Is Thistle Worth It? My Honest Review After Two Weeks
I’ve been eating Thistle for two weeks now. Long enough for the new-box dopamine to wear off, long enough to stop being impressed that somebody arranged vegetables attractively in a container, and long enough to answer the only question anybody Googling a Thistle review actually cares about:
Is Thistle Worth It? My Honest Review After Two Weeks
And considering I’m spending about $140 a week, I did not arrive at that answer casually. Thistle is expensive. I’m keeping it anyway.
The biggest reason? I feel amazing.
Not “I have achieved enlightenment through kale.” I mean I’m eating consistently, I’m satisfied after meals, I’m getting food I actually want to eat, and I’m not spending half my life figuring out how groceries are getting from a store into my apartment when I don’t have a car.
That is apparently worth quite a lot to me.
The Very Short Thistle Review
If you don’t want to read another 2,000 words about salad, here’s the short version:
The meals are good. The food has been fresh. The portions aren’t huge, but I’m not hungry after I eat. Delivery twice a week works much better for me than getting one enormous box and hoping everything survives. The snacks have been fantastic. I would skip the shakes.
And yes, I’m continuing my subscription.
There. You are free.
For everyone else, let’s get into it.
What Is Thistle?
Thistle is prepared meal delivery, not a traditional meal kit. That distinction matters.
I am not interested in receiving an onion, a packet containing three tablespoons of sauce, and a cheerful recipe card informing me that my “convenient dinner” requires 40 minutes and three pans.
Thistle sends actual food. Put it in the refrigerator, eat it cold or heat it, and continue being a person.
The company currently describes its lunches and dinners as containing at least 20 grams of protein, with roughly 10 to 15 grams of fiber depending on the meal. And that lines up pretty well with the meals I’ve actually received.
Three of my favorites so far:
Waldorf Salad: 29g protein, 12g fiber
Thistle Pad Thai: 31g protein, 12g fiber
Marry Me Pasta Bowl: 21g protein, 11g fiber
Those are not decorative salads somebody expects me to eat while quietly starving.
Why I Tried Thistle in the First Place
My history with meal delivery has been... educational.
CookUnity
I used CookUnity. It was cheaper than Thistle. I also got sick after eating it multiple times. Not once. Not twice. About four times.
That is my experience, not me claiming every CookUnity meal is going to make somebody sick. But I teach for a living. If I get sick enough that I have to call out, I don’t merely spend the day feeling terrible.
I lose income.
At that point, arguing that another service is technically cheaper per meal becomes a little ridiculous. Saving a few dollars on dinner does not help me if dinner costs me a shift at the Pilates studio.
Factor
Factor never worked for me because the vegan selection was tiny whenever I looked. Basically a couple of meals, and then the ones I wanted would sell out.
Technically having vegan food and having enough vegan food for someone to actually build a week around are two different achievements.
Purple Carrot
I tried Purple Carrot in Brooklyn. My box was stolen. Somewhere in Brooklyn, another person may have a much more comprehensive review.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest also had the giant food-safety nightmare that made me lose interest.
In 2022, the company recalled its French Lentil + Leek Crumbles after consumer reports of gastrointestinal illness and potential liver-function problems. The FDA ultimately recorded 393 adverse illness events associated with the investigation.
So by the time I got to Thistle, I wasn’t looking for a meal-delivery company to change my life. I wanted food I liked, food that showed up safely, and food that worked with the way I actually eat.
So... Does Thistle Actually Taste Good?
Yes.
And this is probably the part that surprised me most.
There’s a particular genre of “healthy prepared food” that tastes like someone was so preoccupied with the nutritional panel that they forgot humans possess taste buds.
This has not been my experience with Thistle.
The Waldorf Salad, Thistle Pad Thai and Marry Me Pasta Bowl have all been standouts. The meals feel like somebody actually developed recipes rather than simply assembling appropriate macronutrients in the same container.
I actually want to eat my next meal. That’s ultimately the test.
Are the Portions Big Enough?
They’re not huge. Let me be clear about that. If your preferred serving size is Cheesecake Factory, this is probably not going to impress you. I’m currently leaning out, so enormous portions are also not what I’m looking for. The important thing is that I don’t feel hungry afterward.
They’re controlled portions without feeling like somebody has sentenced me to starvation.. I’m eating enough protein, fiber and actual volume that I don’t immediately finish one and start excavating the kitchen for whatever else might qualify as food.
The Vegetarian Protein Situation
This is one of Thistle’s biggest advantages for me. Plant-based food has a recurring problem: somebody removes the meat and then apparently considers the project complete.
