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Prior to this post, I had no experience to speak of when it came to mail order meal kits. I guess I never had the inclination to try one because there is a part of me that thoroughly enjoys the whole grocery shopping experience.
However, there is also part of me that doesn’t. I can think of some better things to do than stand in a mile-long check out line after a grueling day at work.
So when Sun Basket, a new San Franscico-based healthy meal kit service, reached out to me to see if I was interested in a review, I was intrigued.
I checked out their site, and saw a lot of words I liked: organic ingredients, sustainably-sourced meat, Paleo-friendly meals. The idea of having these things delivered right to my door sounded pretty appealing.
I selected my three meals and patiently waited for the shipment.
Once the box arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find the ingredients for each meal separated into convenient bags. All I had to do was just throw them in the fridge.
All the meat and other perishable items were located in a compartment in the bottom of the box.
I was also pleased to discover that all of Sun Basket’s packing materials are reusable or recyclable.
Meal #1: Pan-Roasted Salmon with Orange-Jicama Salad
The first meal I tried was pan-roasted salmon with orange-jicama salad served on a bed of cauliflower couscous. I’m a huge fan of jicama, so I was pretty excited about sinking my teeth into this dish. The sumac also piqued my interest because it was an ingredient that I had never used before.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of all the ingredients that I received. The herbs were green and fresh, and the vegetables were ripe but showed no signs of being brown or bruised.
I was a little worried that the kits might be the kind of thing were you just dump everything in a pot, but they were quite the contrary. I had to slice, dice, and sauté just as if I were making a meal from scratch.
In the end, I really enjoyed this dish–particularly the salmon. I found the fish to be intensely flavorful for just being seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. The orange jicama salad was a bright and citrusy touch, and the sumac added an unique tangy flavor.
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Meal #2: Steaks with Artichoke Butter and Summer Vegetables
Next up were some steaks with artichoke butter and summer vegetables. A good steak heavily relies on the quality of the meat, so I was curious to see what lay in store.
The steaks looked pretty tender. I seared them in a cast iron skillet. My only gripe was that they greatly differed in thickness, so the cooking time was drastically different for each steak
I was again impress by the quality of the meat; the steak was juicy, tender and delicious. The artichoke butter was also amazing. I will probably be making it on my own and spreading it on everything. The summer vegetables consisted of a melody of green beans, red pepper, tomatoes, and toasted coriander seeds which I thought was a nice touch.
Meal #3: Summer Scramble with Pineapple-Cucumber Smoothies
My final meal was a breakfast of scrambled eggs with a pineapple-cucumber smoothie. Lucuma was another ingredient that I wasn’t too familiar with; I was curious to see what it was all about.
On a side note, I really enjoyed these cute little egg containers.
The smoothie was excellent. I found it light and refreshing. The eggs were what one would expect from scrambled eggs, but it tough to go wrong with the combination of tomatoes, arugula, and feta. However, I thought the the serving sizes of this kit were a bit small. It was billed for two, but I think that would have been a bit of a stretch.
Conclusion
Overall I thought my meals from Sun Basket were great. I was seriously impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients, especially the meats. The recipes were straightforward and easy to follow. I also liked the fact that you had to do some prep work and a decent amount of cooking.
That being said, if you are looking to simply dump a meal in a pan and heat, this might not be the kit for you. Also, you might find the serving sizes of some kits to be a bit on the small side depending on your appetite.
But if you like the idea of having fresh, organic ingredients delivered to your door and putting together healthy meals in little time, I definitely recommend giving Sun Basket meals a try.
Disclaimer: I received three complimentary meals in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.