Healthy Smoothies For Weight Loss
I try to always eat healthy meals. Sure I have a sweet tooth but besides that I actually love healthy meals. I think everything tastes better when it is made from fresh, whole food ingredients. This has always helped me keep my weight in check naturally. However, when I have had a few extra pounds that I want to lose, I use healthy smoothies for weight loss. I got this weight loss tip from my sister and it has served me well. In this post I will share with you options for healthy smoothie ingredients so you can make your own. I will also share my review of Daily Harvest for weight loss.
I was provided with provided with Daily Harvest smoothie cups to help facilitate my review.
Daily Harvest Overnight Oat Reviews
So far the only Daily Harvest overnight oats that Ive tried are the Mulberry + Dragon Fruit. It was really tasty, and super simple to make.
You just need to add almond milk the night before you want to enjoy them, shake it up + heat in the morning!
Overnight oats are very simple to make on your own so I dont regularly add these to my subscription.
Instead I opt for things I cant make at home as easily like the smoothies/lattes.
Daily Harvest Chia Bowls
Chia bowls are my least favorite Daily Harvest bowl, which is kind of weird because I love adding chia seeds to my smoothies and other recipes.
However, I dont like when chia seeds are the main ingredient in a recipe. So, this is just a personal preference.
I will say these could work if you want a healthy decadent dessert option because they do have a pudding texture and rich flavor.
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Daily Harvest Soups Review
I love the Tomato + Zucchini Minestrone Soup. Its full of flavor + so yummy! However, similar to the harvest bowls I find that their soups arent very filling for me.
I really like hearty soups packed with protein, and while I love that these are veggie loaded they dont fill me up for a complete meal.
Is Daily Harvest Worth It
In most cases, a meal kit delivery service provides convenience. However, with Daily Harvest, you get loads of produce and unique ingredients like superfood powders that I wouldnt spend the time to use or buy. They also provide portability with their specially designed on the go cups.
Is it worth it? If you are looking for a meal kit delivery service to make your life a little easier and help you get in healthier meals, I would definitely consider Daily Harvest! Let me know if you have other questions, happy to answer them!
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Did It Taste Good
The short answer is yes. I really enjoyed the majority of the items in my Daily Harvest box however, I think its important to understand what you should expect going into this subscription. The flavor combinations are innovative, tasty, and exciting, but theres an emphasis on healthy ingredients and clean eating. Youre more likely to find cacao than chocolate, veggies abound, and nothing is over-the-top sweet. Personally, I find this type of food enjoyable, and I like how it makes me feel when I eat it. But if youre looking for stodgy comfort foods, this aint it.
Top 3 Pros Of Daily Harvest:
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Harvest Bowl: Broccoli Rice + Dill Pilaf
- 5
I adore pad thai, though I always request like the lowest level of spice I can get the chef to make for me. I probably shouldnt have picked this bowl because I noticed after that jalapeños were on the ingredient list and I dont really do spicy. With trepidation, I fired up the stovetop and cooked this over heat for about 6 minutes. I added in a little bit of olive oil, though it likely wasnt necessary. This was indeed a little too spicy for me, but I grabbed a lime and added some lime juice, a trick that usually helps when I end up ordering something too fiery at a Thai restaurant. This did indeed tone the spice down, but I am still not sure this bowl was really for me. It was almost too gingery to feel like pad thai. I also found the addition of kelp to really not work in this dish for me, though I understand they were probably trying to create a veggie sort of fish sauce effect.
Why I Dont Do Much Snacking
So now you know that most of the time I drink Green Thickies and not green smoothies as snacks.
The main reason is because Im just too busy. Id rather have a meal that fills me up from one meal to another. I simply dont need to snack, so I dont.
But I know that most people enjoy their snacks, and for that reason, I am sharing my favorite green smoothies as snacks recipes with you today.
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Effectiveness For Weight Loss
Although neither service is explicitly designed to promote weight loss, you may lose weight if you include Splendid Spoon or Daily Harvest as part of a balanced, reduced calorie diet.
In particular, both services make calorie counting easy, as they include nutrition information for all of their preportioned products.
Whats more, given that the meals are made with whole, minimally processed ingredients, they may be more supportive of weight loss than highly processed foods, which tend to be higher in calories and may promote weight gain .
Just keep in mind that each of Splendid Spoons items provides two snack-sized servings.
Therefore, if you consume the whole container, youll need to double the calories and other nutrients on the label to accurately track your intake.
