With the help of a suitable meal delivery service, you can change how you eat even when in a hurry. As most people know, meal prep can be a tedious chore. Wouldn’t it feel better to eat a super-healthy meal without wasting more than 10 minutes in the kitchen?
Services like Freshly and Daily Harvest figure out every step of the game for you. They do the grocery shopping, prep the ingredients, cook the meals, and most importantly, pack them fresh. So, you just need to store them in the fridge or freezer, depending on how long you want each meal to last.
All your week’s meals are sorted. Plus, these meals are ten times better than takeout food because they don’t contain excess salt, sugar, artificial flavoring, or preservatives.
4 Main Takeaways of Subscribing to a Meal Kit Delivery Service
It’s Nutritious and Healthy
The meal selection process of most meal kit delivery services is multi-varied and very health-conscious. It’s not like ordering takeout food at all. Since the meals are cooked with high-quality ingredients, they are low in sodium, unhealthy fats, and carbs.
You can select meals with fewer carbs, more proteins, and a balanced caloric count. Good meal kit delivery services eliminate the use of processed ingredients, preservatives, additives, and GMOs. Keeping that in mind, you can feel at ease since all your meals are nutritionallybalanced and wholesome.
It’s just like eating home-cooked meals, but all the meal prepping and planning are done by services like Freshly and Daily Harvest.
You can select what type of meals you prefer. This includes customizing your meals by ingredient or nutritional value – or both.
It’s Fast
Imagine getting all your meals prepped and ready for the entire upcoming week. That’s exactly how meal kit delivery services work. You order meals that’ll last you for the whole week.
For heat and eat the meals, heat them on the stovetop, and it feels as if you’ve cooked the dish yourself. Again, the meals are free of additives, preservatives, and fillers, so heating them does not cause the meal to deteriorate or become too soggy.
You can store the meals in either the freezer or refrigerator, depending on how long you want the meal to last. In the long run, storing meals in the freezer can make the meals last for months, especially when the meals comprise whole fruits and vegetables – the bread and butter of Daily Harvest.
In addition, meal services accelerate prep time whether you’ve ordered meals for yourself or the entire family. Because meal kit delivery services let you order per serving, you simply have to heat up the meal and serve it hot and fresh. No prepping is required.
It’s Palate-Broadening
In my experience of meal delivery services, I tried out a variety of familiar and new flavors and dishes -so many that I probably would have never cooked at home by myself. Meal deliveries truly live up to the hype when it comes to meal customization and variety.
You get to eat foods like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, berries, green beans, legumes, exotic fruits, and delicious meat marinated and cooked in interesting ways.
You eat foods that you’d typically not look at, even in a supermarket, which are packed with nutrients. For picky eaters, it’s a wonderland as well because you have plenty of different meal options to pick from. And for the foodie who eats anything and everything, it feels like a dream come to life.
There are different meals for all days, so meal delivery services do not repeat the same meal two times in a row. You can eat a mix-and-match of veg and meat dishes cooked in different flavors which are savory, healthy, and very filling.
Plus, you can also include small bites like desserts, soup, breakfast, and/or snacks if those are also available on the current week’s menu.
It’s Not Too Expensive
Depending on how many meals you order and the number of servings you pick, meal delivery services costs less than takeout food. Ultimately, based on my research, you save more money when you order more meals each week.
In the case of Freshly and Daily Harvest, both services offer discounted packages if you order more than 10 meals weekly. The higher you go, the more you’ll save.
Fresh produce that you get at a supermarket comes very close to the pricing structure of these meal delivery services that serve the same high-quality and superior produce, including fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts and seeds, herbs, spices, and dairy products.
It’s not only the food you’re paying for but also the convenience of not having to cook the meals by yourself. The variety of fresh produce and recipes that meal delivery services provide is definitely worth the investment.
Vegetarian meals cost less than nonvegetarian, especially when the recipe consists of more premium meats like beef, salmon, and turkey.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: What Type of Meal Delivery Service Are They?
Freshly
Freshly features pre-prepped and pre-prepared meals that take less than or exactly 3 minutes to heat and eat. It’s a premade meal delivery service with many unique and interesting meals every week.
Each premade meal is single-serve and cooked homemade-style without preservatives, excess salt or oil, and artificial flavors. With that in mind, the meals have a certain “best-before” date, which proves that their meals are cooked fresh.
Freshly improves the standard meal selection process, allowing some meal customizations from different meal categories. On Freshly’s menu, you can see different diet categories or filters such as gluten-free, plant-based, carb-smart, calorie-conscious, and balanced.
You can also pick different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from within the categories mentioned above. You have the option to select from 4 to 12 meals per week, and the more you order, the more money you get to save week.
Once you enter your zip code, the weekly menu is completely accessible to you. You can add the meals to the cart and enter your delivery and payment details.
