Sun Basket Meal Delivery Review

Sun Basket Review

For older adults wanting to maintain an independent lifestyle, meal delivery kits can be an excellent choice. These companies provide the experience of cooking without the tiresome aspects of planning meals and driving to the grocery store. Unlike services that deliver pre-cooked meals, Sun Basket lets shoppers practice their culinary skills and enjoy fresher meals.

History and Popularity

Sun Basket joined the meal delivery kit market in 2014. Since then, Sun Basket has grown tremendously, from 10 employees to about 400. While similar to its competitors Blue Apron and HelloFresh, Sun Basket distinguishes itself with its focus on health and sustainable food sourcing practices.

Justine Kelly founded the company and serves as its executive chef. She spent 20 years prior working as a chef in San Francisco. She also appeared on the popular cooking contest program Iron Chef. Kelly believes in making wholesome food with only the highest-quality ingredients and created Sun Basket to make that type of eating available to anyone who can benefit from it.

How to Order

Sun Basket’s clean and easy-to-navigate website makes ordering a simple and no-fuss process. Once you click, “Get Started,” you’ll be prompted to add your personal information, like name, address, and phone number. The form will also ask how many recipes you want per week, how many people you’re feeding, which meal plan you’d like, and when you want to receive your first order.

From there, Sun Basket displays your meal options for the next week. You’ll be able to see a picture and description of each of the available dinners. From this menu, you’ll select which dishes you’d like to receive in your next shipment. These menus vary from week to week, so you’ll seldom need to repeat the same meal.

Once you’ve chosen your meals, you’ll be asked to enter your payment information. You’ll also be able to see the total cost of your meals as well as any additional shipping costs. Sun Basket does not offer free shipping like some other companies, but first time customers may have discounts available to them. Always check for promo codes before ordering.

Once you’ve made your order, you’ll continue to receive and be charged for the meal plan each week until you cancel.

Types of Meals

Sun Basket’s recipes come from around the globe, and adventurous eaters will enjoy the food’s international flair in dishes like Mediterranean flatbreads and lentil dal curry. Each week, customers will have 18 meals to choose from, including 6 family-friendly meals. Sun Basket is USDA-certified organic and only uses antibiotic- and hormone-free meats.

Unlike many meal kit delivery services, Sun Basket caters to a variety of special diet plans. It offers meals for Paleo, lean and clean, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, Mediterranean and diabetic-friendly diets. Choosing one of these options at the outset will ensure customers don’t need to worry about whether each meal will meet their nutritional requirements, saving time and energy.

Unlike some other companies, Sun Basket only offers dinner. There are no options to add a dessert, snack, or breakfast, although that may change as the company grows.

Meal Preparation

Once you receive your meals, you should immediately unbox them and put them in your refrigerator. Nearly everything you need for the meal preparation is included. Most meal delivery companies expect you to have some pantry basics and Sun Basket is no different. In order to effectively use the service, Sun Basket recommends keeping olive, grapeseed or sunflower oil on hand. You should also have salt and freshly ground pepper to use. Sun Basket says its meals occasionally call for wine or butter as an optional recipe item.

To cook the meal, you’ll need pots, pans, a knife, vegetable peeler, grater, zester, cooking spoon, spatula, ladle and a measuring cup.

Once you’re ready to begin the meal prep, it’s as simple as following the recipe instructions which are included with every kit. Sun Basket says most of its meals take about 30 minutes to cook and are typically between 500 and 800 calories per serving.

Quality

While Sun Basket claims on their website to use only the highest-quality ingredients, their customers have reported inconsistencies in the food they receive. It’s true that Sun Basket uses only organic produce and pasture-raised and grass-fed meats. However, whether because of transit or other issues, customers say that Sun Basket doesn’t always live up to its high standards, occasionally delivering wilted or damaged produce.

Sun Basket recommends eating any seafood or shellfish within three days. Meat and poultry should be prepared and eaten within five days of delivery. Greens and fresh mushrooms are also best if you use them within five days of your delivery.

Cost

Sun Basket meals range from $10.99 per person to $12.99 per person. Your price will be determined by how many meals you order per week and how many people you’re feeding. In short, the more meals you order, the lower your cost will be.

This makes Sun Basket one of the more moderately priced options. Of course, shoppers will also need to factor in the cost of shipping, which is not included with Sun Basket meals. Customers will pay a $6.99 shipping charge for each week’s order.

Considering Sun Basket uses all organic ingredients and features chef-created recipes, many customers will judge it to be a good value. When considering a meal delivery service, you should also factor in the time and energy you will save — and the pleasure you will derive from a streamlined cooking experience.

Delivery

Unlike some other meal delivery services, Sun Basket customers can choose the time and date when meals will be delivered. Deliveries are made between Monday and Thursday, from 8am and 9pm to every state in the U.S. except Hawaii, Alaska and Montana. This helps ensure you are home when the meal arrives and helps keep the food from spoiling.

Packaging

A common complaint with meal delivery services is the waste and packaging. Sun Basket has made a company commitment to sustainability and offers a detailed breakdown of all their packaging materials and how they can be recycled.

The meals obviously have to be kept cool in transit. Sun Basket uses frozen gel packs and insulation in each box to keep your meals fresh until they arrive at your doorstep. The box and insulating materials are made of paper and can easily be recycled through your curbside recycling program. The ice packs, which are made of water and cotton, can be drained into your trash or garden (do not pour them down your sink). Since the gel is mostly water, it will evaporate and leave only a harmless cotton residue.

Subscriptions and Plans

Sun Basket customers can choose 2, 3, or 4 meals per week, and between 2 and 4 servings for each meal. Their family meal plans, designed for families of 4, are slightly cheaper but offer a smaller menu selection.

There are no contracts or commitments with Sun Basket, but once you sign up for a meal plan, you’ll continue receiving shipments each week until you cancel. If you aren’t going to be home, or don’t want to receive an order for a particular week, you can skip deliveries. You will just have to make that request before the weekly order cutoff in order to not be charged.

Cancelling Your Plan

Sun Basket does not charge you to cancel your plan and you cancel at any time. You can choose to skip weeks and deliveries and put those requests in online. But in order to completely cancel, you will need to call Sun Basket’s customer service department.

The good news is, Sun Basket is one of the few meal kit delivery companies that offers a money back guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with the meals you receive, you can get all of your money back if you contact the company within seven days of receiving your delivery.

Summary

For seniors looking for a simpler way to cook at home, Sun Basket may be an excellent solution. Their nutritious, ethically sourced, and chef-curated menu make it easy to eat well without all the errands. Their meal plans are best suited for independent seniors who enjoy supplementing their diet with home cooked dinners but don’t want to rely on a delivery service for all their meals.