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January's over, which means that now's the time when you're starting to regret purchasing that year-long gym membership or dropping $250 on a juice cleanse you attempted for a day and a half. But wait! Beyoncé, Queen of All The Things, has come to inject new life into your failed New Year's resolutions in the form of a new vegan meal delivery service called 22 Days Nutrition, the idea being that within 22 days, you'll have broken your terrible eating habits and emerge #Flawless.
New York, however, already has a multitude of meal delivery services, ranging from the crazy (want to eat nothing but bone broth, all the time?) to the crazy-fancy (how about having a chef who's worked in Michelin-starred restaurants cook all your meals?), so we set out to find out how Bey's stacks up against the competition.
22 Days Nutrition (a.k.a. Beyoncé's foray into Goop-dom)
The bullet points: Based on the belief that it takes 21 days to break a habit, Bey and her trainer Marco Borges developed the plan after she and Jay Z dabbled in veganism for 22 days in the winter of 2013. Everything is 100% plant-based, is never frozen, and is made with non-GMO, gluten-free, soy-free, and organic ingredients.
The cost: $9.76 to $16.50 per meal, delivered weekly.
Choice quote from the website's 'About' section: "All our meals are environmentally friendly!! Which means they're not just good for you and your family but also the Planet!!"
Photo: Sakara Life/Facebook
↑ Sakara Life
The bullet points: By far the most fashun-y of the bunch, Sakara Life has been Gwyneth-tested and Victoria's Secret-model approved, with Instagram-friendly menu options like pumpkin bread and almond butter lovecake, all of it gluten-free, plant-based, dairy-free, organic, and sourced locally when possible.
The cost: One-day trial, $99; five days, $130 and up; 20 days, $990 and up; three months, $2,750
Choice quote from the website's 'About' section: "Eating your water is the secret behind a youthful, dewy glow."
Ritual
The bullet points: The Ritual menu has five iterations: omnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, and paleo. By working with local farmers, Rituals guarantees grass-fed beef, fresh-caught fish, organic and non-GMO vegetables whenever possible, plus they recruit chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants. If you use it for long enough (and are already an Important Person) you may even get an invite to one of Ritual's "coveted" underground supper clubs.
The cost: $25 per meal.
Choice quote from website's 'About' section: "We even send parchment paper to go on your baking tray, so that sometimes your clean-up doesn't even require water."
Sweet Deliverance
The bullet points: Part CSA, part meal preparation, everything at Sweet Deliverance is local, seasonal and organic, which, naturally comes with a catch: It's crazy expensive. However, every Thursday, you'll be emailed a new menu for the next week, which you'll then get to select your meals from. Bonus points everything coming in Mason jars or adorable compostable containers.
The cost: $800 per season, which goes towards buying your meats and vegetables, plus $250 per weekly delivery, which buys the rest of the ingredients in your meals. There's also a New Mom package in which the mom in question can crowdsource $100 contributions from friends and family, because giving birth is work, y'all.
Choice quote from website's 'About' section: "A home-cooked meal has the power to create a moment of peace in the storm of our busy lives. Yet so few of us have time to foster the calm of the kitchen table."
Photo: Provenance Meals/Facebook
↑ Provenance Meals
The bullet points: Though Provenance does offer meaty options in its seven-day detox program, everything they cook is 100% gluten-free, non-GMO, and dairy-free, with paleo, vegetarian, and vegan options available as well.
The cost: $349 for a seven-day detox program.
Choice quote from website's 'About' section: "The jury is still out on genetically modified food and we don't want to be the guinea pigs."
Bone Deep & Harmony
The bullet points: Does it get any twee-er than two yoga instructors starting a bone broth kitchen named after a 90's hip hop group? (No, it does not.) No one would probably recommend using this service for all your meals. All the broth comes from a Harlem butcher and is made from the beef of grass-fed cows, and it arrives frozen so that it can last up to four months.
The cost: Each quart is $15; monthly memberships (12 quarts) are $162.
Choice quote from website's 'About' section: "Sure, you could make it yourself. Buy bones from your butcher, clean them, and let them simmer for 24 hours. If you're a busy New Yorker with a postage stamp sized kitchen, Bone Deep & Harmony has you covered!" (Translation: You could make your own bone broth, but eff that noise.)