Freshly ships every order within 2 working days, and you can sometimes opt for scheduled deliveries as well – depending on where you stay.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest is a gourmet delivery service with very unique and nutrition-forward choices. Daily Harvest’s menu looks more like a shopping website than a meal kit delivery since Daily Harvest features different meal categories and lets you add as many items to the cart as you want.
There are over 100 plant-based items to pick from, starting from smoothies and breakfast bowls to light lunches such as harvest bowls and soups.
In addition to being a completely plant-based, vegan meal delivery service, Daily Harvest is also gluten-free and does not use preservatives.
You can plan your Daily Harvest meals from 9 to 24 items weekly. Like Freshly, Daily Harvest gives you a better discount on the Medium and Large meal plans with 14 and 24 items, respectively.
Once you select the size of the meal box, you can proceed by adding the items to your cart. The food that Daily Harvest delivers is not all heat-and-serve, some recipes require 5-10 minutes of prep time.
On the same note, Daily Harvest packs all their food items frozen to preserve the texture and flavor of the fruits and vegetables. The items are packed with dry ice, which takes about 3-5 days to disappear completely.
Thankfully, Daily Harvest delivers within that period, which is not more than 5 days to deliver an order. So, by the time you open the box, you will find little to no dry ice between the items.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: How Many Meals Can a Customer Order?
Freshly
Freshly’smenu plans are quite straightforward to navigate. They feature 5 different meal plans of varying sizes. The prices decrease as you increase the number of meals per week.
| Number of meals | Price per serving | Total cost |
| 4-5 meals each week | $11.79 per meal | $47-$59 per week |
| 6-7 meals each week | $9.99 per meal | $60-$70 per week |
| 8-9 meals each week | $9.49 per meal | $76-$86 per week |
| 10-11 meals each week | $9.29 per meal | $92-$102 per week |
| 12 meals each week | $8.99 per meal | $108 per week |
You will stumble into some premium ingredients or recipes on Freshly’smenu, which may cost around $1.5-$2.5 more per serving. There are no hidden charges. However, if there’s an increase or decrease in cost per serving, you’ll be notified immediately.
Additional items such as bulk proteins, snacks, and sides that you can order to complement your weekly meals are not included in the price per serving. Such items come with their own price tag, starting from $1 to $5 per serving, depending on the bulk protein you order.
Based on the meal plan you pick, which is from 4-12 meals per week, you will be charged a shipping fee of $10-$12 on every order. The shipping fee also depends on where you stay, so it’s different for different zip codes.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest offers two ways of calculating the prices of every weekly meal box. You can opt for their personalized meal boxes with 9, 14, and 24 items. These plans exist so that new customers can save more money by ordering more items as opposed to paying per item, which is slightly more expensive.
Here is a breakdown of the discount you get when ordering meal boxes for a personalized touch!
| Plan | Number of items | Total discount on final price |
| Small | 9 items | $5 off |
| Medium | 14 items | $10 off |
| Large | 24 items | $25 off |
Moving on to the cost per item on Daily Harvest’s menu, the price for each item varies significantly depending on the portion size and type of meal you select.
Daily Harvest is one of those best meal delivery services with carefully crafted plant-based meals that are superior, modern, and gourmet. This should also explain why Daily Harvest is more expensive than Freshly’smeals.
Here is a breakdown of all the different meals and drinks Daily Harvest has to offer:
| Smoothies | $8.49 per smoothie |
| Harvest Bowls | $9.79 per bowl |
| Harvest Bakes | $11.99 per serving |
| Flatbreads | $9.79 per portion |
| Soups | $8.49 per serving |
| Forager Bowls | $6.79 per serving |
| Scoops | $8.99 per pint |
| Bites | $7.99 for seven bites |
| Lattes | $5.99 for two servings |
| Mylk | $7.99 for eight cubes/serving |
Say you order a total of 9 items from the Daily Harvest’s menu. According to the meal plan size, you get a $5 discount on the total bill. For 14 items, you get $10 off on the total bill, and for a whopping 24 items, you get a $25 discount on the bill.
So, make sure that you round off the size of your order to either 9, 14, or 25 items to reap the discount benefits effectively.
Another good reason to order more from Daily Harvest is that they do not charge a separate shipping fee. It is already included in the per-item cost that you see in the table above. There are no last-minute charges for shipping or delivery, and what you see is what you pay for, which makes Daily Harvest a tempting choice.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: How Many Different Types of Meals Do They Serve?
Freshly
Freshly’s menu is straightforward to navigate. Every meal is designed to be nutritionally balanced with zero dairy, gluten, and peanuts. Low-carb and low-calorie meals are also included to meet most people’s nutrition and dietary needs.
They have different meal options starting from Purely Plant meals, which contain all plant-based single-serve meals. There are 5 plant-based recipes on Freshly, ranging from lentil pasta, green curry, and lentil dal, to coconut purple rice.
