Introduction to the Hungry Root service:
The Hungry Root food delivery service offers you fresh and clean foods that are plant-centric, primarily made from vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. Their food products range from plant-based pasta and versatile sauces to thoughtfully sourced proteins and wholesome desserts. The company offers many mixed combination meals, with options available for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
As we see it, all of their ingredients are designed to be paired together, to create a range of simple-to-prepare meals. The combination meals suggestions can be ready in less than 10 minutes at your home.
Who is Hungry Root for:
Hungry Root is ideal for busy people and for people who do not like spending a long time in the kitchen but still would like to enjoy healthy food.
Main benefits:
- Plant-centric, healthy food
- Quick recipes that are easy to follow
- Recyclable packaging
Plans:
We need to note here, that it is not very clear from their website how the subscription service of Hungry Root works. We tried to check the “How it works” tab but could find very limited information on the subscription terms. Eventually, we registered, and only as part of our registration, were we able to find the different plan options.
Hungry Roots offers three different bundle sizes. All plans are part of a weekly subscription:
- The Starter Set – three to four meals, plus grab-and-go breakfasts, snacks, or desserts. Designed for individuals or couples.
- The Good Life – five to six meals, plus grab-and-go breakfasts, snacks, or desserts. Designed for couples or families.
- The Family Plan – seven to eight meals, plus a selection of grab-and-go breakfasts, snacks, or desserts. Designed for families.
Meals variety and style:
The Hungry Root menu contains a pleasing variety of menu items per week, with options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and some snacks. The Hungry Root menu items are designed to be paired together, to create a range of very simple to prepare meals that are ready in less than 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, on the Hungry Root website you are unable to look at menu items available in the coming weeks, which is a feature that is offered as standard with most other meal kit services. We did find that this was a little frustrating and that Hungry Root had not taken into consideration the customer by not having this feature available.
When we checked the “food” section in their website, we found some general information about the food options available and some random menu items, but there did not appear to be a full menu to review.
The taste
Our team of experts at the Meal Kit Review always tries out each company that we review, which of course involves tasting items from the company’s menu. With Hungry Root, we felt that most meals were satisfactory, but nothing really stood out for us. We felt that their offerings were a real mish-mash of things and not at all at the same level of other vegan meal kits available that offer genuine chef-designed meals to cook at home.
Some of the menu items we tried were the Creamy Peanut Yuba Skillet, the Carrot Artichoke Quinoa Risotto and the Kale Cauliflower Burrito Bowl.
The Hungry Root ingredients:
The Hungry Root meals are rich in healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. They contain no artificial preservatives or refined sugars. The menu includes options for many dietary requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and nut- free.
We could find little information about their ingredients and how they were sourced. No advice as to whether ingredients came from local farms, was responsibly raised or organic. To be honest, we found the lack of information a bit odd, especially considering they are a company that is all about healthy and plant-centric foods. Due to this lack of information, we do encourage you to have a look at our top picks for organic, vegan and vegetarian meal kits.
The Hungry Root box:
The Hungry Root delivery arrives in a medium size branded box. The box side walls are covered with insulating material, and at the bottom of the box, there is a big non-toxic gel ice pack to keep everything beautifully cooled during the delivery process. It is good to see that Hungry Root uses 100% recycled and biodegradable cold gel packs and insulated liners.
The ingredients are all labeled and branded but are not organized per meal, so there is some sorting required. The box does not contain any recipe cards. You will need to check the small recipe box you receive with each delivery or log in to your online account to have a look at the recipes and work out which item goes with each dish
The ordering process and website:
As previously mentioned, it is not very clear from the website how the subscription of Hungry Root works and what the different plan options are. We tried to check the “How it works” tab but could find only limited information on the subscription terms. Eventually, we registered and were then able to find the different plan’s options. In order to get started with your first order, you need to choose your dietary preference and a few menu items that appeal, then choose the plan you prefer based on the amount of food you would like to receive each week. Next, you will need to create an account with your personal information (name, address and payment method) and finally, you check out. After checking out you can still change the menu items on your order.
Once you have created your account and made your first order, you can manage your account online, including the flexible option of skipping weeks if needed, swapping recipes and menu items and changing your plan. You can cancel the subscription via the online account setting at any time.
The Bottom line of our Hungryroot review
There is no doubt that Hungry Root makes plant-based food more accessible and easier to make. They are also incredibly convenient with the company making the promise that you can cook a meal in less than 10 minutes. Their menu offers a nice variety of meals, however, we thought that their meals were not the best that you could get from a meal kit service. All meals seemed to resemble something akin to a stew.
They did not feel like at all like genuine chef-designed meals, but more like a mixture of ingredients that sometimes worked well together and quite often not!
At the end of the day, even though all the meals are super easy to cook, we thought they were simply not tasty enough. Therefore, we encourage you to check out our other recommended alternatives for vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free options and go with one of them instead.
