PlantX Meal Delivery Service – Guide & Review 

What is PlantX

PlantX is a pretty new concept in Canada and the US.  It's a platform for vegans and those who want to get more vegan food into their lives. They have a number of different departments:

• Px: shop -  an online grocery store
• Px: plant - an online shop to buy houseplants
• Px: gifts -  buy food hampers, a fantastic gift for a vegan in your life
• Px: meals - a plant based food delivery service.

Included in this post

Here's what we'll be looking at in this post:

1. I’ll be sharing a little bit about me, my attitude to cooking and how I eat.
2. How to order and receive PlantX food.
3. How it is packaged.
4. What I ate each day, the nutrition and ingredients as well as my opinion about  each dish.  Plus my overall nutrition for the day and my thoughts about the day’s food.
5. I’ll also reflect on the whole experience and also who I think PlantX might be good fit for.

Px: Meals

I need to give my diet a bit of  a shake up!  I haven't been getting as much exercise as I want and I am eating a lot more refined carbs than is ideal.  I reached out to PlantX (who are based very near to me) and asked them if they would like me to do a review of their food.  They said they would and that they would send up some of their favorite dishes. Thank you PlantX! 

How do I eat?

I am a woman in her 40s who has a pretty good appetite but I am not doing a lot of exercise right now (damn you Covid!!!). I usually eat 3 meals a day with at least a snack. I would give my diet right now a 6 out of 10.  I am not really being very mindful about what I am eating and am certainly probably not getting enough vegetables right now. I eat pretty much every meal at home.  Because I am often cooking for both my partner and I, I cook food that we will both eat so it is not usually very varied. I often cook in bulk so that I can get away without cooking every single evening.

My likes and dislikes when it comes to food

I am honestly pretty easily impressed.  I like pretty much everything that’s vegan. I am not like my partner who is extremely fussy and vehemently dislikes quite a lot of foods. As long as it’s vegan, I’m generally happy.  If I didn’t have to cook it I am even happier and if it something different every day, then I am totally stoked.

Ordering PlantX Meal Delivery

Ordering from PlantX is really easy. I made this little video to show you the platform and the prices here.  You can place your order in two minutes.  Once on the site, do use the coupon code VHAT at checkout to save 10%!!

How was the food shipped?

The 14 food items were shipped in two cardboard boxes about 50 cm long, 40 cm high and 30 cm side, with approximately 7 items in each box.  This meant there was a lot of space left in each box and at first, I wondered if perhaps they could have shipped it in just one box.  However, after a few minutes to think about this, I decided the reason for this was probably because adding more food on top would probably mean that the food at the bottom would have too much weight on it and could spill.  As it was, the food was in excellent condition.

It was shipped by FedEx. They called to be let in and they left it outside the door of my apartment. There was a big sticker on the front that asked the delivery person to call the customer if they were not in.  We had no problems and the food was left outside our door. There were plenty of warnings on the box to help the delivery person to transport the food properly.

Packaging of the food.

As I mentioned above, the 14 items were packed in two cardboard boxes and these were secured with paper tape. Each of these boxes was lined with reflective plastic to keep the food cool. Also, there were some ice blocks wrapped in plastic and large bubble wrap. There was also some paper as well to stop everything rolling around in the boxes.

My thoughts about the packaging

Initially, I was a little horrified about the amount of packaging.  While much of the packaging of the food is compostable or reusable (albeit made of plastic) there was a lot of bubble wrap and of course the insulated bubble wrap to keep the food in good condition during shipping.  Of course, while much of this can be recycled providing your local area does this responsibly, it still does feel like a lot.  However if I am honest with myself, unless I make significant efforts to grocery shop with zero waste, I am probably also generating a lot of plastic.  I would be curious to know how much less plastic PlantX is able to generate as they would buy everything in higher quantities or perhaps what their policies are regarding plastic waste in their industrial kitchen.

What was inside the box

1. a voucher for 10% my next order
2. a packing slip
3. a flier to inform me about how the food packaging can be recycled.
4. a full 3-day meals plan composed of 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners and 3 snacks. There were also a couple of extra items as well that PlantX had gifted me.

Unboxing of the food

First impressions of the food

I was very impressed with the food at first glance. The food looked extremely fresh. It had a "use by" label, a clear lid to see the food, the name of the dish, the ingredients and some basic nutritional information.