Their Signature Collection consists of balanced and wholesome meals with a little bit of everything. Chicken, beef, seafood, veggies, and loads of healthy fats, vitamins, and antioxidants.
However, Freshly does not include too many beef options as that can be very carb-heavy and high-calorie. What you see are some of the most popular classic chicken recipes, along with modern cuisines packed with fiber-rich vegetables.
The next category, FreshlyFit, consists of nutrition-specific recipes with fewer than 500 calories per recipe and low in carbs. This meal category is for weight management, building strength, and staying full for longer. It contains an many protein-packed options, including the main course meals and side dishes.
The Protein & Sides menu has only two options for this week: the Baked Turkey Meatballs and Grilled Chicken Breasts. Both have multiple servings, around 8 meatballs and 3 breasts, respectively. They are gluten-free and can be added to practically any meal Freshly serves to boost protein.
For example, the 3 Grilled Chicken Breasts portion contains about 29g of proteins and zero carbs.Isn’t that amazing? Meanwhile, the 8 Baked Turkey Meatballs contain 13g of proteins and around 3g of carbs.
Daily Harvest
People browsing Daily Harvest will agree with me on this: their website looks more like an online shopping store than a meal kit delivery service. With so many unique options and menu categories, Daily Harvest’s menu is designed to serve a variety of needs.
Instead of the usual pricing structure of meal kits, Daily Harvest adds up your bill on a “per-item” basis and gives you some discount depending on the meal box you select. I’ve discussed this at great length in the pricing section above.
Moving on, Daily Harvest’s menu features 10 different types of meals:
Smoothies are the top most popular category on their menu. They’re a well-balanced plant-based diet of protein-backed and nutritious smoothies without any artificial fillers, processed sugars, and preservatives.
Were you to make a smoothie from scratch, it’s highly unlikely that you will consider adding ingredients like acai berries, passion fruit, dragon fruit, lime, peach, vanilla, matcha, or cacao.
Daily Harvest makes it easier to experiment with new flavors that are tried and tested. You can see all the ingredient layering on the smoothie menu and get a peek into what the smoothie tastes like.
For example, their Carrot and Cinnamon smoothie has bananas, carrots, sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnut, coconut, and chia seeds -all organic ingredients. Plus, Daily Harvest tells you it tastes like carrot cake. Customers can review each item, and in one of the reviews, it’s written that the smoothie also tastes like Pumpkin Spice Latte!
Next, we have Harvest Bowls, which are clean and simple meals for one made essentially of immune-boosting and nutritious ingredients. There are no unnecessary carbs, even though it is 100% plant-based.
There are 20 different types of bowls with interesting combos, such as butternut squash and kale, beets and wild rice, cauliflower rice and pesto, sweet potatoes and wild rice, etc. You simply have to heat and eat the meal in the container Daily Harvest provides.
Harvest Bakes are meals you have to bake in an oven for around 20 to 25 minutes. They’re all plant-based meals that require no prep and taste homemade because they are only prepped before packing. You have to bake the dish at home using an oven.
You can think of Flatbreads as healthy, plant-based pizzas, if you will, with different delicious toppings that are not processed -hot peppers, pesto, mushrooms, basil, sweet potatoes, artichoke, and sage, to name a few.
Even the crust is plant-based but tastes exactly like the real thing. You have to bake the meal yourself and make it extra crispy if you want to.
Heart-healthy Soups are made with more power-packed and protein-rich ingredients -no artificial fillers, preservatives, processed salt, and other additives. Lentils, fiber-rich veggies, tempting herbs and spices, and lots of greens are part of the soup diet.
Forager Bowls are kind of multipurpose because you can eat them for breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner! In fact, some people loved eating Daily Harvest’s Forager Bowls for dessert as well.
Speaking of desserts, Scoops includes creamy, plant-based, and dairy-free ice creams made from such unique and unbelievably appetizing ingredients. There are many classic favorites as well, along with new modern masterpieces that you’ll want to dip into every once in a while.
What do you know about superfoods? The deal with Bites on Daily Harvest is that they combine all the essential superfoods like matcha, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, dark chocolate, green tea, oranges, almonds, cherries, and lots more into small bite-sized power-packed treats.
They are naturally sweetened by coconut, berries, figs, hazelnuts, and vanilla. Each serving consists of 7 bites per cup, best for satiating hungry pangs, and they are totally binge-worthy.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: Which Is the Better Choice for Weight Loss?
Freshly
Freshly offers meals containing less than 500 calories per serving, which is good for weight loss. Their pre-prepped meals are made from whole foods, with no preservatives, excess sugar or salt, and artificial additives.
The meals are, by default, gluten-free and calorie-conscious. You can pick the meals with the highest protein, moderate carbs, and healthy fats.
By the looks of it, Freshly isn’t personally tailored to a weight loss program. It does not have filters that let you pick your meals based on their nutritional value, except for their carb-conscious and low-calorie meals.