What Is A Whole Food Diet
In other words, it involves a lot of cooking because whole foods do not involve anything processed. That means no premade sauces, dips, or convenience foods like chocolate bars, sweets, or ready-meals. It also includes things like tinned vegetables and white bread.
Why? Processed and convenience foods are often high in salt, saturated fat, and additives in comparison to anything homemade. Because of this, their toll on your overall health is higher.
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Daily Harvest Customer Service & Reviews
Daily Harvest has earned a 3.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot, based on 931 customer reviews. Most positive reviews highlight the exemplary customer service, the accommodation to different dietary needs, the quality and flavor of the food, and the health benefits of including more whole fruits and vegetables in one’s diet. Some customers expressed mild frustration with items arriving thawed but were pleased with Daily Harvest’s solutions and response following the incidents.
One five-star reviewer writes, “I started getting Daily Harvest delivered a few weeks ago and have been really pleased with their products. I’ve enjoyed about 80% of the food that I’ve chosen, and they have a great rating system so you can rate the foods you love and those you don’t. Each food has reviews on the site as well which makes it easier to choose. The quality has been top notch. There’s no junk in this food whatsoever, which is important to me.”
I think if you order Daily Harvest and are expecting full meals that will satisfy your hunger and curb all of your cravings throughout the day, you may be disappointed, and some of the reviews implied that’s what some people expected. However, if you’re looking for easy ways to include more fruits and vegetables in your diet, through whole food snacks without artificial ingredients, Daily Harvest is a great choice.
Who Shouldnt Use It
- You dont see the value. If having individual frozen vegan meals sent to your home isnt a priority, this meal service wont work for you.
- You want meat in your meals. Daily Harvest provides vegan frozen meals. Sure, you can go to the store and purchase chicken or beef to add to your meals, but it defeats the purpose, and using another meal kit company might be better.
- You like to cook and prefer fresh ingredients. Each cup is frozen, and all you need to do is heat, blend, and go. If you dont need this convenience, you might be better off with a different meal kit service.
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Green Weight Loss Smoothies
Popping into a juice bar for a cold cup of extruded kale juice may be all the rage, but when it comes to both nutritional impact and weight-loss power, juices can’t hold a candle to smoothies.
- First, most commercial juices use apple juice, which is a high-sugar, low-nutrient base.
- Second, juicing strips all the natural fiber out of produce: the rough stuff is what makes it good.
- And third, juices lack fat and protein without these crucial elements, you’re getting no fat-burning, metabolism-boosting benefits.
Next time you want to drink your veggies, blend up one of these seriously nutritious recipes from the book Zero Belly Smoothies.
All recipes make one serving.
Daily Harvest Vs Making It Yourself
One of the main issues a lot of people have with Daily Harvestand meal delivery services in generalis that they say that they can make it at home for way cheaper. Thats 100% true.
With any of these types of food delivery services like Daily Harvest, the actual cost you would pay to purchase the ingredients at a grocery store and make it yourself is going to be cheaper than purchasing the service itself. That being said, Daily Harvest isnt just selling the plant-based meals. The point of purchasing Daily Harvest is the convenience factor of having all of the prep work done for you so you can literally just blend or heat and eat.
There are a lot of hidden financial and time costs that people overlook when making a direct comparison between Daily Harvest and making these smoothies or meals at home. For example, think about everything that would go into making their popular Mango + Papaya smoothie. Youd have to drive to the grocery store and purchase a bag of frozen mango, pineapple, acerola, papaya, and macadamia nuts. Then blend it all yourself. Yes, youll save money if you enjoy the smoothie and are able to use all of the ingredients by making more smoothies in the future. But if you hate it, you just spent money on raw ingredients that will likely go to waste.
Daily Harvest is great for those who like trying new flavors and meals. Its not great for people who prefer to stick to what they like and are on a budget.
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Who’s Daily Harvest Good For
This service works best for students or young professionals, rather than families, because of the smaller portion sizes. While I found some of the individual dishes to be filling, the food isn’t enough to make meals for families or larger groups. These items are also great for quick preparation and on-the-go eating . And because the food arrives frozen, if you have to travel for work, you can just store your items, rather than having to pause or cancel your order. So, for those who want to make healthy dietary choices but don’t have time for serious cooking preparation, Daily Harvest is a solid option.
Smoothie : Tart Cherry + Raspberry
- 5
I know this isnt the prettiest smoothie. It is actually not pretty at all! But this was one of my absolute favorites from this first week. It was full of cocoa and kale, which gave this mix of blueberries, bananas, and spinach a dark and luxurious taste. This is another one of those smoothies that could have easily doubled for ice cream, making it feel more like a ritzy dessert than a healthy drink. I used almond milk to add in extra creaminess and I could have easily added in protein powder to this heavier beverage if I had thought to do so at the time.
