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My Honest Sun Basket Review – Is it Worth it?

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We love meal delivery kits in our house. We have been trying various meal delivery services for a few year for a few years now and today we are sharing our honest Sun Basket Review. Come see if this healthy meal delivery service lives up to its reputation.

I do not work for Sun Basket but I do share my honest opinions as well as my Sun Basket affiliate referral links in this post, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you if you click through and take action. If my review helps you make your decision I would love it if you ordered through my link and use the Sun Basket promo codes below.

One Mom's Honest Sun Basket Review - Is this Healthy Meal Delivery Service Worth it

If you're ready to try Sun Basket and don't want to read my whole review you can Get the BEST SunBasket offer available Right Here. The Sun Basket promo code is built right in. 

Meal planning has always been a source of frustration and stress for our family.

I am one of those people who could eat the same thing every day for weeks and do not have many food aversions. Also, between me and my husband, I was the less confident chef in the kitchen.

LalyDad, on the other hand, bless him, has certain foods he detests, and he doesn't usually like repeats or leftovers. He prefers well-tested recipes, and he kind of has to be in the mood for a certain meal. He also loves to cook, but he has the office job with a long commute, which means he gets home late. This meant a lot of tricky meal planning for me.

Do you have a similar personality difference in your family? Maybe you have a food allergy, specific dietary needs or one person is more picky than the other?

Well for us, meal delivery kits have been a real life-saver.

Meal planning used to be me, searching Google and Pinterest for what seems like hours, sending LalyDad an email with some ideas that sound good to me, and seeing if he'd like any of them. Sometimes we'd agree, other times I'd totally strike out.

This is how it works for us now, with meal delivery kits. LalyDad goes online and selects the meals (he knows I'm usually happy with any of his choices) and then I cook them while he is on his way home from work.

Oh. My. GOSH. Everyone's happy! I don't have to spend hours searching for recipes, he gets kitchen-tested meals that we both love and the whole time I am learning new kitchen skills and getting more confident in the kitchen.

Let's walk through how Sub Basket compares to other meal delivery services and review each meal and snack we received.

How Is Sun Basket Different from Other Meal Delivery Kits?

Over the years we have bounced around and tried a lot of meal delivery kits (mainly Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated and Home Chef with a couple others thrown in, here and there). I even share my list of best meal delivery services for weight loss and how I work meal delivery kits into my weight loss journey.

I have several friends who swear by Sun Basket so I am excited to have finally made the switch.

For a while it started to seem like all the meal delivery kits blended together, without much differentiation. I will say that Sun Basket did stand out in several ways.

What makes Sun Basket different from other meal delivery kits we have used? 

  • I didn't have to try to sort through to find meals that fit my diet because all the meals are clean and healthy, in the 500-800 calorie range (other meal delivery kits had calorie counts that varied widely so I'd accidentally end up with a meal that was well over 1,000 calories!)
  • Choosing one meal didn't seem to block us from choosing any other meals (a problem we had with Blue Apron)
  • Sun Basket is a certified organic handler, and strives to source organic produce 100% of the time
  • They send antibiotic- and hormone-free meat and organic eggs
  • They only use wild-caught seafood that is recommended as Best Choice or Good Alternative by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® Program
  • I loved the option to include some healthy snacks (more on this later)
  • Each box includes a magazine style cookbook of all of that week's recipes, not just the ones in the box (this is a huge bonus to me because it means I can run to the store and grab ingredients for chef-tested, healthy meals aside from the ones we ordered)
  • Their recipes have a box that suggests steps that your kids can do to help out (That got me right in the feels!)
  • Each recipe also has a suggested wine pairing listed, recommended by their on-staff sommelier
  • Their packaging is recyclable and reusable. I think many other meal delivery services have now followed Sun Basket's example on this front (they have instructions on how to recycle Sun Basket Packaging here)
  • When choosing your menu you can filter the recipes to pick from the ones that suit your needs. These are the Meal Delivery Service options you can choose from on Sun Basket:
    • Meal & Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
    • Salads
    • Snacks
    • Sauces
    • < 600 Calories
    • < 20 minutes (woot, woot!)
    • Paleo
    • Gluten Free
    • Dairy Free Soy Free
    • Diabetes Friendly
    • Vegan

Did you see any that caught your eye? Ready to set next week's menu? Get the best offer of your First Sun Basket Order. The promo code is built right in. 

