If you’re gluten-free, soy-free, have a nut allergy, or want to focus your eating on narrower dietary preferences like high protein (i.e. keto and other diets focused on macros), high fiber, or low sodium, there are icons on each meal’s online profile to guide you. However, I could not seem to find a way to filter these options, so that I could, say, only view the nut-free meals. For those who might have allergies, I’ll also note that, when I looked at menus for the weeks ahead, one had seven options labeled as nut-free, while the next only had three, which means you may find yourself slightly limited. All of the little dietary icons are light green dots, which doesn’t make visually scanning for your preferences easy, either. But you can label recipes as “favorites,” so you can expect them to automatically show up when they’re offered.
Finally, this isn’t unique to Purple Carrot—it’s an issue across almost any meal kit delivery service you might order—but there’s a lot of plastic in each box. Most of the containers inside the bags (tiny bottles, tetrapaks, or clamshell cartons) were recyclable in my municipality. But if part of the reason you’re interested in vegan meals has to do with sustainability, your eco-consciousness might bristle at the number of wrappers you have to toss out.
If you’re new to using meal kits, this is what you need before that big box shows up.
In addition to meal kits, Purple Carrot also offers add-ons, including premade heat-and-eat meals like burritos, pastas, or rice bowls for $13 per serving, as well as sides like soup and vegetables, and breakfast kits like overnight oats or chia pudding for as little $4.50 per serving. There’s also a “grocery” section for items like vegan cheese and salami, breakfast cereals and coffee beans. It won’t fully replace your grocery store, but it does give some options for fully vegan swaps your local supermarket might lack.
If you’re newer to plant-based eating, you might be interested in Purple Carrot’s Jumpstart Program, a full-day meal plan which sends you 12 ready-to-eat meals per week for four weeks ($130 per week), including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Purple Carrot’s website describes it as a way to “help you refresh your eating habits and kickstart your plant-based journey.”
Should you order Purple carrot?
I don’t usually adhere to a vegan diet (though I have intermittently in the past), so I won’t pretend to speak for potential Purple Carrot subscribers who already eat vegan. However, after several weeks, I think Purple Carrot is absolutely worth the price for the sheer variety and thoughtfulness put into each recipe. Not once did I wish I was eating something more substantial or feel like I was grinning and bearing it through some kind of knockoff entrée. But lest you read that as a cynical meat-eater’s take, let me say that my experience with Purple Carrot was easily one of the better meal kits I’ve tried, vegan or not. If you’re a little absent-minded in the kitchen, you may want to opt for a more guided cooking experience. But if you’re looking to cook up interesting and entertaining meals that don’t happen to contain meat or dairy, Purple Carrot’s vegan recipes should keep you satisfied.