Daily Harvest, by comparison, has more nutrient filters that cater to the specific needs of someone looking for a weight loss diet to follow.
But you can browse the entire menu to pick out the recipes that suit your weight loss needs. It may take some time, but Freshly offers many recipes with fewer carbs and more proteins per serving.
Their meal plan consists of the following categories:
- Low-Calorie Meal Plan: Meals with less than 500 calories per serving are ideal for weight loss and/or weight management.
- Low-Carb Meal Plan: Meals with 20g or fewer carbs in a single serving are included in this meal plan. The high-carb foods are replaced with healthy and protein-rich food sources such as broccoli, zucchini, nuts and seeds, and fiber-rich foods.
You can also select a few subcategories from Freshly’sdrop-down menu:
- FreshlyFit: Single-serve, ready-to-heat meals with less than 550 calories per serving. I see healthy chicken dishes with sauteed veggies and some seafood dishes too.
- Purely Plant: Plant-based dishes that replace the protein from meat with something more fiber-rich and low in carbs, such as chickpeas, lentils, and carrots.
- Proteins & Sides: You can add on proteins to your meals without paying for an entire meal. Turkey meatballs and grilled chicken breasts are on the current week’s menu.
Daily Harvest
There is no concrete proof that Daily Harvest’s meals are effective for weight loss. If you see the nutritional breakdown of each of their main dishes and smoothies, it is quite balanced and healthy, with more proteins and fewer carbs and fats.
Even their entrees have fewer than 300 calories per serving and are full of satisfying ingredients that will keep you full for longer.
The goal is not to reduce how much you eat daily to lose weight but to eat healthier and nutritionally balanced meals. That’s exactly what Daily Harvest offers for vegetarians and vegans.
You can keep track of your calorie intake and boost protein by including smoothies in your diet.
Additionally, this study proves that eating more plant-based meals can contribute to weight loss. However,it’s not the only suitable weight loss method out there. Thus, it’s important to consult with a dietician to find your ideal fit based on your diet habits and lifestyle.
On Daily Harvest’s menu, click “Filters” to choose your personal dietary needs. The amazing thing about Daily Harvest is that nearly all of its food items cater to nutrition-based diets for a healthier lifestyle.
You can filter the entire menu with the following dietary filters:
- AIP: Also known as Autoimmune Protocol Diet, AIP aims to reduce gut inflammation for people suffering from acid reflux, IBS, and similar indigestion. It avoids foods that increase inflammation in the body, such as dairy, nuts and seeds, legumes, grains, refined sugars, and vegetables like potatoes, peppers, and eggplant.
- FODMAP: A Low FODMAP diet is rich in fish, oats, chicken, and lots of fruits and vegetables. It cuts away a high consumption of carbs from your daily diet. Boosting better metabolism of foods low in carbs is one of the top reasons to opt for a FODMAP diet.
- Keto: A ketogenic diet consists of more healthy fats and a moderate to low intake of carbs. People on a keto diet have reported better blood sugar and insulin levels, which is good for increasing concentration and energy levels. It’s also good for weight loss and improving heart health.
- Paleo: A paleo diet, like keto, consists of higher natural and whole foods and limited consumption of processed ingredients such as dairy, vegetable oils, legumes, and grains. Foods that can be consumed naturally, such as fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, make up a paleo diet.
- Less than 10g Fat: For a weight loss-friendly, low-fat diet, 50g of fats per day is essential on 1,500 calories per day in your diet plan. Meals with less than 10g of fats are suitable for such a lifestyle.
- Less than 15g Carbs: Eliminating carbs completely from your diet is a bad idea. It can have negative consequences such as losing water weight, lack of energy, irregular bowel movements, and dizziness or headaches. The best thing you can do is limit your intake of carbs every day.
- Less than 15g Sugar: Less than 15g of sugar eliminates the intake of artificial preservatives and additives that are full of unhealthy sugar. The 15g of sugar comes from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables. It’s good for energy, healthy skin, and boosting mental health.
- Less than 250 Calories: For weight loss, stick to eating smaller meals with fewer than 250 calories a few times per day. The calories you get from Daily Harvest’s meals are nutritionally balanced and contribute to increasing your energy levels.
- Less than 500mg Sodium: We don’t realize how much salt goes into different types of foods. With this filter, you can monitor your sodium levels to increase your chances of weight loss more effectively. The average sodium intake per day should not be more than 2,300mg.
- More than 10g Protein: A meal serving of at least 10g protein is good. With 2-3 meals daily, you can increase your protein intake to 20-30 grams of protein.
- More than 6g Fiber: Fiber helps with digestion and keeps you full for longer to fight back food cravings. Fiber-rich foods you should eat daily are pears, bananas, lentils, peas, chickpeas, oats, etc.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: Are They Diet-Friendly?
