Thistle Review 2023: All You Need to Know

The company incepted back in 2014, intending to provide a safe and abundant supply of food that combines real and whole foods to improve human health and dwindle the environmental footprints.

Ashwin Cheryian and Shiri Avnery founded Thistle to provide healthy and tasty meals covering vegan and omnivore recipes.

The menu is thoughtfully designed by accomplished Nutritionists and crafted by the company’s distinguished Chefs. A menu that specifically caters to what your body and taste buds need. 

A portion of healthy food should not imply strict restrictions on your food intake, setting unrealistic goals for your body. Rather, it is about feeling energetic throughout the day and improving your overall health and mood. Thus, all the Thistle foods are made in such a way that it keeps you energetic and focused throughout the day. 

Thistle does not want you to over complicate your healthy diet by hoarding new groceries every day and preparing a meal with just the right measurement of nutrition while aiming for the perfect taste. If you feel overwhelmed by the shopping and the unnecessary diet advice out there, Thistle is here to save you from all this fuss. The company has curated their menu to cater the personal macronutrient needs of the majority of people and provides your body with vitamins and minerals found in whole, organic foods that are free from sweeteners and preservatives.

The food here is absolutely plant-forward, gluten- and dairy-free, and infused with whole nutritional value to provide you with the best and healthy lifestyle. Moreover, Thistle meals have an average of 5 to 8 unique fruits and veggies, plants, or meat options, which diversifies your nutrient sources.

Thistle offers 24 meals in a week, with 24 different recipes, which are all crafted to get you ready for a healthier lifestyle wherein you don’t have to dedicate your precious time to prepare the meals for yourself. Isn’t it icing on the cake? So, whether you are facing a time crisis or you are a kitchen newbie, Thistle caters to your health needs and provides you with a nutritious meal at your table – all ready to satisfy your taste buds!

The company delivers to you just what you need, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, soup. These meals are super convenient when it comes to mixing them up as per your mood. Want a lighter meal? Enjoy Thistle’s quirky snacks. Want lunch to be the wholesome meal of your day? Microwave a dinner option! 

Apart from the laid down menu, you can also create multi-course meals and healthy snacks with juices, shots, and sides. You can order add-ons such as avocados, hard-boiled eggs, coffee, tea, and chocolate, whenever you crave a treat or want your meal to be a little extra.

Check out the 24-meal featured menu below which was featured in Thistle’s website. Let these meals get you thinking to start your journey with Thistle.

MONDAY:

• Mango chia pudding cup in breakfast 
• Thistle Kale Caesar in lunch
• Chipotle beans and rice in dinner
• Creamy Yellow Split Pea Hummus with Crudités as a snack. 

TUESDAY:

• Garden Veggie Cream Cheese Sourdough Toast in Breakfast
• Tex-Mex Three Bean Salad in lunch
• Preserved Lemon and Squash Bowl in dinner
• Halvah Cookie Dough Protein Bar in Snack

WEDNESDAY:

• Dirty Chai Oatmeal Bowl with Vanilla Cashew Cream in breakfast 
• Waldorf salad in lunch 
• Cauliflower Polenta Bowl in dinner 
• 24 Carrot Gold Muffin in snack

THURSDAY:

• Spiraling, Coconut and Vanilla Smoothie in breakfast 
• Greens and ‘Goat’ Cheese Salad in lunch 
• Creamy Tomato Pasta in dinner 
• Sundried Tomato ‘Cheese’ Plate in snack

FRIDAY:

• Savory Dashi Oats in breakfast 
• Chorizo Taco Salad in lunch 
• Black Pepper Rice Bowl in dinner 
• Fig and Hazelnut Bar in snack 

SATURDAY:

• Dandelion Baked Oatmeal with Tahini Caramel in breakfast 
• Crisp Japanese Yuzu Salad in lunch 
• Kabocha and Kale Pesto Spaghetti Squash in dinner 
• Almond and Orange Blossom Bar in snacks 

Read more: Purple Carrot Review

1. Greens and ‘Goat’ cheese salad

2. Almond and Orange blossom bar

Savor the decadent flavors of almond and orange blossom bar. This mouthwatering treat is a great snack made from cassava flour, almond meal, and orange zest and blossoms. Did we mention that it is vegan? It’s even gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free!

Ingredients (vegan): Maple Syrup, Almond Meal, Cassava Flour, Hemp Milk (Hemp Base, Vanilla Extract, Sunflower Lecithin, Tricalcium Phosphate, Gellan Gum, Sea Salt, Vit. A Palmitate, Vit. D2, Riboflavin, Vit. B12), Sunflower Oil, Lemon Juice, Almonds, Baking Powder, Orange Blossom Water, Almond Extract, Lemon Zest, Baking Soda, Himalayan Pink Salt.

Nutritional value:

Calories:  393

Fat:  22g

Saturated Fat:  2g

Sodium:  145mg

Total Carbs:  45g

Added Sugar:  4g

Total Sugar:  16g

Protein:  6g

3. Dirty Chai Oatmeal Bowl with Vanilla Cashew Cream

Let the warmth of spices such as cinnamon, clove, and ginger hug your warm oats and chai. Enjoy this breakfast treat with bananas, cacao, and cashew vanilla cream. Never have a dull breakfast – ever!

