A common challenge for newer vegans is figuring out what to eat. For me, it meant hours cruising vegan food blogs and youtube channels, on the hunt for interesting recipes. I also spent lots of time hungrily walking the aisle of the grocery store (usually Whole Foods) hoping for inspiration.
After about a year in, I had a small list of go to dishes like my spaghetti with vegan sausage and mushrooms… or my cauliflower crust, vegan sausage pizza. But I would often still stress when it came to figuring out what I wanted to eat that night… and don’t even get me started on meal prep or the week.
Finally, I decided to sign up for Purple Carrot. Best decision ever! Purple Carrot is not the only vegan meal prep delivery service. But after researching many other options, I decided it was the best option. Here’s why… I now had a hand in choosing my meals; there is great variety; easy refrigerated delivery; and mostly quick, easy to follow recipes.
Whether you live alone or have a house full of vegans, a meal kit service lets you decide how much food you want and for how many days a week. I receive the ingredients for 3 meals a week. They come in a big cardboard box which holds a specially sealed container that keeps your ingredients refrigerated and fresh for hours.
Each meal kit is individually wrapped and labeled. I just take them out of the box and put them in my fridge until I am ready to cook. And you’ll be surprised how little room groceries for 3 Purple Carrot meals takes up. But that is one of the things I love the most about this service… I am no longer wasting so much food. Before, when I would grocery shop for ingredients… if I needed a teaspoon of smoked paprika, I would have to buy the entire bottle. But Purple Carrot only sends exactly what I need to make my meal… exactly one cup of plant based milk; one carrot; 2 tablespoons of cumin; etc.
And the recipes truly are easy to follow and usually take on average about 30 minutes. I mean, I am a Georgia Peach, who knows how to cook… but my old menu mostly consisted of home cooked favorites like collard greens, spaghetti, chili, meatloaf, corn bread, creamed corn, etc. But Purple Carrot pushes me to make dishes I never would have tried on my own either due to a lack of time or familiarity… for example, the Vietnamese-Style Ramen with fresh noodles and bok choy. I probably NEVER would have thought to google this recipe to make. But thanks to Purple Carrot, I did make the Vietnamese Ramen (see photo below) and IT WAS BEYOND INCREDIBLE!!! So much so, I saved the recipe so I can make it again.
Not only do I save time on shopping, but when I think about what I pay weekly at the grocery store and the food items that used to go bad in my fridge, I think the cost of Purple Carrot is not bad at all. I pay a little over $70 a week for 3 meals that feeds two people. I usually have a enough food left over for lunch the next day.
As I mentioned, there are other plant based meal prep companies out there, but I am very satisfied with Purple Carrot. It truly exceeded my expectations. If you give it a try, please let me know.