The meals arrived in a large, well packaged box and were kept cool with two large ice packs. Each meal looked delicious however, they were not labeled very well. I found myself looking closely for the names of each meal and found it hard to identify which were the ‘High Protein’ and ‘Calorie controlled’ options. The ‘High Protein’ meals were only discernible by a black label, which was not very clear. The ingredient list, allergens and nutritional information panel were on the front of each meal in small print. Herbidoor’s ready-to-eat meals were labeled more clearly in comparison. The best before date was clear, with all meals lasting up to 10 days from the day of delivery. This is a good use by date considering the meals are made fresh and not frozen. 

At first glance, the ingredient lists were longer than I was expecting, and some ingredients contained preservatives and additives. In comparison, Garden of Vegan had shorter ingredient lists and are made using real whole foods, with zero preservatives and additives. On the sides of the tray were the instructions for heating and recycling. The meals are suitable to heat in the microwave and on the stove top.

The meal trays are recyclable however the film is not. The silver bags all your meals come in can be recycled in a soft plastics bin. The gel in the ice packs is non-toxic and water-soluble, so you can safely pour this down the sink or into a garden. The plastic part of the ice packs can be recycled with your normal plastic recycling and the cardboard box is 100% recyclable. Overall, Soulara’s packaging is reasonably sustainable, however Garden of Vegan is superior as all of their packaging is recyclable and they do not use any virgin plastics in the production of their meal trays. 

The meals were easy to heat in the microwave and were all excellent! I really loved that some of the meal trays had two compartments so that certain parts of the meal didn’t become soggy such as the mashed potato. They tasted authentic, wholesome, and were vibrant in flavour thanks to the adequate use of herbs and spices. In my opinion, Soulara’s meals had more flavour than Garden of Vegan and Herbidoor. There was also an abundance of vegetables and legumes which was great to see. My favourite meals were Mediterranean Pesto with Harvest Balls and The Sunkissed Protein Pesto. 

The portion sizes ranged from 350g – 400g, except for the chia pudding which was 200g. These portion sizes are similar to what is offered by Garden of Vegan and is more than what is offered by Herbidoor. I was satisfied after each meal.

Read our Nutritionist reviews of Garden of Vegan and Hebidoor on our blog here.