Sun Basket Review: How Does It Work?

Are you like me? Get home from work, open the fridge, look at what you have in there and wonder where on earth do I start with dinner?

Then you go to the recipe books to see if you can actually make a meal out of what you have. After a while you give up and order an unhealthy takeaway!

Wouldn’t it be lovely if when you opened that fridge door all the ingredients were sitting there waiting for you to turn them into a healthy delicious meal. Along with a recipe telling you how to cook them.

Sun Basket is one company that can deliver a variety of fresh ingredients to your door. They even give you step by step instructions on how to cook them. Now that’s an idea I like.

Let’s have a closer look at what they can offer us.

Sun Basket is a healthy meal kit service that delivers packaged ingredients for cooking at home.

Their produce is organic and sustainable. They supply easy to follow recipes, most of which can be cooked in 30 minutes.

They offer options for Paleo, Lean & Clean, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Mediterranean, Pescaterean and Family meal plans.

The company was founded in 2014 by Webby winner Adam Zbar and Justine Kelly, former corporate chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s famous Slanted Door restaurant, and Iron Chef contestant. Originally based only the West Coast, they have now expanded to the East Coast and Midwest of America.

Justine gets the inspiration for the recipes she creates from a lot of different things. The restaurants that she dines at, her large collection of cookbooks, notes from her recipe research travels, and cooking for her family.

The company believes that food should taste good first, and do good always.

There are two menus to choose from, Classic and Family.

Within these plans there are 18 new recipes to choose from each week.

The ingredients are all fresh and pre-measured.

Classic Menu

This gives you access to all 18 recipes available each week which includes 6 family-friendly recipes.The  Classic Menu offers Chef’s Choice, Paleo, Gluten-Free,, Vegetarian, Lean & Clean, Pescatarian, Vegan and Mediterranean meal plan options.

Once you have chosen your meal plan within the Classic Menu, you can either stick with it or mix and match the recipes within the Classic Menu or Family Menu. This is great as it gives you the option to choose what you prefer to eat.

The Classic Menu offers 3 recipes per week for 2 or 4 people.

The Family Menu

This gives you 6 children friendly recipes each week to choose from, with Chef’s Choice and Vegetarian Meal Plan options. You can upgrade to the Classic Menu at any time and give yourself and your family more choice.

The Family Menu lets you choose  2, 3, or 4 recipes per week for a family of 4.

The portions also allow for left overs for families with younger children. And just think, what great way to get your little people trying different foods and flavours.

You may wonder what makes this company different from the others. Here are some of the things we found:

• The company is certified by the USDA as a handler of organic food. Their aim is to be source 100% organic produce, they currently achieve 99%. They obtain their produce from over 100 farms and producers.
• Their meat and poultry is all antibiotic and hormone free. (Non GMO). They source from farmers who raise their animals responsibly and sustainably.
• The seafood is wild-caught using low-impact fishing methods such as line fishing. They only use seafood that is recommended as Best Choice or Good Alternative by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program. The  fisheries they use are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a leading authority in sustainable seafood.
• The company uses fully recyclable and compostable packaging.
• The company offers a wide selection of meal choices that you can customise to suit your diet.
• You can mix and match your meal choices.
• Their website gives you lots of information including recipes and tips and techniques for cooking the food they supply.
• The individual meals are delivered as units within the box. This means means don’t have to dig through a box full of ingredients and sort them out to find the ones you want. Some of the sauces are even made already for you.
• You can contact the company within seven days and request a refund on all food if you are not happy with it.
• You can choose a breakfast option if you wish.

We have already mentioned the meal options available, let’s have a look at them in a little more depth.

• Chefs Choice: this plan brings you the best seasonal ingredients handpicked by the company’s chefs. The recipes within this plan are well balanced . They include lots of different flavors to tempt your taste buds. They are suitable for meat lovers. The recipes are varied every week to keep your diet interesting.
• Paleo – this is a diet based on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans, consisting mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. Think back to caveman days! This diet may be good for weight less and regulating your metabolism.

All meals in this plan are free from processed foods, dairy and grains. This does not mean that the food is not tasty.

I quite like the sound of Chorizo Chilli with sweet peppers or Piri-piri shrimp with curried sweet potato and coconut mash. These meals would also be good for you if you if you wanted to consume less carbs.

