daily harvest for weight loss rating

Fit Healthy Momma Rating: 9.2/10 ⭐

Daily Harvest provides a reasonable solution for those looking to lose weight thanks to their healthy, plant-based meals, sourced with high quality ingredients and serviced efficiently to be delivered to your doorstep monthly.

Daily Harvest is best known for its frozen cups of smoothie ingredients that are designed to make healthy meals on the go super convenient and easy.

In recent years, the company has expanded to include other menu items, such as flatbreads, harvest bowls, soups, and more.

This article will explore Daily Harvest and its products to determine if it's an effective option for weight loss.

Can You Lose Weight On Daily Harvest?

While the mission of Daily Harvest is not weight loss, utilizing the products in your day to day routine may help you lose weight by making healthy meals quick and easy to prepare. 

Let’s take a closer look at Daily Harvest, how it works, and what types of products it offers, to determine how it might help you lose weight.

Product:

Plant-based meals

Brand:

Daily Harvest

Founder:

Rachel Drori

Website:

Best for:

Those who want to live healthier lives and lose some weight doing it by eating healthy, plant-based meals delivered to their doorstep.

Price:

$$

Coupon Code:

Up to $40 off with code: FHM

Avg. User Rating:

4.4/5 ⭐ (10,000+ reviews on a combination of items)

FHM Rating:

9.2/10 ⭐ (excellent)

eating daily harvest and losing weight

What Is Daily Harvest

plant based meals by daily harvest

Daily Harvest is a meal delivery service that offers plant-based frozen meals. The company emphasizes sourcing sustainable ingredients in order to protect the environment and to deliver the best quality.

Most of us are not consuming enough fruits and vegetables regularly, and Daily Harvest offers a realistic and simple way to improve that.

Furthermore, everything is frozen, which can be great for someone who tends to not get to all of the fresh food in their fridge before it goes bad. 

Having quick, healthy meals readily available in your freezer can really set you up for a successful week, even if it ends up being a busy one.

Why Daily Harvest Could Help You Lose Weight

eating daily harvest and weight loss

Daily Harvest could help you lose weight because it places an emphasis on whole foods, which is an important part of any diet, whether the goal is to lose weight or not.

Healthy Food

The ingredients used in Daily Harvest products are 95% organic and completely free from additives and preservatives.

They also prioritize sustainability in terms of sourcing the ingredients and how they package their foods.

Plant Based Meals

If you prefer to follow a plant-based diet, Daily Harvest is a great option for you as everything on their menu is 100% plant-based.

For some, a plant-based way of eating will help weight loss and even help reduce the risk of some chronic disease. So, even if you aren’t planning to eat 100% plant-based, including more plant-based meals and snacks in your day can still be beneficial (1).

Low Carb Diet

Low carb diets can be effective at first, but it’s important to understand why. We store our carbs in the form of glycogen in the body, and along with that glycogen, we store water.

So when we regularly consume carbohydrates, we are storing water along with them. When we drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates in our diet, we will lose those water stores, which can contribute to big weight drops in the beginning of a low carb diet.

That being said, if you prefer a low carb diet, Daily Harvest may not be the best choice. As with most plant-based meals, these menu items will contain a decent amount of carbohydrates. However, because they come mostly from plants, they will also offer a good source of fiber.

So, depending on your definition of a low carb diet, you may find that Daily Harvest works for you.

Popular Foods Overview With Amount Of Calories

daily harvest weight loss popular foods calories

There are quite a few different meals available through Daily Harvest, including 27 different smoothies, 15 different harvest bowls, and so on.

Let’s take a look at some of the best-selling menu items and check out their nutritional information. You’ll see that there is a wide range of options in terms of calories and other nutrients.

Smoothies

daily harvest smoothies calories weight loss

There are quite a few types of smoothies to choose from, with varying ingredients and nutrition information. 