Ingredients: Water, Steel Cut Oats, Maple Syrup, Almonds, Sunflower Butter, Cacao Nibs, Coconut Chips, Flax Seed, Banana Chips, Coffee, Maca Powder, Cinnamon, Himalayan Pink Salt, Ground Ginger, Cardamom, Ground Cloves.

Nutritional value:

Calories:  290

Fat:  13g

Saturated Fat:  4g

Sodium:  192mg

Total Carbs:  37g

Added Sugar:  7g

Total Sugar:  7g

Protein:  9g

Thistle’s meals start at $11.50 a meal. Based on your experience with other meal-delivery services, this can feel expensive or cheap.

Vegan meals are comparatively cheaper than Omnivore meals on Thistle.
That’s a huge difference.

Here are the pricing details:

Vegan Options:
3 vegan lunches for 3 days a week: $44
3 vegan dinners for 3 days a week $44
5 vegan dinners a week $74
5 vegan lunches a week $74
Vegan lunches, and dinners 5 a week $125
Full day vegan option 6 per week $210

Omnivore Options:
The Omnivore lunch plan for five days a week costs $82
The Omnivore dinner plan at six meals per week is under $100
The Omnivore lunch and dinner plan at five meals per week costs $150
The full-day Omnivore plan at six meals per week costs $235

When you have a wide range of options to choose from their meal menu, why should your freedom of choice be limited when it comes to subscriptions? 

Thistle has subscription plans that you can choose from according to your convenience. Once you order your meal the current week, you will be getting your order the following week. The company firmly believes that health is a lifestyle, and thus, their plans are in the form of a very flexible subscription where you are never locked in, which means you can exit or pause the subscription any time you want. Their meal options are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plus, they have their own special juices, snacks, wellness shots, and more for customers who are inside their delivery zone!

Read more: Factor 75 Review

Thistle delivers locally to San Francisco Bay Area, North Bay, Sacramento, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego + Orange County, and Las Vegas. They ship across California and parts of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Onfleet and Wonolo are the companies that are making the process of meal delivery easy and convenient. Your meals are delivered on Monday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday and Sunday evenings. For local customers, the delivery date and time is customizable after checkout. 

When your fresh, ready-to-eat food is on its way to arrive at your doorstep, you will receive a message that your delivery is on the way. You can meet your driver at the door, or they can leave it on your doorstep for a contactless delivery. All bags are packed with ice packs, so your meals stay super fresh. Then, pick up your bag and savor the package of nutrition and taste.

Thistle packaging is fully recyclable. You get sauces and rice in pet jars. All the packaging, including the thermal cooler bags, is recyclable.
Rinse and dry the plastic food containers before you recycle them. Some facilities may not accept plastic with food or liquid in them.
They use plastic packaging, which is not ideal, but these plastics are BPA-free, making them easy to recycle.

Signing up for Thistle is a fairly straightforward process. All it takes is your zip code and an email address.

Once you enter those, you will see a page asking the number of emails you require. You can use the plus or minus button to add or remove the number of meals required.

On the next page, you can choose if you want only plant-based meals or only meat-based meals or a mix of both. Accordingly, the price chart would update itself at the left based on your selection.

On the next page you get to specify if you want to avoid any allergens. If you choose yes you will be presented with a list of common allergens like dairy, shellfish, gluten etc. that you can tap on to avoid from your meals.

In the final step, you will be presented with different meals based on your previous selection.

To cancel your meal subscription, start by logging into your account.
Go to the account page, and click on the account details tab
Click Cancel, and follow the rest of the prompts.
You’re done.

Thistle’s website says that the meals are designed to help you maintain your ideal body weight. At the same time, the meals are prepared to be nutritious and healthy.

Each meal is around 400 to 500 in calories and can be your replacement for high-calorie meals in your diet. Seen that way, Thistle can support weight loss. Depending on your plan, the Omnivore diet is rich in animal protein, and the vegan plan is rich in plant protein. You can manage weight and feel full for longer periods with a higher protein intake.

Thistle has several plant-based food options that are associated with better weight loss effects.

Thistle is a brand that has pledged to provide its customers a healthy lifestyle at their doorsteps. The meals provided to the customers are completely infused with essential nutritional value. Thistle is a true believer that superfoods are the easiest way to get a plethora of vitamins and minerals into your diet. They prioritize foods that energize the body, balance blood sugar, and neutralize and detoxify environmental stressors, at the same time delivering bold and rich flavors in their meals by drawing on myriad cuisines from around the world. In this way, they prioritize your health while simultaneously keeping your taste buds excited.

The pricing of the meals makes it pocket-friendly for consumers. Prices start at 11.50 USD. The subscription plan is very much flexible, which means that it can be paused or canceled at any given time by the customers. The customization of meals by the buyers makes it even more worth it. Delivery is quick and has a wide range within America. Upon ordering, the meals get delivered within the week! How convenient is that?

Read more: Wild Alaskan Seafood Review