All the food had a use-by date between 3 and 4 days after the delivery date.  The nutritional information for most dishes included the serving size (weight in grams), calories, total fat, total carbs and protein.

Ingredients of the food: 

Scanning through the ingredients, I was really impressed with the ingredients. There were a couple of meals which have Modern Meat (a local Vancouver vegan meat) but otherwise it was very whole foods based and of course vegan. 

Impressions of the food altogether: 

I am really impressed by the food. It is varied, colorful and looks incredibly tasty. It’s the type of food that I would prepare when I have a lot of time to really think about my food.  In the past couple of years I have become a little bit lazier with my cooking. In order to prepare all of these dishes by myself would have taken a lot of motivation, planning and cooking.

Is the food oil free? 

No. While none of the food looks like it contains a lot of oil, it is used in dressings and so on. 

Is it salt free?

No. Many of the meals contain salt.

Are the meals gluten-free?

There is an option to choose gluten-free at no extra charge. If you are choosing your own meals from a list, they are clearly marked as gluten-free.

Do you get nutritional information provided?

Yes. On nearly all the items I received from PlantX, it showed all of the macros and the serving size. For the couple of items that did not have this information I was able to find that online.

Day 0

Dinner 

Mushroom Soup GF

I decided to start with this mushroom soup. I chose it because it was the one that had the closest use by date (in three days) and I wasn’t hugely hungry.

It was served in a plastic takeaway food container and there were instructions on how to heat it. The soups were the only item that did not have the nutritional information on the actual packaging, but I was able to find it on the newsletter from PlantX. I served mine with a piece of toasted sourdough bread and Earth Balance. I absolutely love mushroom soup (if it is on any menu at a restaurant I will always order it!) and loved this one.  Despite mushrooms being quite low on the ingredients list, it really had a fantastic mushroom flavor. It did seem a little salty. I am not sensitive to salt but I would be curious to know how much salt was in a serving.

Ingredients:

Vegan béchamel (tofu, canola oil, onion, white wine, soy milk, bay leaves, corn starch), garlic, canola oil, vegetable bouillon, mushroom, herbs, salt

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 12 oz (1.5 cups)

Calories 134

Fat: 7 g

Carbohydrates: 14g

Protein: 7 g

Day 1

Breakfast

Modern Meat Breakfast Wrap 

I don’t usually have wraps for breakfast because frankly, it’s too much of a hassle. If I am making a tofu scramble then it is for a weekend brunch and not something that I would grab and go and eat in the car. This one was really tasty though. At first I thought that perhaps something was missing as there was no sour cream or salsa. Thinking about it, I guess they don’t usually have sides of sour cream, etc., as the whole point is to have a grab and go.  Despite the lack of sauces it was not dry at all. As I was not eating it on the move I heated it up in the microwave and then quickly baked it in my air fryer.  And it was so delicious!   It was jam packed with a tofu and bean mixture. It had some of the Modern Meat as well. It was really filling and I really loved it. It made such a change. I cannot imagine I would ever bother to make something like this for my breakfast. It felt like such a treat. I definitely felt very satisfied.

Ingredients:

Extra firm tofu, Modern Crumble (pea protein, mushroom, eggplant, beets, potato starch, grapeseed oil, white onion, garlic, kosher salt, umami powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, peas, corn), whole wheat tortilla, sweet potato, corn, yellow onion, romesco sauce (bell pepper, roma tomato, garlic, gluten free bread, olive oil, spices), salt, spices, onion, organic greens, parsley, salt

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 400 g

Calories 669

Fat: 23 g

Carbohydrates: 89g

Protein: 39 g

Lunch

West Coast Crunch Salad GF

I decided to take this one for lunch on day 1, partly because I was going skiing (living near Whistler is awesome!) and I knew I wouldn’t have the opportunity to heat up one of the hot dishes. I sat down after a morning of skiing (and still a little full from breakfast) and opened it up. It was still in good condition despite being thrown in my backpack. 

I cracked open that lid and was so excited! A delicious salad with so many different components. Mushrooms, avocado, loads of greens, grated beetroot and ‘granola’ which included nori seaweed. It has been a long time since I ate a delicious salad like this. Why? Because I can’t be bothered to make it myself! There were so many different components to the salad as well as so many different textures.

