Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – Which of one is better?

• For 4 servings per meal

Outside of the meal kits, Hungryroot also delivers smaller items like breakfasts, snacks, sweets, fruits, and a la carte items that are not included in the meal kit pricing. Once you add all the meal kits and items you want, the additional costs will get added automatically based on what you’ve added.

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – Which Is Better for Weight Loss?

What leads to effective weight loss? Is it a high-protein diet, a low-calorie diet, or both?

Daily Harvest and Hungryroot have come up with unique ways to support weight loss and weight management. Let’s understand them both first before comparing their weight loss-friendly meal plans.

Daily Harvest serves carefully designed meals, drinks, smoothies, and desserts for maximum nutrition and a plant-focused diet. All the foods that Daily Harvest serves are plant-based, incorporating different types of fruits and vegetables into the daily diet. The meals are backed by nutrition facts and ingredients so you can evaluate the healthiest option for you.

In my research for what makes a better weight loss diet, I found different effective methods that aid weight loss: eating more protein, limiting the intake of carbs, and eliminating unhealthy fats and sugars from meals. Even cutting 300 calories from your daily intake can help with weight loss, inflammation, and high cholesterol levels.

All things considered, Daily Harvest lets you manage your daily diet and nutrition accurately and responsibly.

Some of Daily Harvest’s entrees contain fewer than 400 calories per serving, which is good for a calorie-deficit diet plan.

The best sellers on Daily Harvest’s menu are smoothies that contain rich fruits and healthy nuts and seeds. These help with increasing strength and stamina and are overall immune-boosting for workouts and post-workout recovery.

Daily Harvest’s Forager Bowls, Soups, Flatbreads, Harvest Bowls, and Harvest Bakes are all plant-based and low in calories that aid weight loss by boosting the nutrition of every meal while keeping the calorie count to a minimum.

However, I did notice that majority of Daily Harvest’s meals are significantly lower in proteins than usual. Only a few meals had more than 20g of protein per serving. So, Daily Harvest may not be ideal for you if you want to approach weight loss through a high-protein diet plan.

Moving on to Hungryroot, it has multiple filters for low-calorie, plant-based, pescatarian, and omnivore diets. You can search for specific meal kits and grocery ingredients based on your preferences. It’s more personalized than Daily Harvest’s menu and meal plans.

All the meals are healthy and include whole and unprocessed ingredients. Hungryroot even features a separate category of meals under 500 calories per serving.

The best part about Hungryroot’s interface is that you can select as many filters as you want, and you will be presented with hundreds of food options. You won’t run out of options, which is something that may happen with Daily Harvest as they have a relatively restricted menu.

The nutrition info and ingredients are mentioned for every meal kit on Hungryroot’s menu. If you have a specific nutrition target to keep up with, Hungryroot is the ideal choice for you.

They have plenty of high-protein, low-carb, and low-calorie meals. Instead of high-carb ingredients, Hungryroot uses plant-based alternatives such as cauliflower rice, beet noodles, lentil pasta, etc. So, it’s very nutrient-focused and wholesome.

However, Hungryroot does not feature a separate weight loss meal plan. You can mix and match meal kits that fit your daily requirements, but you’ll need to do that manually. There is no customizable filter that lets you pick meals that are good for weight loss.

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – What’s the Meal Selection Process Like?

With Daily Harvest, it’s simple. You can opt for weekly or monthly deliveries of pre-prepped and pre-assembled servings of meals and snacks. This includes desserts that are frozen and are supposed to be kept that way even after delivery.

To prepare frozen meals, you can either blend, microwave, bake, or pan-fry them to serve hot and ready to eat.

Compared to Hungryroot, Daily Harvest is more of a prepared meal delivery service than a meal kit subscription. There’s little prep to be done with Daily Harvest’s meals, but the meal “kit” mostly comes with pre-assembled ingredients. You have to combine all the whole ingredients for baking or warming up. That’s it.

The first step you need to take to get started with Daily Harvest is to choose from 9 to 24 items on the first order. Once you select the meal plan, you can begin adding new meals to the box. It can be a combination of foods such as flatbreads, harvest bowls, soups, harvest bakes, and add-ons like ice cream, coffee, smoothies, and protein bites.

