I was today years old when I learned that carrots were originally (mostly) purple. Another thing that surprised me, a lifelong omnivore, recently? Vegan eating doesn’t have to mean seitan, bean soups, and grain bowls. It can be exciting, flavor-packed, and craveable if you go about it in the right way. At least, that was my main takeaway after two weeks of testing Purple Carrot’s vegan meal delivery service.
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As Bon Appétit’s point person for meal kit coverage for the past few years, I’ve become intimately familiar with the benefits these services provide. A meal delivery will take the stress out of weekly meal planning and prep, save you time and energy, and help you cut down on food waste. The best of these services have also taught me new techniques and introduced me to new ingredients—but it wasn’t until I tested Purple Carrot that I realized a meal kit is a great way to familiarize yourself with a whole new way of eating, be it gluten-free, vegetarian, or, in this case, vegan.
I’ll admit I was a skeptic (hey, I love my chicken, salmon, and dairy yogurt!). But after two weeks of testing Purple Carrot’s vegan breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, I can confidently say I’d gladly do it all again.
Purple Carrot at a glance
What’s the Purple Carrot ordering experience?
When you sign up for Purple Carrot, you’ll first be prompted to choose between meal types (Meal Kit, Ready-to-Eat, or Mix and Match), dietary preferences (Chef’s Choice, High Protein, Gluten-Free, or High Fiber for the meal kits; Chef’s Choice or Jumpstart Program for ready-to-eat), number of servings per meal (two or four for meal kits, one for ready-to-eat), and number of meals per week (three or four for meal kits; six, eight, or 10 for ready-to-eat). These plans are all flexible, meaning you can add meals and servings later.
After checking out with your payment and delivery information, Purple Carrot will fill your first box with suggested meals according to the preferences you marked. You can add and delete meals from your box as you please as long as you do so before the order cutoff, which for me was six days prior to my Monday delivery date. Changing your delivery day or skipping a week’s delivery is easily done from your account’s home page. When you elect to skip a week, you’re given the option to send that week’s box to another address—helpful if you’re traveling or simply need a break and want to gift your box to someone else.
The weekly menu ordering page is straightforward. You can browse through meal kits, ready-to-eat options, and grocery items, which can be filtered by preference (gluten-free, high protein, less than 600 calories, sodium smart, and less prep). Each menu item features a photo, price per serving, and calorie and cook time information, but a full rundown of the recipe description, ingredients, nutrition facts, and instructions is just a click away.
What to expect from a Purple Carrot box
My Purple Carrot orders arrived on their scheduled delivery dates in insulated cardboard boxes with ice packs at the bottom. Most ingredients were packaged into clear plastic bags, grouped by the recipe they belonged to, while a few (namely, greens like kale and Chinese broccoli) were packed loose in their own bags at the top of the box. Each meal’s bag has an outer pocket where you’ll find the recipe card, which makes it easy to know which meal you’re grabbing from your fridge when it’s time to cook.
How are Purple Carrot’s ingredients?
Purple Carrot uses a mix of organic and non-organic ingredients. All of the produce I received in my boxes was in great shape by the time it arrived at my doorstep, none of it was wilty or blemished. Some items (like root vegetables) arrived pre-chopped, but most (like the bok choy, Chinese broccoli, and kale) arrived whole.