Daily Harvest Holiday Hacks

A few weeks back I got an email from Daily Harvest asking if I wanted to participate in an upcoming campaign. I think I had to ponder this for all of about point one seven seconds (just about as long as it took me to hit the reply button ;)). I don't think I have ever turned down Daily Harvest because everything I've ever tried has been scrum-didily-umptious! The idea they suggested seemed pretty fun, so I picked a few different items and waited patiently for them to be delivered.

Yes, as a matter of fact, we DO have our Christmas tree up already... It makes me happy. And the 
Daily Harvest delivery at the front door was sort of like a Christmas present under the tree anyway ;)

Their request: HACK FOR THE HOLIDAYS! Yep, they didn't want us just eating the items, but asked that we think outside of the box (or bowl/ cup in this instance) and come up with creative ideas on how to prepare and enjoy the deliciousness.

Source

Now, I do need to give you a bit of warning, I am NOT a food blogger. Sure I blog and I eat food, but staging food, plating food, making food look pretty, it's just not something I'm good at (shoot, I'm not even that amazing at taking photos to begin with, that's why I am one lucky duck to have a hubby who is a designer and good with a camera). With that said, please don't hold the less-than-amazing food photography against me or the food itself. I promise that if you had smell-o-vision or you could come over and share the meal with me (maybe after COVID), you'd feel differently... hopefully ;)

Quinoa + Chipotle Harvest Bowl

The first item that we decided to "hack" was the Quinoa + Chipotle Harvest Bowl. Instead of eating it out of the bowl, I decided to make the hubby tacos. (We have your run of the mill taco sized tortillas, so although I would have loved to make one burrito, it would have been silly for me to go out and buy a package of larger tortillas, so we worked with what we had.) Neither of us had tried this one before and the hubby really enjoyed it (I tasted a bit of it and thought it was a little too spicy for my liking). He said it sort of reminded him of Skyline Chili, for any of your familiar with the Cincinnati staple, because the filling had a little sweeter taste due to the cacao and cinnamon. I also added fresh red onions and Valentino's hot sauce. The hubby said next time he would even consider throwing some vegan "cheddar" cheese on them too. 

Broccoli + Cheeze Harvest Bowl

The next item up was the Broccoli + Cheeze Harvest Bowl. My first thought when I saw this one was to add it to a baked potato. Confession time - I don't think I've ever actually had a broccoli and cheese baked potato, but it's a thing, right?! Or at least I think it is. Anyway, that's what we were going with for this "hack". Well, let's just say I didn't realize baking a potato took upwards of 45 minutes - SAY WHAT?! Instead of keeping the oven on 450* for over an hour (ours takes its sweet time preheating), I figured I'd dice the potato so it'd cook faster and consider it more of a deconstructed broccoli and cheese baked potato... There are no rules in 2020, right?! While my single chopped potato baked, I microwaved the harvest bowl. I know you "eat with your eyes" and the picture doesn't do it justice, but it was yummy! We sprinkled a little Everything but the Bagel Seasoning and Nutritional Yeast on top and both the hubby and I gave it two thumbs up.

Lentil + Mesquite Chili

Because the hubby and I split the Broccoli + Cheeze Potato, I also made up the Lentil + Mesquite Chili to go alongside it. Instead of just eating it on its own (boring, right?! ;)), I thought I'd do a bit of a Chili Mac and add some pasta to the base as well. Because it is technically supposed to be more of a soup (even though the name is a chili) I didn't add the full half cup of water suggested for cooking so it'd be less liquidy. I'll be honest, sweet potato is not my jam (although the hubby LOVES it) so I was a little nervous I wouldn't love this one, but surprisingly it wasn't bad. We also topped it with red onions (since we had some chopped in the fridge) but you could always throw on some avocado, vegan "cheddar" cheese, cilantro or hot sauce if you wanted an extra kick (but I'm a wimp and thought it was already a bit on the spicy side).

Vanilla + Salted, Swirled Black Sesame Scoops

And last up on the hacking menu is dessert! Initially I had requested the Strawberry + Rich, Rippled Berry Compote Scoops, but it was out of stock so they swapped it for the Vanilla + Salted, Swirled Black Sesame Scoops. Originally I wanted to make an "ice cream pie" and put the strawberry dessert in a graham cracker crust, but with the change I had to edit the idea slightly. I still made a pie, but grabbed an Oreo crust instead (since I didn't think the new flavor would pair as well with graham cracker). I wasn't sure how full the pie crust would get with the pint, but surprisingly it filled out fairly well. I left the container out of the freezer for about 20 minutes so the contents would be melty and a little malleable, then spooned it into the crust, spread it around a bit and put it into the freezer for about 4 hours. The dessert turned out great and we both enjoyed it. I had tried this flavor before and enjoyed it, but next to the extra sweet crust it did seem to taste a bit blander (or at least not as sweet) as compared to when I ate it on its own. I still think I would've prefered the berry and graham cracker option more (I almost always go for the fruity vs chocolatey flavor), but, hey, there's always next time! 

Like I said when I started this post, I'm not a food blogger (nor do I play one on TV the InterWebs), and I don't even pretend to be much of a cook or baker, so I'm sure these "hacks" may seem a little less hack-y than you would like, but I am pretty proud of myself for thinking a bit outside of the box bowl/cup. And maybe my ideas gave you some even better ideas of what you could do to jazz up your Daily Harvest order. PS If you haven't tried Daily Harvest before and want to give it a go, you can use code "CARLEEMCDOT" to save $25 on your first order {#RealTalk - I do make a few dollars if/ when someone uses my code, but I wouldn't be recommending it to you if I didn't love and fully support this brand!}.

What item would you "hack" from Daily Harvest?