I recently heard some hype about a company called 22 Days Nutrition, a business that's partnered with Beyoncé to create a vegan meal delivery service. My attraction to this service was that they deliver plant based meals that are all made without dairy, soy, eggs, or gluten. My son can't have dairy or soy, and I'm avoiding gluten, so this sounded like a dream come true! They are all premade with organic ingredients, and preparation is as simple as heat and enjoy.
The quick and dirty of my review:
- Portions are generous
- Flavors are great
- Heavy on the healthy carbs (beans, brown rice, gluten free pasta)
- The meals could use a bit more vegetables
- Would my five year old eat this? Nope. He isn't a very picky eater, but he is very sensitive to spices and certain flavors. Even a whiff of a speck of pepper and forget it.
- Is it affordable? The meals averaged out to be about $16 per serving. A bit steep, but well worth it to me if I don't have to cook or do dishes for a few meals.
- Would I order again? Absolutely.
I placed an order for 5 meals, each with two servings. The ordering process was very simple, and I wasn't required to enroll in a recurring program. If you do decide to enroll in Auto Ship, you'll receive 5% off every order. There is no option to customize your meals, and you also aren't informed as to which meals you'll be receiving. That may turn some people off, but I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to food.
Nine days after placing my order, the box of meals arrived on Friday via Fedex, just as promised.
The food arrived plenty cold in a foam cooler, but the ice packs did leak all over my food containers, leaving a slimy gel all over everything. Thankfully the containers were sealed up tight so the food wasn't affected or contaminated. Hopefully this was just a one-time issue and not a problem with the ice packs.
Each meal was well packaged in BPA free plastic, complete with meal name, ingredients, nutritional data, heating instructions, and "enjoy by" date. My first observations of the meals were that they were all generally about 500 calories per serving, they were pretty carb heavy, and the portions were generous.
I dove into the "Taste of Morocco Vegetable Tagine" first. This was my favorite of the meals. The flavor was fantastic, with a great combination of spices, chickpeas, and vegetables. The portion was very generous, so much so that I wasn't able to finish it. I would've preferred a bit less chickpea and more vegetables, but overall I thought this was a delicious, satisfying meal.
Next up was Ratatouille Vegetable Pasta with Pesto. This dish was excellent. An amazing vegan alternative to your average comfort food, this was loaded with gluten free pasta, a healthy dose of vegetables, and a very flavorful pesto.
Time for the Thai Street Rice.
This was very flavorful, and deliciously layered with ginger and curry. The portion was, again, very generous, however I found myself wishing for more vegetables in this one. Aside from the occasional green or bite of carrot, this meal was mostly rice.
Moving on to the Trois Mec Mushroom Lentils. I hate to admit that this was my least favorite dish. I normally love lentils and mushrooms, but this dish was just a bit too earthy for me. I did eat about ¾ of the serving, which was very filling.
Last was the Vegetable Paella. This dish had a great kick to it and was full of flavor, but the rice was a bit undercooked and crunchy. As with the other dishes, I did find myself wishing for a bit more vegetables. Overall I did enjoy it, and I think with a couple of slight improvements it would be fantastic.
I enjoyed my meals from 22 Days, specifically the convenience and healthfulness. I would order again, this time with the knowledge that my five-year-old probably won't be into it. You can check out 22 Days for yourself at their site right here.
Have you tried any meal delivery services? Share your experience in the comments!
Helen says
I have eaten a plant based diet for 33 yrs. I ordered the 7 day delivery to save time. 22 Days Nutrition food SUCKS! My meals looked nothing like yours. It was all bland, tasteless slop - every meal looks the same, tastes the same, gives you gas the same. Hardly any veggies, no crunch anywhere, no variety of color. A total waste of (a lot) of money. Try The Veggie Grill, Cafe Gratitude, Sage, Araya's Place instead.