my weekly menu, using tricks like adding vegan nut cheese, coconut bacon, and lots of nuts and seeds to my go-to recipes to make a plate full of veggies feel more substantial and to give them a protein boost.
What I Didn’t Love
- The focus on weight loss. When you’re planning a wedding, getting away from the weight-centered mentality of the entire bridal industry feels kind of impossible. I found the names of the Slimming Tea, Diet Tincture, and Slender Greens products to be pretty off-putting. I think that they could easily be changed to something more benign and weight-neutral that would still get the health benefits across to the consumer. In addition, this weight-focused marketing could also be triggering to those who’ve suffer from disordered eating and body dysmorphia, so as a whole it would be refreshing to see the brand move away from that sort of language.
- It’s expensive. $210 is pretty steep for three days of food, but it seems like everything related to weddings is pricier than you might think. Because all of the products were organic, it makes sense they’d come at a premium price, but for brides on a budget, this plan is probably out of the question.
Overall, I was impressed with the three-day Bridal meal plan. I still legitimately find myself craving many of the things I ate and drank. At the end of the program, I felt more in touch with my body’s needs. If you want to tune out and let a meal plan do the thinking for you when it comes to figuring out how to fuel yourself during a hectic time, you might find that Urban Remedy comes in handy.
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(Photos via Urban Remedy)
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