GoKawiilI've spent the last 21 years of my life on a vegetarian diet, and because of that, I naturally cook and eat many meat-free vegan recipes. However, when I first heard about meal kits, I was skeptical, assuming that they wouldn't cater to a plant-based diet. But when I began testing meal delivery services for CNET, I was happy to discover that there are a plethora of meal kits that accommodate vegan dietary restrictions.
When it comes to vegan meal kits, Purple Carrot often comes to mind because it's a 100% plant-based service. Yet, there are many other companies that offer vegan dishes -- just not as many. It's one of those other services that outperformed Purple Carrot in my eyes. I'm talking about the USDA-certified organic Green Chef.
Although Green Chef isn’t 100% vegan like Purple Carrot, this is why I'd chose the former if I were to spend my own money on vegan meal kits.
Green Chef puts thought into its vegan dishes
Choosing Green Chef over Purple Carrot as my favorite vegan meal kit service came down to taste and the thoughtfulness of recipes. Over the two decades I’ve been preparing and chowing down on vegan meals, I’ve noticed that some recipes tend to equate “vegan” with “flavorless,” either overcompensating on spice or salt or undercompensating by simply throwing tofu in a dish with barely any preparation.
I found that Green Chef’s meals incorporated a lovely blend of veggies, greens, grains, seeds and beans while still ensuring that each layer of its dishes was packed with the right amount of flavor. Even though Green Chef doesn’t solely focus on vegan recipes, each one I tried didn’t feel like an afterthought.
Roasted squash and bell pepper sandwiches, creamy tomato pasta with roasted veggies and black bean burritos and spiced cauliflower are the three Green Chef meals I tried, and I would gladly make them all again.
Green Chef's creamy tomato pasta with roasted veggies, which was packed with flavor. Anna Gragert/CNET
A Purple Carrot protein predicament
From Purple Carrot, I’ve tried eight different meals, and some I liked better than others, but overall it felt like the brand was struggling to find the right balance of flavors, especially in how its vegan proteins were prepared. For example, two of the proteins I tried, crispy lemon chick'n and adobo-roasted tofu, lacked tasty, well-rounded flavors, and I wasn’t able to finish eating them.
... continue reading