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Nurture Life is a meal delivery service designed for children, featuring a kid-friendly menu that is packed with organic and nutritious ingredients. All meals contain a well-balanced mix of veggies and protein as well as low salt and sugar levels.
Two of the six plan preferences HelloFresh offers are Family Friendly and Quick and Easy, one of the reasons that makes them such a good fit for a family meal delivery service. Entrées run the gamut from spiced apricot-sumac chicken to a comforting and creamy ranch beef cavatappi skillet.
Dining for seniors can be uniquely challenging—there can be special dietary restrictions, medical needs, or constraints in being able to physically shop or prep meals. Magic Kitchen is designed to help those who need extra assistance still have fulfilling meals. The plethora of entrées gives those with restrictive diets a decent amount of choice to help prevent repetition, along with snacks and à la carte items to help reduce dependence on grocery shopping.
Magic Kitchen even offers trial packs of 15 meals and multi-month subscription plans to make it as simple as possible. Meal delivery services come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but for one that covers all the bases, we chose Sunbasket.
Plus, the company provides one of the most comprehensive recycling guides for their packaging, helping drive serious commitment to sustainability. Meal delivery services are a great way to add some flexibility to your weekly meal routine.
And, as an added bonus, meal delivery kits can save you time and may save money. As you evaluate meal delivery service options, a lot of factors come into play, including price. Some plans may be cheaper because portions are small and not a fit for a family.
Or perhaps the price is lower because there are fewer selections available. Ask yourself what you want from a meal delivery service—the cheapest price may not be your best value. Take into consideration what you enjoy the most about eating out—is it the chance to enjoy a different cuisine?
Do you like the ease of not having to prepare a meal? There are meal delivery plans that offer cook-it-yourself kits with global flavors and ones where meals are simply heat and eat, with no preparation required.
Just like going out to a restaurant, prices vary across services depending on quality, effort, and ingredients. Lots of meal services include a wide range of dietary options for their plans, like vegan or keto. Perhaps you need something more tailored to help support a medical need?
Plans like ModifyHealth offer foods to help with digestive and chronic conditions. The customization of meal delivery services makes it easy to find one that is healthiest for you. Our panel of testers reviewed 40 different companies to assess the best meal delivery services.
The review criteria for services consisted of sustainability practices, customer service, flavor, dietary selection and information, ingredient freshness, as well as the process of meal preparation. Our testing team contains a variety of people, including food writers and dietitians, to capture as many voices as possible.
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Blue Apron was one of the first meal kit companies to hit the market, and it has continued to be ultra popular — for good reason.
Their ingredients are full-sized and appear insanely fresh. For those who know little about pairings, and for a home sommelier who wants to try something new, the meal kit service also doubles as a wine guru, offering a wine pairing subscription on their site.
The rest of the Blue Apron offerings look to be just as filling and have full-sized ingredients. EveryPlate is an affordable option from the Hello Fresh family. The kit includes recipe cards, fresh produce, meat and fish coming packaged on ice, and a brightly colored box that arrives on your doorstep for no supermarket stops along the way.
For less cash than any fast food meal, the options are also healthier, and the produce that came in my box was all fresh and full-sized, overflowing out of the box. As I was cooking up my chicken sausage tomato soup, I noticed the recipe cards had some other helpful tips to save food waste.
There were also plenty of helpful notes to reassure a home chef who is just starting out. Each week, they lay out 16 different meals to choose from, ranging from chicken, pork, and beef to fish and veggie-based. The kit is a traditional one, with 40 recipes loaded onto the site weekly to choose from and fresh ingredients shipped out according to your plan.
You can opt for the two-person or the four-person plan and then select the amount of meals you need per week, from just two to six.
I wanted to go all out comfort food, as I knew Martha would be proud of that decision, choosing the Pastrami Spice-Rubbed Steak and the Cheesy Sausage Brunch Bake for something a bit easier. When unboxing the ingredients, I liked how the included recipe cards listed out exactly what I would need, making for easier sorting in my fridge and also making a mental note of the extras I would need, like butter, oil, vinegar, and some household spices.
The cards also list the cooking tools you need, as well as allergens and nutrition per serving. However, I was rewarded for my time and effort, as the steaks were perfectly seasoned with her spice blend, and the recipe yielded lovely mashed potatoes and green beans for a very all-American dinner.
