This Freezer-Friendly Subscription Service Changed My Breakfast Game Forever

While it’s often considered the most important meal of the day, breakfast at my house is usually a bowl of cereal and a cup of black coffee. It’s not that I don’t crave something more nutritious to start my day with — I’m just an anti-morning person, so I’m barely able to get my bearings before noon. But when my Instagram feed suddenly became flooded with bright, beautiful images of smoothies made from fresh fruits and vegetables that supposedly took very little effort to pull together, I was intrigued. To find out what this seriously enticing smoothie service was all about, I had to try it. Enter: Daily Harvest.

Daily Harvest doesn’t just sell smoothies. Much like Blue Apron or Freshly, Daily Harvest is a meal subscription plan in which customers are sent frozen prepared recipes made with organic fruits and vegetables that are already pre-portioned to blend or heat in five minutes or less. You can opt for a weekly or monthly plan and build your box with nine, 12, or 24 cups and bowls from their menu that’s packed with smoothies, breakfast bowls, lattes, energy bites, harvest bowls, flatbreads, soups, and pints of ice cream.

The price of Daily Harvest depends on the number of cups you choose but ranges from $6.99 per cup (or $167.76 for 24 cups) to $7.75 per cup (or $69.75 for nine cups). Because breakfast is where I need the most help, I decided to fill my first box with smoothies, oat, and chia bowls. I was then asked to set a date for my first delivery and all I had to do was start making some room in my freezer.

My box arrived in 100% compostable and recyclable packaging, made from plant-based renewable fiber. Packaging can be an issue with some of these meal delivery services, and I appreciated that Daily Harvest is keeping the environment top of mind. Although it was almost dinnertime, I couldn’t resist trying out one of the smoothies I received, and grabbed the Mint + Cacao.

The instructions are simple: Just top the cup with your preference of milk or water (I opted for almond milk) and pour it all in the blender. I added the blended ingredients back into the compostable paper cup (anything to do fewer dishes!) and was soon sipping a thick mint and cacao smoothie that also packed in bananas, dates, spinach, cashew, and chlorella. Despite a laundry list of healthy ingredients, this smoothie somehow tasted like my favorite mint chip ice cream — without the sugar rush.

The following day I jumped out of bed excited to dig into my first oat bowl: Mulberry + Dragonfruit. You can opt to prep this on a stovetop, but because we’ve already established that I’m busy, I topped my bowl with water and popped it in the microwave. Two minutes later I was truly enjoying my first real breakfast (tart, sweet, satisfying oats) in a really long time.

My box also included chia bowls that need to be soaked in milk or water overnight (or a minimum of six hours) before I could dig in. In exchange for a little bit of low-lift planning, I essentially had dessert for breakfast the following day which was well worth the overnight wait.

It’s been more than a month since I swapped my bowl of sweet cereal for the smoothies, oat, and chia bowls from Daily Harvest and I’m a whole new person — the kind that actually enjoys breakfast (with ingredients like pea protein, turmeric, cauliflower, and zucchini, no less!). As soon as I open up the lid of any of their products, I can actually see real colorful fruits and vegetables, which is one of the main reasons why I love this service.

The real game-changer, though, has been the convenience factor. Having ready-to-go breakfast options in the freezer is an indulgence that’s 100 percent worth it. I’ve justified the steep price by comparing the price of a Daily Harvest smoothie to one from most local juice shops near me. Having said that, Daily Harvest isn’t exactly cheap, so I definitely don’t see this being my exclusive breakfast option. But for those super busy mornings when I’d usually reach for a box of sugar-loaded cereal, it’s an incredibly convenient alternative.

I just ordered my second box from Daily Harvest and see these products becoming regular freezer staples. I love the service so much that I even gifted my best friend — a busy working mom with a very active toddler — a monthly box that can hopefully add a little calm and ease to her hectic mornings.

Have you ever tried Daily Harvest? What’d you think? Let us know in the comments below!