The best freshly prepared meal delivery service

If eating your vegetables gives you goosebumps, you haven’t tried Thistle yet. Lucky for you, I have!

More than once, in fact, as part of the 20 meal kits I’ve tested over four years at the Post. I wanted to try Thistle’s meals again and give a full review of what to expect.

The meal delivery service is more than just a food package, delivering freshly prepared food to your door, with a full range for every square of the day, plus healthy snacks, drinks and even desserts – yes, I said healthy and dessert at the same time sentence.

I’m an omnivore, so I know salads and bowls aren’t for everyone. However, after trying Thistle for a week again, I would argue that it can be for anyone who wants to at least include more vegetables and whole grains in their diet.

Read on for the full roundup and see for yourself if Thistle meal delivery is for you to try in 2025.

How Thistle works

Thistle is more like a daily meal delivery regimen than a meal bag and honestly, I loved that. They offer a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack and dessert for every day of the week, including weekends. You can change meals for allergy reasons or just personal preference. You can also add more food, juice and other items to fill your fridge even more or schedule another delivery in the same week – something other services don’t offer.

Thistle meal plans are not yet available in every US state, so be sure to enter your ZIP code first. But in participating states, customer service and the ordering process is easy, with real-time shipment tracking, in-person deliveries, and durable, reusable packaging. Simply order for the week, receive your delivery, and then when your next order arrives, return the tote bag in which the food is delivered to the delivery person.

The price of the thorn

Because of its super fresh ingredients, hand delivery for some areas, and great packaging, Thistle is really on the more expensive end of the spectrum when compared to other meal kits and delivery services I’ve tried. However, when does it compare to getting a pre-made salad or bowl in a big city? Very reasonable.

The cost of Thistle’s meals varies in price depending on whether a meal has meat or is vegan. Shipping vs. local delivery also affects the final price. The most accurate way to know the price is by entering your ZIP code. On the latest Thistle FAQ page, I found the prices listed below:

“Prices per meal start at $16.32 (vegan lunch or dinner), $18.77 (meat lunch or dinner) and $14.14 (breakfast). Prices will decrease as you increase the amount of meals on your plan and custom orders, and the price per meal may also be lower depending on your area, due to our sourcing from local farms and suppliers,” the FAQ states.

Spicy foods

While Thistle doesn’t have much variety on its menu, it always offers a few things: freshness and flavor. It offers an option every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack, with several adjustments available for allergies, preferences, or if you want to swap out the meat for mock meat protein.

Otherwise, most meals are salads or bowls that can be eaten right out of the carton or after a quick toss in a pan. Other items include bars, drinks and a few other bites, but the stars of the show are really the fresh vegetables, proteins and sauces.

We have tried

• Coconut Hemp Granola Pitaya Smoothie
• Persephone Salad
• Peanut Butter Mousse Cups
• Potato Bravas Scramble
• Salad with Golden Tahini
• Bibimbap
• Chocolate Caramel Muesli Bar
• Mocha Oats with Coconut Cream Latte
• Salad with roasted chickpeas
• Jalapeño & Pinto “Bacon” bowl.
• Mango Bar with Coconut Oatmeal
• Chopped Sonoma Chickpea Snack Plate
• Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad

When it comes to fresh vegetables and vegan meals, I can be skeptical that the produce will retain its crispness upon delivery or that the meat (or meat alternatives) will be a soggy mess. However, I was excited to find great crunchy food and freshness all around. Plus, the flavorful dressings for each salad and bowl were a highlight and made them more than just a bucket of greens.

The other thing to note beyond the freshness is the packaging itself. Thistle makes sure that every breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack is labeled on the day you should eat it. I ordered for Sunday through Thursday so it was easy to organize my fridge during the day so I could just eat in line and not let anything go bad – a fear of mine when buying produce at the market and forget it in the market. sharp drawer… anyone else? Thistle is one of the rare meal kits that delivers several times a week, so if you want food for more than three days at a time, you can simply schedule another delivery for mid-week. Amazing.

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Final decision

Thistle was a great way to get a full week’s worth of greens while also not having to meal plan or prepare a single meal in an entire week if I didn’t want to. It was perfect for me, in a one-person household, and I could easily bring meals to work without worrying about meal prep.

If you’re looking for burgers, Mexican, Asian, or other cuisines, you won’t find them here, as the menu really only consists of salads, smoothie bowls, and the like. They contain some protein like chicken, but nothing as substantial as a whole steak or shrimp like you’ll find in other kits. If that’s what you’re looking for, there are plenty of other options for you, like Factor. Thorn also may not be for families or older children, unless they like healthy meal kits to begin with.

How we tested it

• Ease of ordering: When looking at the menu, Thistle is simple to set up and order for each week. I always consider how to customize the order, make changes and stop a membership during testing.
• Preparation, cooking and cleaning time: A major selling point of meal kits is that they save time. Preparing thistle meal is easy because everything comes in advance, taking no time to cook. I still noticed how long it took me to eat a full meal from unpacking to eating and recycling afterwards.
• Taste and fullness: Meal kits are meant to take all the guesswork out of cooking, including seasonings. When testing the Thistle, I considered whether any of the dishes I ordered needed to be seasoned or altered to make them more tactile. I also thought about how satisfied they left me and for how long.
• Durability: Not all meal kits are eco-friendly or use sustainable practices. To determine where Thistle stood on the scale of environmental consciousness, I reviewed its manufacturing policy and looked at how it sourced its ingredients. Other things I considered were its packaging and whether it could be recycled.
• Price: Meal kits typically cost between $7 and $15 per serving, and Thistle falls between $14 and $18, so it’s on the higher end of the spectrum. I also consider how many meals per week and how many portions you get for the price.

FAQ: What to look for when choosing a meal kit

Diet: Pay attention to the dietary options that each service caters for, from vegetarians and vegans to Keto and paleo.

House size: Count the number of people in your family and then calculate how much they eat to best calculate how many servings you need to feed everyone. Some of the kits detailed above have larger portions, while others are only for one serving.

Budget: Meal kits and services have a wide range of prices. Some offer free shipping, while others have a minimal charge. Specialty or health-related plans may cost more.

Time: Think about how long you want to cook each night. Some meals take 30 or more minutes to cook, not including cleanup. Others are microwaveable and thus require no cleanup time.

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