Freshly
Speaking of finding diet-friendly choices, Freshly meals are also relatively allergy-friendly because the meals are certified gluten- and peanut-free. The meals are designed with whole foods and limited carb-dense ingredients, so the nutritional value of the majority of the meals is low in carbs and high in fiber, with sufficient calories.
You can follow diets that involve no gluten intake and alternatively are plant-based, soy-free, low in carbs, or low in calories. Unfortunately, Freshly does not offer meal customizations for hardcore paleo and keto diets.
The entrees, main protein dishes, and sides can be filtered in this manner to provide basic dietary needs. Freshly is a good choice for people who follow diets that are not too technical or complex. You have your basic diet plans: low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based, balanced, and gluten-free.
For specific diets such as paleo, keto, Mediterranean, vegan, etc., Freshly does not provide enough meals for the entire week. However, you may find a few recipes to keep the meal planning balanced.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest provides all kinds of food items that Freshly doesn’t -smoothies, bowls, soups, flatbreads, baked dishes, ice creams, and milk. Variety-wise, Daily Harvest can satiate your cravings without adding too much sugar or unnecessary carbs to your diet.
When it comes to following specific diets, you will be pleased to know that Daily Harvest is plant-based, vegan, and gluten-free. It is perhaps more tuned to prioritize health and balanced nutrition than Freshly.
As discussed in the previous section, Daily Harvest also features an accurate filter that lets you select the ideal nutritional needs. Keto, paleo, low-carb, low-sugar, high-protein, calorie-conscious, low FODMAP and diabetic-friendly foods are included in Daily Harvest’s menu.
You have access to whole foods that are naturally low in sugar and carbs. It’s easier to pick a diet-friendly meal plan with Daily Harvest because of its crafty and diverse meal customization.
Daily Harvest is not a certified gluten-free meal delivery service. If you have a severe allergy, you should know that they process nuts, gluten, and soy in the same facility as all other ingredients.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: Are the Ingredients Organic?
Freshly
Freshly is not a certified organic meal delivery service. They are certified gluten-free and do not use ingredients processed with excess sugars and any other artificial ingredients or preservatives nor do they certify that their meals contain no GMO ingredients.
But here’s something you weren’t expecting – Freshly appoints a Menu Expert for new customers looking for something extra special.
A Menu Expert guides you through the entire Freshly menu, picking out meals that are tailored to your diet lifestyle. After logging in, you can get in touch with a Menu Expert who provides you with the best possible meal solutions catering to your individual tastes.
There are a few other markers that prove the efficacy of Freshly as a healthy and dependable choice. Freshly meals are prepped and cooked following proper FDA guidelines to avoid adding too much salt and sugar in all the meals. There is also no usage of any GMO products, preservatives, colorants, and artificial flavors.
The meals are nutritionally balanced and taste like home! You can even sort the meals by their sodium levels from lowest to higher sodium content.
Daily Harvest
Unlike Freshly, more than 90% of Daily Harvest’s meals are organic. According to Daily Harvest, meals that are not organic contain ingredients that cannot be purchased or grown as organic.
The remaining ingredients, such as vegetables and fruits, are organic and sourced from sustainable farms. None of the meals contains any additives, artificial fillers, or preservatives.
Nonorganic ingredients are sourced from places that do not use pesticides or any harsh chemicals. This also includes other plant-based ingredients such as herbs, spices, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and even plant-based powders like cacao or matcha.
Daily Harvest also provides organic coffees and plant-based milk to its customers. The ice creams are made from plant-based sources such as coconuts, dates, oats, cashews, cacao, almonds, etc. The sugar is also derived from natural plant-based sources, with no artificial fillers or sugar-drenched gums.
In one of the FAQs on Daily Harvest’s help page, it is mentioned that all the food is dairy- and gluten-free, but there is no certified label for the same. Daily Harvest also serves some naturally soy-free meals, so make sure you read the item’s description before adding it to your cart if you have allergies and individual preferences.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: How Quick Is the Meal Preparation Time?
Freshly
Freshly meals are cooked, packed, and delivered straight to your door. None of the meals are frozen, but they are kept along with ice packs to keep the meals fresh during transit.
Once the meals arrive, you must also store them in the refrigerator. Then, you can take up to 5 or 7 days to heat and eat all the meals for the entire week.
Heating Freshly meals do not take long to heat, typically between 3 and 5 minutes depending on the type of protein it contains. Plant-based ingredients heat up fairly quickly, but if your meal contains meat, it can take about 5 minutes or less.
On the back label of each meal box, the heating instructions are mentioned for the microwave, oven, microwave oven, and sometimes even for the stovetop. Lots of people prefer heating up their meats on the stovetop because the taste and texture become exactly like a home-cooked meal.