A Couple Features I Missed with Sun Basket:

Step by step photos – Some meal delivery kits send recipe cards with a few process shots of the recipe. I found this helpful to get a sense of how small to chop some of the ingredients and the color they were looking for when it was cooked. There is always a gorgeous finished photo in the Sun Basket Recipe Book, but if you like step by step pictures you are out of luck.

Larger Portions for Hubby – So the great thing for me is that the calorie counts on these meals were right on par with what I needed to be within my Noom Weight Loss guidelines, and I loved the ease of knowing all the meals would fit. LalyDad, however, is 6 foot 2 and just has higher calorie needs than I do. When we had meals with higher calorie counts in the other meal delivery kits, hubby was usually pretty full and I would often put half of mine in the fridge for the next day, for the kids or to add a bit to my lunches. BUT we solved that by adding on the Sun Basket Snacks. I would eat some for my mid day snacks, while LalyDad could supplement his dinner with something healthy if he wasn't full.

Reviewing Our Sun Basket Meals – Do Sun Basket Meals Taste Good?

We had three meals and two snacks this week. Let's walk through the Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups, the Braised Chicken and Artichokes, the Fresh Pappardelle with Chorizo, Chickpeas and Ricotta Salata as well as the Sun Basket Snacks that we received.

Sun Basket Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups

The flavors in this were above and beyond some of the more traditional American dishes that we received from simpler meal delivery kits like Home Chef, and more on par with the flavors we found with Blue Apron or Plated.

The Thai Lettuce Cups came together way faster than I expected. The recipe said 20-30 minutes and it really was 20 minutes. It was so fast I was sure I'd forgotten a step, LOL. But really the steps were mainly, make pickled red onion, cook the ground chicken with some other ingredients, and prep and serve other ingredients that don't need cooking.

I usually add about 10 minutes to the expected cook time, because I am slow at chopping and prepping. This was not necessary with this meal, and I ended up finishing before LalyDad got home. I even had time to clean up! :-O

Reviewing Meals from Sun Basket - Do They Taste Any Good

At 400 calories a serving it was a great serving size for me, but LalyDad found it a bit too light and added a generous snack afterwards. (I'll review the snacks below.) But we both really enjoyed the flavors- and you cannot beat how quick and easy this was to put together.

As a bonus, I had leftovers of all of the ingredients except the chicken, and used them twice later that week! I was pretty pleased with that!

First I used them to make a second batch of lettuce cups for lunch the next day. Then, I also combined some of the leftover pickled onion with one of the snacks to make an awesome breakfast one morning. It was pretty quick- just multigrain toast with the Sun Basket Spinach Artichoke Spread, Over-Easy Egg and Pickled Onion:

Breakfast Made with Sun Basket Snacks And Leftovers - Multigrain toast with Spinach Artichoke Spread, Over Easy Egg and Pickled Onion

Pa-ZOW! It was so delicious! What a serious jackpot that meal was for us!

Read to start cooking? Sign up for SunBasket right here.

Sun Basket Braised Chicken and Artichokes

Next it was onto this hearty, warming braised chicken and artichokes dish. The recipe said it would take 25-40 minutes which is a wider range.

For me it took a little longer, but I am slower at things like cutting raw chicken and dredging in flour. It wasn't hard at all, those are just skills I don't use as often, so I'm not too quick.

At any rate, this meal was perfect for the cold Chicago winter that we are having. It was deeply flavored, with a toasty broth. The chefs definitely took advantage of the acidity of the artichokes and added an extra element to the sauce with a bit of dijon mustard.

Sun Basket Meals Braised Chicken and Artichokes

We were both full after this meal and liked the flavors a lot although, LalyDad said the acidity and salt from the marinated artichokes were a bit overpowering by the end. If you do carbs and had a hearty piece of bread with with it, I think it would pair well with the rich broth (obviously this is an off-menu addition and would add calories).

Fresh Pappardelle with Chorizo, Chickpeas and Ricotta Salata

Our schedule often includes one night a week where LalyDad has a work event, so I end up cooking a meal delivery service meal for me and the kids, while he eats at his event. This week it worked out that I cooked the last of our Sun Basket meals with the kids.

