If you’re looking for clean and healthy meal and want to eat more plants a meal-delivery kit like Daily Harvest can be a viable solution. The meal delivery service features an array of options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snacks. Everything comes nearly ready to eat or “ready in minutes” as the company says. And all of the meals are 100% plant-based, gluten-free and dairy-free so if you have those dietary restrictions, you can eat anything that they serve. The company prides itself on working directly with farmers to source produce and the meals arrive frozen and ready to pop into the freezer. I tried it out and will share my experience, but first, a bit of background:
How Daily Harvest works
First, you choose how many items you want to receive and how often you would like the shipments to arrive. You can decide to have 9, 14 or 20 items delivered per week. Once you pick your plan, it’s time to select your food. There are 85 different items to select from, which include items like:
Mint and cacao smoothieSweet potato and wild rice hashKale and sweet potato flatbreadTomato and zucchini minestroneMulberry and dragon fruit oat bowlsVanilla bean and apple chia bowlsStrawberry and rich, rippled berry compote ice creamHazelnut and chocolate trufflesChaga and chocolate hot cocoaGinger and turmeric latteCoffee and almond latte
You can change your selections before each delivery, skip a week if you need to or add additional items to your box. When your box arrives, meals need to be placed in the freezer within 24 hours and stored there until you’re ready to eat. Preparation is simple. You soak the oats, heat the bowls on the stove, blend the smoothies and pop the flat breads in the oven. And the desserts are ready to be scooped out and eaten as is.
How much does Daily Harvest cost?
Pricing starts at:
$5.99 for oat and chia bowls$7.99 for mylk, smoothies, soups, bites and lattes$8.99 for harvest bowls, flatbreads and soups
The 9 item weekly box costs ($20 off your first box) - $70 14 items per week ($25 off your first box) - $90 20 items per week ($35 off your first box) - $170
My experience
I opted for 14 items per week box. Here’s what I got in my first box:
Mint and cacao smoothieStrawberry and peach smoothieCold-brew and almond smoothieMylk: Almond mylk and almond and vanilla milkButternut squash and chimichurriCauliflower rice and pestoLentil and mesquite chiliCauliflower and leek stewMulberry and dragon fruit oatsVanilla bean and apple chia bowlVanilla and sticky, sweet salted caramel scoopsCacao nibs and vanilla bitesKale and sweet potato flatbreadTomato and basil flatbread
Breakfast
The mylk comes as frozen cubes. When you’re ready, you pop one out into hot water, and it creates delicious and creamy almond milk. This is then added to the smoothies before you put them into the blender. It was also nice to have the cubes on hand in a pinch for when you run out of almond milk or coffee creamer. My husband used the vanilla almond mylk his coffee and said it was delicious. His pro tip: Use less water so it’s creamier. You can’t go wrong with a mint and cacao smoothie, either. It had a really nice flavor, as did the strawberry and peach smoothie. And having coffee in a smoothie is a nice touch for a rushed morning when you don’t have a lot of time. I loved the mulberry and dragonfruit oat bowls. They contained blackberries, raspberries, dragon fruit, mulberry and oats and was super creamy when I added the almond mylk. You had the option to make it the evening before as overnight oats, but I heated mine the morning of. I also added a scoop of almond butter for some extra protein and topped it off with granola. And the vanilla bean and apple chia bowl was also a really fun breakfast. The blend of chia, apple, figs, coconut, cauliflower and vanilla bean made for a really interesting combination and it pretty filling.
Lunch/dinner bowls:
These were really easy. You just pull them out of the freezer, add water, and pop them on the stove to heat in under five minutes. My favorite was the lentil and mesquite chili. It has a really nice smoky flavor and had some fun secret ingredients that I don’t usually put in my homemade chili-like purple corn and cacao powder. I got a little crazy and topped it off with habanero sauce for a little extra spice and it really hit the spot. The cauliflower rice and pesto had a really nice flavor as well. It was a great and light meal, but definitely lacking in the protein. I’d recommend tossing in some beans or tofu to make it a little more hearty but I loved the combination of the sundried tomatoes and pesto. The butternut squash and chimichurri had a nice flavor. I loved the cremini and shiitake mushrooms that were thrown into the mix. And the cauliflower and leak stew was a very light but surprisingly tasty meal. It just didn’t fill me up and required a snack afterward.
Flatbreads
These were a bit more of a commitment, as they required being baked for 20 to 25 minutes. You could do it in an oven or a toaster oven and I found the toaster oven to be easier and also it made them a bit more crispy, which I loved. They were also nice and low in calories. The kale and sweet potato flatbread was 370 calories. They were pretty tasty too.
Dessert
I’m an easy sell on dessert, so this column was pretty much guaranteed to get a good rating but yes, these were good. My favorite was the cacao nibs and vanilla bites. You just grab the box out of the freezer, pop open the carton and pull one—or let’s be honest, in my case, two or three—out. There were seven bites per container and they tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough. And these were more than just dessert. They could also be eaten as a snack. They contain healthy ingredients like chickpea puree, date paste, pumpkin puree, and energizing maca powder. And then the vanilla and sticky was rich, buttery and healthy. I should probably emphasize that again: Ice cream that’s healthy! Instead of the typical white sugar and highly processed ingredients in most ice creams, this was made with all whole foods.
This one contained:Organic coconut creamOrganic maple syrupWaterMurasaki sweet potatoDried citrus pulpOrganic reishi mushroom powderHimalayan sea salt and vanilla bean powder
Overall takeaway
The Daily Harvest meals arrive on ice, and each one is in its own individual cardboard container. Bonus points for the plastic-free packaging. And each meal arrives prepackaged and ready to go right into the freezer. Thus, you don’t have to panic that the ingredients are going to spoil in the event that you have a busy week and are unable to cook all of your recipes in time. Another plus with Daily Harvest is that is no chopping, peeling, or sautéing involved. You add mylk to the smoothies and then dump them into the blender. And the rice bowls get heated with a little water over the stove and only take a few minutes to prepare. This means very little cleanup. Cons were that some of the meals were lighter on protein—for instance, the flatbreads had between six to seven total grams. And some of the portion sizes were pretty small. I have to admit that I was still hungry after eating a few of them, like the cauliflower rice and pesto. The pros were that Daily Harvest meals were delicious, 100% plant-based, and portion-controlled. It was extremely convenient to be able to reach into the freezer and heat something up quickly. I especially loved eating the bowls for lunches when I was in between work deadlines and meetings. They were so quick and easy to make and were really unique and delicious. I’d definitely be interested in ordering more! Next up, Dinner in a Box: How Meal-Kit Delivery Services Work
