Skip to main content

Seeking a paleo, gluten-free, or diabetes-friendly meal kit? Sun Basket delivers

Sun Basket now offers meals approved by the American Diabetes Association

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Thanks to a new meal-kit delivery service, I know that the albacore tuna I ate the other night was caught off the coast of Washington by the crew of the Coyote. I wasn’t aboard the vessel, but information about the boat, its captain, and the port where the fish landed was included on the meal-kit packaging provided by Sun Basket.

Like Blue Apron, Plated, and HelloFresh, Sun Basket is a meal-kit delivery service. The difference, the company says, is that its ingredients are organic, with “grass-fed, antibiotic-free pastured meats and sustainable seafood from ranchers and fishermen we trust.” Sun Basket also caters to specific diets, offering a few options every week for paleo people, vegetarians, and the gluten-intolerant. And now, Sun Basket also offers diabetes-friendly meal plans that have been approved by the American Diabetes Association.

This latest carbohydrate-conscious plan encourages home chefs to practice healthful cooking techniques and exercise portion control, but without sacrificing taste. Recipes in this plan highlight nutrient-rich, high-fiber foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. All meals are 700 calories or less, have 10 percent saturated fat from calories or less, contain at least 5 grams of fiber, and claim less than 10 percent of calories from added sugar.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Healthy eating is not one-size-fits-all,” said Adam Zbar, CEO and co-founder of Sun Basket. “More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, and an additional 84 million have prediabetes, so we wanted to create a diabetes-friendly meal plan featuring amazing flavors that also meets the recommended nutrition goals for people with diabetes. In collaboration with the ADA, we look forward to helping Americans with diabetes make healthy cooking easy, delicious, and fun again.”

Sun Basket also offers recipes that meet the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check guidelines. As part of the company’s Lean & Clean menu, these weight-management meal plans promise to help home chefs eat lighter and cleaner, and are less than 500 calories, and contain less than 3.5 grams of saturated fat and less than 0.05 grams of trans fat.

Healthy, however, doesn’t mean bland. Recipes include chicken chili verde with tomatillos and jicama salad, sole in parchment with a warm date and apricot salad, and Mediterranean tomato-braised cod with oregano.

The Sun Basket recipes are a little light on the details.

For $75 a week, you get a box with the ingredients to make three meals — in other words, you’re still doing the cooking — each with portions sufficient for two people. There’s also a family-of-four option for $140. That breaks down to almost $11.50 per meal, per person for the second option and a dollar more for the two-person plan. Blue Apron is closer to $10, HelloFresh is $11.50, and Plated is $12 for two-person, three-times-per-week boxes.

The week I tried Sun Basket, I made risotto, salad niçoise, and tandoori-style chicken. The meat came sandwiched between ice packs, while everything else was packaged in individual brown bags. Each recipe was on cardstock, about the size of half a piece of 8 ½-by-11 paper. There was a picture of the dish and a description of it, along with the cook time, calories, and number of servings, on one side. On the other was a list of everything I needed — basically listing everything in the box, plus salt, pepper, and oil from my pantry — and the directions.

If meal-delivery systems are aimed at people who like to cook but don’t do it that often, then the Sun Basket recipes are a little light on the details. Maybe it’s because they’re trying to cram everything onto a half-sheet of paper, but I definitely had to Google how to cook and cut up okra on my own.

If there’s one major concern people have with meal kits, it’s the amount of packaging.

There seems to be the expectation that you have a couple pairs of hands in the kitchen when it came to the promised “time to cook.” The salad said 25 to 30 minutes, and the other two dishes said 30 to 40. In terms of cooking alone, all three took me closer to 50 minutes or an hour, and it felt like I was constantly in motion, moving back and forth between the cutting board and stove as I prepped the tuna while keeping an eye on the green beans.

All the food turned out really well, but if there’s one major concern people have with meal kits, it’s the amount of packaging that comes along with them. Like its competitors, Sun Basket says its packaging is recyclable (and the produce bags are compostable), but not all of it may be accepted by your local recycler, so you’ll have to check. At the moment, it doesn’t look like Sun Basket has a program to recycle for you, as Blue Apron does.

Overall, I thought the recipes were interesting and the produce and food high quality. And there are a few advantages to having everything you need delivered to your door: I tried to make one of Sun Basket’s other recipes earlier this week, only to find my local grocery store was out of two of the ingredients.

Updated on May 17, 2018: Sun Basket now offers meals approved by the American Diabetes Association. 

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
DeWalt Spring Black Friday sale: Power tools and accessories from $15
A DeWalt drill being used.

If you have grand plans for a major home renovation project, you need the right power tools to facilitate this. Fortunately, there’s a huge DeWalt Spring Black Friday sale going on at Amazon so you can save big on plenty of great power tools as well as accessories for enriching the experience. There are hundreds of options within the DeWalt sale so the best thing you can do is hit the button below right now and see what’s out there for yourself. However, if you want some inspiration of what to consider, keep reading and we’ll take you through what we love most.

What to shop for in the DeWalt Spring Black Friday sale
Seemingly every household renovation task can be made easier with a good quality drill. That’s why it’s a great idea to buy the which is down to $99 from $179. A considerable saving of 45%, you get a compact and lightweight drill driver which can deliver 300 unit watts out of power. Its high speed transmission has two speeds of either 0-450 and 1,500 rpm with a 1/2-inch single sleeve ratcheting chuck which provides tight bit gripping strength. It’s the workhorse everyone needs and is sure to last.

Read more
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra vs. Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo: Which premium robot vacuum is best?
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra placed in its dock.

Roborock and Ecovacs are two of the biggest names in the world of robot vacuums. The companies have been producing some of the best robot vacuum and mop combos for years, and that trend has continued into 2024 with the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo. Both are ultra-premium devices that clock in at over $1,000, and we awarded both of them impressive scores in our reviews. In short, it's hard to go wrong with either robot vacuum.

However, there are some key differences between the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo. From suction power and mopping skills to pricing and additional features, here's a comprehensive look at the two robot vacuums to help you decide which is best for your home.
Pricing and availability

Read more
Samsung Spring Sale: Get up to $915 off smart ranges today
A Samsung smart range with the Smart Oven camera.

Samsung's Spring Black Friday sale has slashed the prices of all kinds of home appliances, including gas and electric ranges. There are discounts available for Samsung's smart ranges too, which will allow you to enjoy savings of up to $915. Feel free to check out all the ranges that are cheaper than usual in the ongoing sale, but if you want to focus on getting a smart range for your kitchen, read on to learn all about them and how much you'll have to pay.

What to buy in Samsung's Spring Black Friday sale for smart ranges
Samsung's smart ranges are equipped with the Smart Oven Camera, which will allow you to check on the food that you're cooking through a livestream on your phone. You can even make time-lapse videos and share them on social media. You'll enjoy this feature on the Samsung Bespoke 6.3. cu. ft. smart slide-in electric range, which is from $2,536 for a $737 discount, and the Samsung Bespoke 6.0. cu. ft. smart slide-in gas range, which is from $2,659 for savings of $760. Both smart ranges have illuminated precision knobs that light up to let you know that the home appliance is on, and they work with the Samsung SmartThings app for pre-heating the oven, planning meals, downloading cooking modes, and much more.

Read more