For example, the Dragon Fruit + Lychee smoothie contains organic strawberries, organic lychee, pineapple, peaches, organic bananas, organic dragon fruit, water, organic flax seeds, and organic hemp seeds.

The nutrition information for this smoothie is as follows:

Calories
130
Carbs
26g
Fiber
5g
Sugar

18g (0g added sugars)

Fat
3g
Protein
3g
Sodium
5mg

However, something like the Banana + Almond smoothie will be higher in calories, fats, and protein because it contains more energy-dense ingredients like bananas, coconut cream, and cashew butter.

The nutrition information for this smoothie is as follows:

Calories
450
Carbs
42g
Fiber
11g
Sugar

18g (0g added sugar)

Fat
26g
Protein
15g
Sodium
50mg

Harvest Bowls

daily harvest bowls calories weight loss

One of the best-selling harvest bowls is the Broccoli + Cheeze. It contains broccoli and cauliflower along with spices and nutritional yeast to give it its cheesy flavor.

The nutrition information for this particular bowl is as follows:

Calories
380
Carbs
24g
Fiber
9g
Sugar
6g (0g added sugars)
Fat
28g
Protein
14g
Sodium
770mg

Some of the other Harvest Bowls available include Cremini + Asparagus Pot Pie, Red Lentil + Cumin, and Brussels Sprouts + Tahini.

Soups

The Carrot + Coconut Curry soup is one of the best-selling soups available. The soup is made up of carrots, coconut, tomatoes, and red bell pepper along with curry and other spices.

The nutrition information for this soup is as follows:

Calories
170
Carbs
18g
Fiber
7g
Sugar
11g (0g added sugars)
Fat
9g
Protein
5g
Sodium
850mg

Some of the other soups available include Tomato + Zucchini Minestrone, Butternut Squash + Rosemary, and Lentil + Mesquite Chili.

Flatbreads

There are just 5 different flatbreads available, the Tomatillo + Pepper, Pear + Arugula, Kale + Sweet Potato, Tomato + Cremini, and Kabocha + Sage.

The flatbreads are made from sweet potato and cassava root flour.  The Pear + Arugula is then topped with pear, arugula, pecans and spices.

The nutrition information for the Pear + Arugula Flatbread is as follows:

Calories
450
Carbs
53g
Fiber
7g
Sugar
13g (0g added sugars)
Fat
24g
Protein
8g
Sodium
630mg

Oat Bowls

One of the best-selling oat bowls is the Apple + Cinnamon, which is made up of oats, apple, cauliflower, walnuts, pumpkin seed, and cinnamon.

The nutrition information for the Apple + Cinnamon oat bowl is as follows:

Calories
310
Carbs
40g
Fiber
7g
Sugar
11g (0g added sugars)
Fat
14g
Protein
9g
Sodium
190mg

Some of the other Oat Bowls available include Strawberry + Goji Berry, Cinnamon + Banana, and Cherry + Dark Chocolate.

Bites

daily harvest bites calories weight loss

The bites are small rolled up balls of healthy ingredients that are great for a quick snack.

The Hazelnut + Chocolate bites are one of the best-sellers and contain avocado, hazelnut, cacao, chia, reishi, and vanilla bean.

The nutrition information for 1 of the Hazelnut + Chocolate bites is as follows:

Calories
100
Carbs
11g
Fiber
3g
Sugar
7g (0g added sugars)
Fat
6g
Protein
2g
Sodium
0mg

Some of the other options for the Bites include Raspberry + Fig, Banana + Cacao, and Coconut + Lemon.

Is it Keto Friendly?

The keto diet is a very low carbohydrate, high fat, and moderate protein diet. 

While some Daily Harvest menu items can be higher in fat, they are fairly low in protein and they do contain enough carbohydrates (mostly in the form of fruits and veggies) to make them unsuitable for a keto diet.

Is Daily Harvest Really Good for you?