I highly recommend the stovetop for heating meat, veggies, and pasta. Heat a nonstick skillet with a splash of water and close the lid so the food cooks well with the heat and steam. This brings back the color and texture of the food so it doesn’t taste bland. The skillet helps caramelize the outer layer with meat ingredients for an even more appetizing effect.
The latter is better in every way when you compare heating food in a microwave versus in a nonstick skillet for 3 to 5 minutes. It elevates the food’s color, texture, and taste, making it smell and look delicious.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest caters to different needs as its menu has so much variety. Let’s start with the most popular item on their menu:
Smoothies
Daily Harvest features smoothies that are nutritionally balanced and tasty. With exciting ingredients like acai, berries, dragon fruit, pear, avocado, passion fruit, mango, papaya, etc., you can select from over 25 different smoothies every time.
Once you order a smoothie, it arrives in an airtight container or cup with pre-chopped and frozen ingredients. The ingredients of the smoothie are on the label.
No matter which smoothie you select, preparing them takes less than 5 minutes. You have to empty out the frozen ingredients in a blender and add your preferred liquid, be it plant-based milk, water, or yogurt.
Each container or cup contains a single serving of smoothie, so make sure you blend the whole cup at one time. If you want a crushed ice texture, you can even add some ice cubes to make it like a frappe.
Harvest Bowls
Harvest Bowls take less than 5 minutes to prepare. Again, each recipe comes with its own label with the ingredients list and heating instructions. You can either use a stovetop or microwave to heat and cook the bowl.
If you’re looking for a faster method, heating a Harvest Bowl in a nonstick skillet is easier as it takes 3 minutes. Microwaving the bowl may take an additional 2-3 minutes, depending on the ingredients.
Harvest Bakes
Harvest Bakes take the longest to prepare and can only be heated in an oven or toaster. Ensure you follow the instructions to avoid burning or overcooking the meal.
The typical heating time for a Harvest Bake dish is between 20 and 30 minutes. Daily Harvest does not recommend microwaving Harvest Bake recipes.
Flatbreads
These can be heated in a microwave, oven, or toaster. Just like Harvest Bakes, they take at least 20-25 minutes to heat up and cook completely. You simply have to place the frozen flatbread on the oven rack if you want the crust to be crispy and let the oven take care of the rest.
Soups
Soups take up to 6 minutes to heat on a stovetop and around 5-6 minutes in a microwave. Use a microwave-safe bowl to transfer the soup in, or use the bowl with which Daily Harvest packs the soup, but don’t forget to remove the film before heating.
Forager Bowls
Daily Harvest does not recommend heating if it’s a chia- or overnight oat-based Forager Bowl. Other recipes take about 3-5 minutes on the stovetop or in a microwave.
Forager bowls with chia seeds and oats need to be kept in the fridge overnight or for more than 6 hours. Follow the prep instructions to know exactly how to prepare overnight oats with chia seeds.
Scoops
This is ice cream that does not require any prep. They must be kept outside the freezer for 5 minutes before eating.
Bites
Daily Harvest Bites are precooked and frozen. They must also be eaten straight from the freezer without microwaving, baking, or cooking. Since they’re plant-based, they won’t taste very hard or bitter, even when consumed right out of the freezer.
Lattes and Mylk
The coffees are a unique addition that needs to be prepared by running hot water over the latte pod. Combine the latte pod with your preferred milk and microwave for 1-2 minutes. It tastes creamy and delicious, just like real coffee.
You can also use a blender if you want to create a creamy foam layer on top of the coffee.
For iced, you can pop the latte pod in a blender along with milk, and pour the concoction over ice.
Daily Harvest’s Mylk is cubed or wedged milk that is 100% plant-based and gluten-free. To transform the wedges into drinkable milk, you have to blend 2 wedges with one cup of water in a blender. Then add the prepared milk to smoothies, chia bowls, lattes, or forager bowls. No heating is required!
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: Are They Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans?
Freshly
Freshly has a completely plant-based menu plan, which goes by the name “Purely Plant.” Instead of carb-heavy vegetables, a fully plant-forward meal plan prioritizes more protein-rich vegetable sources as an alternative to meat.
The main vegetarian sources of protein used by Freshly are chickpeas, lentils, beans, cashews, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes.
Even dairy products like cheese and butter are made with vegetarian protein sources, such as cashew, coconut milk, and butternut squash.
In comparison to Freshly’sSignature diet plant, they do not offer a wide selection of vegetarian recipes. But most of their vegetarian meals are vegan, along with other dietary labels such as gluten-free, dairy-free, and calorie-conscious.
For a strict vegetarian, the 5 meals may be ideal if your plan is to pick a minimum of 4-5 meals per week. But if you’re meal plan is larger, which means you want to choose anywhere from 6 to 12 meals per week on a vegetarian diet, you may have to repeat the vegetarian dishes since the PurelyPlant menu has only 5 recipes at the moment.
