Sun Basket Review & $30 Coupon – September 2016

Sun Basket is a meal kit delivery subscription box.   Their chef-developed and nutritionist-approved recipes focus on helping people create delicious, healthy meals using quality ingredients and globally-inspired flavors.  Recipes are created by Chef Justine Kelly, formerly of the James Beard award–winning restaurant The Slanted Door.  Meals are between 500–800 calories.  Meal ingredients use certified organic produce and responsibly sourced meats and seafood (free from antibiotics and added hormones).  Pick and choose 3 recipes between the following meal plan menus for your weekly selections:  Chef’s choice, Paleo, Gluten-free, and Vegetarian.  You can also opt for the Rise & Shine menu which consists of two dinner recipes and two 5-minute breakfast recipes.  Sun Basket is now providing 20-minute meals as part of the weekly selection for those short on time, as well as a globetrotter meal that highlights an international destination!

Sun Basket included this label on the outside of the box.  This information is useful if you have concerns about where your food is sourced.

Food is well insulated, and recipes are separated into individual bags (with color coded labels).  Meals are packaged to stay fresh in the box for up to 8 hours after delivery.  Immediately refrigerate ingredients after removing from the box.  Note from Sun Basket, recipes with delicate greens and fresh mushrooms are best used within 4 days of delivery.  Sun Basket provides most of the ingredients needed for your recipes, but there are a few pantry staples that you’ll be asked to add such as olive oil, grapeseed or sunflower oil, plus salt and freshly–ground pepper. Occasionally, you’ll be asked for wine or butter as an optional recipe item. All Sun Basket packing materials are either recyclable or compostable.

This ice pack is still frozen 6 hours after arriving at my house!  The box arrived around noon, but I didn’t get to unpack it until 6pm.

This week’s recipes.  The front of each card outlines start-to-finish timelines for the meals, calorie content, and servings.  On the back are step-by-step directions, as well as ingredients/quantities so that recipes can be repeated if desired.

Coriander-crusted Tuna Niçoise:  

Making the meal:  Cook the potatoes, blanche the green beans, boil the eggs, cook the tuna, and assemble the salad.

Even though I overcooked the tuna, this was still a great dinner.  The soft boiled eggs provided creaminess, while the green beans added some crunch.  The salad was very filling, and the amount of potatoes could have been reduced.  This was my favorite meal of the week and will absolutely be made again!

Steak Fajitas with Radish-Cucumber Salsa:  

Making the meal:  Cook the steak, cook the peppers and scallions, make the salsa, and warm the tortillas.

These fajitas had great flavor.  The cucumber-radish salsa was different, and I liked the texture that they added.  The Greek yogurt was a nice substitute for sour cream and gave more tang, in my opinion.  However, I wish the tortillas had been slightly bigger – there was plenty of filling, but the tortillas were too small to hold it well.  Also, the meat was pre-cut, but the cuts were not consistent and the meat was very chewy.  This is worth trying again with a few tweaks.

Salmon in Parchment with Lemon and Dill:  

Making the meal:  Prep the shallot/fennel/lemon, assemble the salmon packets, cook the squash, and make the lemon-dill dressing.

I am not a fennel fan; sometimes the anise flavor overwhelms a dish.  BUT, this meal was good enough to make me change my opinion.  The salmon was moist and flaky.  The fennel complimented the fish well and delivered lots of flavor.  My dad, who is not a fan of squash, cleaned his plate and was willing to make the side dish again.  Now that says something about a meal.

You can choose between the 2-person or 4-person plans (weekly $74.93 and $143.87, respectively).  Sun Basket meals breakdown to $11.49 per person, which is similar to eating out at a casual restaurant.  There is also a $5.99 weekly delivery fee.  You can skip or cancel at any time.  Sun Basket has an expanded delivery area.  However, they do not deliver to the following states:  AK, HI, IA, KS, LA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NM, ND, OK, SD, TX, and WI.  They only deliver to parts of AR.

Have you tried Sun Basket yet or any other meal service? Save $30 on your first box – about half off! Use this link to get the deal.

Visit Sun Basket to subscribe or find out more!