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I tried a 3-day anti-inflammatory meal plan designed to improve digestion and make you feel great

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve always suffered from stomachaches, bloating, heart burn and other digestive issues. I never leave the house without Tums in my purse. However, I know that part of my issue is my own fault. I love so-called “junk food” and, well, actually all food. Like a lot of people, I’m sensitive to dairy. But that never stops me from eating a quesadilla or digging my fork into a ball of burrata.

Last fall, I spoke with my doctor about my ongoing issues. Based on my symptoms, she suggested I try taking probiotics and eating more fiber-filled foods. I tried it and it worked, but I quickly fell back into eating overly-processed foods, dairy and sugar. So, when I heard about the Feel Good Fix by Provenance Meals, I had to give it a try.

What is the Feel Good Fix?

Provenance Meals is a meal delivery company that makes healthy prepared meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All of the meals are organic, gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free. To ensure the absolute freshness, the main service is currently only available in the greater New York City area and Los Angeles.

Thankfully, Provenance Meals launched the Feel Good Fix in August 2020, and this portion of the service ships nationwide. The three-day plant-based program eliminates inflammatory triggers including dairy, refined sugar, gluten, GMOs, soy, corn and refined vegetable oils. The meals, created by chefs and nutrition experts, come pre-prepared. The goal, according to Provenance Meals founder Caroll Lee, is to “reboot” your body by removing toxins causing gut inflammation.

Credit: Provenance Meals
Credit: Provenance Meals

“It’s my aim to help people experience how good they can feel on an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense meal plan in a short time frame, while not giving up anything when it comes to taste and convenience,” Lee tells In The Know. “Our clients have experienced weight loss, increased energy and better sleep in just three short days.”

Essentially, it’s detox meals delivered

In all honesty, I usually stay away from anything labeled as a “detox.” I’ve read the studies and articles about why a detox could actually be bad for your health and how the words “detox” and “cleanse” are often marketing buzzwords used to sell products. And I’m well aware that my own liver and kidneys rid my body of toxins on their own.

Credit: Provenance Meals
Credit: Provenance Meals

While the Feel Good Fix eliminates many types of foods, the point is to slowly introduce some of them back into your regular diet once the detox is over to see how your body reacts. This in turn can help identify your own inflammatory triggers or foods that don’t make you feel your best, similar to Whole30.

“We consider a cleanse or detox as an opportunity to strengthen and heal by flooding your body with nourishing foods and drinks,” Lee says. “It’s also a time when you can really listen to your body and understand how it feels when you eliminate potential inflammatory triggers that cause pain, bloating, redness and more.”

Lee adds the program is “a great option if you are looking to try out a whole-foods based detox for the first time.”

The Feel Good Fix gave me a chance to see just how good my body could feel when fed better-for-you foods. It can be hard to begin cooking for a specialty diet that is gluten-free or refined sugar-free, but this program placed the opportunity to try it in my lap. I finally had no excuse to feed my body with food that actually made me feel good, a.k.a. no stomachaches. But could it convince me to eat better long term?

My experience trying the Feel Good Fix

Overall, the plan was incredibly easy to follow, the food tasted good and — the best part — I didn’t have any stomach issues. While the detox was only three days, I found that I had more energy and focus. Plus, I was sleeping better. I loved the way I felt, and it motivated me to eat foods that made me feel good once the detox ended.

The following week, I kept up with a similar structure as the cleanse, which is a protein shake in the morning, tea before mid-day, vegetable soup for lunch and a plant-based meal for dinner.

Now, a month later, I’m not gonna lie and say I’m a totally changed woman. I still eat a little too much cheese, and get stomachaches here and there. But, I’ve cut back significantly on my food triggers — and it has helped. For the most part, I’ve stuck with protein shakes in the mornings, and soup or a plant-based meal for lunch. It works for me, and maybe it will work for you, too. But of course, everyone’s body is different.