Daily Harvest
Everything about Daily Harvest is plant-based, so all their meals, smoothies, bowls, flatbreads, baked dishes, ice creams, and sides are vegetarian and vegan.
All the meals are prepared carefully with vegetarian sources of protein. No processed plant blends are included. Everything that Daily Harvest serves is naturally whole and satisfying to eat.
Most of the ingredients you see on Daily Harvest are also organic. For a vegetarian and vegan diet plan, it couldn’t get better than Daily Harvest. However, I did notice that the portion size of their meals is not very filling, especially if you’re ordering for the entire family.
Thankfully, Daily Harvest gives you plenty of options such as Harvest Bowls, Harvest Bakes, Flatbreads, Soups, and Smoothies. So, you can opt for different things on the menu to excite your appetite.
Daily Harvest can be a modern and gourmet choice for the vegetarian and/or vegan diet enthusiast. Different ingredients are paired in unique and appetizing ways, so you’re never out of meal options to choose from.
Freshly vs Daily Harvest: Who Serves the Best High-Protein Recipes?
Freshly
Freshly delivers quite a few High Protein meals and even tells you which ones you should be looking for.
For example, in their FreshlyFit meal plan, the average protein range starts from 23g to 42g of protein per serving.
- The Protein-Packed Chicken Parm has 42 grams of protein and is Low-Calorie with 410 calories per serving. Instead of the usual carb-heavy pasta, Freshly uses garlic-stirred broccoli for a protein boost.
- Another one, the Zingy Buffalo Chicken, has 40 grams of protein and even fewer carbs than the first meal, with 15 grams of carbs and less than 500 calories per serving. This one is also keto-friendly as it has 0g sugar and uses light and gluten-free flour for the chicken.
- In seafood, the Cuban Mojo Shrimp is a protein-packed meal with 31 grams of proteins, 20g of carbs, and only 410 calories per serving. The meal is categorized as gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
Daily Harvest
You can select food items with more than 10g of protein on Daily Harvest. It applies to everything Daily Harvest serves, such as smoothies, bowls, bakes, flatbreads, and smoothies.
The only drawback to Daily Harvest is that it doesn’t serve very protein-forward meals compared to Freshly. The average protein range ranges from 10g to 20g per serving. Daily Harvest may be disappointing if you’re looking for a protein-focused diet plan.
Smoothies
The Vanilla Bean + Cacao pick has 15g of proteins and is full of nutritious gut-boosting ingredients such as apples, oats, dark chocolate, and chickpea. For a sweet and aromatic flavor, the smoothie also contains rich vanilla beans, not processed but derived naturally from vanilla bean pods.
Harvest Bowls
The Broccoli Rice + Dill Pilaf pick has 16g of proteins and is rich in a variety of health-boosting vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. It has broccoli, asparagus, coconut, pumpkin seeds, and the special MCT oil good for boosting immunity and metabolism. It’s all-natural, and all the ingredients are organic too.
Harvest Bakes
The Kohlrabi + Zucchini Salsa Verde pick contains 20g of proteins and is Low Calorie, with only 480 calories per serving. It’s an interesting and unique dish with tomatillo, almonds, cauliflower, jalapeno, and Kohlrabi (which is a vitamin C-packed vegetable good for boosting immunity and collagen in the body).
Soups
The Lentil + Mesquite Chili pick has 14g of proteins and is rich in green lentils with sweet potatoes, both great sources of proteins. Purple corn and mesquite give the dish that special touch, making it a palatable and heart-warming soup for anyone.
How Are Freshly Meals Packed?
Is Freshly packaging both sustainable and efficient? What about Daily Harvest’s packaging?
Starting with Freshly, these guys deliver your choice of prepared meals throughout the week. Since the delivery day depends on your location, your options may be limited which isn’t so uncommon with meal deliveries in general.
As for scheduling your meal deliveries, you can pick as soon as 2 days from when you place your order or as late as 3 weeks from the current date.
Now, what does a Freshly weekly meal package look like? All boxes have ice packs for insulation, so all the food and ingredients inside stay fresh for at least 12 hours. Once opened, all the edible contents of the box should be immediately stored in the refrigerator.
You don’t have to worry about any confusion here since every meal is labeled clearly and accurately. Cardboard sleeves are used for dividing the meals. Every cardboard sleeve has the dish’s name written on it, along with the nutritional information, list of ingredients, and expiration date.
No prepping or cooking is required with Freshly. Hence, there is no need to keep track of or divide ingredients. Everything is already separated accordingly, thanks to the inclusion of cardboard sleeves.
Moving on to the sustainability or environment-friendly part of Freshly’s packaging, the brand has a Packaging & Recycling section on their FAQs page. Their cardboard boxes, sleeves, and plastic containers are recyclable, which is a huge relief.
On top of that, the denim material insulation (recycled denim used) is mostly biodegradable. Nontoxic, gel-based ice packs’ plastic covers are also recyclable, along with denim insulation.
