What are meal delivery services?
Ever found yourself staring into your fridge, overwhelmed by the thought of making dinner yet again?🙋♀️ Meal delivery services might be your new best friend!
Meal delivery services are exactly what they sound like - meals delivered right to your doorstep. Well, technically, in most cases, they provide ingredients to make meals, not the cooked meal itself.
Here’s how it works:
You create an account with a meal delivery service (I’ll share some of my favorites at the end of this post).
You choose your dietary preferences or restrictions, how many people you’re feeding, and how many meals you want each week.
A big box of fresh ingredients and recipe cards arrives on your doorstep, and you're ready to cook your meals for the week!
Who are they good for?
Meal delivery kits are a game-changer if you don’t love to cook, have trouble making decisions, need convenience and simplicity, or have a busy lifestyle.
They’re especially great for:
Those exploring intuitive eating looking for an easy, low-stress way to simplify meal decisions while reconnecting with your body’s cues and desires.
Newbies in the kitchen who want step-by-step instructions to make something fancier than boxed mac n'cheese (my specialty).
Parents whose brains are at capacity with all things kid-related and need a personal assistant, but maybe a meal delivery kit will suffice?
Adventurous eaters who want to try new ingredients or recipes without committing to buying an obscure ingredient that will sit in your pantry forever.
Busy professionals who want to skip the grocery store and discover delicious dinners without spending hours scrolling through recipe blogs.
The Benefits of Meal Delivery Services (Time, Money, Stress Relief)
✨You spend less time in grocery stores.
Grocery stores can be overwhelming, triggering, or stressful. This is especially true for people who have a complex relationship with food.
Meal delivery kits can help you minimize grocery store trips by providing everything you need for dinner for the week. No more wandering the aisles feeling unsure about what to buy or leaving with half a cart of random items.
Instead, you can focus on picking up breakfast, lunch, and snack staples (I’m a big fan of ordering groceries online and having them delivered), knowing that the dinners will already be sorted.
✨Meal delivery services take the headache out of meal planning.
Planning out seven meals a week can feel like a chore for anyone. It's even more difficult for people who are actively working to heal their relationship with food.
Meal delivery kits take the pressure off. You can trust that each meal has been thoughtfully designed to be delicious and include a variety of food groups. Less thinking, more enjoying.
And if you’ve spent years avoiding certain “fear foods,” meal kits can be a non-threatening way to reintroduce those foods back into your meals.
✨They help you practice structured intuitive Eating.
Listening to your body’s desires and pursuing satisfying meals is a big part of Intuitive Eating. But it's unrealistic to suggest that you check in with your body every night, see what it's craving, and then go buy that exact food at a grocery store or restaurant on demand.
Structured, yet flexible, options like meal kits are a great way to dip your toes into intuitive eating without feeling overwhelmed. When your meals are picked out and bought ahead of time, you can check in with your body each night to see what sounds good from the options you have.
When deciding which meal to cook, ask yourself questions like:
Do I want something hearty or light?
Do I feel like more veggies or more protein?
Something savory or a little sweet?
This gives you the freedom to practice intuitive eating without the added decision fatigue and overwhelm that can come with “total food freedom.”
✨They save you time and money.
Meal kits can save you two of your most valuable resources: time and money.
Timesavers:
No more flipping through cookbooks looking for a recipe
No last-minute trips to the store for forgotten ingredients
Most meals take 30-45 minutes to prepare, so dinner doesn’t have to be a marathon
Some boxes provide produce that’s already cut and most ingredients are already measured out saving you steps while cooking
Money Savers:
No more purchasing expensive, obscure ingredients that only get used once (you probably only need a pinch of saffron, not a whole jar)
Less food waste. No more buying the big bag of veggies only to have it spoil in your refrigerator because you couldn't use it up soon enough.
Many services offer great introductory deals, which means you can try out multiple services for a few weeks at a low cost. This helps you find the perfect match without committing upfront.
What's the catch?
Portions Might Not Always Be Sufficient
Sometimes the portions are on the smaller side.
If you need a lot of calories at the end of the day or live with someone who does, you might want to have cereal and milk on hand for an after-dinner snack.
Some services offer larger portions or “family size” options, so it's worth trying a few to see which works best for your appetite.
Packaging Waste
Each meal delivery service has unique packing methods - some are more eco-friendly than others.
Between the individual bags the ingredients are in to the ice packs used to preserve the meat, packaging waste is worth mentioning. Look out for services that emphasize eco-friendly packaging to reduce your environmental footprint.
