allplants review: healthy hype or honest food?

Sadly, allplants have gone out of business. There are some alternatives however, so you could try one of the following:

• Field Doctor do a range of vegan (and non-vegan) ready meals
• Riverford, the organic fruit and veg delivery boxes, do a lovely range of weekly plant-based meal kits that I love
• Grubby also do a good range of plant-based meal kits

Like many people, I don’t have time to cook meals from scratch every day, so when allplants asked me to try out some of their frozen ready meals, I was quick to take them up on the offer! And as someone who has always been deeply suspicious about the quality and nutritional value of convenience foods, I was actually pleasantly surprised and think that this brand has a clear point of difference. Whilst I didn’t like everything, there were many dishes that I loved, and I now know which ones I would buy again, and which to avoid.

And of course they’re all vegan which is great, and with a really good range to choose from too, including breakfasts, sides, desserts, smoothies, and mains. So, read my allplants review to see why I found these to be a convenient and very acceptable alternative to spending hours in the kitchen after a long day.

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My experience with allplants

I first tried a delivery from this brand nearly a year ago when they asked me to review their meals, and was sufficiently impressed that I have placed quite a few orders since, most recently 2 weeks ago.

The first thing that struck me about allplants meals was the lack of ‘ultra-processing’ and, using what has now become one accepted definition of that term, I am able to recognise almost all the ingredients used (and have had most of them in my kitchen at one time or another). That’s an incredibly important point for me. As a busy person with lots of family, work, and leisure commitments, I don’t get as much time as I’d like to cook from scratch, particularly during the week, but I also feel consumed with guilt when I use convenience foods that contain unrecognisable synthetic ingredients. And most of them do, so I like that this brand has managed to take a completely different approach that makes me feel more confident about eating them.

I tend to use these meals during the week when I’m not giving so much thought to nutritional balance – I’m often just glad to eat something to be honest – so I find it helpful that a lot of the thinking has been done for me. The labelling on their meals is more informative than the standard ‘traffic light’ system generally used on foods – it’s very clear – and, particularly as a vegan, I like to be able to see things like protein and iron levels at a glance. It shows too how it contributes to your ‘5-a-day’ (or whatever eating regime you subscribe to)! My only complaint? I just wish some of them could be a bit spicier…

I find the website easy to use, the ordering process is straightforward, I think there’s a great choice of meals (although I tend to avoid any that have larger pasta shapes – personal preference on texture) and the delivery process is very efficient. My meals have always turned up on my selected date, carefully packaged and still frozen, even in the hottest weather which is pretty impressive.

So, I cover off many of the positives in more detail below, as well as look at those things that bring their overall score down a little.

Well, I really do like this brand but there is some scope for improvement. I’m not 100% sold on the texture of some of the pasta shapes, although lasagnes and orzo are great. I also think some of the ‘spicy’ dishes could be spicier. But both these things are personal taste really so the only other significant negative is cost, or value – whichever way you want to look at it.

They’re a little bit pricey

There are cheaper alternatives; I’ve tried a few of them and some are very nice. So the price may put some people off, and I think when you combine that with portion sizes and perhaps needing a side to go with some of the dishes, allplants meals don’t always feel like the best value for money. But when it comes to variety, nutritional balance, freshness and taste, I am still happy to pay that bit more for them. It’s a B-Corp brand, everything apart from the film lids is recyclable, and all the meals are vegan too which means I have loads of choice.

When I buy them, I tend to order enough to ensure I get free shipping, and I did originally take advantage of the initial subscription discount too (valid for up to 3 orders) so there are some ways to save a bit of money.

allplants also offers additional discounts to students and key workers which is amazing. And – you don’t see this very often – they offer a discount to the over 60’s which is very thoughtful, and hopefully reflects the fact that a much wider spectrum of people now consider eating more plants the right thing to do.

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My verdict

I like allplants, and I like the brand, so I have ordered from them several times over the year. I wouldn’t eat the meals every day because I enjoy cooking, even though I spend a fair proportion of my time when I’m not working, in the kitchen. But allplants meals are freshly prepared, contain natural ingredients that I recognise, and most of them are pretty tasty as well, so eating them is generally a pleasurable experience.

Are they as good as homecooked food? Maybe not, but they are incredibly convenient, and I don’t feel like I am paying for that convenience by eating ultra-processed food that is of questionable nutritional value. Yes, they are a bit pricier than some of their competitors, but in my experience I think they are worth the extra cost for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. And I do feel smug when I open my freezer and rifle through the meals deciding which one I’m going to eat…even better when it’s wine o’ clock and I can decide which bottle to have with it – see my guide on how to find vegan wines.

So, if you do try out some of their products as a result of this allplants review, I hope you enjoy them as much as we have. I’m confident you will.

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More vegan food articles

I hope you’ve enjoyed my allplants review. I have written further reviews and guides below about vegan food and associated products if you would like to read more.