All the nutrition information including the ingredients and preparation instructions is available for each item you select. Daily Harvest also provides you with user reviews and ratings for every item so you know which meal is more popular.

There are some diet filters on Daily Harvest’s menu such as low sugar, keto, and paleo. Plus, you can filter the menu according to flavor or ingredient preference.

For example, if you don’t like garlic, you can exclude garlic from the menu through the filter option. Similarly, to only show meals with a specific ingredient like coconut, greens, or oats, you can set that up as well.

Here are all your filter options on Daily Harvest’s menu:

By ingredient:

• Avocado
• Banana
• Berries
• Caffeine
• Chocolate
• Cilantro
• Coconut
• Cucumber
• Garlic
• Greens
• Nuts
• Oats
• Onion
• Spice

By Dietary Needs:

• AIP Diet –Autoimmune Protocol diet eliminates foods that cause inflammation such as grains, dairy, canned fruits, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, and vegetable oils.
• FODMAP Diet- A FODMAP diet allows low-carb foods by eliminating carbs that are difficult to digest for some people. Dairy-based foods, cereal, bread, beans and lentils, and specific fruits and veggies have to be avoided.
• Keto
• Paleo
• Less than 10g fat
• Less than 15g carbs
• Less than 15g of sugar
• Less than 250 calories
• Less than 500mg sodium
• More than 10g of protein
• More than 6g of fiber

Moving on to Hungryroot, it is a sophisticated and streamlined meal kit delivery service that is quite unlike anything I’ve ever come across. It works just like a grocery store with different menus for different food items. Plus, it features a recipe menu that groups ingredients together by recipe for you to pick your weekly groceries faster.

The Recipes menu includes the following:

• Main + Sides
• Grain Bowls
• Pasta
• Tacos
• Stir-Fries
• Salads
• Wraps
• Sandwiches
• Burgers
• Bakes
• Flatbreads
• Soup + Stews
• Roast + Ready
• Veggie Bowls

The Groceries menu includes the following:

• Produce
• Sauces + Condiments
• Meat + Seafood
• Plant-Based Proteins
• Grains + Pastas
• Bread + Bakery
• Snacks
• Dairy + Eggs
• Sweets
• Pantry
• Beverages
• Ready To Eat

As you might have guessed already, the abundance of options is unlimited. You have hundreds and hundreds of recipes to pick from. Once you select one, the ingredients to make that recipe will automatically get added to your cart. This takes care of meal planning with a click of a button.

It’s easy to add or remove ingredients that you don’t want while editing the order during checkout. Even though the groceries are arranged according to recipe, you can easily modify your order before paying for it. Meal customization and swapping are 100% accurate and accessible.

Hungryroot recommends over 4,500 recipes, which include main course meals, breakfast, snacks, and desserts.

For a personal touch, you can even take a quick quiz, and based on your answers, Hungryroot will recommend hundreds of meal kit recipes. Every recipe on their menu is backed by nutrition info and an ingredients list, so you know exactly what the ingredient is made of and how healthy it is.

As for dietary needs and filters, Hungryroot offers the same filter categories for both the grocery and recipe menus. There are a few differences between both menus.

For example, the recipes menu also includes extra filters such as cooking time, nutrition, and serving size. The groceries menu features special categories such as organic, newest additions, and breakfast that are missing from the recipe menu.

Here are the filters you can apply while navigating the menus:

By Serving Size:

• 2 servings
• 4 servings

By Type of Protein:

• Beef + Bison
• Poultry
• Pork
• Fresh fish
• Lamb
• Smoked fish
• Tofu + Tempeh
• Beans + Lentils
• “Meat” alternatives
• Shellfish

By Spice Level:

• No Heat
• Mild
• Medium
• Hot

By Cook Time:

• 5 Minutes or less
• 10 Minutes or less

By Nutrition:

• 500 Calories or Less

By Dietary Needs:

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Pescatarian
• Dairy-Free
• Gluten-Free
• Soy-Free
• Tree Nut-Free
• Peanut-Free
• Egg-Free
• Shellfish-Free

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – Can I Swap Meals or Ingredients Easily?

