Hey earth muffins! Meal delivery subscriptions like Hello Fresh and Home Chef have been increasing in popularity over the years. While convenient, these services come with a lot of packaging waste. In addition, the shipping of these kits also has a negative impact on the environment. Sunbasket is advertised as being a healthy, more sustainable alternative to other brands on the market… To put this to the test, I ordered 4 meals from Sunbasket to get a full understanding of the service. Keep reading for all my thoughts on Sunbasket’s meal delivery!
What I Ordered
Sunbasket offers two options for meals. First, there are Fresh & Ready Meals. These are delivered ready to eat – just pop them in the fridge, and heat up for dinner! Most of these meals can be frozen for later if you can’t get around to eating them right away. The second option are Meal Kits. These come with everything you need to cook up a delicious meal. To try out both, I bought 2 Fresh & Ready Meals and 2 Meal Kits – one vegetarian for me and the other with meat for my boyfriend.
What I Loved About Sunbasket
First off, the meals were all delicious! For my Fresh & Ready meal, I tried the creamy spinach and mushroom penne. It was super tasty, and the perfect amount of food for dinner after a long day at work. All it took was 3 minutes in the microwave too! For my meal kit, I tried the buffalo cauliflower and chickpeas over kale-cucumber salad. Again, it was very good. It took about 30-40 minutes to cook start to finish which is totally doable for dinner. My boyfriend also really enjoyed the meals he got as well.
Another great thing about Sunbasket is that they offer a changing menu for so many different diets. It definitely is on the healthier, organic side which is awesome too. You can totally find something regardless if you love meat or prefer plant-based options. And, each week has different meals to choose from too! A great way to try a bunch of cuisine.
Lastly, I do like that the company tries to be sustainable in a meal delivery industry that is normally quite wasteful. Everything in the box is either recyclable or compostable – the company even has a whole page on the website with ideas on how to reuse every single type of container! Definitely a positive that the company is at least trying to reduce their impact on the planet.
What Could Be Improved
That being said, ordering from Sunbasket still comes with a lot of waste. The box is huge, it came with a ton of insulating materials (that can be reused I guess), and each item is typically individually wrapped in plastic or in some sort of plastic container. After unboxing the one delivery I got, I felt really icky about its impact on Mother Nature… While they strive to be better for the planet, there are much better eco-friendly options for meals.
Last but not least, I thought it would be good to mention price. It is pretty expensive overall to order from any meal delivery service; Sunbasket was no different. While I was able to find a coupon code online, it still cost me about $50 to get 4 meals. Granted, the food really lasted about 6-7 meals with leftovers but I’d still say it was pricey for what I got.
The Final Verdict: Is It Worth It?
Overall, I will not be buying from Sunbasket again. The waste from meal kits is just too much for me to get over… Grocery shopping (and bulk shopping) is much better for the environment, so I’ll just stick to that. While it is definitely convenient to get your meals delivered right to your door, it is important to think about the negative impacts it has on the planet. Do you subscribe to any food delivery services?
Love,
Jenna ♥
What a great review! While it is convenient to have meals delivered to the door, there is definitely a lot of waste associated with it. I appreciate your honest take on the service!