Frozen Garden Review 2023: Smoothies and More

Overview

Frozen Garden got its start in 2016, when Allyson Straka began selling smoothies out of a small Indiana office. While business has grown considerably since then, Frozen Garden remains a small-town, woman-operated business. 

I’m always inclined to root for local businesses, so I had high hopes when I received my shipment from Frozen Garden. And I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed! If you’re looking for a good source of great smoothies, you’ll love Frozen Garden.

I was impressed with everything that came in my order, and I have no qualms about giving this service my highest recommendation. Read on and find out how Frozen Garden can help you achieve blender ecstasy. 

What’s on the Frozen Garden Menu

Frozen Garden got its start with smoothies but has expanded its menu to include breakfasts, juices, and garden bowls. You receive pre-chopped packages which you make in your blender. The directions are clear and the packages are marked with a line, so you can use them to measure the right amount of water or the liquid of your choice to add before blending. 

Meal Options 

Frozen Garden is a good choice for light meals and breakfasts. You can use its garden bowls as a single-serving meal or as 2 side dishes. But if you are looking for filling comfort food, Frozen Garden will not suit your needs. 

Within its niche, Frozen Garden gives you a lot of choices. There are 18 different Frozen Garden smoothies on the menu. You can also choose between 5 different Overnight Oats, Fusions, or Garden Bowl packs and 6 different Delites.

The smoothies offer some very interesting combinations of fruits and vegetables. Even if you don’t like spinach, you can reap its health benefits with sweet smoothies like Spiced Pear and Chocolate Dream. (I was very surprised to discover that Rollin’ Oats, my favorite smoothie, included spinach and chia seed!) 

Customization

Every item on the Frozen Garden menu is vegan, so dedicated herbivores can enjoy their smoothies and garden bowls without worry. You have to add liquids to the smoothies and Overnight Oats. But they taste great with plant-based milk too. 

All Frozen Garden items are gluten-free, though Frozen Garden does not have GIG gluten intolerance certification. If you have allergies, you will need to check the ingredients on each item before placing a Frozen Garden order. If you have serious food allergies or sensitivities, you might want to check out our list of the best allergy friendly meal delivery services. 

Most Frozen Garden ingredients are organic. Produce which has been found to retain high levels of pesticides – like grapes, strawberries, kale, spinach, apples, and pears – is sourced from certified organic farms or small growers who do not use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Non-local items like bananas and avocados are purchased from commercial vendors. 

Unboxing

My Frozen Garden package arrived battered but intact despite some rough handling. The box was properly insulated and the dry ice kept things suitably cold. When I opened it and removed the smoldering ice, I was surprised by how little space the single-serving packages took up within the box.

Packaging is a special challenge when shipping frozen foods. Most meal delivery services send their boxes chilled. Keeping products cool with ice packs for a 2-3 day trip is much easier than keeping them frozen for that same length of time. 

Frozen Garden insulates its packages with corn starch liners. The liners can be composted and the cardboard box is 100% recyclable. Shipping frozen single-serving packets is resource-intensive packaging but Frozen Garden makes it as environmentally friendly as possible. 

You should put your Frozen Garden packets in the freezer as soon as possible. Frozen Garden products will last indefinitely when properly stored in your freezer. But for maximum quality, Frozen Garden suggests consuming them before the “Best By” date on the back of the package, which is typically 9+ months from date of purchase.

Cooking and Eating with Frozen Garden

All my meals arrived flash frozen and all required a blender save the Overnight Oats. I got entirely satisfactory results with a $30 blender I purchased at a local dollar store, so you don’t need to buy a high-end appliance. But you will need to have something on hand to blend these items before you eat them. 

There is no need to thaw items before preparing them, and Frozen Garden recommends you keep them frozen for best results. They arrive in freezer-ready containers you simply open when you are ready to use them.

Shortlist of My Favorite Meals

I was impressed with everything that arrived in my box, but here are the Frozen Garden items that really stood out for me. 

Rollin’ Oats Smoothie

The Rollin’ Oats smoothie mixes up to a lovely purple-blue color. The oats and bananas give it heft, and the apples and blueberries (boosted with a hint of date sugar and cinnamon) make it a smoothie experience to be remembered. And I even got a nutrient-packed dose of spinach with my breakfast 

I was battling an ear infection when I tried Rollin’ Oats. And on a morning when chewing resulted in an unwelcome red-hot-poker-in-ear feeling, this smoothie was a blessing. If you’re scheduled for dental work or find yourself in a situation where chewing is uncomfortable, Frozen Garden smoothies are a great alternative. 

Strawberry Fig Overnight Oats

When I first saw Overnight Oats, I expected an overpriced bowl of granola. But when I woke up to a cold breakfast treat, Strawberry Fig Overnight Oats turned this skeptic into a believer. With the fresh chunks of cold strawberry and the complex sweetness of chopped figs, this overnight delight was the breakfast of the Gods. 

This breakfast came with no preservatives, artificial ingredients, or added sugar. Most of the granolas you find at your grocery store are loaded with processed sugar and artificial ingredients. Strawberry Figs Overnight Oats get all their sweetness from chopped figs, and you’ll never miss the sugar.  

Banana Bread Delite

Delites are Frozen Garden’s brand of frozen desserts. The Banana Bread Delite lived up to its name. It tasted like drinkable banana bread, and since I love banana bread that made me happy. The gluten-free oats gave it some body, and the ground dates provided a sweetness that didn’t lead to blood sugar spiking. 

Banana Bread Delite also cleared 2 high hurdles. My wife found it very tasty and was surprised to discover that it had no added sugar. Most impressive of all, my 9-year-old daughter gave it a big thumbs up, declaring “It tastes just like a banana, and I like bananas.” 