The Price Can Add Up
Yeah yeah yeah. I know I just said they save you money. And they do in many ways! But some of these boxes can be a little pricey (you’re paying for the convenience) if used repeatedly and long-term.
One way to manage costs is by rotating between services to take advantage of introductory offers. I am the QUEEN of rotating through different meal delivery services and snagging whatever offer they throw my way (usually it's an initial introductory offer or a “we’ll give you a major discount if you please come back” offer).
To help teach you my sneaky/smart 🙂 ways, I've created a free tracker in Notion you can start using right away!
Struggling to Keep Track of Meal Delivery Services?
Meal delivery services make life easier, but keeping track of when you need to cancel that super awesome intro deal? Not so much.
The Meal Delivery Services Tracker is here to help you stay organized and stress-free.
Inside, you'll get:
Customizable fields to track cancellation dates, costs, and preferences of different services.
A clean, easy-to-use Notion template to organize everything in one place.
The peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll never miss a cancellation date.
Sign up below to grab this free tracker and take the guesswork out of meal delivery services!
My Favorite Meal Delivery Services
Below are my top picks for meal delivery services (in no particular order). I've tried each of these—many of them more than once.
Note: The links with ** are my referral links. If you choose to use them, I’ll receive a credit, you’ll help me put food in my belly, and I’ll be forever grateful for your support!
I’ll tell it to you straight. Green Chef is my favorite meal delivery service. I have found the recipes to be DELICIOUS, easy to cook, and most leave me full and satisfied.
Pros: Certified organic, use sustainable packaging, plenty of recipes to choose from each week, accommodates a variety of dietary preferences
Cons: Higher price than some of the others due to being organic.
Every Plate
If you're looking for a budget-friendly option, EveryPlate might be a good choice. It offers a variety of meals at a more affordable price point, though the variety isn’t as broad as some other services.
Pros: Affordable, a good variety of meals.
Cons: Limited options for specific dietary restrictions, and I can’t remember the meals I got from Every Plate which means they weren’t bad, but also means they weren’t noteworthy or especially memorable.
HelloFresh is another popular option, offering well-balanced meals that are easy to prepare. They have a large variety of meals to choose from and the recipes are generally straightforward and beginner-friendly.
Pros: Lots of meal options, easy-to-follow recipes, great for beginners.
Cons: Can be a little more expensive than others.
Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest is the outlier in the group because it offers single-serving meals and snacks, specializing in smoothies. It’s perfect for quick meals or snacks that are nutritious and unique.
We tried the mint chocolate chip smoothie which came with fresh mint leaves and cacao nibs. And the vanilla bean smoothie had chickpeas in it. VERY yummy. I highly recommend trying this service because it's so different and offers food that I wouldn't normally think to make on my own!
Pros: Unique, convenient meals and snacks, quick prep.
Cons: Mostly single-serving options, limited to smaller portions.
Home Chef
Home Chef is all about providing a variety of meal options that are quick and easy to prepare. They offer a flexible menu and provide the option to customize meals.
Pros: Easy prep, probably the most variety and quantity of meals to choose from each week, good customization options.
Cons: May not offer as many plant-based meals as some other services.
Purple Carrot
Purple Carrot is a plant-based meal delivery service. If you're looking for delicious, vegan meals, this is a great option. It’s perfect for those trying to eat more plant-based or people who want to dabble in veganism.
Pros: 100% plant-based, delicious meals.
Cons: No meat for this meat lover over here
Blue Apron
Blue Apron is a classic; it’s one of the original meal delivery services, and it continues to offer a delicious meal experience. Their meals are always flavorful and satisfying, and they offer a nice variety of options.
Pros: High-quality meals, lots of variety.
Cons: Somewhat more expensive, limited options for certain diets.
I hope this list helps you find a meal delivery service that fits your lifestyle. Whether you're cooking on a busy day or starting your intuitive eating journey, there’s a box for you. Let me know what you try or if you have a favorite I missed!
Bon appetit!
👇 Don't forget about this free tracker you can download to help you remember which services you signed up for (and need to cancel) and when!
Struggling to Keep Track of Meal Delivery Services?
Meal delivery services make life easier, but keeping track of when you need to cancel that super awesome intro deal? Not so much.
The Meal Delivery Services Tracker is here to help you stay organized and stress-free.
Inside, you'll get:
Customizable fields to track cancellation dates, costs, and preferences of different services.
A clean, easy-to-use Notion template to organize everything in one place.
The peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll never miss a cancellation date.
Sign up below to grab this free tracker and take the guesswork out of meal delivery services!