Home Chef brings the elements of comfort food and home cooking to your doorstep, with recipes tailored to fit your schedule.
When curating my own box, I imagined all the types of meals I cook in order to go about my day well-fed and on time.
For a taste test, I went with the happy medium of the three, opting for the minute hoisin pulled pork with jasmine rice. The first note to make is on the notes themselves. The recipe cards were super well-organized, making my type-A personality very happy. After unzipping the correct package for my meal, the cooking process was as easy as promised, clocking in at about 20 minutes due to my slower chopping skills.
The four-part directions were a breeze to read and also featured photos for those who need a photographic confidence boost to compare their cooking to. With new meals offered weekly, choose between regular meal kits, minute meals, easy-prep and oven-ready meals, and extras like a protein pack of meats and fish to supplement a kit or make your own recipes with.
Many meals can also be customized with Impossible Foods products, for those who go meat-free without sacrificing taste. This year, it was my home in Brooklyn that allowed me to try the delicious meals, as they do ship to New York as well as most of the contiguous US states you can check by entering your area code on the site from three warehouses in New Jersey, Texas and California.
You can choose between three and six meals per week, and pick if you want the box to be vegetarian. As a carnivore myself, I left the box unchecked and ordered three meals, trying to see the full range of options when it came time to cook, prep, and clean up.
I loved to see that many meals only required one pot or pan, while others on the weekly menu are listed as minute meals or meals with no knife required — perfect for cooking with the kids and those with no knife skills.
A few other things I noticed while cooking up my Buffalo Fried Chicken Sandwich was just how fresh the ingredients were, admiring the tiny head of butter lettuce and the soft dinner rolls. This was a minute meal, and it truly was, as I was able to toss the green beans in the oven and work on the chicken at the same time, without feeling stressed or getting too messy.
The plus side is that the recipes live online, so there is no need to store sticky cards on your bookshelf or try and photocopy for later. How they can make both one-pot pasta and a full steak meal in just six steps is beyond me, but it works and makes meals manageable for all skill levels. I decided to go big or go home with my test cook, choosing a steak with mushroom cream sauce and roasted potatoes and carrots for a Monday night dinner.
HelloFresh packages each set of ingredients conveniently into individual brown paper bags. Once unpacked, I did a quick wash and dry for the produce, and the rest of the meal was pretty straightforward.
I timed the cook, and sure enough, it was pretty close to the estimation on the cards — 47 minutes for me for a slightly more well-done steak and an older oven for the crispy potatoes.
The green cousin of Hello Fresh, Green Chef stands out as a traditional meal kit with better-for-you options. When researching all the kits on the market, I noticed that Green Chef offered the first Keto options for those following a fad diet trend.
Now, they offer an array of other options, too, from vegetarian to plant-based to paleo. I went with the sesame shrimp noodle bowls from their gluten-free menu, which claimed to take 25 minutes to cook. The kit came with everything I needed, sans salt, pepper and cooking oil, so make sure you have those on hand.
A new sister site to the HelloFresh family, Factor is unlike the rest of its siblings in that no cooking is required — unless you consider using a microwave cooking. I decided to cook my pumpkin pancakes in the microwave, to see if they really stand up to the chewy-making effect a micro can have on some frozen foods.
The cons: even though it was a microwave meal, there were a few sticky steps, such as flipping each hot pancake and then making sure the butter was melted all the way through the stack of three cakes.
As for the taste, neither a pro nor a con. They definitely tasted like healthier pancakes — butter and syrup helped — and the addition of the nuts on top was a satisfying touch.
To wash it all down, I also grabbed one of the cold-pressed juices — Factor also offers wellness shots in addition to their four juice flavors. The pineapple turmeric basil juice sounded super interesting, and sure enough, it was as tasty as it was vitamin-packed.
The option to go to my fridge instead of a 9-dollar-a-pop juice shop with a hipster barista is worth it in and of itself for me. There are even dessert options, too — the dark chocolate peppermint keto-friendly cheesecake was my personal favorite. The very best part of this kit for me was the ability to feel like I was having a fancy meal without any of the work.
Not only for Thanksgiving , Gobble is the meal kit that serves up generous turkey-day-sized portions no matter the season. The first thing I noticed about Gobble was just how much fresh produce I received in my order.
