Thinking about trying Sun Basket’s meal kit delivery service? I’ve long been intrigued by their reputation for tasty, healthy food with high sourcing standards. Here’s our busy family’s experience and Sun Basket Review:
OUR SUN BASKET EXPERIENCE
Want to see what the Sun Basket box looks like? You can check out my unboxing, real-time reflections, and spoken review in this video.
Here’s where you can find all the different pieces:
- Unboxing: 0:17 – 9:28
- Real-Time Reflections (while making 1st recipe): 9:28 – 15:47
- Sun Basket Review: 15:47 – 24:54
THE FULL SUN BASKET REVIEW
So what did we think of Daily Harvest?
First a little bit about our family:
- We’re a family of 4 – 2 adults and 2 young boys (under 4)
- We aspire to eat whole, real, unprocessed foods
- Cook at home most nights of the week
- Meals we make usually take under 30 minutes
I tell you all of that because our review will likely be most relevant to families with a similar make-up and habits.
SUN BASKET: THE PRODUCTS
We LOVED the quality and flavor of the Sun Basket meal kit. Though not every meal was our favorite, we’d definitely be excited to try more meals in the future. Plus, there are tons of options!
Here’s a look at what we got in our order:
Here’s what we thought of the items we tried:
- Creole Chicken Jambalaya: It had a great flavor and wonderful nutrition profile thanks to the use of quick-cooking brown rice. There were instructions for controlling the level of spice. Lots of veggies were included directly in the dish!
- Chard “Enchiladas” with Pinto Beans: This was a very creative meal. While we didn’t love the end result (you weren’t fooling anyone that they were enchiladas) they were in line with what we ordered. The fact that there are creative vegan options like this was another win for Sun Basket.
- Italian Sausages with Warm Cauliflower Salad: This paleo meal was both nutritious and filling. The romesco tasted great, but we loved that we didn’t have to make it. Plus, itt came together really fast. Even the kids liked the cauliflower salad!?!
One of the great things about Sun Basket is that they have a lot of details on the meals. This makes it really easy to search the weekly menu for items that might work for you and your family based on your preferences and/or restrictions.
AND…they have “Kids Can” tips in many of their recipes, with ideas on how the kids can help in the kitchen. I love this thoughtful touch!
Also, if organic is really important to you, they now have an option to upgrade to organic meats or wild-caught fish on many meals. You can even add these to vegetarian meals! Of course, there is a price to this, but I think this is pretty unique and empowering.
SUN BASKET REVIEW: SO, IS IT GOOD FOR FAMILIES?
I think that Sun Basket is a great meal kit option for busy families that want to eat healthy! In fact, it’s the best that I’ve tried so far.
That said, there are definitely some drawbacks (that I think are true of most meal kits) that you should be aware of.
Here’s an element by element look at my opinion:
Taste: ⭐⭐ 2 star
- Awesome flavor with a good balance of flavor
- Creative options and ideas
Price: ⭐ 1 star
- The price seems on the high side (a common complaint I have about meal kits) – for 2 meals for 2 it’s $12.99 per serving, for 3 meals for 2 it’s $11.99 per serving, for 4 meals for 2 it’s $10.99 per serving
- While it didn’t necessarily feel any cheaper than you might pay for takeout and you have to do all the work
- It could get really expensive really fast if you had kids who needed full portions
Nutrition and Quality of Ingredients: ⭐ ⭐ 2 stars
- They send a booklet of meals each week that gives cool details like “Market Watch”, characteristics of each meal, and great step-by-step instructions
- There are options to upgrade to organic meats and sustainable seafood (for a price)
- There are lots of selection options (gluten-free, vegan, etc.) so that you could find meals that work for your families way of eating
- Perhaps you’ll learn how to cook even better as you follow the Sun Basket instructions (fun!)
Packaging: ⭐ 1 star
- All of the packaging is recyclable and thoughtful
- This is a challenge with all of the meal kits that I’ve tried
- They packaged some items in reusable containers
Ease of Use: ⭐ ⭐ 2 stars
- Instructions are very straightforward and thoughtful laid out
- The estimated times to make the meals were realistic and accurate
- They make it easy to include your kids in cooking with their ideas for “Kids Can” amongst other features
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimately, I highly recommend Sun Basket if you’re looking for healthy, tasty, and unique food for your family. It’s great because it takes away the planning and shopping for nights you cook a meal kit. The downside is that the service can get pricey and there is a fair amount of packaging.
Want to try it?