The kits have fresh produce and prepackaged ingredients, like tofu, instant rice, and spices. Although produce isn’t guaranteed organic, most of the ingredients were (and importantly, they were all vegan). The only ingredients you need to provide are salt, pepper, and cooking oil (although I also liked adding a squeeze of lemon to some of the dishes).

Although this has been one of my favorite kits taste-wise, Purple Carrot isn’t the best for solo eaters, unlike a vegan meal service like Thistle (8/10, WIRED Recommends). You can choose from two- or four-serving plans, along with how many meals per week (one to four). Because I was eating on my own, most of these ended up being two or more meals that I ate for leftovers. For my week of testing, I had the two-serving, four-meals-a-week portion, which costs $13.25 per portion or $106 a week. However, meal kits often run heavy discounts, especially for new customers. At the time of writing, the first week for all meal kits is discounted 50 percent off, making it $56 total.

Once that first week is over, Purple Carrot shows you your next seven weeks of upcoming orders. But if you don’t like its selections, you can switch any for the dozen or so meal choices up to a week before your next meal shipment, or skip upcoming weeks’ orders. Each meal has an icon next to it, noting things like less prep work, high-protein, low-calorie, gluten- or soy-free—although there’s no way to filter these things when you choose your next meal, so make sure you’re paying attention to those tiny green icons. For my week of testing, I let t...