Thursday, January 2, 2020

REVIEW: Daily Harvest (& DISCOUNT CODE)

#RealTalk: I don't do New Year's Resolutions, but GOALS are totally my jam. I know, I know, it may not make logical sense, especially since it is just language, but hear me out. Resolutions just scream "an activity or habit that I will fail at making a constant in my life for more than a couple weeks" whereas goals come with the understanding that it's a journey (with bumps, bruises and hiccups along the way). I'm not sure why, but resolutions, at least in my mind, tend to be an all or nothing commitment. If I fail at whatever I'm trying to accomplish I can just wipe my hands and tell myself that at least I tried... Goals, on the other hand, feel more long term and it's assumed it'll take hard work and dedication to conquer them.


With that said, I know a lot of people DO have New Year's Resolutions and many of them center around health (i.e. lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, get more sleep, etc). Although I don't believe that change needs to occur on January 1st (shoot, we aren't promised tomorrow, so we shouldn't put off until tomorrow what we could and should do TODAY!) I know that flipping the calendar can signify a clean slate, a fresh start and a great day to start making some changes.


Whether you're planning to set a resolution (or goal) of eating healthier in 2020 or are just looking for a new product to try, I wanted to share a little bit about Daily Harvest. They deliver thoughtfully sourced, chef crafted food built on organic fruits and vegetables. Their goal is to turn your freezer into a pantry of clean, nourishing food that’s ready to enjoy in minutes.

Super convenient... the yumminess arrives on your doorstep almost as fast as 1, 2, 3!

Their products are a win-win (times like a billion and a half, but I didn't want to type "win" that many times and I figured you didn't want to read it over and over again either ;)).
Convenient -- Delivered to your doorstep.
Customizable -- Make it your own!
Fast & Easy -- Ready in less than five minutes.
Ingredients You Can See -- All are listed on the cup and visible when you remove the lid.
Clean and Plant-Based -- Top-quality fruits and veggies.
Freezer, Not Fridge -- No risk of spoilage.
Dietary Flexibility -- Gluten-free, vegan, keto ... they’ve got it!
Unique Recipes -- Flavors you wouldn’t make at home.
Variety -- A recipe for every time of a day.
Delicious -- All recipes are crafted by a chef to be equal parts delicious and nutrient-rich!
Like I said, amazing, right?! They offer a ton of goodness including Smoothies, Harvest Bowls, Soups, Oat BowlsBites, Chia Bowls and Lattes (although, as you will see from my review below, I have only tried the smoothies thus far... but everything else looks and sounds just as amazing). My first box arrived last week and I wanted to tell you all about it.

So excited to give this subscription a try!

Thanks to my new partnership with Daily Harvest I was able to pick six smoothie cups to try out (truth be told, I had been eye ballin' these for a while now and just hadn't gotten around to placing an order, so when they reached out I was STOKED and did a little happy dance). I first looked to make sure what I was choosing from was vegan and did NOT contain cucumbers (you can filter the product based on likes and dislikes, the key benefits and any dietary needs). With those two parameters I was given 57 results from the assortment of products, including 20 smoothies. Talk about choices! I finally narrowed down my decision to the Tart Cherry + Raspberry Smoothie, Strawberry + Peach SmoothieAcai + Cherry SmoothieDragon Fruit + Lychee SmoothieBlueberry + Hemp Smoothie and Mango + Papaya Smoothie.

The ingredients are simple, delicious and organic!


As you all are hopefully aware of by now (either thanks to my Instagram announcement or my previous blog post), I recently started a new job. Along with my part time role helping Sparkle Athletic with their social media, at the beginning of the month I took a position with my local running store. Going from very part time (10-15 hours a week) to full time (40 hours a week between the two positions) means I need to on top of my time management. Not only are these smoothie cups a healthy and nutritious way to grab a meal on the go, they are a major time saver as well! Literally all you have to do is choose your liquid base (almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, coconut water, water, etc), fill the cup to top with liquid and toss it all into a blender, then blend and pour everything back into the cup. It's so easy peasy even a caveman can do it!

You can choose the liquid base. We normally have some type of non-dairy option on hand
(when the box first arrived we had THREE different options - silk, almond and oat "milks").

Now that I've worked my way through all of my smoothie cups I wanted to share my thoughts. I did want to mention that a few people sent me messages via social media saying they added ingredients to their smoothies (ranging from a banana or greens to yogurt or coffee). While I think adding things to jazz up the smoothies is a great idea, I decided to prepare them by strictly adding a liquid base so I (and you through reading my review) could get an untainted assessment.


Overall I'd give these smoothies two thumbs up. If you're expecting them to be overtly sweet or taste like a milkshake, you may be a bit disappointed, but if you're wanting a convenient way to add extra fruits and veggies into your diet this is a great option. A few of the smoothies felt as though they were missing a little in the flavor department (so I could totally see adding spinach and a banana to the mix), but overall I was stoked with the nutritional value and yumminess. The process is super easy and I was able to make one quickly before heading out the door to work. (Since I didn't add anything extra to my smoothies I was able to blend them in the single serving cups that came with my blender - which made clean-up afterwards a breeze!) I was a little surprised that more of them didn't have greens in them (only the Blueberry + Hemp Smoothie had greens in it), but I also appreciate that you can add them in yourself if you'd like them. I'd say taste testing the smoothies during the winter may not have been super ideal (they' be amazing in the summer, but when I'm already chilled from my morning run it is hard to rally for a frozen drink), but I took one for the team and drank them down ;)


Like I mentioned at the jump, whether you are looking for a way to help set yourself up for success with your New Year's Resolutions or just looking for a new food subscription box, you may very well be interested in giving Daily Harvest a shot. And, if you want to save money (because, let's be real, who doesn't want to keep some of their hard earned dolla dolla bills y'all in their own pocket?!) you can use code "CARLEEMCDOT" to save $25 off your first order. And, in complete transparency, I want to let you know that I do make a couple bucks when someone uses my code, but hopefully by now you know that I always have to #KeepItReal and wouldn't recommend a product I didn't use and enjoy myself!


Did you set any New Year's Resolutions?