I get a lot of people asking me, “Do kids like SunBasket meals?”

Chorizo, beans, baby kale and ricotta may not seem like the first choice for kids but I have to be honest this was a huge hit with the kids.

Here is a shot in our finest dinnerware, oops I forgot the ricotta!

Sun Basket Meals Papparedelle with Chorizo and chickpeas

It might be shocking to hear that kids like these ingredients, but I'm not surprised at all.

We are usually pretty careful about not telling our kids that they won't like something before they eat it, and never making a face of dread that shows I expect them to reject it. We always want them to try it and decide for themselves, and we don't limit them to the kids menu when we eat out.

Actual proof that Sun Basket Meals are Kid-Approved:

Sun Basket Meals are Kid- Approved

This was another lightning quick meal. The recipe said it would take around 15-25 minutes, so I expected 25-30 for me. But nope. It really was about 15…MAYBE 20 minutes. Part of this was because ground meat cooks faster than whole cuts, and part was because the carrot, onion and celery (mirepoix) were all precut.

Maybe it was the extra gratification of the kids' approval, maybe it was how quick it came together, I don't know, but whatever the case, I would say this was my favorite meal of the three meals.  Plus, like the other two, it is a recipe that I could easily replicate on my own with little difficulty.

Now it's time to talk snacks!

Reviewing Sun Basket Snacks – What Are Sun Basket and Are They Any Good?

We had the option of adding healthy snacks to our Sun Basket Box. When we were placing our order I thought it was weird to include snacks given that Sun Basket's goal was healthy eating. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense though. The goal was to replace unhealthy snacks with healthy ones. I love that idea!

So along with the three meals listed above we also received Sun Basket Spinach Artichoke Dip and Sun Basket Avocado Hummus.

Sun Basket Snacks- Spinach Artichoke Dip and Avocado Hummus

The lighter, more universal colored dip is the Avocado Hummus, and you can see the specks of spinach in the Spinach Artichoke Dip on the right. We received an 8 ounce jar of each one, with a recommended serving of 2 Tablespoons. These felt very generous and lasted past the week.

I was surprised to see the details in the recipe magazine- both are gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan! Makes sense for the avocado hummus but I was a little skeptical of vegan spinach artichoke dip….

Tasting them both together, the full flavor of the Spinach Artichoke Dip was much bolder than the light, creamy Avocado Hummus. I like powerful flavors and I don't mind a bit of salt so I preferred the Spinach Artichoke Dip more, but I could really taste the flavors in the hummus better when I tasted it later on its own.

As I mentioned above, these were such great options when I had a daytime snack, but also when LalyDad wasn't quite full it was great to know we had an easy healthy snack to reach for.

We ate the dips on cucumber slices, naan bread dippers from CostCo and pita chips. In case you missed this part- I also used the spinach artichoke dip as a spread on a piece of multigrain toast, topped it with an egg and some leftover pickled onions for an awesome flavorful breakfast one day. If I'd thought about it sooner I'd have done it more often because it felt like a restaurant level breakfast!

The snacks win, you guys. I loved them. They felt decadent and fancy but also tasted so fresh.

Ready to get you some? Using my link gets you the best offer available! Get Started with SunBasket Here.

 

Honest Sun Basket Review - Is this Healthy Meal Delivery Service Worth it

Is Sun Basket Worth It? Who Is Sun Basket Good For?

So, with lots of pros and a couple cons, I bet you're wondering, “Okay so is Sun Basket is worth the price?” I think the answer depends on what you want out of it.

If you are a bargain hunting, coupon clipping mom who doesn't need organic and grass fed ingredients, then no- this is probably not worth it for you.

But if you are looking to start or continue a healthy lifestyle, and you want to cut out the hassle of meal planning and struggling to find top-quality, organic ingredients, then yes Sun Basket is worth every cent.

Bottom Line: With all meal delivery subscriptions you are paying for convenience. With Sun Basket you get the same convenience as other meal delivery kits, but you get the added bonus of knowing all the food is organic, hormone-free, sustainable and most of all- healthy!

Did my review help you make up your mind? I'd love it if you'd use my SunBasket link to sign up.

Have you tried this health meal delivery service? Let's hear your Questions or Review of Sun Basket in the comments below!

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