Ingredients:

Carrots, red cabbage, mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, avocado, spring mix, almond, savoury granola and miso dressing. Savoury Granola: Rolled oats, cornflakes, dehydrated vegetables, nori, coconut oil, agave, salt, spices. Miso Dressing: Miso paste, agave, salt, maple syrup, dijon mustard, xanthan gum, apple cider vinegar, canola oil.

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 300 g

Calories 597

Fat: 37 g

Carbohydrates: 52g

Protein: 8 g

Snack

Chocolate chip cookie GF

After coming back from skiing, I made myself a cup of tea and opened up one of the cookies that happened to be gluten-free. I was dubious (I am gluten full) and it was so good. At this stage of the day, I am really curious as to what my macros will be for the day. It seems to be quite high so far but I will wait and see.

Ingredients:

Almond flour, oat flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, dark chocolate chips, almond milk, vanilla, salt, baking powder and soda.

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 85g 

Calories 380

Fat: 18 g

Carbohydrates: 46g

Protein: 10 g

Dinner

Tandoori Cauliflower GF

Something that I noticed about the meals so far today is there were a lot of ingredients and components to them, and tonight’s dinner was no exception. Tonight’s dinner included roasted cauliflower, chana masala, Basmati rice, Yukon potatoes, mango chutney, spinach and coconut tzatziki. There is no way I would ever create something this involved for a weeknight dinner however, the benefit of eating this way is variety which is fun but it is also really nutritious. In this evening’s meal, there were four different vegetables including spinach, cauliflower, cucumber and tomato.

Ingredients:

Roasted cauliflower, chana masala, basmati rice, yukon potatoes, mango chutney, spinach, coconut, tzatziki. Chana Masala (chickpeas, canola oil, ginger, chilli paste, coconut milk, tomato sauce, lemon juice, spices). Mango Chutney (mango, ginger, canola oil, garlic, tomatoes, dates, chilli paste, apple cider vinegar, salt) Coconut Tzatziki (coconut milk, cucumber, olive oil, cumin, lime juice, cilantro, salt). Roasted Cauliflower (cauliflower, garam masala, turmeric, canola oil, salt)

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 500g 

Calories 435

Fat: 23 g

Carbohydrates: 54g

Protein: 8 g

TOTAL MACROS FOR DAY 1

Reflection of the day

I am sure you have realized that I am so far really pleased with the food that I got from PlantX from a taste point of view, but I was very curious about the nutrition for the day. Plant, X gives the average nutrition a day on their website and today’s food was very similar to that amount.

Day 2

Breakfast

Wild Blueberry Overnight Oats GF

A much smaller breakfast compared to yesterday but it was really really good. I really enjoyed it but it was quite a small serving and by the time it was lunch I was pretty hungry (I didn’t have one of my PlantX cookies handy). 

Ingredients

Mixed berry, almond milk, vegan protein powder, cinnamon, agave, salt, oats, chia seeds

Nutrition Facts:  

Serving size: 8oz 

Calories 254

Fat: 6 g

Carbohydrates: 41g

Protein: 10 g

Lunch

Coconut Madras Curry Soup GF

This soup was pretty much like a spicy tomato soup. I really liked it but I realized that I choose a lower calorie breakfast followed by a lower calorie lunch. I served this with a couple of slices of baguette and vegan butter. Had I not had that, I would have been still been pretty hungry.

Ingredients

Tomato sauce (tomatoes, onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, basil, parsley), agave, olive oil, coconut milk, ginger, spices and  salt 

Nutritional Facts:

Calories 108

Serving Size 12oz

Fat 3g

Carbohydrates 10g

Protein 5g

Dinner

Modern Meat Spaghetti and Meatballs GF

I was excited to try this one. Modern Meat is a locally produced vegan meat company which PlantX used in 2 of my meals. I know that there are often many concerns about vegan meats and that they are very heavily processed. Honestly, I am not one of those people, but when I actually studied the ingredients, I realized that despite the long ingredients list, there really was not anything in there that looked dubious at all.

I was really a little bit surprised at the serving size. There was not a lot of pasta but a lot of meatballs and sauce. On reflection, I wondered if perhaps I have it all wrong when it comes to pasta-to-sauce-ratio in terms of nutrition. I am definitely one of these people that has a huge bowl of pasta and not much sauce which probably is not especially nutritious.  It was only when I was writing up this part of the blog post did I notice that this pasta dish was gluten-free using brown rice pasta.

Ingredients 

Modern Meatballs (pea protein, canned tomatoes, mushroom, beets,, cauliflower, rice bread crumbs (water, rice flour, starch, yeast salt and sugar), sun dried tomatoes, white onions, garlic, grapeseed oil, flaxseed meal, Italiano (not sure what this is supposed to be. Perhaps it is a typo or a copy and paste error)), egg replacer (Potato starch, tapioca flour, baking soda, psyllium husk fiber) cumin, garlic powder, beet powder, kosher salt, onion powder, Italian parsley, herbs, spices, pepper. Contains sulphites) Brown rice pasta, tomato sauce, tofu mushroom cream, vegan parmesan.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 585

Serving size: This one was not stated on the product but when I looked online it said 400g

Fat 15g

Carbohydrates 102g

Protein 12g

TOTAL MACROS FOR DAY 2

Reflection of the Day 2

Today was definitely lower in calories that I needed and I did end up snacking in the evening just because I was still hungry. I do think that perhaps I could have made better choices about which meals and chosen a combination that would have given me more calories. The breakfast I had was very low calorie and also the lunch soup was low in calories. Perhaps I should look at the soups as not a full meal. I definitely think that this was user error, not PlantX’s.

Day 3

Breakfast

Tofu Benny Bowl GF

This was another dish that I was really excited to try. I mean, who doesn’t love something that you would order for brunch at a restaurant on a weekday morning as you are about to sit down for a day at work!  This dish had a lot of sauteed spinach, a couple of pieces of potatoes and some capsicums. There were also two circles of tofu shaped to look like eggs and a hollandaise sauce. By the time I heated up this dish, it wasn’t looking as beautiful as my brunch at a restaurant but it was tasty. The hollandaise sauce was nice, but not very similar to other vegan hollandaise sauce that I have had in the past which was similar to the ‘real thing’.  I think partly the reason for this is that it is butternut squash based which imparts a certain flavor. I added some Kala Namak (an Indian black salt that has an eggy flavor) halfway through eating and I thought it was a nice addition to the dish.

Ingredients

Herb marinated tofu, butternut squash hollandaise (butternut squash, canola oil, white wine, nutritional yeast, Becal butter, salt, garlic, onion , soymilk, ram (I’m not sure what this is), vegan mozzarella, xanthan gum.), sauteed spinach, roasted potato hash with caramelized onions and peppers. 

Nutrition facts

Calories: 318

Serving size: 300g

Fat 11g

Carbohydrates 42g

Protein 19g

Lunch

Bombay Chickpea Wrap

I've decided that the wraps are actually pretty substantial with 649 calories!  It was really nice. I ate this at home rather than on the go, so I heated this up in the microwave and then put it in the air fryer for 3 minutes and it was perfect!

Ingredients

Chickpeas, canola oil, ginger, spices, coconut milk, tomato sauce, lemon juice, chili paste), mint aioli (vegan mayom mint, cilantro, chilli paste, lime juice, salt) mango chutney (mango, ginger, canola oil, garlic, tomatoes, dates, chili paste, apple cider vinegar, salt) wholewheat tortilla, cilantro

Nutrition facts

Calories: 649

Serving size: 420g

Fat 29g

Carbohydrates 87g

Protein 24g

Dinner

Squash Masala GF

This meal was good and had a lot of components. I cannot imagine how long it would have taken me to make the battered tofu, the tamarind mustard, beet biryani and the roasted pumpkin. It was really good. The pumpkin was not as soft as I would like, but overall, this was a fantastic dinner.

Ingredients

Roasted squash, beet biryani (basmati rice, coconut milk, beet, canola, tomato sauce, garam masala, bay leaves) , spinach tofu paneer (firm tofu, spinach, turmeric powder, garlic, chilli powder, salt) tamarind mustard (tamarind concentrate, mustard, canola oil) cilantro

Nutrition facts

Calories: 393

Serving size: 500g

Fat 21g

Carbohydrates 40g

Protein 19g

TOTAL MACROS FOR DAY 3

Reflection of Day 3

I think I made another mistake today. I chose two Indian style meals which tasted a little similar to each other. 

The calorie was a little bit less than I needed and I certainly needed one of the cookies they had given me as well.

Bonus

PlantX gifted me a couple of extra items so in the interest of being thorough I ate a chia pudding for breakfast and the cookie for a morning snack on Day 4. You’re welcome.

Coconut Chia Pudding GF

I really like chia pudding generally, but I find it to be very high in fat. This is usually because the biggest ingredients are high in fat. Chia seeds are high in fat and this chia pudding had coconut milk which is also high in fat and most of the components in the granola were also nuts and finally there were some refined oils in there too.  I enjoyed the chia seeds pudding but thought it wasn’t so filling for the calories.

Ingredients

Coconut milk, chia seeds, berry compote (mixed berries, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt) granola (oats, peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, cornflakes, agave, coconut oil, brown sugar) cinnamon

Nutrition facts

Calories: 1 cup

Serving size: 449 g

Fat 35 g

Carbohydrates 21g

Protein 8 g

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie GF

When I opened this cookie up out of the wrapping, I was not very inspired, but when I realized it had white chocolate chips, my excitement increased a bit. I love white chocolate, so this really felt like a treat!

Ingredients

Gluten-Free Oats, gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, coconut oil, cranberries, vegan white chocolate chips, maple syrup, ground flaxseed, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt

Nutrition facts

Calories: 340

Serving size: 75 g

Fat: 14 g 

Carbohydrates: 50 g

Protein: 4 g

Reflections about PlantX Meal Delivery

I really, REALLY enjoyed the food and the experience of PlantX’s meal delivery, and over the few days I was eating the food, I had a number of thoughts bubble up:

• Eating food that was properly proportioned and nutritionally balanced really showed me that I need to work on my diet a little bit. I would say that it really gave me a bit of a surprise.
• While the food volume was probably not enough for me, adding a couple of slices of bread or adding some fruit or a healthy snack is going to really make it filling enough.
• If you are more active, younger, have a higher metabolism or just have higher caloric needs you will want to purchase some add-on snacks or something to bulk out the meal and meet you calorie requirements.
• You don’t need to follow the meal delivery plan very strictly if you don’t want to. Yes, you can use it as a way to have calorie controlled and nutritionally balanced meals, but you can also use it as a way to eat healthily with very little effort.
• The price will make it prohibitive for some. If you are ordering a meal delivery service it is because you value the convenience or you are prepared to make a serious investment in your health.

Who should order PlantX Meal Delivery service?

I can see a number of types of people who might like to try PlantX.

You’re vegan curious: 

If you want to explore the world of vegan food and really see what vegan versions of so many dishes are, then this is a great way to go.

You are very busy: 

If you are someone who is literally so busy, you don’t have time to cook, this is a great solution. It’s even easier than ordering in because you don’t have to even make the decision about what you are going to eat. It’s all delivered to you at one go, you keep it in the fridge and you have a lot of food ready to go.

You need to switch things up: 

Even people who have been vegan for a really long time can get into a rut. Trying new foods or portion sizes can really help you do a reset. 

To learn about nutrition: 

If you need to learn about what a healthy meal is composed of perhaps for weight loss, weight gain or just need to be eating food that is more nutritionally balanced, this is a great way to try it. If you are someone (like me) who will quite happily eat a plate full of whiter pasta a couple of times a week, then you might need to see what a meal like this looks like. PlantX is much better than ordering from a restaurant for this reason because their meals are evaluated by a nutritionist whereas most restaurant food uses more oil and salt than PlantX does.

You’re realistic: 

The food you get is enough for many people but if you have higher calorie needs, then you will need to supplement the food you get from PlantX which will incur more money. You could do this very cheaply (by just adding a lot of cooked frozen broccoli or mixed vegetables to the meals or having a supply of bananas or fruit to hand) or with more money, by buying add-ons from PlantX or having some prepared food in your pantry ready to go. If I needed a lot of extra calories or nutrition, I would probably use a protein powder and have all the ingredients ready for a nutritionally dense smoothie and make one of these to supplement my daily intake.

You are not picky with your food: 

As I stated at the beginning of the article, I am not a picky eater (as long as it is vegan) so I liked pretty much everything. My partner on the other hand who is suspicious of pretty much everything that is served to him, would not have liked many of these dishes. Make sure you are open to surprises, that you might not love everything if you have common ingredients you don’t like.

How to save 10% off your order:

Who doesn't like a discount!  Well, in this case it's super easy.  Just head over to the PlantX website and use the coupon code VHAT at checkout to save 10%.

Let's Discuss!

We'd love to hear from you!  Do you have any questions?  Will you be giving PlantX a try?  Already tried it -- give us your review!  Let us know in the comments below!