Where to get the Feel Good Fix

You can purchase the Feel Good Fix online on the Provenance Meals website. With it, you’ll receive protein powder, almond milk, spring mix lettuce, salad dressing, three soups, three dinner meals, three chia drinks, a lemon and meal-by-meal instructions.

The program arrives on Tuesday and you complete the cleanse Wednesday through Friday. The deadline for trying the program is the Thursday before the projected delivery date.

Provenance Meals Feel Good Fix, $178

Credit: Provenance Meals
Credit: Provenance Meals

Buy Now

The three-day plan costs $178. While it’s not exactly cheap, for what you’re getting, I think it’s worth it. If you were to order takeout for nine meals, including stopping to get a protein shake somewhere, you’d probably spend around $120 (at least in NYC). But keep in mind that chefs and nutritionists designed the plan, and you’re paying for their expertise, too. Consider it an investment in your health, if you will.

If the cost prevents you from trying the detox, or if you’re interested in doing a test run yourself first, check out Provenance Meal’s blog with tips and best practices for eating on an anti-inflammatory meal plan on your own. The brand also has a wellness shop with its protein powder and other anti-inflammatory snacks that deliver nationwide.

You can check out more of my detailed experience with my thoughts on the actual meals below.

A breakdown of exactly what the Feel Good Fix entails, meal by meal

The menu for the Feel Good Fix changes with the season to include organic produce that’s in season. However, its basic structure remains the same.

Breakfast: Each morning begins with a tall glass of lemon water to hydrate and kick start digestion. For breakfast, you have a protein shake made with the brand’s Camu Cacao Superfood Protein Powder (also available for purchase online). Later, around mid-morning, you follow that up with a cup of detox tea.

Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know
Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know

My thoughts: I usually drink water in the morning, so adding lemon was a refreshing change I’ve kept up since. The shake was surprisingly filling and tasted like dark chocolate — but wasn’t too sweet. I mixed it with the almond milk they provided. The tea tasted similar to a black tea, but not as strong. Overall, the morning was great and I’ve pretty much stuck to this method for my morning meals ever since.

Lunch: The mid-day meal consists of a soup, although a different one each day. The soups can be heated in the microwave or on the stove, although the second day’s soup was a chilled gazpacho.

Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know
Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know

My thoughts: The first day’s soup was an Indian mulligatawny soup with a tomato curry base, veggies and lentils. This soup was really tasty, and I actually burned my tongue eating it because I didn’t want to put it down. The next day was a gazpacho topped with nuts and seeds, and the last day was a shiitake mushroom soup. Again, no complaints.

Snack: Each day, the Feel Good Fix provides a chilled chia fresca drink and a mint herbal tea for enjoying in the afternoon. (You can find a recipe by Provenance Meals to one similar on its blog actually.)

My thoughts: You’d think, after consuming solely liquids, I would have been hungry by mid-day. However, I wasn’t at all. The chia frescas were refreshing and somewhat filling, thanks to the chia seeds.

Dinner: The last meal of the day is a solid plant-based meal, which varies each day. The plan also provides a spring mix of lettuce, lemon vinaigrette and croutons for making a salad on the side.

Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know
Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know
Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know
Credit: Ellie Conley for In The Know

My thoughts: The first dinner was roasted Catalan cauliflower with a romesco sauce. The second dinner was a quinoa burger with jicama fries and cashew “cheese” sauce. The final meal was a kitarchi with lacto-fermented veggies. The first night, I was a little extra hungry, so I added a handful of green beans to my cauliflower plate. The second night was my favorite: a burger and fries, although plant-based, is always welcome in my home. Nonetheless, I was a bit skeptical about the third night’s meal, having never tried kitarchi. It looked like yellow mush and “lacto-fermented veggies” just didn’t immediately ring yum to my taste buds. However, I was happily proven wrong and it was absolutely delicious. And the salad dressing — I’m currently trying to recreate it on my own. It was that good.

Overall, would I eat any of this food again? Definitely and happily. But consider the taste an added bonus, because the real win was how good my body felt.

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