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Many fans of the meal tout it as a “healthy” or “clean” meal specifically for weight loss, or at least for maintaining a healthy diet. So we asked Serena Poon, a certified nutritionist and Le Cordon Bleu–trained chef who runs her own wellness and lifestyle brand, Serena Loves, to weigh in on the health benefits of the meal. She tells Glamour that several of the components are indeed extremely nutritious, perhaps most obviously the wide array of raw veggies.
“The incorporation of a variety of raw vegetables in this diet is commendable. Raw vegetables in particular are high in fiber, which promotes healthy digestion, feelings of fullness, and gut health,” she says.
Poon also approves of cottage cheese as a “valuable source of protein and calcium,” though she notes it’s worth not going overboard on the trend.
“The rise of the cottage cheese trend on TikTok should not lead people to believe it’s the single healthiest way to nourish their bodies,” she says. “Dairy-free calcium options abound, such as leafy greens, like spinach and collard greens, and tofu. Varying your diet day by day is key to ensuring a wide range of nutrient intake.”
She’s less enthusiastic about the chicken sausage, because processed meats have been linked with an increase of certain types of cancer. As for the mustard, she says, “consuming mustard daily won’t unlock miraculous health benefits, [but] incorporating it into a balanced, plant-forward diet can contribute positively to overall health.”
In general, Poon says, we should all seek to eat a wide array of foods that provide several different nutrients, rather than fixate on one meal or one ingredient as the be-all and end-all to wellness.
“Remember: Variety and balance in your diet, rather than an exclusive focus on individual foods, play the most significant role in achieving and maintaining good health,” she says.
