I feel a little “old” doing a Daily Harvest meal review. Old like your grandma who just discovered CBD oil makes her hip feel better. Old like someone in their late 30s-almost-40 referring to themselves as an “elder millennial.” Old like the phrase “I did a thing” or “this guy.” CAN WE PLEASE HOLD A FUNERAL FOR THESE STUPID FUCKING SOCIAL MEDIA CAPTIONS?!?! Rest in peace? More like, rest in hell!

What I’m trying to say is, it’s not like Daily Harvest is new whatsoever, and I know that. But I decided after spending several months preparing, weighing, measuring, and logging all my food consumption that I wanted a break! You see, ever since we moved back to Charlottesville last summer and Goldie finally let us start sleeping through the night, I’ve been working on losing the weight that I gained during (and a while after) pregnancy. My primary focus has been on creating a caloric deficit, since I’m pretty good about exercise (though I do intend to increase my volume), and pretty horrible about eating. Actually, I’m VERY good about eating, which is exactly why I’ve focused on reducing and tracking my caloric intake.

Let’s face it, though - calorie counting suuuuuuuucks, especially when you’re also preparing every single meal and snack for yourself and your family. I’ve got a pretty long fuse when it comes to shopping and cooking compared to most (ahem, have you noticed this blog?!), but sometimes you just need a goddamn break. Enter Daily Harvest.

There are lots of meal prep services to choose from, but I picked Daily Harvest because they really prioritize plants in their food. In fact, their entire menu is vegan, gluten–free, and dairy free. Ironic, given the plans themselves are anything but free! I’ll get to how I customized my meals to include more protein in a bit.

Depending on your goals, you pick from one of the various plans available. You can get meals weekly or monthly and anywhere from 6-26 items/delivery. As with most subscription plans, the more items you order, the more discount you get off at the end. I did a couple weeks of weekly deliveries and chose the 24-26 item boxes, as I was planning to eat a DH meal for every meal of the day. This ended up costing me around $200/week. Like I said, it’s anything but free.

I know that’s extremely cost prohibitive for most people. Shit, it’s cost prohibitive for me long-term, too! But the idea was to just get a break for a couple weeks, not to be my primary food source for the next year. Also, bear in mind I picked the largest option, so everything else will be under that price point.

So, what happened? Were the meals good?
Was it as easy as I wanted it to be? Did I lose weight??

Taste

Look, you’re gonna hate me, but…the food was really good! Like, genuinely delicious. I even discovered new-to-me ingredients like fonio and maca that I intend to incorporate into my diet. I get why the plans are so pricey. Eating quality ingredients and hippie foods adds up. To make some dishes creamy, they use nutritional yeast and cashews. Have you bought cashews lately?!? Good luck sending your kid to college after buying a few bags. But at the same time, if you’re prioritizing your health, and focusing on fueling your body with the best nutrition possible, it *can* get expensive (but of course, it doesn’t have to be this expensive). What I’m trying to say is that the meals were largely delicious, regardless of the price, but I was happy to learn that you really are getting your money’s worth.

Of course, they weren’t all winners. There were a few breakfasts that bummed me out. I’m just never gonna eat unsweetened oatmeal, sorry!!!!!! The mulberry seeded bowl made even my butthole pucker (made edible with a tablespoon of maple syrup, which I did for all the “sweet” oat bowls, ultimately). I also learned that I’m just not a Daily Harvest smoothie girlie! The mint + cacao smoothie just tasted like sad grass, with mint. There was also a ropa vijo Harvest Bake I couldn’t finish. But those were definitely in the minority. And just to help steer you clear, I made a whole graphic of the dishes to avoid! (see below)

Most of my meals were very good, if not downright delicious. I still dream about the cremini + miso oats. Literally any flatbread will make you happy! And I would do a few weird things to get my hands on the cacao nib + vanilla bites (the DH version of a cookie dough ball).

EASE

The whole point of this “experiment was to give me a break from all the calorie counting and measuring I was doing on my on, so if that didn’t deliver, this whole thing would have really been a colossal waste of time. I’m happy to report that, indeed, it was stupid easy! It’s pretty much like heating up a lean cuisine, without having to talk to Peg in your office about her ongoing divorce with Ted and figuring out Match.com while planning her kids soccer summer camp. Idk, I just associate heating up lean cuisines with working in a sad office????

Almost everything just goes in the microwave for a few minutes, sometimes with a couple tablespoons of broth or water. There’s usually a cooktop or oven option, but why would you hate yourself like that??

If you get a smoothie, that requires a blender, but you can serve it right back in the cup it comes in, including a lid for Peg, who is definitely “on-the–go.”

I also ordered a few Harvest Bakes, which are larger, oven-made meals. This took a little extra planning, what with pre-heating the oven and longer cook times, but I only did that a couple times a week. So, yeah, it was all very easy. And because the nutritional information is right on the package, I didn’t have to do any weighing or measuring

I will add that I did supplement my meals quite a bit, specifically to increase my protein intake. The meals actually do have a pretty good amount of protein to start, especially for plant-based food. But my protein target is around 100g/day, which would have been impossible to achieve without supplementing. For breakfasts, I’d add Vital Proteins collagen (though I’ve since learned this isn’t actually a complete protein and will be using a proper whey protein powder in the future), or an egg to my oat bowl. Depending on my lunch or dinner, I’d add shrimp, crab, chicken, pork chop…whatever sounded like a good accompaniment to the dish, basically. I did have to weigh and log that separately, but still, it was easier than what I’d been doing.

Despite supplementing my meals with more protein, and even maple syrup for my smoothies or oat bowls, my calories still stayed within my daily limit. In fact, I would have been way too far under without it, so keep that in mind if you go the three-meals-a-day route! So, now, I know you’re dying to know…

DID I LOSE WEIGHT?

I mean, it was only two weeks, jesus!! Real weight loss takes longer than that! BUT, I was definitely less bloated (prior to this, I took a hiatus in general from tracking, so I was definitely in a caloric surplus). If the math checks out, and let’s face it, math is anything but reliable, then yes, I’m sure with continued use I would have lost real weight. And that is what I’m still actively working on. But at almost $1,000/month, it’s not particularly sustainable long-term.

What I did do is order one more box to keep my freezer stocked for those days I’m in a pinch. My biggest downfall is convenience, followed by deliciousness. If I’m hungry and have nothing prepped, I’m much more likely to eat something less nutritious and higher in calories. Having extra Daily Harvest meals in the freezer give me peace of mind that I can have something tasty that won’t undo my hard work in just a few minutes.

Bottom Line

It’s a great service for someone who wants to eat for nutrition and fuel, but still cares about how it tastes, as quickly as possible. It comes with a price tag, but so does selling your soul to the devil to get the beach body of your dreams.

Have you tried Daily Harvest? What about another meal delivery service? I’m curious about Sakara, as well! What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments!