Those of you with good memories may recall I reviewed some Ilumi meals last year and was really quite taken with then, so when they got in touch again to ask if I’d like to trial their
Energy Boost Diet I was more than game. Now, I should mention that although this was called a diet, I personally had no weight loss intentions and supplmented the meals and snacks each day to make up my bodys own calorie requirements. The plan claims it can boost your energy in just one week by following it’s gluten free meal plan which is delivered to your door- gluten free lager included!
The box of food you get delivered also comes with a printed meal plan and hints and tips for the week ahead which were really useful to refer to. I actually only followed the plans for a couple of days myself, but Dad also participated and we both really enjoyed the meals! I’m sorry my snapshots of the meals are only phone ones and don’t look the most appetising but these were some of our favourites. For Dad it was lamb casserole served with a vegetable tagine and the Thai red curry with rice that he enjoyed most. My favourites were the slow cooked beef casserole (this from a former vegetarian) which is a complete meal, although I added baby broccoli as well as the chicken cacciatora, I served that with carrot and swede mash (made with butter) as I’m not a huge fan of rice. The lunches were equally delicious- the spicy butternut squash soup was heavenly.
Snack wise you get gluten free oatcakes and breakfast biscuits which were both something I already ate regularly. To get more calories in I ate the oatcakes with hummus or cream cheese. Breakfast was porridge, which I have every day anyway, I had banana with that. Yum.
I’ve never been a fan of the concept of diet plans like this but Ilumi have really changed my mind. Each meal is so delicious and full of flavour. I’m fussy about meat but everything was so lean and tender that I could find no fault. I felt far less bloated on the days I followed this, and it was a life saver for easy meals after my operation- everything is cooked in the microwave so no bending down to the oven or standing for a long time. I didn’t follow it long enough to notice a difference in energy, but with food this wholesome I can imagine getting a real boost. This is something I’d sign up for again in the future when I’m feeling sluggish, I’d still have to supplement it as I don’t want to be losing weight (the plan works out at about 1500 calories per day) but as long as you stick to gluten free it really doesn’t matter.
At £40 for the week I don’t think this is bad- a weekly food shop with breakfast and snacks included would probably cost about this, there’s no waste and you get something different every day. Sure I couldn’t afford to live like this all the time but as a now and again health boost I think it’s good value.
Have you ever done an energy boosting diet? I’d love to know how you got on, especially if it was this one by
Ilumi. Once again the company have really, really impressed me and I’ll continue to eat as much of their tasty food as possible.