Before you pay for the final order, you can easily add or remove meals from the Daily Harvest’s cart. As I already mentioned, Daily Harvest lets you filter the meals according to ingredients and dietary needs. This means you get to exclude or include ingredients based on your preferences.

But when it comes to swapping or substituting ingredients from a specific meal, that’s not a problem. You can’t use the ingredient once the meal box arrives, but you cannot stop Daily Harvest from sending you that ingredient.

For example, you order the Dragon Fruit + Lime smoothie from Daily Harvest’s menu, but you don’t want the lemon peel in your smoothie. There is no option to exclude that ingredient from the smoothie. It will arrive along with the rest of the smoothie’s ingredients.

To put your mind at ease, you can physically remove the lemon peel before blending all the ingredients in a blender.

Daily Harvest lists down all the ingredients and nutrition info of their meals and drinks. The meals come very close to prepared meals, but there is some level of prep involved, which allows you to remove ingredients as you wish.

Moving on to Hungryroot, you can easily modify an order by swapping ingredients and/or meals before placing a final order. Once you select and delete a specific item from the cart, you will receive credit points that you can later use to add items for free. You can even use the credit points to add exclusive treats like sweets, fruits, proteins, and snacks.

Based on the quiz you take as you fill out your food preferences, allergies, etc., Hungryroot will also suggest replacements for specific ingredients. If you don’t eat gluten, you can swap gluten ingredients with gluten-free options with a click of a button.

Hungryroot will recommend plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and tons of other food items. Grain-free alternatives to pasta, rice, and bread are also included.

If you’ve already paid for a week’s box and you want to modify the order, you will receive credits for swapping out ingredients that you can use to purchase their substitutes.

Best of all, there will be tons of personally recommended options for you based on what you’ve selected in the past – Hungryroot remembers it all.

Hungryroot is one of those meal subscriptions that learns your food preferences and adapts its menu according to that. It will recommend recipes and groceries based on what you like and eliminate foods that you don’t.

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – How Long Do the Meals Take to Cook at Home?

The cooking process of Daily Harvest is faster than Hungryroot and takes not more than 10 minutes to prepare. If you’re pressed for time and want to eat healthy meals at the same time, Daily Harvest meals require the least amount of prep.

Even though the meals are frozen, you don’t need to thaw them before cooking. Baked meals need to be transferred to a baking dish and kept in a microwave oven for 15-20 minutes. Other meals like forager bowls need to be reheated, which shouldn’t take you more than 5-7 minutes per serving.

Compared to Hungryroot, the portion size of Daily Harvest’s meals is small. This may work in your favor if you’re on a diet, but as a full-blown meal, it is not very satisfying. The only upside to this is that because of the small portion size, the meal heats up relatively quickly.

Other food items like smoothies contain frozen chunks of fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods that you need to take out of the freezer for about 5 minutes before blending with any plant-based milk or water.

The cooking process of Hungryroot is fast and simple. It supports beginner-level and intermediate cooking. Each meal recipe does not contain more than 6-7 ingredients that are partially prepped and packed beforehand. In some cases, the meals are already cooked and packed, so only reheating is necessary.

I found that the average cooking time is somewhere between 5 and 25 minutes per meal kit. The entire process is minimal and requires the least amount of prep work.

The most basic cookware is necessary like a skillet, a baking dish, a bowl, a pot, and a cooking pan. Some meal kits don’t even require a stovetop and can be cooked in a standard microwave in less than 10 minutes, which is great news for people on a busy schedule.

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot Recipes

Hungryroot uses completely organic, GMO-free ingredients. Daily Harvest also adds only organic ingredients, and this is why the two meal delivery services rank so high. In addition to that, Hungryroot’s poultry and meat are all free of hormones and antibiotics.

The best produce is a part of both subscription-based food services. Local produce, seasonal ingredients, and top-notch quality are a very natural part of the process.

With that said, it’s time to view the nutritional breakdown of some of Daily Harvest and Hungryroot’s menu items.

Daily Harvest

They have quite a few categories, so I’m going to break it down further and list the macronutrient profile based on the type of meal.

