To quote John Oliver, “No one wants to hear about your f*#%ing cleanse.” He’s probably right, so if you want to go ahead and roll your eyes and move along, I don’t really blame you. But after a few years of being curious about Bon Appetit’s annual Food Lover’s Cleanse, I finally decided that this would be the year that I would try it.

For those unacquainted, The Food Lover’s Cleanse is a recipe program developed by the Bon Appetit staff and a registered dietitian. It’s totally free and available online — you just buy the ingredients and cook the dishes. The menu offers two weeks of healthy eats for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

I thought it might be helpful for anyone considering doing the BA cleanse to break down the program and give a realistic look at the cost, time commitment, level of ease, quality of recipes, and overall results.

Before I give you a recap of week one, here’s a little insight into what I’m looking to get out of the cleanse:

1. Get back on track with eating right. I don’t feel as though I went too overboard this holiday season, but it’s always good to push the reset button and focus on fueling yourself with good food. I always find myself reaching for less-than-nutritious options during the cold, bleak months of January and February, so I’d love to use this as a launching pad to get the right nutrients this winter! Weight loss is not a huge focus, but I’ll note any differences I find during the cleanse (this is NOT billed as a diet/weight loss program, just FYI).
2. Try new recipes and find new favorites. We always get stuck in a cycle of making the same recipes over and over again. It’s really appealing to me that we will be trying new recipes almost every day, and I’m really hoping that some of them will stick!
3. Start the new year with a sense of accomplishment. Sticking to a new regimen is always tough, especially when it comes to food. It’s easier to order takeout or to cave to making dinner plans with a friend, so I’m really looking forward to challenging myself to stay accountable! Sorry friends, call me in a few weeks for dinner!

On to the guide:

Week 1 Summary

Last night marked the end of week 1 of the cleanse, and so far I’m pretty impressed! I have to admit that for the first few days my stomach was grumbling a little in between meals, but I made an effort to chug water and enjoy a cup of tea to combat that (dehydration often manifests as hunger pangs for me, so I tried to be mindful of that). I only “cheated” once this week when a co-worker brought in her  mom’s homemade baklava that she makes once a year and I wait for all year long. Some things are more important than cleansing. The biggest challenge of this week was buying all of the ingredients. As someone who cooks very frequently, I had a lot of pantry items on hand already, but the Week 1 Shopping List was 115 items long — holy smokes!

The guidelines that Bon Appetit provides say that you should keep alcoholic beverage consumption low — no more than 4 drinks per week. This wasn’t at all a problem for us, as we’re not big drinkers to begin with. I had one beer last weekend, but otherwise stuck to coffee, tea, and water.

Cost: Week 1 rung in at (deep breath!) $300. Ouch, ouch, ouch. That’s 3/4 of our normal monthly grocery budget. In one week. I’m interested to see what next week’s total will be since all of the non-perishable items were purchased this week, so next week’s list is considerably smaller. Also take into account that we live in New York City where grocery prices are somewhat higher, and I bought all of the meat and fish at Whole Foods (Yes, I’m a snob. But the quality is just a lot better than any of the other stores in our neighborhood).

Time Commitment: I won’t lie, this takes a lot of time. I shopped at 4 different grocery stores over 3 or 4 days (probably at least 3 hours-worth of shopping). I spend about 2 hours each day making dinner and prepping lunches and breakfast for the next day. I really don’t mind that piece of it since being in the kitchen is quite cathartic for me, but I can see how this would not be fun for someone who isn’t comfortable in the kitchen. Being organized about your prep work will shave off a lot of time, so wash your greens, mix your salad dressings, and cut up the fruit for your breakfast the night before. You should also take into consideration that a lot of cooking produces a lot of dishes. We gave our dishwasher a workout this week, and spent a good amount of time doing dishes by hand as well.

Level of Ease: I don’t find any of the recipes particularly difficult, but there may be elements that are challenging for beginner cooks. For example, one recipe calls for poached eggs which I think take some practice! Of course, you can always sub a fried egg for a poached egg if the latter is too challenging. Which reminds me to mention: the Bon Appetit team is updating the cleanse page with a post each day where they offer advice and substitutions — super helpful!

Quality of Recipes: I have to say that I’m really impressed so far with the results. The recipes are delicious for the most part! The portion sizes are satisfying and don’t feel like you’re being deprived. One small annoyance is that the recipes are designed to serve 2 people for breakfast, 4 for dinner, and 1 for lunch (using leftovers from the night before). My ever-patient boyfriend is (begrudgingly) joining me in the cleanse, so I’m shopping for 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners per day, meaning that I have had to adjust the quantities a little  bit. Not a big deal, but it could be frustrating for some. The slightly bigger problem is that there are quite a few errors/typos in the recipes, so I would encourage you to read very carefully before you start cooking. I know that the team has been updating the recipes online as people point out errors, but I just printed out the full packet at the beginning of the week.

Results: I think the biggest “result” of this week is that I’m thinking a little more mindfully about what I’m eating. It has also made me think more about portions — in each of the dinners, about half of the plate is filled with vegetables and one quarter with protein. We eat a lot of veggies already, but proportionally I think we could do better! Frank has found himself craving carbs, since there are almost no simple carbs on the menu… I’m not minding that so much. I’m happy to say that my 3 p.m. cravings for sugar have really dropped off this week, and I’ve been able to stick to just one small, healthy snack per day. For what it’s worth, I’m also down about 4 pounds this week (I also exercise fairly regularly and have continued to do so during this cleanse). We’re definitely ready for Week 2, and I’m planning to shop and do a lot of prep work this weekend to make next week a breeze!

Favorite Week 1 Recipes:

• Turkey Breast with Roasted Broccolini — the Chinese 5 Spice on this turkey was outrageously flavorful!
• Black Rice with Hazelnuts — a delicious side dish that was chewy and crunchy and delightful.
• Red Rice Congee with Chicken, Kimchee, and Mushrooms — a nice, warming dish with fun and different flavors.

Least Favorite Week 1 Recipes:

• Mahi-Mahi with Fennel, Olive, and Orange — a pretty uninspired lunch, unfortunately. I found it really bland.
• Beet Soup with Caraway — Frank said this “tasted like dirt”, but for the record, I found it pretty tasty. I think this one depends entirely on your taste for beets.
• Oatmeal with Cacao Nibs and Figs — This one just doesn’t suit my taste for some reason, although Frank really likes it. I find the combo of figs and cacao nibs to be just too crunchy, and there is a weird wine-like aftertaste to this (I love wine, but not in my breakfast!).

Check back next week for the final recap of Week 2!