I’m a health-conscious woman and mom who is always trying to hack my way through life. In doing so, I’ve tried many meal delivery kits. Here, I’ve compared them all noting the best meal delivery kits when it comes to convenience, taste, health and price.
Like many of you, I love a home cooked meal, but LIFE! Yes, sometimes life gets in the way. Between work, daycare pick ups, house chores and errands, I can’t always prioritize meal prep. I dream of stocking my refrigerator or freezer with ingredients or prepared meals to get me through a busy day or week.
Needless to say, this is where meal delivery kits can be a lifesaver. But which one?
The global meal delivery kit market is a 10 billion dollar (and growing) business. There is no shortage of meal delivery kits to choose from, but which ones are worth it? I’ve rounded up some of the best meal delivery kits I’ve tried and chosen the best one.
Sunbasket
Sunbasket is a traditional meal delivery kit in the sense that it is a true “kit.” Sunbasket delivers the raw ingredients and recipes to you and you do the cooking! I first tried this meal delivery kit when I was postpartum with Valentina and I loved the healthy and fresh ingredients. Meals take anywhere from 15-40 minutes to make.
True to the name, Sunbasket is very veggie forward and you can customize your menu based on your dietary preferences – low carb, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.
Meals serve two or four and you can select two to five meals per week. The ingredients are organic and sustainably-sourced and they also have heat and eat meals that serve one and don’t require cooking.
More recently, Sunbasket has branched out from a dinner-only offering to breakfast, lunch and snack add-ons. These are basic packaged and microwaveable options from third parties like oatmeal, eggs bites, deli meats, chicken breast, juices and granola.
Once you’ve selected the items you’d like and the date you’d like them delivered, they show up at your door ready to cook or heat. You can cancel or skip weeks on your subscription as you wish.
Pricing isn’t straightforward on the web site without creating a shipment, but when I created a hypothetical shipment of 5 meal kits per week for two people, the total came to $115. Shipping is extra at $9.99. Add-ons are calculated in addition to the subscription price.
You can also choose the heat and eat meals (called Fresh & Ready) as part of the subscription. Five of those for two people came to $100. You can always include these meals as an add-on to a meal kit subscription. Meal Kit meals are $11.49 per serving for two people and Free & Ready meals are $9.99 per serving (for one person).
The Verdict on Sunbasket
When I tried Sunbasket, I only used the meal kit. Of the three options I tried, one was a memorable win while the others were good, just not as good as the first meal I made.
This meal delivery kit is best for: Home chefs who love to cook but don’t want to deal with meal planning and grocery shopping.
Sakara Life Meal Delivery
If you’re health conscious and either love vegetables and/or want to eat more of them, look to Sakara meal delivery. Similar to the others, there are a number of ways to consume Sakara, however it’s entirely plant-based which means you won’t see any animal products (except, in some cases, honey) in the food.
With Sakara Life, you can choose from the Signature Nutrition Program (this is the standard Sakara meal delivery kit), the Sakara 10-Day Reset or the Level II Detox. There are no meal categories like low-carb or vegan because everything is plant-based.
You can customize your menu based on allergies or add/remove meals according to personal preference. For example if you love the protein waffles and aren’t a fan of the parfait, you can opt for the waffles twice. By the way, I’m a superfan of the breakfasts because it feels like you’re eating dessert, but it’s no much healthier!
Sakara’s Signature Nutrition Program includes fresh, nutritionally-designed meals backed by science delivered right to your door. Throughout the year there are special programs – usually 4 weeks long – which include the signature nutrition program. These special programs include additional gifts and community support. The programs are separate from the subscription so you can opt in or out of them.
However, the programs themselves along with the many wellness products in the Clean Boutique are what make Sakara a true lifestyle and not just another meal delivery kit. Sakara meal delivery costs around $400 for a full week of meals but you can opt for a one-week trial or a full subscription. You can also select how many days and which meals (breakfast, lunch and/or dinner) you’d like.
Read my full Sakara Review
EXCLUSIVE SAKARA LIFE DISCOUNT: USE CODE XOMARISSAV FOR 20% OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER.
The Level II Detox is a whole food cleanse Sakara created in partnership with Dr. Aviva Romm. It’s available once a month and is best for experienced Sakaralites.
The Verdict on Sakara (And Some Helpful Hints)
While price-wise, Sakara is the most luxury of the meal delivery kits, there are ways you can save money: use my Sakara discount code (XOMARISSAV), select fewer meals or fewer days or choose the 10-Day Reset.
One final common concern I hear about Sakara is that there’s not enough protein. On Sakara, you get about 50 grams of plant-based protein per day. If that’s not enough protein for you, you can add your own! I often add my own tofu, lentils or wild caught salmon to my Sakara meals.
For me, Sakara is the true winner of all the meal delivery kits. The meals are truly flavorful and unique – and no, they aren’t just salads. There are many meals you can heat and enjoy warm. Sakara notes which ones these are.
Moreover, I love the lifestyle aspect and the ability to buy wellness products to incorporate into your daily life. With Sakara, you feel like you’re a part of something bigger and for me, that brings a deep level of satisfaction on a spiritual and emotional level.
