Sunbasket Meal Kits
Here are the deets! Sunbasket is a sustainable meal kit delivery service that offers delicious meals that are. They also provide tips for recycling and composting the packaging from your meal kit delivery. Most of the meals I ordered from the “Fresh & Ready” section of the menu. The menu had so many meals to choose from and the variety of options for both meat and vegetarian options were amazing. The Spicy Southwestern turkey and sweet potato skillet was spicy and shockingly filling. I loved the Korean kimchi fried rice with pancetta and was really looking forward to trying it because I’m not too familiar with kimchi, but I was so disappointed in the small portion, especially since it was on the dinner menu and supposed to feed two people. The Shrimp paella with fire-roasted tomatoes and bell pepper was good and not too fishy, in terms of the taste. I was surprised at how good it turned out given that microwaved seafood isn’t usually good. I also ordered Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup by a company called Skinny Souping, but it wasn’t available, so they provided a credit on my account for the site itself as well as an extra credit for the inconvenience.
How It Works
Meals come in three different forms… Fresh & Ready, Pre-Prepped & Chef’s Table. I prefer a mix of all of these meal types because my weekly schedule can fluctuate leaving me with more free time on some evenings than others. There are also a la carte grocery items like the fish featured below. The fact that they had barramundi, which is typically difficult to find in the grocery store, is everything! And if you can’t finish everything in time, just stick it in the freezer. Each package of meat, poultry, or fish indicates how long you have to use it before expiring while either fresh or frozen.
Order by Wednesday at noon PT or they’ll send meals catered to you based on previous meal kit reviews and preferences in the profile settings. Not only can you manage your account online, but you can skip or cancel your membership anytime using the Sunbasket app. I like this because I can’t stand having to call or email them to cancel, let alone just pause, my membership.
The Delivery
The operations team is great about sending emails and/or texts to notify you about the delivery of your meal kits, which is great so you can plan ahead to be home for it. The meals are packaged very well, so they’ll stay cold for a while in case you get home later than expected. Each meal kit comes individually bagged and includes a recipe card. If any ingredients needed to be substituted, a small piece of paper included with your meal will notify you. The Sunbasket team is very diligent about labeling meals for any food allergies and dietary restrictions (ie. soy, dairy, gluten). I also noticed meals tagged as being Carb Conscious, Mediterranean, or Spicy. So far the only change in ingredients has been swapping out organic garlic with regular garlic. The only issue I had was my first meal kit that was never delivered, despite notifications of a successful delivery, but that would be on FedEx. *Update: The package just magically showed up at the bottom of my driveway a few days later.
The Prep
The meal kits come with instructions that are easy to follow. Directions include notes for heating in either an oven or microwave, so take your pick. With these Sunbasket meal kits, I had dinner on the table within twenty minutes or so. I love the recipe cards because they give you all the nutritional facts and a few little factoids about the origin of each dish under a section of “Ingredient IQ”. Did you know tempeh is tofu’s cousin? Yea, I know! Apparently, tempeh originated in Indonesia and is made from lightly fermented whole soybeans, so it’s packed with lots of fiber and protein. It was my first time trying tempeh. I like that its texture resembled that of chicken, so it should be hard to convince too many picky eaters or anti-vegans at the table.
Ordering a la carte menu items are easy to cook up with some rice or veggies that you already have at home. I’m working on getting recipes posted for some of the dish pics featured above. These Near East boxed grains are my go-to for quick dinners, but they are a little high in sodium, which is why I don’t make it a habit. When it comes to seasoning white fish, you can’t go wrong with basic lemon-pepper seasoning. These are all available in your local grocery store on Amazon.
The Portions
Jambalaya with chicken & andouille sausage
Not only was this an easy dinner to get on the table within twenty minutes or so, but it was yummy and pretty filling. But there were just a few small pieces of chicken hiding in there and literally the four pieces of sausage you can see in the pictures on the right. Despite the fact that it may not be my healthiest Sunbasket choice, this meal was only 560 calories per serving.
Farro Bowls with spinach, apricots & green goddess dressing
This warm salad bowl was a great lunch option because it was pre-prepped, which means I only had to heat up the grains, cook some chicken and throw it all together. And I really enjoyed trying the green goddess dressing, which seems like a new foodie trend these days. It kinda felt like when I used to grab a salad from Sweetgreen for lunch. If there is anything I could have changed, it would be to add some crunch, so maybe try throwing in some spicy sunflower seeds or nuts (if that’s your thing).
Korean kimchi fried rice with pancetta
The kimchi fried rice had to be one of my favorite meals from Sunbasket, but the portion was very disappointing, especially since it was the first menu option to jump out of me when I discovered Sunbasket meals. I ended up cooking some chicken to go along with it, so it’s fine.
Pineapple Fried Rice with water chestnuts & shichimi togarashi
I love Thai food! Pineapple Fried rice is always my go-to when I’m either not in the mood for a Pad Thai or don’t know what to order. This meal was awesome in terms of flavor, but the portion was pretty small considering it was supposed to be dinner for two people. To be generous, the portion was just enough if you’re not starving. And my biggest pet peeve is when there’s not enough protein in it, so I was not thrilled about having only a few pineapple chunks.
Not My Favorite Meal Picks
Sea Scallops
over fettuccine, sun-dried tomatoes & spinach
Butter Chicken
with basmati rice pilaf
Pineapple Fried Rice
with water chestnuts & shichimi togarashi
Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini
with mushrooms and a green salad
More Meal Kit Delivery Services
Here’s my review of Sunbasket, a meal kit delivery service that I tried for a month. The menu variety is awesome and I like the a la carte grocery items, but the portions are a little disappointing.