1. Harvest Bowls

2. Forager Bowls

3. Harvest Bakes

4. Soups

5. Flatbreads

6. Smoothies

7. Bites

8. Scoops

9. Lattes

Hungryroot

These guys also have multiple kinds of meals, such as grain bowls, veggie bowls, mains with sides, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, soups, bakes, flatbreads, and more. So, in this scenario, I will discuss the nutrient profile of meals using another approach.

i. Plant-Based Meals

ii. Chicken-Based Meals

iii. Beef-Based Meals

iv. Pork-Based Meals

v. Fish-Based Meals

Daily Harvest vs Hungryroot – Are the Ingredients Organic and Fresh?

The recipes crafted by Daily Harvest can last up to 3 whole months in the freezer after unpacking. Contrary to popular belief that frozen food isn’t healthy, Daily Harvest uses the highest-quality ingredients without preservatives, fillers, or additives in its meals.

The meals are not flash-frozen but are stored with dry ice during transit to keep them from thawing and deteriorating.

The menu you see at Daily Harvest is carefully designed by their in-house nutritionists and chefs. Some meals like soups, forager bowls, and harvest bowls require reheating, which should take you a couple of minutes to do so.

Other items like flatbreads need to be properly reheated in an oven or toaster to bring back the crispy texture of the bread. Even items such as this can last in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Smoothies, protein bites, and ice creams are supposed to be stored in the freezer. The smoothie kits include chunks of fruits and vegetables that you have to blend right away after taking them out of the freezer along with some plant-based milk or plain water.

The reason why Daily Harvest’s food is healthy and nutritious, even though it is frozen, is that the meals are frozen at peak ripeness, even the in-house spices, sauces, and fresh herbs.

Though the variety is not quite as diverse as that of Hungryroot’s menu, Daily Harvest does offer more than 100 food items in total. Unfortunately, the recipes don’t change every week, so there may be a chance of repetition after a few weeks of consistent ordering.

The quality of the ingredients, however, is plant-based and made entirely of fresh produce including legumes, seeds, pulses, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. It is a vegan and plant-forward meal delivery service for serious vegetarians and diet enthusiasts.

Hungryroot is everything you need it to be. It is vegan, gluten-free, vegetarian, soy-free, dairy-free, omnivore, pescatarian, and so much more. Because it has meal customization, you can include or exclude specific ingredients from your diet.

And because Hungryroot features thousands of recipes and ingredients, you don’t have to repeat any recipe twice unless you want to. Hungryroot is a mix-and-match breed of meal subscription service, allowing you to select from different types of cuisines, diets, and other healthy filters such as protein, spice level, and nutrition.

The majority of its ingredients are vegan and plant-based except for the nonvegetarian meals with poultry, beef, or fish. The meat is organic, sourced from local farms, and is GMO-free, hormone-free, and humanely raised.

Hungryroot has something called the “Root Standard” according to which all the ingredients are thoroughly checked and vetted. The food is free of artificial chemicals, colors, sweeteners, preservatives, GMOs, and other unhealthy oils and syrups.

The biggest takeaway from this is that all the meals are certified organic by Hungryroot, so you have nothing to worry about.

The meal kits are packed with ice packs and lots of insulation to keep them cold. Once the box arrives at your door, you simply have to store the meal kits in the refrigerator or freezer. Every ingredient has a label with the proper storage instructions printed on the packet, so you know exactly what to do once you unpack the box.

Where Do They Deliver and How Fast Is the Delivery?

Daily Harvest offers tons of customization for meal planning and ordering. You can opt for weekly or monthly delivery. Even if you select weekly for one delivery and you want to opt-out of that plan, you can easily do so 8 weeks in advance.

Daily Harvest delivers through multiple delivery apps like DoorDash, Seamless, GrubHub, and UberEats. However, it’s not available in all continental United States, only to 38 states. To know whether those 38 states include your location, you can quickly enter your zip code and check.

The meals are packed with dry ice and delivered in 1-2 days, which is also the expected delivery time. The dry ice keeps those meals frozen for up to 2 days even after the order is shipped. So, the delivery time is very fast and consistent for all weekly and monthly deliveries.

To make any last-minute changes to your order, do it before midnight every Sunday for the following week.

