Review: Purple Carrot
This past Christmas, I was lucky enough to receive a gift certificate for Purple Carrot, a completely vegan meal subscription service. I have been keeping my eye on the menu since then and finally found a week with 3 meals that looked perfect for me.
Overall, this was a great experience, and I will definitely sign up for another week in the future, especially if I were to receive it as a gift again. I wouldn’t subscribe on a regular basis because of the cons listed below.
pros:
delicious food
just about everything you need is included, minus kitchen staples like oil, salt, and pepper.
easy prep
all ingredients were in perfect condition—produce was ripe and ready to be used
cons:
expensive: $72 for 3 meals for 1-2 people
waste: ingredients are packaged in plastic bags and packed with large disposable ice packs in a big box
once you sign up, you’re automatically scheduled for future shipments. You must manually skip each week you don’t want or email customer service to cancel.
Here are the three meals included in the week I signed up for:
Grilled Cheese with Pesto and Arugula Nectarine Salad
As far as taste, this was a 9/10. The pesto and tomato were delicious combined with Follow Your Heart cheese, which my non-vegan mom was amazed by. Using mayo on the bread instead of butter or oil was an interesting twist, but I can’t say it made much of a difference in taste to me. I love the idea of spinach as part of the pesto, and the arugula salad was refreshing and a lovely, light side dish for a heavy meal.
Would I make it again? Yes—but only once in a while, and with modifications. The downside to this meal is the ridiculous fat content—48 g in ONE serving! I’m not a nutrition expert by any means, but this seems like an excessive amount, especially when I’m barely getting any protein from the meal (only 6 g). With cheese, olive oil, almonds, vegenaise, and then more olive oil in the recipe, it’s not too surprising, but I can’t say I’d make this meal the same way again. I think it would be just as delicious with extra tomato, lower fat pesto, and less cheese.
Wicked Healthy Fajita Tostada with Chili-Lime Mango Salad
This one was my favorite for sure. It took a little bit longer to prepare than the grilled cheese, but it was well worth it. The lentils were delicious on their own, and with a little seasoning made the perfect filling for the tostadas. Red onion , sweet peppers, avocado, spices, and cabbage topped off the smashed lentils on a crunchy tortilla. The chili-lime mango salad was super simple to prepare—chopped mango, some lime juice and zest, and a sprinkle of seasoning, but it was the perfect combination of flavors to accompany the main dish. With 25 g of protein and 15 g of fat, this meal is a winner as far as I’m concerned.
Would I make it again? Definitely. Honestly, this would have been just as good on a regular tortilla or even just as a salad. Next time I make it, I’m sure I will be too lazy to toast the tortillas. I added tomato on the side and did not regret it.
Spiced Chickpea Grain Bowl with Freekeh Tabouleh and Roasted Beets
This meal took the most effort and time of the three. I loved the crunchy baked chickpeas and roasted beets together. I had never tried freekeh before, but I would definitely use it again. Though the Kite Hill yogurt on top was good, I wouldn’t have missed it if I left it out. I went light on the parsley because I personally hate it. Despite the parsley, this was still a tasty dish with plenty of protein per serving at 27 g.
Would I make it again? Eh…overall, considering the effort involved in preparing it, I probably wouldn’t make the entire meal again. My non-vegan boyfriend and I enjoyed it, but agreed it wasn’t our favorite.