Sunbasket Food Delivery Service Review: Is it worth the money?

In case you’re not familiar with Sunbasket, it’s a delivery service where you order three pre-portioned meals that are packed up and delivered to your front door.  Head over to their website to check out their service and get $35 off your first order.

Each ingredient in the recipe is portioned into little bags and containers so that all you have to do is a little chopping and cooking. It’s much easier than cooking from scratch because there’s zero guesswork, but don't kid yourself… it's still work!

Because you’re still participating in the creation of the meal, you’re learning some cooking skills as well.  This is the part that I really like.  Plus the meals are imaginative, so I’m always figuring out new ways to be creative with my own cooking, like rolling up cod fillets and stuffing it with something rather than just laying it flat and broiling it (which is what I typically do).

I also love that the meals are healthy!  By this I mean, it’s mostly meat and veggies (there are vegan and vegetarian options, too), and it’s not a bunch of cheap fillers.  I ordered Green Chef once and they sent me a meal that included dinner buns.  Really?  A dinner bun?  I could do that on my own… thanks.  That was the first and last time I ordered that service.

Sunbasket works with my weird food parameters: paleo(ish),  "vegaquarian", gluten-free, low carb, so hats off to them for being as weird as I am!  That makes them a definite go in my books 🙂

They will email you in advance and remind you to make any changes to your next box, so you can skip it, change the recipes or whatever.  I love this because I forget everything, so it’s perfect if you tend to space out on these things and end up getting a box delivery the day after you left for a week-long vacation.

As long as you can chop a piece of garlic and put things together in a pan, you’re pretty much good to go with these recipes.  They also taste really good (like restaurant quality), so if you’re looking to impress a date with your “excellent" (but really non-existent) cooking skills, then this is a great idea to try.

I think this is the biggest reason I advocate Sunbasket for anyone who tends to eat out a lot because they don’t have great kitchen skills or just get bored of their own cooking. This is definitely a cheaper and healthier alternative to eating out or getting take out every night.  If that’s you, then get Sunbasket.  You will save money and calories, hands down.

This is why I started with the service in the first place.  I was getting really bored and uninspired by my own cooking, so it’s helped me get out of a rut.  I don’t think I’d keep it up for the rest of time, but every quarter, I think it’s fun to get a few boxes just to keep eating at home, fun and interesting.

They sent me a recipe that apparently had 450 calories, but 54 grams of carbs (plus additional protein and fat grams as well) and there was literally nothing but veggies and fish, so I knew that was way off.  It doesn’t happen often, but if you’re on a macro plan, you’ll want to double check the nutritional info they give you.  That said, it’s great that they break down calories and macros for all the meals!  It makes counting macros so much easier.

I’m someone who prefers to tread lightly on the earth.  I rarely get takeout coffee and food because all those cups and styrofoam end up in the ocean, people!  It’s not good.  Now, Sunbasket isn’t obnoxious with their packaging (most of it is little baggies as you see above), but there is a cardboard box being shipped from somewhere else with freezer packs in it, and that’s very energy intensive.  For that reason alone, I would not do this every week.

I think their meals work out to $11.99 per person per meal.  That’s a big improvement if you’re going out to eat a lot, but if you’re already someone who constantly eats at home and has no problem with it, this is not the service for you.  That’s like telling an athlete they should do Jane Fonda workouts from the 80’s to stay fit.  In other words, you’re already light years ahead of everyone else in terms of ideal behaviors, so don’t take a step back by doing a boxed service like this, unless, like me, you’re REALLY freaking tired of your own cooking and starting to slack on it.

I hope this has given you a balanced perspective on Sunbasket food service and really any meal service in general.  They are a good transition to building a habit of making home-cooked meals, but if you’re already there, don’t waste your money!! If you’re bored with your own culinary creations and you find yourself eating out more and more because of it, this is EXACTLY what you need to get back on track, but try not to become dependent on it.