Hungryroot, on the other hand, delivers to all 48 continental United States. Customers are allowed to pick their scheduled delivery day based on the available slots. Enter your zip code, and you’ll know immediately how soon the delivery will take place.

With regard to customization, it’s fairly straightforward and quick. You can pick up your meal deliveries one week in advance. You can skip delivery and pause your membership after an active order has been processed.

You can also opt for weekend deliveries easily under the order settings. Just make sure you make changes to an order before the cutoff time, which takes place at noon EST time every Thursday.

Are They Safe for Allergies and Food Intolerances?

Daily Harvest is good and bad for people with allergies. Let me explain.

Even though all the meals by Daily Harvest are plant-based and vegan, plus they also prepare all their meals without any peanuts, gluten, gums, fillers, and artificial chemicals, the meals are processed in a facility that processes nuts, seeds, soy, gluten, and dairy.

If you don’t like eating ingredients like gluten, dairy, and nuts, then subscribing to Daily Harvest is not a bad idea. However, if you have a severe allergy problem to any one of these ingredients, then there is a risk of cross-contamination, which means you need to stay away from such meals to avoid suffering a flare-up.

I did find it odd that a service that doesn’t use gluten, nuts, or dairy should continue to process foods in the same facility. But that’s the gist and it’s better to stay away from this type of meal delivery if your allergy is very severe and if you’re intolerant to a specific type of food.

With Hungryroot, it’s not clear whether they process all their ingredients in the same facility, but they do feature a special ingredient filter that lets you include or exclude specific ingredients that happen to also be common food allergens, such as dairy-, gluten-, tree nut-, peanut-, egg-, and shellfish-free.

Some of the meals and groceries are labeled “allergen-free,” and this might indicate that they have been processed and packed in a separate facility reserved for allergies. But please keep in mind that Hungryroot does not clarify this in their FAQs, so it’s best to do your research before adding meal kits to your cart.

Hungryroot is a better allergy-friendly meal subscription than Daily Harvest because it has a filter for all major food allergens including gluten, which is the most common allergen of them all.

Is the Packaging Recyclable?

Daily Harvest offers its Recycling Guide to show you how to unpack and get rid of the packaging material in every box. Daily Harvest uses different materials like plastic, paper, and aluminum to pack its meals.

Paper bowls, cups, and boxes are made with recycled paper and it’s 100% recyclable. The paper pods and bowls are compostable too. Paper liners, lids, boxes, and trays are recyclable for curbside pickup, and some of the paper material is also made with renewable plant waste.

Plastic-based items like trays, seals, lids, and wrappers are also recyclable. The packaging is labeled to quicken the process of recycling so you know which plastic is supposed to be kept aside for curbside pickup and which plastic you have to drop off at a proper recycling facility.

When you care about the environment, you must take a few steps on your own to ensure nothing goes to waste. Make sure you read about recycling centers in your area and read their policies regarding the recycling of materials like plastic, paper, and aluminum.

Daily Harvest is one of the handfuls of meal subscription services that uses aluminum in its packaging. Aluminum seals and baked dishes are 100% recyclable. Simply rinse them after use and keep them aside along with the other paper and plastic packaging for curbside pickup.

Hungryroot has similar protocols in place for its packaging and eco-friendliness. The boxes, liners, insulation wrappers, and seals are all recyclable. Hungryroot packs the chilled items and non-chilled items in the same box but places them separately to keep them fresh.

To know more about how the meal box is recyclable, you have to enter your zip code to search for the most relevant packaging instructions. The nearest recycling center and other helpful resources will be presented to you after you enter your zip code.

Ice packs have non-toxic fillers that you can drain in the sink. They are wrapped in a labeled plastic packet that you can recycle after emptying the contents of the pack. All the paper materials are recyclable including the cardboard boxes.

Hungryroot uses Enviro Ice in its ice packs that can also be used to water your plants, so it’s 100% non-toxic and eco-friendly. Hungryroot ensures that nothing goes to waste, and all the packaging is organized in a manner that reduces carbon footprint and minimizes clutter during unpacking.

Daily Harvest Pros and Cons

Hungryroot Pros and Cons