Review: Fresh. Wholesome. Flavorful.
These are my thoughts after sampling a Whole Harvest meal box. I have become a huge fan of this food!
These meals are bringing this plant-based enthusiast further into alignment with his values.
The Whole Harvest box provides a pleasurable way to discover a whole new way of healthy eating that:
- Prevents and reverses chronic disease
- Helps you manage your weight
- Increases your energy
- Has a positive impact on the environment
Day 1 Dinner: Tuscan White Bean and Kale
[Tuscan White Bean and Kale]
When opening the box, the spicy aroma was inviting.
Chef Richard is masterful at seasoning certain ingredients separately.
The tuscan flavoring tastes like parsley, thyme, basil, and rosemary, some of my favorite spices to add to my steamed vegetables.
This meal brought the return of the buckwheat groats, the second meal I have eaten from Whole Harvest with this ingredient.
Part of the fun in eating Whole Harvest meals is discovering some entirely new ingredients!
The white beans, packed with protein and iron, make this a hearty meal. The tomatoes and greens, high in Vitamin C, help your body absorb iron.
I added some Harvest Vinaigrette, replaced the lid on the meal, and shook it like a Polaroid pitcha!
This meal has great texture contrast—mushy groats and crisp celery, with crunchy kale. I learned from the last box that even when there is kale already mixed in, it is still better when adding a little bit of the Organic Girl greens—his time, swiss chard, tat soi, arugula, and spinach.
I think this may be one of my favorite Whole Harvest meals. I love this herb combination, and I think I have fallen in love with groats!
Day 1 Evening Snack: Cacao Chip Harvest Bites
[Cacao Chip Harvest Bites]
The Cacao Chip Harvest Bites were impressive. You can taste the chips separately as well as the cacao throughout.
Who says dudes can’t love chocolate too!?
The oats give this substance—a hearty serving of fiber—not just an overly-processed, sugary junk food item. I chased them down with a little bit of unsweetened soy milk, leaving my sweet tooth satisfied.
Along with the Tuscan White Bean and Kale, I felt sufficiently satiated without being bogged down. I love these meals!
Day 2 Breakfast: Oatmeal Raisin Granola
[Oatmeal Raisin Granola]
I ate a couple of bites without plant milk. The sweet raisins and prominent cinnamon gave this an old-fashioned flavor.
I loved it so much that I poured the whole bag into a bowl with unsweetened soy milk. It was perfect!
The plentiful raisins and complimentary pepitas made a crunchy, sweet breakfast with a little bit of a nutty essence.
This oil-free granola doesn’t leave that film in your mouth. When you start eating oil-free whole plant foods a lot, your taste buds really do change.
Day 2 Lunch: Hearty Beet
[Hearty Beet]
The sweet apricots and earthy beets together were a great combination.
This time Chef Richard mixed lentils and wild rice together to make the base ingredients, lightly seasoned to enhance the natural flavors.
Lentils are packed with protein, iron, and fiber. I like it when Chef Richard finds ways to add beans and legumes to the meals.
Whole Harvest meals are normalizing pepitas in my life, which were found throughout the Hearty Beet. I added greens and the Harvest Vinaigrette.
The vinaigrette extracted the beet flavor and color throughout, giving the entire meal an earthy essence. I like this meal cold.
You all need to eat Whole Harvest meals. I devoured the Hearty Beet and two Cacao Chip Harvest Bites. I’m good to go!
Day 3 Lunch: Vibrant Mediterranean
[Vibrant Mediterranean]
The Vibrant Mediterranean provides sweet roasted peppers in a variety of colors. Chef Richard often sweetens the main course offerings with a variety of ingredients, including sweet tomatoes, sweet red peppers, and even dried fruit.
The Harvest Vinaigrette completes the flavor while the greens fill out the meal and provide added nutrients.
This was a good quick lunch before a noon Zoom call. I believe that this meal is best when eaten cold.
It is a great way to eat light and healthy, plus it’s filling. This high fiber meal sticks with you without making you feel tired for the rest of the day.
Day 4 Breakfast: Berry Cacao Smoothie
[Berry Cacao Smoothie]
The tart raspberries and blackberries provide a nice alternative to the other smoothies that are primarily made with blueberries. The smoothie was a little seedy from the berries, which I don’t mind.
Cacao is a nice compliment to these berries, but I wouldn’t have minded just a little bit more.
This made for a quick 5-minute breakfast. I added 6 ounces of unsweetened soy milk and a handful of greens, giving me lasting energy for the entire morning.
Day 4 Lunch: Creamy Butternut Bisque & Mediterranean Salad
[Creamy Butternut Bisque and Mediterranean Salad]
I am not much of a soup person, but I love this Creamy Butternut Bisque.
It was so thick, not like those watery canned soups from the store, making it feel more like eating a solid meal.
I don’t even miss the crackers with this one. The sweet butternut flavor was just perfect. I placed the soup in a glass dish and heated it for two minutes in the microwave, stirring halfway through. A saucepan would work as well.
I could eat this soup twice a week!
The Mediterranean Salad is a perfect complement to the Creamy Butternut Bisque.
Adding beans to this salad mix is ideal because it accompanies a soup, which is not a bulky main dish.
I added a generous amount of greens to the salad mix and used the house vinaigrette on it. The seasoning in this salad is somehow refreshing to my mouth.
These two dishes and two Cacao Chip Harvest Bites were plenty of food for lunch at the office.
Remember, your brain is an organ too. Whether your job is physical or cerebral, eating healthy foods is an essential part of your workplace performance.
Day 4 Dinner: Sesame Garlic Chickpeas and Vegetables with Ginger Rice
[Sesame Garlic Chickpeas and Vegetables with Ginger Rice]
For this meal, I steamed everything except rice. I don’t let the vegetables get soft. I like a little bit of crunch in my steamed veggies, and minimal cooking times help preserve nutrients.
The ginger-flavored rice was sublime. As I was tasting it, the ginger permeated my olfactory, as if the flavor was alive!
I chose the Harvest Sweet Garlic Soy dressing, which I purchased separately from the website. I ate the greens on the side of this meal.
Day 5 Breakfast: Sweet Potato Pie Parfait
[Sweet Potato Pie Parfait]
The Sweet Potato Pie Parfait has cinnamon oats on top, which makes it taste a bit like a pie crust. Because I commonly eat oats for breakfast, however, this seemed appropriate for my morning meal.
There were plenty of raisins and a few pepitas. I ate half of this treat cold, without mixing the ingredients together.
I found it to be lightly sweetened to perfection, with bits of soft apples. This was the perfect blend of ingredients.
I love how Chef Richard sweetens oats and granola.
He makes good breakfasts and snacks for your sweet tooth without using processed sugar.
I gently heated the other half for one minute, stirring it halfway. I mixed it around after heating. It seemed more like a dessert when eating it warm.
The cinnamon is more prominent in every bite this way. I wanted to put it in an actual pie crust!
I am enjoying my assignment in reviewing Whole Harvest boxes. I will surely be a customer for life!