Hi guys! Purple Carrot is a vegan service like Blue Apron, where they deliver recipes and pre-measured ingredients to make the recipes! BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! All the recipes are by our favorite vegan-friendly omnivore, Mark Bittman!!! When I heard that, I knew I had to try it. So I tried two weeks of Purple Carrot, free for review (I skipped a week in the middle so this might not look like your menu if you’ve already signed up).
Let’s just get right into it with pros and cons.
Pros:
-Easy sign up and delivery
-Meals are healthy–it’s an easy way to eat healthier
-Pre-measured so you can cook without the prep
-All the veggies were nice and fresh, quality I’d pick myself
-Great for trying new recipes you never even thought about
-Exposes you to new foods you might not try on your own
-You can cancel online
-Easily skip a week
-90{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} of meals are super yummy
-2 person plan is more than enough for 2 people (usually closer to 3.5 meals)
-You can also get the 2 meals a week for 4 people plan
-Don’t need any out of the ordinary kitchen tools
-All recipes are designed to take less than 45 mins
-Packaging is made from post-consumer waste and recyclable
-Comes packed with non-toxic ice packs and biodegradable liners
-I felt so proud of my finished creations!!!
Cons:
-It’s all environmentally friendly but there’s still a lot of packaging
-Depending on where you live, you can’t pick the delivery day
-I think some recipes took longer than 45 mins
-I wouldn’t recommend for brand new cooks, you need basic cooking skills
-I think it’s more expensive than cooking on your own
Now, let’s take a closer look. The stuff comes in a big box like this:
The ingredients to each recipe are separated out and pre-measured like this:
Now, the sexy part: the recipes!
Ribollita
This first recipe I tried was actually by Mario Batali instead of Bittman, so that was an exciting surprise. It was DELICIOUS. It’s hard to see but if you look by the spoon, there’s actually a big hunk of bread under the soup! Bread soup! And yes, like my last pro says, I felt very proud when I was done cooking 🙂
Katsudon with Pickled Pea Salad and Tamari Cream
Those patty looking things are roasted and breaded celery root. I don’t like celery so I’ve never actually tried celery root…and I had never planned to. WELL GOOD THING I DID. This dish was AMAZING. Like, by far the best thing I’ve cooked in like 10 years. This was my favorite dish from the 2 weeks, hands down. I’m def going to make this again. I can’t stop thinking about it!
Red Lentil Stew with Cranberries (and Parsnip Spears!)
Tbh this was the only meal I didn’t really like. Well, except the parsnip spears! Those were delicious and super easy to make. But there was a slight issue in the recipe, it didn’t say to cover the quinoa and I’ve never made quinoa (don’t judge me) so I didn’t know. It ended up all crunchy. And I just didn’t really like the lentils with cranberries either. Can’t win ‘em all I guess.
Shakshuka with Tofu Dumplings over Kasha
All the recipes have a little intro with some background, which I liked. This is apparently a North African dish that’s now associated with Israel. Instead of an egg, Bittman subs in some poached tofu! This was pretty good. I don’t *actually* know how to use my broiler so I didn’t poach the tofu that well but it was still good. Kasha is a bit weird though, no? Oh and this recipe had some hot peppers in it but the recipe said to use as much or as little as you like–so if you are like me and don’t like spicy food, you will be ok, they help you customize the spice level.
Catalan Vegetable Stew with Crisp Fideos
This was a funny looking recipe that was actually really good! The Fideos are toasted pieces of pasta–can you believe? Like I mentioned, all these meals are meant for two people but really there was enough for three. So I actually brought the ingredients to my brother’s and made this for him and his wife and me, and there was still some left over. They liked it a lot! If you let the fideos sit in the broth, they soften; but they were kinda nice crunchy too. Again, like many of these recipes, I would never have tried this recipe! I’m so glad I did. Oh and my sis-in-law has had Blue Apron before and she was like, “this is WAY better–in a whole different class.” And she’s not even veeg!
Mu shu Seitan with Homemade Hot Mustard
This was very yummy, and again, a meal I never would have made on my own. The seitan was Upton’s Naturals too! The mustard was SUPER hot though so I only used a little on my second one haha.
So that has been my Purple Carrot experience so far. And guess what, I signed up for the service last night! Like, with my own money. I’m so excited! The food was great, and really so many recipes I never would have tried on my own but then I really liked them. And like I said, I was so proud each time! And that was a sentiment I saw on Instagram a lot, people were so proud of their Purple Carrot creations. Also, THAT KATSUDON THO.
OH AND: They are having a special, use promo code FRESH25 to get $25 off your first order. YAAAAY!