Blue Zones Meal Planner and Grocery Delivery Review

Live Longer, Better® with the Blue Zones Meal Planner App

We love products that highlight cultures from around the world. That’s exactly what Blue Zones does. And that’s exactly why we published this Blue Zones Meal Planner review, placing this service on our list of the 21 best vegan meal delivery options for 2021. Live healthier lives with Blue Zones Meals? Yes, please.

You pick unique recipes from around the world, like Italy, Greece, Japan, and the Caribbean. Then, the Blue Zones Meal Planner App orders groceries delivered to your home. Blue Zones meal delivery brings the world to your fork.

We aren’t the only ones who love this idea: 91% of customers say the meal planner makes eating plant-based meals easier!

Price

|Excellent

Extreme flexibility re: choosing recipes, servings, etc. Generates editable grocery lists, you you buy only what you need. Select delivery via Amazon Fresh, Instacart, or Peapod (standard charges apply). Or, skip delivery and pick up in store using your app to shop.

Variety

| Excellent

Extensive selection of global recipes. Blue Zones is a leader when it comes to plant-based recipes. As a grocery delivery app, Blue Zones doesn’t have to physically store and ship products, which makes it easier to recommend a wider variety of flavorful meals.

Ease of Use

| Excellent

Could not be easier to sign up and select preferences. Blue Zones goes a step further by allowing you to also select your level of cooking experience, available appliances, food allergies, and more. We also found scheduling grocery delivery to be a breeze.

Try Blue Zones Here!

The Blue Zones Vision

The term “blue zones” was created by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author. In the early 2000s, Buettner and his team of researchers began studying the world’s longest living cultures. They named these areas “blue zones” and found that these uber-healthy people all shared certain characteristics. A critical one: Plant-based diets.

Now, we can all benefit from the wisdom of these cultures. Places like Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California.

With the Blue Zones Meal Planner App, Beuttner and his team of experts have made it super easy to eat like the world’s healthiest cultures. Their focus is on making good nutrition easy and accessible for everyone – not just those interested in veganism or plant-based diets.

Vegan Friendly
Starting at: $14.99
Price per Serving: Varied
Frequency: Monthly App subscription
DIY: Groceries are delivered. You cook.
Health coach available: Yes!
Promotions available. Please visit Blue Zones Meal Planner for details!

Social Proof: See What’s Cookin’ on Instagram

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Blue Zone Meal Planner: Pricing Review

Blue Zones Meal Planner offers four different meal plans. Some of their plans are completely vegan while others are not. Obviously, we chose to review the vegan option for those oh-so-yummy recipes.

Blue Zones Meal Planner allows you to choose between both vegan and non-vegan options. Although we’re 100% plant-based here at The Electric Soul, we love this flexibility for couples, families, or any household that isn’t totally vegan.

Plus, there’s no commitment. You can sign up for a monthly subscription or cancel at any time. If you cancel before your paid month ends, you will not be charged again in the future.

Their Essential plan we reviewed costs $14 per month, although grocery delivery may cost extra via Instacart or Peapod (subject to availability in your area). This plan is great for beginners because it simplifies and streamlines the entire process, from recipe to grocery delivery.

If you want to save some money, Blue Zones allows you to purchase a full year for a discounted rate of $99.

On-demand health coaching is available for an extra cost.

Note: Blue Zones does not have any kind of home chef experience. No one comes to your house to cook you or prepare your meals. Believe us, we tried.

How it Works

The Blue Zones Meal Planner app is fun and easy to use. The first time you open the app, you’ll be asked to sign in with Facebook or Twitter. After signing in, you’ll see a welcome screen asking about your goals and answers to some simple questions like:

What’s your goal? (weight loss, better health, etc.)
How much time do you have to cook each week?
Do you prefer to shop at supermarkets or specialty stores?
Do you have any food allergies (we LOVE this)
How experienced are you at cooking?
What kind of cooking equipment do you have (stove, microwave, etc.)

All of this information helps Blue Zones create recipes that fit your lifestyle.

Once all of that’s done, it’s time for the best part – choosing vegan recipes! There are hundreds of options to choose from. We love their categories like “Soup”, “Side Dish”, and “Dessert” because it makes it easy to review different recipes by meal category. Blue Zones also has a section for keto-friendly dishes, low calorie meals, and of course, vegan meals.

