Getting your meal plans from the Purple Carrot is not strictly for vegans either. Why not introduce some interesting recipes that are plant-based for those days you do not wish to cook meat? According to the Purple Carrot website, the more plant-based food you eat, you greatly decrease your chances of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. Well, you can’t argue with that.
Check out our Purple Carrot review and find out why they are one of the best meal plan kits around.
Use the “carrot30” promo for $30 off of your first box
Ease of Use
When it comes to signing up, customers have the option of four meal plans on offer such as: Chef’s Choice, High Protein, Quick & Easy as well as TB12 Performance meals, the latter of which are gluten-free and are more focused on health and wellness. The chef’s choice includes gourmet dishes created by professional chefs, while the Quick & Easy option will have your meal prepared in less than 30 minutes.
You can choose between having two servings three times a week or four servings twice a week. Purple Carrot ship to 48 states which do not include Hawaii and Alaska, but if you are considering purchasing their meal plan you might want to give them a call just to find out whether they deliver to your area within the state.
The meals that are delivered to your door are usually prepared without any issues within an hour if you do not choose the quick and easy option. Each week you will receive an insulated box with carefully parceled meals. Somewhere in between them, you will also find colorful recipe cards as well as some photos which will show you as to what everything should look like as you’re cooking. If you happen to lose your recipe cards found in the box or get food all over them, you can also find the recipes online.
The great thing about Purple Carrot is that each meal package has pre-measured ingredients, with easily distinguishable products in clearly labeled bags and bottles. All the recipes come in their own bags, which is a life saver for most people that struggle to stay organized. All you have to do is store the bags in the refrigerator and one by one take them out as you’re ready to cook.
It might seem as though the packaging is wasteful, especially with this meal kit company focusing on the great effects veganism has on the planet. However, they have a whole page on their website dedicated to recycling the packaging which is 100% recyclable in most states. This includes things like the box, liners, cooling packs, plastic jars, bottles, and bags. There are also videos of how you can upcycle and give your meal kit packaging new life.
Although little extras such as sauces and other ingredients are delivered with your meal prep, the Purple Carrot will ask you to have vegetable oil, salt, pepper as well as standard kitchen tools at home.
Variety
The cool thing about the Purple Carrot is that you can now choose which meals will get delivered to your door. You have six options weekly and the plan you choose will usually determine by default which of them will get delivered, but you can always select which ones you want. The meals high in protein, as well as the quick and easy meals, are labeled visibly so you know which ones you are ordering.
One great feature about this meal planning kit is that Purple Carrot does not try to mimic meat-based meals, but instead come up with their own recipes. On their website you have categorized recipes including:
- Comfort foods
- Fall recipes
- Family friendly
- Healthy desserts
- Holiday recipes
- Party foods
- Quick and easy
- Spring recipes
- Summer recipes
- Winter recipes
If you love to taste all the different flavors of the world, there are various cuisine types you can choose from like:
- American
- French
- Indian
- Italian
- Mediterranean
- Mexican
- Middle Eastern
- Spanish
Dish types will allow you to look for specific mains as well as extras which is exciting. These include:
- Appetizer
- Breakfast
- Dessert
- Dinner
- Grain bowl
- Lunch
- Salad
- Side dish
- Snack
- Soup
Additionally, you can look for recipes that have special dietary concerns in mind such as low-carb, gluten-free, high-protein, nut-free and soy-free. All of these recipes can be found free on their website, so if you liked a particular meal, you can try to recreate the same dish over the weekend with friends.
There is a huge selection of dishes in this vegan meal kit program which is a breath of fresh air, as so many meal prep companies fail to bring an exciting edge to plant-based recipes. On top of all that, you have how-to videos online that will teach you tips and tricks that will help you out with some of the recipes and, in general, make you a better chef. Some of the videos included online are:
- How to supreme an orange
- How to make slow cooker hot chocolate
- How to make 5 ingredient hummus
- How to quickly pickle
- How to clean a cast iron pan
As you can see, the Purple Carrot are giving you all the information and tools to become a skilled cook in your own kitchen.
Taste
The recipes you will find in the Purple Carrot meal plans are just amazing. You will be the talk of your family, because not only are they delicious, they’re also exotic. Some of the dishes you can look forward to with Purple Carrot include:
- Pad Thai
- Smoky Tofu Caesar Wrap
- Beet Tacos
- Fusilli Pasta
- Portobello Panang Curry
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Buffalo Tofu Salad
- Japanese Gnocchi
- Rainbow Salad
- Rice Noodles
- Temaki Sushi
- Masala Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Beet Burgers
- Chickpea Massaman Curry
- Caribbean Sweet Potatoes
- Mung Bean Chaat
- Baked Buffalo Tempeh
- Mediterranean Flatbread
If you think these recipes sound delicious, that’s because they’re thought up by the incredibly talented Mark Bittman. Spending five years writing for the New York Times as a regular columnist, Bittman left this prestigious role to join a young food company in California in order to make it easier for people to eat more plants.
