Daily Harvest Review 2022: A Convenient Plant-Based Meal Service

Daily Harvest is a plant-based meal delivery service that delivers frozen ready objects to your door. The woman-founded firm was initially constructed round supply subscription smoothies however has since developed to a sturdy assortment of flatbreads, forager bowls, bakes, soups, dairy-free desserts, and extra. 

Altogether, the model gives greater than 100 fruit and veggie-based objects. Every recipe is developed with the assistance of cooks and nutritionists and by no means accommodates dairy or gluten, Plus, the quick ingredient lists—that are boldly printed on the label—by no means include components, preservatives, or fillers.

The subscription service gives 4 plan sizes: six to eight objects, 9 to 11 objects, 12 to 23 objects, or 24 to 26 objects. Orders arrive on each Wednesday or Friday. You’ll have till 6 p.m. on the Sunday previous to your supply to both skip the week or regulate the objects in your order. Each day Harvest lets you both customise every field to your preferences or go for an automatic choice that chooses objects primarily based in your earlier recipe scores.  

An enormous perk? The model sends a textual content each Sunday morning to remind you to customise or skip that week’s supply. As somebody who usually forgets about updating or canceling my subscriptions, I like this little consideration to element. It doesn’t really feel like the corporate is attempting to entice me into an order that I don’t really want. 

Plus, the positioning is tremendous intuitive to make use of. Adjusting your order is so simple as flipping a toggle to “skip a supply.” You don’t even have to press save!

Not like different ready meal companies, the ultimate cost of your Daily Harvest box is not fastened. As you curate your field to your wants—whether or not it’s a breakfast or gentle lunch—the ultimate worth shifts. Smoothies, soups, and scoops all price lower than $9, whereas the heartier picks equivalent to flatbreads and bowls are nearer to $10. 

Probably the most inexpensive possibility on the menu are the forager bowls, which embrace oats and chia seed bowls. On the flip-side, every Harvest bake prices round $12 and sometimes accommodates two servings (though the decrease calorie rely means you possibly can simply eat your entire entrée solo). 

Sadly, you do should spend extra to avoid wasting. Delivery is at all times free, however you solely unlock reductions in your order by including extra objects to your field; save $5 with the 9-item field, $10 with the 12-item field, and $25 with the 24-item field.

For instance, the 16-item field I reviewed price round $138. With the low cost, the ultimate price could be round $128 with sufficient meals for about 10 meals and 4 snacks.

Whereas I’ve beforehand used Daily Harvest earlier than, the model additionally despatched over a pattern field with 16 objects particularly for this overview. The field included an assortment of smoothies, bites, desserts, bowls, lattes, and crumbles (i.e. the corporate’s newest launch). In whole, I’ve tried greater than 30 of the model’s objects together with a number of recipes on repeat. 

Though I like to cook dinner, I attempted to work by my rotation of Each day Harvest meals from this order in a two-week interval to see how properly the service might exchange conventional grocery purchasing (and combine right into a busy work schedule). 

Whereas I positively bought much less groceries throughout this trial, I discovered the meal supply service wasn’t a complete alternative for grocery purchasing—particularly as a result of I like so as to add protein to some objects and sometimes add spices and condiments to regulate the flavour profile to my style.

Whereas I like my immersion blender and KitchenAid, they have been utterly pointless for prepping most Each day Harvest items. All you want is a microwave, oven, or blender to rework the frozen recipes into one thing scrumptious. 

Just a few recipes—just like the flatbreads and oven bakes—take a bit of bit longer to cook dinner. Nevertheless, this preparation is completely hands-off, so you possibly can conquer different duties round the home. In any other case, you want lower than 5 minutes to get a deliciously creamy smoothie or piping sizzling bowl of grits.

My solely word? Many of the smoothie components are chopped comparatively small, however I nonetheless discovered that you just want a fairly highly effective blender to pulverize them into a wonderfully clean consistency.

When somebody mentions frozen meals, I usually consider bland, under-seasoned recipes with out a lot dietary worth. Daily Harvest defies this stereotype with components that style recent. 

Just a few of my favourite recipes on the line-up are the Gigante Bean + Artichoke Olio Harvest Bake, Broccoli + Cheeze Forager Bowl, and Cremini + Asparagus Pot Pie. Regardless of being utterly dairy-free, they’ve a creamy consistency that’s scrumptious and satiating. 

Sometimes, a number of objects weren’t as seasoned as I favored, so I might generously add a little bit of garlic powder, onion powder, and a sprinkle of Maldon smoked sea salt. These small adjustments immediately elevated every dish to my liking with minimal effort—and I believe it’s completely price adapting these recipes to your private preferences. Sizzling sauce anybody? 

In fact, there have been a number of objects I might skip. I didn’t love the chia seed bowl or candy oatmeal that I examined. I’m not an enormous fan of the consistency of chia seed pudding, which transforms right into a gelatinous texture. My dislike is probably going from private expertise somewhat than the recipe itself. 

Equally, I sometimes eat a really particular candy oatmeal recipe, which is topped with cacao nibs, tahini, blueberries, and maple syrup. The berry-sweetened oatmeal was merely not as candy or nutty as my go-to creation (and positively not as cost-efficient). Nevertheless, the savory oatmeal recipes utterly hit it out of the park, particularly the miso and mushroom recipe.

The comfort of getting wholesome, nutrient-filled recipes to my door is unquestionably price the associated fee—however I do know it’s not for everybody. As a vegetarian with a historical past of plant-based consuming, the meals style just like the creations I might make at house with a fraction of the trouble. 

I believe anybody with a busy schedule would simply be impressed by Each day Harvest. Whereas I wouldn’t personally exchange all my meals with the service, I like having a number of objects available in my freezer as a backup after I’m in a time crunch (and it’s cheaper than ordering take-out). 

Plus, Each day Harvest emphasizes biodiversity in its recipes. Meaning every merchandise combines quite a lot of components to maximise the vitamins I’m fueling my physique with—so I don’t have to lay our a fortune stocking up on costly superfoods or spices that I not often use.

Once I consider a cargo on to my entrance door, my thoughts instantly thinks of waste. However I used to be pleasantly stunned to find many of the byproducts left over from my order have been recyclable or compostable (and virgin plastic-free). 

I did have to wash a number of of the packages clear, particularly the smoothie cups and aluminum tins. Nevertheless, I didn’t thoughts spending a number of additional minutes on the sink if it meant my recycling heart might truly repurpose the product.

The signature white recyclable field has a compostable lining to maintain frozen objects insulated and makes use of dry ice somewhat than ice packs. This swap makes the field lighter and extra environment friendly to ship—and it lasts as much as 48 hours after your scheduled supply. 

Most of Each day Harvest’s plant-based recipes are made with 95% organic ingredients and by no means include GMOs from the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list. Not like conventional frozen meals, they’re not excessive in sodium or fats. 

Nevertheless, one factor lacking from most of the model’s objects is protein. Whereas I balanced this by including protein powder to my smoothies and legumes to most of the bowls, this could possibly be a con for somebody following a high-protein food plan. 

The latest launch of Crumbles, that are savory protein-packed toppings, is one other technique to circumvent this situation. It additionally will increase the energy, which are inclined to cap round 400 energy—that means the recipes will probably be way more satisfying.

Daily Harvest makes it doable to eat nutritious meals even whenever you’re in a time crunch. Whereas the service isn’t supreme for these on a decent price range or anybody following a low-carb/high-protein food plan, it’s a fantastic possibility for anybody who desires to extend their fruit and vegetable consumption with out spending a ton of time within the kitchen.