I have talked before about the difficulty with balancing the need for convenience at times with a desire to eat healthily and be environmentally-friendly. Ready meals can really ease the pressure of difficult days, but the downside is that plant-based options are sometimes limited, plus the packaging is often not very environmentally-friendly (too much plastic!)
About Allplants
However, Allplants changes all that. These ready-made vegan meals are healthy, convenient and take sustainability seriously too. They are chef made in small batches, delivered straight to the door in eco packaging and are heated from frozen to be ready in practically no time at all. Plus they are delicious!
Delivery and Packaging
Allplants packaging is 100% recyclable, partly compostable and mostly reusable. The meals themselves are packed in fully recyclable paper trays, which is so much more environmentally-friendly than the plastic trays that ready meals are often sold in. The cardboard sleeve and BPA-free plastic seal are also 100% recyclable. (Although not all councils recycle these in reality unfortunately).
The delivery packaging consists of a fully recyclable cardboard box, insulated using denim fibres, and kept cool using non-toxic ice packs or dry ice. The dry ice is packed in a recyclable jiffy bag, with a plastic sleeve inside. Each delivery box holds six single or six double portion meals.
To help with their mission for zero-waste they also include a free postage return label in order to easily send back the box, liner and ice packs, or dry ice packaging. This means it can reused, which of course is even better than recycling, so I think this is a great initiative!
All deliveries are carbon neutral too, so there are no concerns over the environmental impact of having these meals delivered. Delivery is free on weekdays and £2.50 on Saturdays. You can have them delivered to home or work, but you don’t need to be in (or near a freezer) when it arrives, as it will stay frozen in the delivery packaging until 10pm. I arranged for mine to be left on the doorstep and this worked out perfectly.
Less Waste
There are two portion sizes; single (380g), or double (760g). I had a double meal and admit I ate far more than half by myself; that said, I was particularly hungry! The meals can also be reheated the next day if there are leftovers, which also helps to avoid food waste. After cooking, allow it to cool, then cover and keep in the fridge, then reheat within 24 hours of refrigerating.
I imagine the single portion size would be ample for one person for lunch, a smaller dinner, or with some extra vegetables. That said, I do have quite an appetite when I am hungry, so it could be enough for a regular dinner too!
Cost
The cost for a one off order is £46.02 for 6 single portions, and £68.04 for 6 double portions. However, you can save 12% if you subscribe. Although this does seem quite expensive – it works out at £7.67 for a single portion, or £11.34 per double portion – in my opinion I would say it is worth it. I intend to order some more myself, just because they are really tasty and are a slightly cheaper (and much healthier!) alternative to getting a take away.
About the meals
The meals are nutritious, a good source of protein, and contain several of your five a day. For example, the bhaji daal contains 3 of your 5 a day, has 21g of protein per serving and also has over half the recommended daily intake of iron too. For reference, it is also gluten free.
Most of the meals are heated in the microwave, and take around 15 minutes, but a few require the oven so take abit longer. Super easy either way though of course.
I sampled three of their extensive selection; Lasagne Noci, Rigatoni Carbonara and Bhaji Daal. All three of these meals were absolutely delicious; rich in flavour, and really good quality. I genuinely couldn’t fault them! My personal favourite was the rigatoni carbonara, but I would highly recommend all of them!
For further information, and to order these yummy vegan ready meals, check out the Allplants website. Enjoy!
*This post was written in paid partnership with Allplants, who sent the meals to review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
* All links in this post are affiliate links.