Daily Harvest is a great way to get in more fruits and veggies. It’s also a great way to get more of a variety in your diet and try foods you wouldn’t try otherwise. 

Consuming meals that contain whole foods without additives or preservatives is certainly good for you.

The only caveat is protein. Unfortunately, and this is common with many plant-based meals, most of these options are pretty low in protein, which is an important nutrient for overall health and weight loss.

However, this doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker. You can simply add your own protein source to your meals by adding in protein powder or Greek yogurt to your smoothies and something like chicken (if you are not following a plant-based diet) or tofu to other items.

Ultimately, I would recommend Daily Harvest to anyone looking for a way to get a wide variety of fruits and vegetables without spending the time shopping and preparing them.

daily harvest good healthy food

Is it high in sodium?

The sodium content of the meals varies. For example, the smoothies are very low in sodium, with around 40 mg, while something like the Gigante Bean + Artichoke Olio Harvest Bake has 1070 mg of sodium.

If you are watching your sodium intake, be sure to read the nutrition facts included with all of the items on the website. As a general rule of thumb, smoothies, oat bowls, chia bowls, scoops, bites, and lattes are lower sodium options.

How Much Does It Cost Per Week?

The price for Daily Harvest varies and will depend on which items you select with your order, but you’ll receive discounts by purchasing more.

Pricing ranges from $5.99 up to $11.99 and shipping is free. Purchasing 14 items includes a $10 discount and purchasing 24 items includes a $20 discount.

Is it worth the price?

Daily Harvest may seem less expensive when compared to other meal delivery services, but keep in mind, you’ll have to add some of your own ingredients. For example, you’ll need to provide your own liquid (almond milk or whatever you prefer) for your smoothies.

On a similar note, some of the meals are pretty low in calories, which may be ideal for weight loss, but it may leave you still hungry.

To sum it up, Daily Harvest is inexpensive at first glance, but when accounting for adding your own liquids and still needing groceries for the week, it may not be the most affordable option.

That being said, it’s super convenient and a great way to consume more plant-based meals. So, whether or not it’s worth the price will be a personal choice.

Should You Try Daily Harvest for Weight Loss?

Daily Harvest is not designed to be a weight loss meal delivery service. However, it can certainly be used as a part of a healthy diet that promotes weight loss.

If you are looking for a quick and convenient way to include plant-based meals into your routine and the cost is affordable for you, then you may want to try Daily Harvest as a part of your weight loss plan.

However, if you are someone who enjoys cooking or would prefer higher-protein meals as a part of your weight loss diet, Daily Harvest may not be the best option for you.

trying daily harvest for weight loss

Verified Review

holding daily harvest weight loss mint + cacao smoothie

Tips for success from the RD

If you decide to try Daily Harvest for weight loss, here are a few tips for success:

  • Be sure to always incorporate smart exercise for weight loss - burning calories and building muscle is a sure fire way to reduce fat.
  • Add a lean protein source to the meals. This can be adding protein powder to smoothies, or throwing some chicken, eggs, or tofu into some of the other meals. Protein is crucial for healthy weight loss and it’ll help keep you full.
  • Make sure you’re still eating enough calories, especially if you’re exercising. Slashing calories can be tempting when you set out to lose weight, but think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. A caloric deficit will help promote weight loss, but if you go too low, you’ll find yourself feeling low-energy, irritable, and of course, hungry! Food is fuel, so treat it as such.
  • While the smoothies may be what Daily Harvest is best known for, experiment with other items on the menu as well. Smoothies can definitely be a part of a healthy diet, but I don’t recommend replacing all of your meals with them!
About the Author
Ellen Landes

Ellen Landes, MS, RDN, CPT is a registered dietitian, freelance writer, and university instructor. She holds bachelor and master's degrees in human nutrition and dietetics and is a certified personal trainer through ACSM. Her writing focuses on evidence-based nutrition, fitness, and other health topics.

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