POV: You're a health food nut that loves plant-based meals, whether it's smoothies, small bites, soups, or bowls. You can only sign up for one meal kit subscription. Which do you choose: Splendid Spoon or Daily Harvest?
If you're looking for a plan with the most options for subscriptions or one-time boxes... Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon offers five different options for subscription boxes, but also has an On-Demand Box service with 19 one-time purchase box options. I love the convenience of the subscription (one less thing to occupy the real estate of my mind!), but for those times I'm feeling choosy, the spread of one-time boxes offers options to feed my current craves.
Subscription options include those for Breakfast, Lunch, Breakfast + Lunch, Breakfast, Lunch, Reset, and Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Reset. It sounds like a lot, but I look at it like, how much do I really want to think about my meals this week? Each breakfast plan comes with five smoothies, and the lunch plans come with five bowls. Dinner plans come with five noodle bowls, and each plan with a reset option has a one soup-only day. I find the more the merrier; the less time and energy I spend on my planning and preparing my meals is a big perk, and the results are delicious!
Admittedly, I started out a little commitment-phobic though, not ready to spring for the subscription right off the bat. Splendid Spoon's Mix & Match Bundle (an On-Demand box) delivered me a 10 pack of cold-pressed juices, and a 15 pack of noodle bowls. This vibed with me more than Daily Harvest, which only offers three subscription options (in 9, 14, or 24 item boxes) and no one-time purchases. The variety of options and ability to sample didn't really speak to my flighty whim quite the same way.
MSA Exclusive: First-time Splendid Spoon subscribers can enjoy $35 off their first order using our link. Offer is valid for the first box of Breakfast, Lunch & Reset, or Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Reset.
If you're looking for a plan with the most options for meals... Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest offers over 80(!) options for drinks and meals. Smoothies, harvest bowls, flatbreads, soups, forager bowls, oat bowls, chia bowls, scoops, bites, lattes, and nut milk (Mylk)... oh my! It's almost overwhelming!
Splendid Spoon offers over 50 options for meals but is limited to the categories of smoothies, soup and grain bowls, light soups, noodle bowls, cold-pressed juices, immune shots, and a few desserts and snacks. This is a little more my speed, but some may appreciate the expanded menu offerings of Daily Harvest.
If you value convenience and don't want to deal with prep of any kind... Splendid Spoon
Although Splendid Spoon and Daily Harvest both require minimal prep for their soups and bowls, Splendid Spoon's smoothies are made ready to drink, whereas Daily Harvest requires you to mix individual smoothie ingredients with the liquid of your choice and blend them together. I tend to be more on the go, and washing a blender several times per week isn't exactly my idea of downtime. Ready to drink is hands down my preference!
If you want a plan that uses the most organic ingredients possible... Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest reigns supreme when it comes to using the most organic ingredients. In fact, 95% of the ingredients it uses in all of its meals are organic. Splendid Spoon implements the same percentage of organic ingredients in its smoothies and wellness shots but does not do the same for the rest of its meals. It really depends on how important this is to you; personally, I find it pretty encouraging that Splendid Spoon ensures all of the foods on the Dirty Dozen list are organic.
If you need a subscription that is friendly to allergy modifications... Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon can easily make substitutions to accommodate allergies and allows you to select from a list of common allergies when first building your plan. Moreover, it allows you to check off ingredients you want to avoid, and each of its meals will clearly indicate whether or not any allergens are present. This is so major even if you don't personally have allergies -- a good friend of mine does, and when she came over and asked to try one of my smoothies, I could confidently confirm it was safe for her to do so (I mean, can you imagine having to serve mystery juice with a side of EpiPen? No thanks.). If you accidentally add a flagged meal, Splendid Spoon will ensure that it's substituted for an allergen-free meal.
By contrast, Daily Harvest does not offer modifications to individual items to accommodate allergies, which is a deal breaker to a wide number of people with common diet restrictions.
MSA Exclusive: First-time Splendid Spoon subscribers can enjoy $35 off your first order using our link. Offer is valid for the first box of Breakfast, Lunch & Reset, or Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Reset.
If you want larger portions... Splendid Spoon
You know what's the worst? A meal plan that leaves you a touch hungry and unsatisfied. Like, what's the point in that? Splendid Spoon actually offers larger portion sizes for its meals compared to Daily Harvest. While both brands' smoothies are the same portion size, Splendid Spoon's meals come with two servings, whereas Daily Harvest's meals come with one serving only. This is somewhat deceiving, as Daily Harvest offers cheaper plans, but if you take into account larger portion sizes offered by Splendid Spoon, plus the convenience of having ready-made smoothies, Splendid Spoon actually offers a better deal, even though the final price may be a bit more.
Ultimate Winner
I found both subscriptions offer a wonderful variety of plant-based meals with high-quality ingredients and incredible flavor, but Splendid Spoon is the winner of this showdown for me. At first glance, it may seem that Daily Harvest might be the more affordable subscription due to its lower item costs, however, Splendid Spoon offers twice the number of portions for meals and bowls, which gives me the best bang for the buck on a tight budget. On top of that, I love that Splendid Spoon has several subscription options and a ton of one-off boxes, unlike Daily Harvest which only offers 3 plans with strange sizes, like a 9, 14, or 24 item box. I appreciate flexibility, so having the option to go either way is a win from my perspective. The cherry on top? Splendid Spoon offers the most customization for dietary restrictions and provides the most convenience with its wellness shots and juices already blended and ready to drink. I think we can all agree that not having more to do is a game changer!
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Check out our Splendid Spoon and Daily Harvest brand pages to get all the details and read reviews!