How Are Daily Harvest Meals Packed?
The packaging is also very efficient, although Daily Harvest weekly meal boxes are slightly bigger than Freshly. But that’s because Daily Harvest sends loads of tasty goodies – all frozen. All of it is frozen using dry ice, and everything is conveniently stored and packed upright.
The liner of the dry ice, cardboard box and dividers, plastic lids, molded pulp bowls, etc. are all recyclable materials. It says so here in the Our Packaging section of Daily Harvest’s Help & FAQs page.
This is the company’s new approach to packaging, where they decided it was time to streamline packaging in order to minimize excess waste, so there’s no denying that Daily Harvest is also committed to using environmentally friendly packaging.
You should know that Daily Harvest employs much less plastic compared to other meal delivery services. Their “plastics” are only limited to lids and seals instead of whole containers being made of plastic.
Can I Edit or Change My Freshly Order Before Delivery?
Freshly ships all across the United States except Alaska and Hawaii.
Freshly meal plans can be customized indeed. You can edit and even pause or cancel your Freshly deliveries. But this should be done before your weekly order’s no-risk cutoff time, which varies based on the delivery day and your location.
Modifying your current and/or upcoming Freshly orders come under Managing an Order on their website’s FAQs page. You can modify meal plans, skip a weekly order, and even cancel your Freshly subscription. Just adhere to the weekly deadline, and you’ll face no issues regarding this.
Can I Edit or Change My Daily Harvest Order Before Delivery?
Customization is part of the Daily Harvest experience, such as canceling orders, adjusting meals, and the like. This can all be done more conveniently through the Daily Harvest app.
As for the deadline, it’s a standard rule to make whatever changes you like before 6 p.m. (ET)every Sunday prior to the scheduled delivery date.
To eliminate any confusion, check out Daily Harvest’s FAQs page. Options such as “Edit Plan” and “End Plan” are available, which makes these subscription-based meal delivery services seem a lot less tricky.
What Is the Shelf Life of Freshly and Daily Harvest Meals?
Freshly very clearly states on their website that since artificial ingredients and chemical preservatives are not used, the shelf life of the meals is maximized.
Once you open your Freshly meal box after it arrives, you have to store everything in the refrigerator where the food is expected to remain fresh for anywhere between 5 and 7 days. Freezer storage will increase the shelf life by a few more days.
Freshly provides an expiration or “Use By” date for every meal. Just check the cardboard sleeve or label for the same.
On the other hand, Daily Harvest’s frozen meals, when kept in the freezer below 0 degrees Fahrenheit, stay fresh for a whole month, so that means 30 days!
Needless to say, you have to be careful because this shelf life will and does get affected due to opening and closing the freezer door all the time or whenever you do.
Find out more about Daily Harvest’s food on their Help & FAQs deck.
Summing Up with Pros and Cons
For Freshly:
| Pros | Cons |
| Great for singles, couples, and families. | No information is provided about organic farming or sourcing of ingredients. |
| Plenty of options for selecting different meals. | Not the most health-friendly choice for people with severe allergies. |
| Meal plan flexibility is adjustable from 4 to 12 meals per week. | Limited breakfast meals and sides. |
| You can order extra sources of protein in bulk at a low cost. | Some of the meals may become soggy after heating in the microwave. |
| Fresh ingredients that are gluten-free and packed with nutrients. | Limited vegetarian and vegan options. |
| You can easily order multiple servings for a single meal. | |
| The packaging is single-serve meal kits but eco-friendly and sustainable. | |
| Easiest meal preparation in under 3 minutes. | |
| You can easily track your order via the website and/or app. | |
| The meals are nutritionally balanced, which explains the limited beef dishes. |
For Daily Harvest:
| Pros | Cons |
| Organic ingredients, gluten-free, vegan, and 100% plant-based. | The pricing is very expensive. |
| Perfect for someone on a strictly plant-based diet. | Portion sizes are very small. |
| So many unique types of food, such as smoothies, bowls, flatbreads, ice cream, and snacks. | Not the most convenient choice for families. |
| The website interface is very user-friendly and straightforward to navigate. | Foodies will find the size per serving not satisfying enough. |
| Over 100 different items to choose from before signing up. | The meals and food items are low in protein. |
| The packaging is recyclable and minimizes the use of plastic. | Not the ideal choice for people with a nut or soy allergy. |
| Longer shelf life of the ingredients as they are frozen fruits and vegetables. | |
| Great for special diets like gluten-free, vegan, and organic. |
Conclusion
After evaluating the variety of Freshly and Daily Harvest’sproducts, I know their pros and cons inside-out. I’ve also learned a great deal about how wholesome and nutrition-oriented both services are. This is where I share everything I know and compare Freshly vs Daily Harvest based on a few criteria.
Now, it’s your turn to read and find the better pick for yourself!
