Daily Harvest Review: Everything to Know About the Vegan Meal Delivery Service

Realistically, the painful parts of healthy eating have nothing to do with actually eating. It's stressful shopping and complicated recipes; it's coming up with ideas for each meal of the week; it's finding the time to transform bland vegetables into a delicious, satisfying meal.

Cue: Daily Harvest. This plant-based meal kit seeks to make nutrition accessible and easy for those of us with busy schedules and the desire to eat healthily.

With Daily Harvest, you have plenty of options to make your healthy eating journey a gratifying one. While all the meals are vegan, you won't find them lacking in protein or taste. These meals range from dishes like Artichoke and Spinach Flatbreads to Chocolate and Ooey Gooey Fudge Coconut Ice Cream. (Talk about covering all the bases, right?)

If you're new to healthy eating and find yourself thinking: These sound intimidating, I just wanted some broccoli! Don't fret. While the meals are full of vegetables and fruits (maybe even some you haven't heard of or tried before), they are still delicious and satisfying.

When you choose a plan, you can select the number of items you'll receive (9, 14, or 24) and how often you'd like them delivered (weekly or monthly). Like with most services, the more you order, the better the discount; just select the items you want in your box and set yourself up for delivery. While the menu doesn't change each week like other meal kit services, it does offer a great selection of over 80 items.

Daily Harvest takes the whole process of creating healthy meals to another level. The company works with farmers directly to source fresh produce, freezes it right at the source to preserve antioxidants and other nutrients, and packages it all in recyclable materials. Daily Harvest is also dedicated to sustainability, working with farms to help them gain their USDA organic certification. The meals are all free from unwanted pesticides and preservatives, and most are strictly organic (95% of meals, actually). You’re free to enjoy a clean, healthy meal while feeling good about your dollars going straight to support this system.

The plans come in three different sizes: 9, 14, or 24 items. Deliveries are weekly (unless you opt for the 24 item plan, in which case you can choose either weekly or monthly. Make sure when choosing your plan to select the specific day you would like it to be delivered. Dry ice is included to ensure the meals survive the journey, so you don’t have to worry about your food thawing by the time you receive your delivery.

The price per item is where you'll find the differences. Daily Harvest offers several different types of dishes; flatbreads, harvest bowls, smoothies, ice cream, and even lattes are available to choose from, and they all vary in price. You’ll find oat bowls, lattes, chia bowls, and forager bowls at $5.99, smoothies, soups, bites, and mylk (Daily Harvest's almond milk) for $7.99, and harvest bowls, flatbread, and scoops go for $8.99.

If you need to make changes or cancel your scheduled delivery, you have until 6 pm EST on the Sunday before your box ships. You can change anything—the number of items, the specific items you selected, and the shipping schedule. If you want to cancel your subscription, be warned you'll have to create an entirely new account if you ever want to resume. If you just need a break for a few weeks, choose to skip upcoming deliveries or pause your plan versus canceling altogether.

The USDA published a food plan for estimates on people's monthly grocery budgets. They found a single person with a moderately priced grocery bill spends around $300 per month. With that in mind, Daily Harvest may be a pricier pick for some. If you want all three of your daily meals covered, your weekly box of 24 will ring in around $170. Following the USDA plan, that's nearly half of a moderately priced monthly grocery budget spent in just one week, so if you're hoping to save a quick buck using Daily Harvest, it may not be the best option.

If you order out frequently in order to get a quick and convenient meal, then Daily Harvest is competitively priced. Daily Harvest's meals can break down to be as cheap as $6, which is a lot cheaper than an average take-out or delivery order. If you're looking to skip the subscription fees, tips, and other built-in charges that come with services like DoorDash and UberEats, Daily Harvest is a more affordable option.

Daily Harvest's meals are also incredibly convenient. Its cold items (like the ice cream and bites) are ready to eat straight from the freezer. The soups and bowls need a quick two to five minutes in the microwave. Flatbreads take the longest to prepare, though that's still only 20-25 minutes in the oven. If you’re looking to skip the grocery store, food prep, and long cook times, Daily Harvest is worth trying out.

Daily Harvest offers a variety of healthy approaches to your meals. The menu includes gluten-free, high protein, keto, low cal, low carb, low sugar, and paleo options to work with virtually any dietary preference. You still have delicious dishes like the Cauliflower Rice and Pesto Harvest Bowl or Tomato and Cremini Flatbread on a low-carb plan. And the low-calorie plan doesn’t skimp on flavor, with plenty of options like the Kale and Sweet Potato Flatbread, Cherry and Dark Chocolate Oat Bowl, or even the Espresso Bean and Tahini Bites. All dishes are also plant-based, gluten-free, and dairy-free.

All meals are one serving size and calories range from 100-500 calories per item. If weight loss is a goal, these prepackaged meals will help—and you won't have to forego nourishing nutrients. Or flavor.

As we've said, Daily Harvest's menu is entirely gluten-free and vegan. You can customize your box even further, too, with their filter tool. You can choose your likes, dislikes, and specific dietary needs to narrow down the results and find your perfect dishes.

There are over 20 paleo items to pick from each week, including delicious options like the Vanilla Bean and Apple Chia Bowl and the Cremini and Asparagus Pot Pie.

Your keto options are severely more limited with only around four to five options. While you can still order dishes like the Broccoli Rice and Dill Pilaf Harvest Bowl, you may find the keto-friendly menu to be underwhelming.

Daily Harvest is a great competitor in the meal delivery industry. Entirely plant-based and gluten-free, health-conscious eaters can benefit from quick deliveries and  a steady cadence of delicious meals.

While other delivery services require food prep and cook time, Daily Harvest is a step ahead: Once your box gets to you, all you have to worry about is heating or blending the dish of choice. Quick and easy, and you get to enjoy a delicious meal. Realistically, putting your flatbread in the oven for 20 minutes is the longest you'll have to wait for your dinner. It's significantly less involved than most meal kits and a lot more nutritious than most pre-made meals on the market today. If you're a bit intimidated by cooking or healthy eating in general, Daily Harvest makes getting your recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetable incredibly convenient.

From sustainable practices to its focus on nutrition, Daily Harvest sets itself apart from other alternatives with eco-friendly protocols, competitive pricing, and flexible plans.

Healthy eating already comes with speed bumps of its own—from choosing what to make to buying organic groceries at your local supermarket. There are a lot of ways to get tripped up on your wellness journey. (Take it from someone well-versed in cooking a meal, taking three bites, and realizing they might be in the running for America's worst cook.) Even if you're the next Eric Adjepong, who has time every day to prepare thoughtfully made dishes that are flavorful and delicious?

While Daily Harvest might be a hard sell to most kids, the plan is perfect for the busy couple who can't spend an hour or more each day preparing a meal. Who knows, maybe you could convince your roommate to join you on your subscription if you want the whole house to be healthy and energized.

Daily Harvest makes healthy eating simple. And while simplicity isn’t the most important factor in a lot of decisions, it's certainly nice sometimes. If your focus is eating well and supporting sustainable business practices, Daily Harvest is a hard-to-beat contender. Without complicated recipe cards, it's virtually impossible to mess up a dish. You'll also reduce your intake of chemicals and preservatives with Daily Harvest, something we can't encourage enough. When your days feel unpredictable, having a solid eating structure is vital.

Convenient and thoughtfully prepared, Daily Harvest is a perfect match if you want easy, nutritious, and delicious.