For even more on Sakara:
Read Is Sakara Worth It?
Check out my Sakara Clean Boutique Favorites (my Sakara discount code – XOMARISSAV – is also valid on anything in the Clean Boutique)
Best for: This meal delivery kit is best for someone who wants to adopt a plant-based way of eating (or just eat more veggies) and is looking for a true lifestyle change.
Eat Clean Bro
Eat Clean Bro is all in the name – simple, clean prepared foods. There are no subscriptions or contracts. You choose your meals and Eat Clean Bro delivers them fresh. Next-day delivery options are also available. Meals cost around $10-$13 and a la carte items go up to $20.
You can choose from re-heatable, prepared meals – breakfast, lunch/dinner and snacks – or purchase re-heatable prepared mains and sides a la carte. A la carte options include proteins like a whole chicken or grilled salmon filets (pack of 3), simply-prepared vegetables like green beans, broccoli or asparagus or carbs like quinoa, brown rice or sweet potatoes. Sauces are also available to spice things up.
Eat Clean Bro also offers some grocery items, drinks (mostly energy drinks) and even pizza kits. The site is easy to use. Everything is stoppable by category like low carb, keto-friendly, vegetarian and many more and you can filter by price, allergen, calories, protein and meal type.
The Verdict on Eat Clean Bro
Overall, while convenient, my husband and I found that Eat Clean Bro lacks flavor. For example, a dish I had with spicy shrimp just tasted “spicy” and lacked depth. I’m a firm believer that eating “clean” or even healthy doesn’t have to taste bland or boring. Likewise, I can steam broccoli and grill salmon myself at home easily enough so ultimately this wasn’t it for us.
This meal delivery kit is best for: Someone who doesn’t like commitment. If you eat to live and want basic, clean food that you can easily re-heat in a microwave with little thought or planning this one’s for you.
Territory Foods
If want heat and eat meals, Territory Foods is yet another option. Territory boasts a roster of local chefs and nutritionists to churn out their “tasty, clean eats.” Everything is responsibly sourced too.
Like most of the others, you can personalize your weekly plans according to when you want your meals delivered (Sunday or Wednesday), the size meal you’d like (standard or a boost) and your nutrition preferences (paleo, keto-friendly, vegetarian, low carb and more). Or, if you don’t want to think that much, Territory will recommend a menu for you. You can order up to 12 meals at a time.
A boost size portion is 250-450 calories and starts at $10.95/meal and a standard size portion of 400-650 calories starts at $13.95/meal. Six meals per week costs around $90 and delivery is extra. Both breakfast and lunch/dinner are available.
The Verdict on Territory Foods
Similar to Eat Clean Bro, while the meals were more creative and imaginative, most of my meals (vegetarian and pescatarian) were bland. My husband felt the same about his more carnivorous entrees except for a select few. He also felt we could make similar meals at home with more flavor. However, there would certainly be more time and clean-up involved. So, from a convenience standpoint it was helpful. Finally, I found the user experience on the web site to be confusing and not at all straightforward.
You can use this Territory Foods discount code – BYUP – for $50 off your first order.
Click here to save $50 on your first Territory Foods order.
This meal delivery kit is best for: Foodies who want a convenient meal option.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest is less of a meal delivery service and more of a frozen food delivery service. That said, frozen doesn’t mean it’s not fresh and good quality, because it is.
Daily Harvest offers a lot of frozen convenience food items packed full of nutrients from fruits and veggies. Daily Harvest is plant-based and vegan.
I’ve loved how Daily Harvest has expanded their offerings over the past couple of years. Choose from flatbreads, smoothies, harvest bowls and bakes, forager bowls, oatmeal chia bowls, and snacks like ice cream, bites and even lattes.
Once you register, choose a plan of 9, 12 or 24 items and how often you want deliveries – weekly or monthly. Next, fill your box from the selection of items. Everything ships frozen so you can store it in your freezer until you’re ready to use it. You can skip deliveries as often as you’d like and easily control your plan from an easy-to-use app.
Use this Daily Harvest discount code for $25 off: Click here to save $25 off your first Daily Harvest box.
With Daily Harvest, you pay per item. Smoothies, soups bites and mylks are $7.99 each, Harvest bowls, flatbreads and ice cream are $8.99, Harvest bakes are $11.99. Lattes and forager, oat and chia bowls are $5.99.
The Verdict on Daily Harvest
I wasn’t a fan of the chia pudding and oatmeal bowls and I couldn’t quite get the consistency right. The other options like soups and flatbreads aren’t substantial enough (for me) to be a meal. Instead, they make perfect add-ons. The smoothies were a life and time-saver when I was newly postpartum with Valentina and needed a quick nutrient-dense snack. I also love the bites and the matcha lattes. Overall, Daily Harvest is a good option for keeping your freezer stocked with snack-like meal add-ons. In my opinion, the servings are small
This meal delivery kit is best for: Health fanatics who want to add some vegan convenience items to their freezer to fill the gaps in their weekly meal plan and add some variety.
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