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Latte: Chaga + Chocolate
- 6
These had the same preparation at my beloved matcha pods above. I again reached for almond milk because I felt this should just be creamy, but using oat milk would be another good alternative. Again, the froth is real! These whipped up into a beverage that felt like chocolate milk, but with a depth and earthiness which made it feel much more sophisticated. I feel like you could easily enjoy this hot too. The earthiness likely comes from the Chaga mushrooms inside, which have a plethora of health benefits like boosting your immunity and helping your overall gut health.
Oat Bowl: Cinnamon Protein + Organic Banana
- 5
I love, love, loved this bowl!!! Pesto is always a hit with me, and this clever take made it a veggie-based meal instead of a pasta regret. The ingredient list here is super simple too: frozen blocks of pesto, seasonings, and other flavor mysteries, riced cauli, spinach, and sundried tomatoes. Just heat everything over the stove or in the microwave, mix, and enjoy. This is a highlight for me this week, though there was some portion shrinkage in terms of how much of the bowl was filled after cooking. I did choose to supplement with some toast because this felt too light by itself for an entire meal.
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Is Daily Harvest Good For Weight Loss
Daily Harvest does not claim to help support weight loss. Instead, its designed to simply help people eat more healthy, plant-based meals.
That said, most entrées contain 400 or fewer calories, so some individuals may find themselves losing weight by using Daily Harvest.
Depending on your current calorie intake, replacing some or all of your meals with Daily Harvests lower calorie options could result in a reduction in your overall calorie intake and subsequent weight loss (
8 ).
Because many of Daily Harvests options are lower in protein, with 20 or fewer grams per serving, some individuals may not find the meals to be filling enough on their own.
Its also important to note that the nutrition facts for each item do not include any liquid that customers need to add themselves.
Finally, whether you lose weight using Daily Harvest also depends on many other factors, such as other foods youre eating throughout the day and your physical activity level.
So What Is Daily Harvest
Its a meal delivery service that makes it easy to eat more fruits and vegetables every day. Everything is shipped to your door, completely frozen and ready to eat with just a few minutes of prep. Everything comes packed in dry ice and Ive never once had issues with anything melting and Ive been using the service for nearly 7 years!
All of their items are gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based and 95% of their ingredients are organic. They never use gums, preservatives or artificial anything.
You can choose a plan of 9, 14, or 24 items that come weekly or monthly for your first box, and then anywhere between 6-26 items per box following that. Daily Harvest is extremely flexible. You can skip deliveries whenever you want, add or remove items, and change box sizes. Their app makes it super easy to manage and ensure you dont get anything you dont want! My full review and my favorites from their collections are below. I also shared a few items I wouldnt order again.
In short, Daily Harvest smoothies, flatbreads and scoops are delicious.
The smoothies and flatbreads add more variety to my eating lifestyle, take a little stress off me from prepping all my meals, and help me get fruit and veggies no matter what is going on in my day. The scoops are a sweet way to end the day without making me feel sick like so many ice creams do. .
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Daily Harvest Flavor And Quality: Elevated
Excuse the cliche, but when it comes to the quality of ingredients in Daily Harvest food, the proof is in the pudding. Daily Harvest uses mostly whole organic ingredients to ensure the highest level of health. The company advertises its food as having “no fillers, gums, refined sugars, harmful oils, stabilizers, or anything artificial.” If I had to describe Daily Harvest flavors in one word, it would be elevated.
I think I’m so used to artificial flavors that I was rather surprised by how some of the Daily Harvest snacks tasted, and then I thought, “Oh, right it’s real food, hence the authentic flavors.” I did make some modifications to suit my personal taste preferences, adding some fresh berries to the oat and chia bowls and some carbs to pair with the other heartier dishes. A couple of the dishes were outside of my comfort zone. For example, I’m not a fan of grits, so I didn’t love the Spinach + Shiitake Grits harvest bowl or the Leek + Fonio Grits forager bowl. That being said, you can optimize your order to eliminate ingredients you don’t like, which is an option I would take advantage of next time.
While I won’t strictly cook vegan following this experience, I did gain an appreciation for all the ways you can include healthy foods in your diet, particularly organic produce. Next time I’m at Trader Joe’s, I might even take a lap through the organic section to see what gems are waiting for me there.