Fast, tasty, healthy: when it comes to fueling yourself, you can only pick two. I work in marketing and I’m also creating an LLC for my own app, so I’m working about 12 hours a day. Sleep and homemade meals are precious, precious luxuries. So healthy eating and wellness practices like meditation are an absolute must to keep me from burning out. When I landed my current job I signed up for a meal kit service with lots of healthy options to cut down on my out of control takeout habit. It backfired. The boxes stressed me out, I felt forced to cook even when I didn’t have the time or energy, to keep the food from going bad.

Something had to change; I put out the call on social media for healthy, superfood packed options that were actually convenient, and a friend told me about Daily Harvest. They send all vegan, plant-based smoothies, hearty Harvest Bowls, soups, and chia bowls, formulated by nutritionists to give you everything you need to power through the day. They’re made with whole foods, including fruit and vegetables picked at the height of ripeness and flash-frozen to lock in the most nutrients possible. Their smoothies are my favorite; all you have to do is add water or almond milk (or whatever liquid you want) and blend.

Here are all the reasons meal kits didn’t work for my lifestyle, and how Daily Harvest stepped up to the plate (or should I say cup?). #NotAMealKit

You can’t schedule your meals a week in advance.

When you sign up for a meal kit, they ask you what days and times are most convenient for delivery. Here’s the thing: the answer is none. My schedule changes daily, so I can’t guarantee I won’t be with clients or at happy hour to sign for a 7 pm delivery and forget about scheduling delivery a week in advance. Daily Harvest ships with dried ice, so you never have to worry about them melting on your doorstep, and they’re flash frozen to stay fresh, so you’ll have them on hand whenever you need an energy boost. So if I’m at an out-of-town conference or last-minute dinner, I don’t worry about coming home to rotting food.

Health is more than a buzzword.

I know meal kits claim to be healthy but think about it…those little sauce packets in meal kits are made to go across the country. Think about what that means: they’re full of preservatives, chemicals, salt, sugar, and more salt. Daily Harvest is vegan and gluten-free, with unprocessed, unrefined whole foods, so there’s no extra stuff.

One tomato is always suspicious.

Honestly, with meal kits, I constantly had problems with one of my tomatoes being rotten, or a crucial sauce pack missing that ruined the meal. Daily Harvest picks their fruits and vegetables at peak season and flash-freeze them immediately so they don’t over-ripen by the time they get to me. I never have to worry about them not being fresh, even for hard-to-find superfoods like Goji berries.

Three meals a day is a myth.

My morning routine is that I wake up extremely early (around 6 AM) to write some emails, go for a jog or try to catch a cycling class and plan my day before heading to the office. Because my days start so early, I need to eat something energizing to keep me going. I love grabbing a Daily Harvest Cold Brew + Almond Smoothie, which genuinely tastes like if a Starbucks Frapp were actually healthy, before the gym at 7, then an Acai + Cherry one around 10 to fuel me into early-afternoon. My eating schedule is a question mark, and that’s okay. Daily Harvest gets that busy people don’t always want a big, heavy meal to weigh them down. Having smoothies ready to blend and drink in my freezer at home and at work helps me stay nourished, and light on my feet throughout the day.

I felt tricked by the meal kit market, which promised convenience but ended up just making me more stressed and less healthy. Daily Harvest is a game-changer. If food prep stresses you out, you have to try Daily Harvest. You’ll always have a delicious, super-food source of energy whenever you need it, not just when you can squeeze in 45 minutes for a meal.

Update: The folks at Daily Harvest are extending a special offer to our readers! Get $25 Off With Your Purchase Today!