There is no question about it, the food that you end up putting on your plate is delicious. With super fresh ingredients, these meals are also filling. Taste is never compromised no matter which meal plan you decide to choose. The Chef’s Choice will have the recipes that vegan foodies will just love, creating impressive gourmet meals, while Quick and Easy is the choice for people just starting to cook and entering the vegan arena. If you are constantly on the go and need meals that will provide you with energy all day long then the High Protein plan is the one for you.
Convenience
When it comes to deliveries, they are made on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and you cannot choose your delivery days. If you do not think you will be home at the time of the delivery, that’s OK, because the ingredients should stay fresh for a couple of hours after they have been delivered. Any more than that, though, and some products will go off.
Some meal plan companies will not provide you with all the ingredients you need in order to cook the food, but with Purple Carrot this is thankfully not the case. You will receive all the ingredients you need, but you will have to peel and chop most of them, so there is that.
Additionally, if you do not choose the Quick and Easy option, you can count on preparing each meal for between 40 minutes to an hour.
Although the meals are delicious and bring a whole new element to vegan recipes, you can expect to slave over the stove for quite a while and dirty a few pots and pans in the meantime. Sometimes the time will be spent on prepping vegetables and other times you will be asked to flour and fry mushrooms. This probably won’t be an issue over the weekend, but during a hectic work week, it might require more energy than you are willing to spend.
Some of the recipes can be made ahead of time, but sometimes the large number of steps you need to take in order to create the dish is overwhelming and intimidating.
When it comes to skipping meals you can log into your account and check out your “upcoming menus”. From there you will see all the oncoming weeks and when skipped that week will turn grey. Remember to check the deadline for skipping meals so that you do not receive ingredients at your door when you weren’t expecting them.
Changing your meals is not a problem, and as mentioned earlier you have six meals to choose from with default dishes being dependent on the meal plan you subscribe to. If you want to change, for example, from Quick and Easy to Chef’s Choice when you become a little more confident in the kitchen, you can. Just head over to the settings section in your profile.
If you have any questions regarding their service, you can always read the FAQs found on the Purple Carrot website, or submit a request via their page and they usually get back to you within a couple of hours.
Live chat service is easily accessible on their website on the bottom right-hand corner of their screen and someone should answer your query shortly. Other options within the chat service include looking for articles yourself. We typed in “phone” and it came back with their contact number which you can reach them on as well as the phone line open times (Monday through Friday 9am-5pm). Alternatively, you can leave a message and they will call you back.
Pricing
Purple Carrot comes at the higher end of the pricing spectrum when it comes to meal delivery plans, but as they say, you get what you pay for and with Purple Carrot this is true. It will set you back around $72 per week, which is pretty much the same as Sun Basket. Purple Carrot include shipping in their costs, so this works out to be a cheaper option. Remember that gluten-free options are also available, but the TB12 Performance Meals are $13 per serving.
Although there aren’t as many coupons around for Purple Carrot like there are for other meal plans, signing up with an email address means that you will instantly get a $20 discount, which is nothing to laugh at.
Another great thing that you can add to your meal plans is extras. This means you can add any three extras to any 2 serving plan or one extra to any 6 serving plan. This can be done via your account preferences. This includes things like smoothies, overnight oats, grain bowls, and salads, which should only take five minutes to throw together. It should be noted that the extras option is not available for the TB12 meal plan.
Cancelling can be an issue with some food delivery companies where you have to send an email or even call them in person to do so. This is not the case with Purple Carrot. Just head over to your account settings on their website and from there, you will be able to cancel your subscription without any trouble.
Use the “carrot30” promo for $30 off of your first box
Conclusion
Adopting a vegan lifestyle can be a tricky decision. So many of us want to lean towards a healthier and eco-conscious lifestyle, but sometimes it seems as though the hurdles you need to overcome are just too hard. In addition to meal planning, you need to visit the grocery store on a regular basis, often purchasing items that you do not know how to cook, inevitably letting them go to waste.
Purple Carrot can soften the blow of entering a plant-based lifestyle. With fresh produce delivered to your door and easy-to-follow recipes, you will soon be overflowing with ideas for vegan recipes. Even a couple of nights a week are a great help to the environment around you. Even though Purple Carrot has some of the pricier meal plan options, you can be sure that your dinners will be up to par and then some.
If you are stuck in a vegan rut full of bland salads and pasta dishes, this is the meal kit plan for you. Bursting with creativity and delicious dishes, Purple Carrot will bring a new and exciting way of experiencing vegan gourmet dishes. Getting healthier has never tasted so good.