Wonderful. I have vegetables. Where is dinner? Without actual protein I jjst dont feel satiated and I will crave a box of cookies later. Thistle itself says its lunches and dinners contain at least 20 grams of protein, and some meals are substantially higher.
I Skip the Breakfasts
Thistle offers breakfast My normal breakfast is usually a protein shake or protein bar, and that’s working perfectly well for me. So I would rather spend my Thistle budget on the things the service is doing better for me:
Lunches, dinners and snacks. I like being able to build the service around the way I actually eat rather than having to cosplay as someone who wakes up craving an elaborate breakfast. My iced coffee is my morning ride and die
The Shakes Are the Weak Link
The shakes were small, not particularly thick, and bland. If I’m paying meal-delivery prices for a shake, I need more than liquid that appears to have briefly passed a fruit in the hallway.
They weren’t disgusting. They just weren’t worth it. I already know how to make or buy a protein shake I like. So going forward: meals and snacks, no shakes.
The Snacks, However? Completely Different Story.
The snacks have been fire. This was a pleasant surprise. The homemade bars have been good, and the vegan pub cheese has been practically life changing….
Delivery Twice a Week Is a Bigger Deal Than It Sounds
Thistle delivers to me twice a week, and I love that setup. I can adjust things so I’m not receiving a mountain of food all at once and then racing against the biological clock of lettuce.
So far, every delivery has arrived nicely. The packaging is sturdy. I haven’t had leaking containers or mangled meals. YMMV…..
Thistle’s service varies by market, and its current coverage spans parts of the West Coast, East Coast and Midwest, so delivery details depend on where you live.
For me, though, the twice-weekly schedule is one of the things making the service work.
The Part Every Meal-Delivery Review Misses: I Don’t Drive
This matters enormously to whether $140 a week is expensive or worth it.
I don’t currently have a car so grocery shopping isn’t easy…. It’s an expedition. I prefer to eat a lot of fresh food. Which means figuring out transportation, carrying groceries, making multiple trips or paying for delivery one way shape or form
Lets be seriosu
I cant gamble my digestive system on whatever seems to be happening at Trader Joe’s.
So yes, $140 a week is a lot.
But I’m not comparing $140 in prepared meals with $140 in raw groceries. That would be stupid.
I’m comparing it with:
groceries
transportation
delivery fees
food I buy and don’t use
last-minute takeout
time
and the financial consequences if food makes me sick enough that I can’t teach
Is Thistle Good If You Hate Grocery Shopping?
For me? Extremely. Not because grocery shopping is morally objectionable. Because it is an enormous chain of tasks.
You have to decide what you’re eating, make a list, get to the supermarket, find everything, carry it, bring it home, put it away, remember you bought it and turn it into meals before it undergoes a transformation nobody requested. Thistle removes most of that.
Is Thistle Worth $140 a Week?
For me, yes.
And I’d rather give you that answer than invent some universal declaration about whether $140 is “worth it.”
That’s an individual calculation.
If you drive, love grocery shopping, meal prep every Sunday, never waste food and genuinely enjoy cooking every meal, you may look at Thistle’s price and laugh.
Fair.
If you don’t drive, hate shopping, regularly spend money on takeout, want vegetarian food with meaningful protein, or simply know that prepared food dramatically increases the odds that you’ll eat well, the value calculation changes.
Who I Think Thistle Is For
I would seriously consider it if you:
want plant-forward or vegetarian prepared food
care about getting meaningful protein from those meals
don’t want to cook
don’t drive or find grocery shopping disproportionately annoying
live alone and want single-serving meals
waste a lot of fresh groceries
already spend a lot on takeout or delivery
want portions that feel controlled without leaving you ravenous
are willing to pay more for convenience
I would probably skip it if:
price is your primary concern
you love cooking and meal prep
you need very large portions
you’re feeding a family
you want thick, substantial smoothies because, again, not their finest hour
So, Is Thistle Worth It?
After two weeks? Yes. I am keeping it..
The deliveries have been reliable. The food has been fresh. I genuinely like the meals. I don’t feel hungry afterward. The snacks have been unexpectedly excellent.
It removes an enormous amount of grocery-shopping bullshit from my life…….
I feel amazing.
That is ultimately my review.
Not sponsored. I paid for Thistle myself.
Want to Try Thistle?
I do have a referral code, so let’s get the disclosure out of the way before anyone summons the FTC: if you use it, I may receive a referral benefit too.