Recipes Summary

Prices

Frozen Garden’s prices are comparable to what you’ll pay at a smoothie stand. But the smoothies you get are much healthier, and you can make them at home. I was skeptical about the cost at first, but after I tried them, I felt they were worth every penny. 

You can regularly find some sale items on the Frozen Garden menu. While the discounts are modest, a penny saved is a penny earned. And for even more savings, you can combine sales items with our Frozen Garden discounts. 

Frozen Garden has a minimum $49 order, and shipping is free on all orders of $125 or more. Orders below $125 will be charged a shipping fee based on your distance from Frozen Garden. If you’re in Zone 1, you’ll pay $8.99, while orders to Zone 4 will cost $16.99. These are very good shipping prices considering the expense of sending frozen items. 

Frozen Garden guarantees that your package will always arrive frozen. If for any reason your package arrives thawed, Frozen Garden will replace it. 

Shipping & Delivery

Frozen Garden ships on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. While more flexibility in delivery times would be nice, the nature of Frozen Garden’s products adds many logistical complications. The time it will take your order to arrive depends on your location, as you can see from the delivery map below. 

You can make any changes to your order on Frozen Garden’s website. While Frozen Garden does not have a smartphone app, its website is very accessible on both phone and desktop browsers. And because Frozen Garden ships with UPS, you can track incoming packages on your UPS app. 

How Frozen Garden Works

Frozen Garden welcomes 1-time orders. While most meal delivery services require a subscription, you’re always free to place Frozen Garden orders whenever you need fresh smoothies without worrying about any commitments.

But you can save money by signing up for automatic shipments, and you will even get a free gift with every box you receive. If you want a regular supply of Frozen Garden smoothies, Overnight Oats, and garden bowls, here’s how to do it.

How to Sign Up

1. Choose Your Items

Select the packets you want and place them in the shopping cart. 

2. Select Subscribe & Save

Choose Subscribe & Save and decide how frequently you want to receive boxes of this order. You can choose between deliveries every 1 to 12 weeks. When you are done, push the green Checkout button at the bottom of the page.

3. Sign Up for an Account

You will need to sign up for a Frozen Garden account if you want recurring orders. Enter your first and last name along with your email address, then create a password.

4.  Enter Your Shipping Information

Enter your shipping address. Your phone number is optional but I would recommend including it in case there is some issue with your order.

5. Enter Your Payment Information

Frozen Garden accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and Diner’s Club. It also accepts online payments from ApplePay, Google Pay, PayPal, and Shop Pay.

Managing Your Subscription

If you want to change quantities and remove flavors from your autoship order, go to your account and click Manage Subscription. You can also add products to your subscription by going to the product you want to add and clicking the Add to Existing Subscription button. 

Customer Service

You can reach customer service through webform, phone, text, or live chat. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am - 4:00pm Central Time. When I reached out to customer service, I was very impressed by how quickly my question was answered.

Within 5 minutes of sending my question through live chat, an agent got back to me with exactly the information I was looking for. (It turns out the information was under my nose all along, but she was nice enough not to rub it in). I rarely see this kind of fast and efficient customer service in smaller services, but Frozen Garden is a welcome exception.

If you prefer other contact methods, you can reach Frozen Garden by phone or text at 219-286-3578 or send a message through the webform.

How Frozen Garden Compares to Other Meal Delivery Services

• Frozen Garden vs Factor: Both services offer vegan keto shakes and fruit smoothies, but Factor provides prepared meals you simply heat and eat in addition to the items available as add-ons in its market. 

• Frozen Garden vs Green Chef: Most Frozen Garden ingredients are organic, but Green Chef is the first USDA-certified organic meal delivery service and can provide you with full meals for up to 6 people.

• Frozen Garden vs Purple Carrot: Both services offer only 100% plant-based items, but Purple Carrot gives you a selection of vegan meal kits and prepared meals as well as vegan staples at its Plantry.

The Bottom Line: Is Frozen Garden Worth It?

If you love smoothies, Frozen Garden is definitely worth it. You can get frozen blender-ready kits delivered to your door, as well as garden bowls and other treats. I was very impressed with my Frozen Garden selections and would recommend it without hesitation. 

Frozen Garden is also a great choice for parents looking for healthy desserts. Kids love Delites and you can offer them without guilt. And Overnight Oats are a great healthy breakfast treat that will keep them – and you – satisfied for hours. 

If you are looking for a service that provides you with full meals, you should check out our list of the best meal delivery services. But if you want light meals and healthy frozen treats, Frozen Garden is tough to beat. 

FAQ

Is Frozen Garden organic?

Frozen Garden works as much as possible with natural and organic producers but some items like bananas and avocados are sourced conventionally. Spinach, kale, apples, grapes, strawberries, pears, and peaches are either sourced from commercially certified organic farms or purchased locally from small farmers who don’t use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

Are Frozen Garden Overnight Oats gluten-free?

Frozen Garden’s Overnight Oats use gluten-free rolled oats. These rolled oats don’t contain gluten, but they may have been subject to cross-contamination in packing or transport. You should talk to your physician before ordering these if you have celiac disease or serious gluten sensitivity.  

How much is Frozen Garden?

Frozen Garden’s frozen packets range between $6.32 and $8.99 each, depending on the quantity you order. Orders over $125 receive free shipping, while orders between $49 and $125 pay a shipping charge ranging between $8.99 and $16.99 depending on your location.

Does Frozen Garden offer subscriptions?

With Frozen Garden’s Subscribe & Save program, you can save 5% on all orders. You can choose delivery times between weekly and every 12 weeks, so you can tailor your autoship orders to suit your needs.