• Gluten Free: many people have a gluten intolerance in some form, it may be mild or severe. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley and rye. The meals on this plan are gluten free. There are an excellent selection of gluten free meals on this plan. In fact at the time of writing this 17 out of this week’s 18 recipes on offer are gluten free. The company do warn that meals are prepared in a facility that handles wheat, and while the Gluten-Free meal plan follows a gluten-free diet, due to risk of cross-contamination, meals are not suitable for people with severe gluten intolerance.
• Vegetarian: eating a vegetarian or vegan regime is as healthy as a non- vegetarian one. This plan makes use of all the beautiful fresh veggies that the companies farmers have to offer. Colorful seasonal dishes that may also be suitable for vegans.
• Lean & Clean: the meals in this plan contain less fat, fewer carbs and calories. They are perfect if you are looking to keep your weight under control. Again healthy does not have to be boring and these fibre filled meals are packed with nutritious tasty ingredients.
• Vegan: this is a recently added meal choice. It offers dishes that contain no meat. There are lots of beans, pulses and tofu accompanied by fresh herbs.
• Mediterranean: consists of eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains and seafood. Using healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil. Flavoring with herbs and spices instead of salt. Eating poultry and dairy products in moderation and limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month. This is a healthy option that is particularly good for cardiovascular health. The recipes designed for this plan focus on organic produce, colorful vegetables, wild-caught seafood, whole grains, healthy fats, and fresh herbs.
• Pescatarian: this combines a healthy vegetarian diet with the addition of sustainably sourced fresh seafood.

There are many varied and tasty sounding recipes on the company website.

For ease of reference they are divided into Meal Choice categories.

Each recipe details full ingredients and easy step by step instructions. It also tells you how long it should take to cook. Chefs Tips are another handy addition to ensure you get the best out of your meal.

Each recipe gives you a calorie count per serving which is useful if you are watching your weight. There is even a breakdown of the nutritional value of the ingredients for some recipes.

Customer reviews of this company are in the main positive.

Of 2372 reviews on TrustPilot, 91% of customers rate the company above average.

The company is listed with the Better Business Bureau and has an A+ rating.

Some people are trying food that they would not normally have done.

Valorie is very happy with both her meals and her experience with customer service, she writes:

The food, the customer service and recipes are incredible. It’s made eating healthy easy. I know I will have 3 great meals every week. the quality of the food is great. The recipes are things I never would pick on my own, but are soooo good. I’m also learning to be a better cook.

The customer service has been great as well. I’ve needed to call a few times to modify orders and they’ve been so responsive and pleasant.

People find that the ingredients are good quality and they love the fact that so much is prepared for them.

Cathy writes:

Sunbasket is much more than a similar service like Blue Apron. I can actually cook meals within the stated time and not feel overwhelmed as a race against the clock for other similar services that understate the prep time. Sunbasket does that by finely chopping ingredients like cauliflower rice and providing flavorful pre-made sauces. The consistent high quality of organic ingredients has earned my trust in meal shopping and planning to Sunbasket.

Customers enjoy the convenience of having a tasty meal to come to without the hassle of queuing at the grocery store.

There are also the savings to be considered by not eating out.

Cindy writes:

An awesome company… We are very pleased with the quality and ease of using the product. We enjoy the variety, simplicity, convenience and savings we get from using Sunbasket. We find that it saves us $$ to not have to run to the grocery. Plus, we know the food is here so we come home to cook a 30 minute delicious meal instead of eating out. We also love using it as a teaching tool on foods we have never cooked. All in all we are very pleased.

Other positive comments include appreciation of the variety of choices for different types of diet.

As with all things, you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Of the dissatisfied customers issues raised are around, delivery, occasional perishing of some of the food and small portion sizes.

Chrissy writes:

As a nutritionist, I have sampled many of the popular meal kit services for my clients. Sunbasket’s recipes are the most appetizing and I love that they source organic, non-GMO produce and meats when possible. I also love that their packaging is 100% recyclable. Having said that, the produce has often arrived in bad shape. Customer service will credit for spoiled goods, but wish it didn’t arrive this way in the first place! May try again in the future to see if they have streamlined their process.

The Sun Basket customer service department appear to prompt in replying to, and resolving, customer issues across various “review” sites on the internet.

So now you’re appetite may have been whetted by the thought of delicious easy to cook meals, the next thing to consider is the cost. The meals can be ordered from Sun Basket online.

If you want to skip a week or two when you may be on holiday you can do this quite easily without charge.

Just call them before the designated cut off time of 12pm PST or 3pm EST on the Wednesday before the week you want to skip.

They also have money saving offers for new customers and referred customers.

There is no cost for shipping for the first order, after that it is $6.99 per week.

See below how the official site looks like.

Sun Basket currently deliver to 47 states within the continental US. Their delivery area does not include Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana, and parts of New Mexico.

Nevertheless the company is constantly adding new states to the delivery map.

If they do not deliver to your state and you are interested in the service they request that you supply your Email address.

This is so they can work on making it happen and let you know when it does.

If like me, you lack inspiration when it comes to deciding what to cook each night. Or maybe you like the idea of having more time to relax rather than slaving over a hot stove for hours. Sun Basket sounds like the ideal solution.

With the many meal options your choices become easy. You can try combinations of healthy organic food thoughtfully prepared and delivered to your door. All you have to do is unpack them, follow the easy step by step recipes, and create a perfect balanced meal.

So go ahead, give it a try. You could soon be enjoying tasty restaurant quality meals in your own home. Check it out now at official website.