I probably first heard of Daily Harvest over a year ago. Slowly but surely, I kept being targeted through multiple channels, you know how fun that can be. I had decided that it was not for me until I saw a food blogger, who is known for making her own recipes and doing lots of home cooking, try it and promote it with her own twist. She would make the harvest bowl meal at home, adding her own toppings and it made me reconsider. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a good base for your meal, already prepped?

I got a good starter deal, ended up being about $5 per cup, for 9 cups. Selections were good and Daily Harvest does a really good job of providing information about what you are about to get. Everything from ingredient explanation to a description of what it tastes like. It even tells you which cups are better for workout recovery, stress-relief, etc.

I’ll break down my experience by type of cup because they each have their own pros and cons. I am also including real images of what I got. 

Harvest Bowls

The first bowl I tried I heated in a pan at home. It looked like a really small quantity so I added spinach, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds. It was actually delicious but not filling enough, unfortunately. I was thinking I could make a batch of quinoa to heat up and add to the bowls which I think is great, but kind of defeats the purpose of the whole ready-to-go cup.

The second bowl I tried at work. I had to bring my own microwavable bowl as it seems the cups are not microwave-safe, a little hassle but not terrible. Once again, the food was not enough. It can’t be just me! When I am at home it’s more bearable since I will have other stuff available but when you bring a meal to work, you plan around it being successful. So there I was, still hungry at my desk thinking what I could do. Ended up getting a small salad which resulted in me wasting more time and money.

Oat Bowls

I am used to making my own overnight oats at home with a base of yogurt. These bowls are mostly oats and fruit, with whatever you decide to add (I did almond milk) and I’m not used to the consistency. Flavor and quantity were good for breakfast. Further down this post, I included an expectation vs. reality comparison of the dragon fruit oat bowl. It looks beautiful but it’s actually deceiving in terms of what the product looks like and the quantity served. It is about half of what is shown. I get it, overflowing cups are better to show your product but it leads to disappointment.  

Soups

I did not try any of their chilled soups because honestly, that’s not my thing so it wouldn’t be fair to taste and review something I already know I am not into. I did give the hot soups a try and they were good. The taste was not that different from your average Campbell’s soup but it seems like you are getting less sodium in the cup which will ultimately be better for you.

Chia Bowls

Confession: I had never had a real chia bowl until this point. I put chia seeds in my personal overnight oats but I had never had these many chia seeds in one place! It was actually not that bad. I was not a big fan of the feel of the banana soaked overnight but the flavor was definitely there. Same critique with the oat bowls though, deceiving quantity and too expensive for what you actually get.

Smoothies

If you look at the Daily Harvest ads, you would think your morning routine just got so much healthier and easier. Well folks, it wasn’t like that for me. First, my blender has the little contraption in the middle so the frozen chunk of smoothie did not fit properly. I had to cut it with a knife but it was not that simple, ended up ruining the little Daily Harvest cup it comes in so I was not able to pour it back in like they tell you to do. I added the amount of liquid indicated (I used almond milk) but after blending, it still did not have a drinkable consistency, it was more like a gelato. I had to add more almond milk before it was better. Same thing happened with another smoothie in which I used coconut water. Flavor wise it was ok – not bad, not amazing. I personally think the basic smoothies I make for myself are just as good (and cheaper). I did love their Cold brew + Almond smoothie, nice coffee boost for the morning.

Overall, you get good cups, but are they worth the price? Without a discount, on a regular plan, the lowest you can get a cup for is $6.99 and that entails ordering 24 cups at a time. $6.99 wouldn’t be terrible for lunch or dinner if it were filling enough, but $6.99 for a soup, smoothie or oat bowl? Not so much, but I guess it depends on where you live and what your usual food habits look like. For example, if you are going to a fancy smoothie bar for a $10 smoothie every day, then yes, this might be a good substitute, but if you have the time to source your own ingredients and make your own, that will be your best route.

I do, however, see some value to always having some cups available in my freezer (better than having a frozen pizza), but given their subscription model, you can’t just buy a couple to have around just in case. You have to order a certain minimum per box, which makes sense from an effectiveness standpoint, you don’t want to waste all the packaging materials in one little cup. They are good with allowing you to cancel ahead of time so you can always skip if you want to keep your own schedule. I would recommend setting a reminder so you don’t get stuck paying for something you did not plan to.

If you want to try it, feel free to use my code: https://daily-harvest.com/r/RE-H2TYD89

With that discount code, you will get 3 free cups on your first order – that will be about $23 off right away as opposed to their regular welcome offer which is $30 off split across your first 3 boxes. I think getting the deal all at once on your first box is better if you are really hesitant or skeptical. That way you also reap the most benefits if you never order another box.

I think I knew Daily Harvest was not for me after the 3rd cup but I decided to finish the whole box before officially sharing my verdict. It’s just not enough food to justify the cost. I don’t regret trying it since I will no longer stress over the ads thinking “hmm should I try it?”. It also helped diversify my own meal prep by exposing me to some ingredients I would not normally think would go well together (hazelnuts in a brussel sprouts tahini bowl?). When reviewing their marketing materials, however, that’s when I lit up more. Their images are not accurate at all and that is a HUGE turn off for me. That’s disrespectful as a consumer. I am surprised they are able to run all of the images and videos they run because they are highly deceiving.

Still, in the essence of keeping this review true to my experience, I have to say they do have good customer service. I had an issue with a delivery date – I was not going to be home and I guess my skipping did not go through (or in all honesty maybe I thought I skipped it, but forgot). Point is, I was able to get a generous credit for my next box which was very much appreciated.

So there you have it, Daily Harvest is not for me and I am ok with that.

Have you tried Daily Harvest?

If so, what did you think?

If not, were you considering it?

Let me know!