Once you review and pick your recipes, you can customize each one further by adding ingredients to the shopping list. This way you’ll never forget anything at the grocery store!

Before you’re done with Blue Zones Meal Planner app, they’ll ask about your schedule so that groceries arrive according to time slots of your choice (like 9 AM – 11 AM). The app will also send a reminder prior to delivery to help with planning and cooking.

If delivery is unavailable or you prefer to pick up in-store, Blue Zones notifies you when it’s time to head out for grocery shopping. We love this!

Kudos to Blue Zones for making meal planning and grocery shopping as simple as possible.

When we tested their Meal Planner app, we were able to find almost everything we needed at our local supermarket without much effort. We just added a few specialty items to the shopping list that didn’t exist in our area (Amazon can be a great resource for finding exotic ingredients, just be sure to select a reputable vendor with great reviews). You could also substitute ingredients based on what’s available or what you already have in your pantry and fridge – no problemo!

Delivery Review

Blue Zones partnered with Instacart to deliver fresh ingredients, so most orders are typically ready within two hours. We scheduled our first order for Saturday afternoon and received an email reminder the day before. Our groceries arrived on time with all of the requested items.

The Blue Zones app offers flexible scheduling, so you don’t have to commit to a set day every week. It’s perfect for those who are busy or away on vacation during certain weeks of the month.

After the groceries arrived, we were free to cook the meals on our own schedule. Simply open the app, select the recipe, and boom! Easy to follow instructions that use all of the fresh delivered groceries.

Our favorite vegan dinner recipe was the Sardinian-Style Pizza with Eggplant. Talk about unique! This colorful plant-based pizza packed a tasty punch while feeling really light on our bellies.

We love all the vegan smoothie recipes, too. A standout: The Blue Zones Smoothie. And because the groceries were delivered the day before, all of the fruit tasted really fresh and delicious.

Meal Experience

This meal delivery option is great for anyone who likes to cook, or at least wants to learn. If that doesn’t sound like you, we recommend going with a service that offers equally delicious premade meals like Sunbasket or Purple Carrot.

There’s something extra-delicious about enjoying meals from other cultures. Knowing the story of the Blue Zones study makes meals even more enjoyable, because you feel a warm bond to the some of the world’s healthiest and most diverse cultures.

Flexibility

Wonderful! We could easily shift what we ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any mixups. And no meal planning was required on our end at all. And we love the fact that we could schedule grocery delivery, or go to the store to pick them up ourselves.

For us, Blue Zones is a great option for meal-kit delivery because there are simply more vegan recipes available to choose from out of the box (over 120 unique options).

There are no strings attached, and you may cancel at any time. You can sign up for a monthly membership or terminate anytime. If you unsubscribe prior to the expiration of your paid month, you will not be charged again in the future.

Health Review

We think the Blue Zones Meal Planner scores big time in the health department. The entire company’s mission is to make it easier for anyone to learn and adopt the habits of the world’s longest living cultures. Of course, food is a big part of that mission. And the plant-based recipes reflect that.

The vegan meals we reviewed were both nutrient-dense AND appropriately portioned. That’s because “eating to 80% full” is another one of the Blue Zone longevity secrets. Plus, you’re essentially sourcing all of your ingredients from local grocers. Talk about fresh!

Finally, there’s something to be said about the bigger picture. Blue Zones is a lens through which other cultures can be not just observed, but celebrated and savored! Because of this, we think the Blue Zones Meal Planner scores extra points for promoting such a healthy and inclusive global perspective.

Blue Zones Meal Planner Review: The Bottom Line

We definitely recommend Blue Zones for people who want to eat healthy without the hassle of meal planning or grocery shopping. The recipes were innovative, easy to follow, and delicious!

We loved trying new flavors and cooking techniques. And because Blue Zones ensures all their dishes are under 500 calories, you don’t have to worry about feeling sluggish after every meal.

As we said earlier, this meal delivery option is great for anyone who likes to cook, or at least wants to learn. If that doesn’t sound like you, we recommend going with a service that offers equally delicious pre-made vegan meals like Sunbasket or Purple Carrot.