For the beautiful Italian flat iron steak meal, which is supposedly two servings, I got a huge bag of ripe cherry tomatoes and an entire bundle of green onions. For my miso-baked salmon, I got a giant bag of fresh broccoli and a ton of jasmine rice.
During the unboxing alone, it was evident that Gobble values quantity and quality. The four balls of cookie dough that came with my meal, not that I had any room left in my stomach after the meal to come.
A second dessert stomach is a thing, right? Another thing to note was the smaller, more compact recipe cards.
While they are so much easier to save and store in a kitchen drawer than full-sized pieces of paper, they are also a bit more cramped in terms of directions and information.
The total time for my medium-rare meal came out to 29 minutes and 33 seconds, prep work included. For a full steak dinner that yielded enough for two portions and leftovers of the polenta and veggies, this is the kit for hungry families who want to spend some quality time together in the kitchen.
Though I am a carnivore through and through, I found that Purple Carrot is a great introduction to vegan eating. When choosing a meal to cook, I knew I wanted something that I loved already in its original meaty form, made vegan, to really put the box to the test. After I had chopped everything down to size and foraged for my mushroom heads well, I picked them apart from the woody stems, but it sure felt like foraging , 15 minutes had already ticked by.
The rest of the cook was pretty straightforward, used minimal dishes, and came out almost exactly like the photo, albeit a bit more soupy of a sauce.
Did this vegan dupe stand up to comforting chicken and dumplings? Another pro: everything was included in the box except salt, pepper, and oil, as they made sure to package vegan butter, flour, baking soda, and thyme into pre-measured baggies. For those who do want to eat plant-based for all three meals of the day and then some, the site does offer a lot of different options, changed up every week.
On the site now, curate your box with eight different dinner options, two breakfasts, two lunches and six different snacks from an array of vegan companies. Instead, expect a trifecta of support, with meals, coaching, and tracking, too. Trifecta is indeed a meal kit company, meaning you can simply order the meals to arrive at your home, fresh and pre-packaged, sent to your door on ice to then be reheated in the microwave or oven.
However, for those who want a whole-body and mind experience when it comes to healthy eating and lifestyle, you can add a lot more from Trifecta.
Back to the food at hand — and in fridge — there are a variety of options to choose from when selecting your meal plan. When receiving my box, I loved that all of the items were packaged with the meals clearly labeled, helping me choose which I wanted to eat now and stick in the fridge and which I wanted to freeze for later — you can freeze the meals for up to three months in the freezer, or leave them for up to seven days in the fridge.
To really put the flavors and textures to the test, I used the microwave, and to my delight, the rice was cooked to perfection, the sausages were left juicy, and the packaging was cool enough to touch. One note: since these meals are in sustainable packaging, the bottom may get soggy, so it is advised to use a plate underneath.
Otherwise, the meals provided enough food for a full meal maybe add fresh fruit on the side and made me feel more energized than if I had grabbed a different freezer meal from the grocery store.
Clean eating has never been easier, with Sakara Life calling the shots for every meal of the day. The plant-based and nutrition-focused meal delivery service is one that can really revamp the way you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
The meals each come in a take-out style container, with a sticker indicating when I should eat the meal right down to the time and day of the week.
The best part for me was the portability and ease of the whole thing, especially as someone who skips breakfast or opts for a muffin when running late. While heating my dinner bowl, a Sakara burger with chili cashew creme, I decided to browse the site to see what sort of plans they offered.
For those who want to try out a weekly meal plan but are a bit timid, they do have a one-week trial to test the waters. If you like it, you can set up a recurring subscription and have Sakara Life meals all week long. Bonus points for being super customizable, as some may want just a few days a week and others an entire fridge of pre-planned meals for their three squares.
With my burger bowl, after incorporating the cashew creme and the other garlicky dressing, I do have to say that while not a burger in my meat-eating eyes, this was one of the best salads I have had — ever.
Even though this bowl was shipped to my door, everything was crunchy and fresh, with no wilted leaves in sight. As someone who spends far too much money at Sweetgreen only to find myself hungry again, finding filling and yummy salads and bowls that I can bring into the office can be a challenge.
This is where I think Territory Foods fits in nicely. They are also all made without gluten or dairy, which is super great for those with allergies in the house. The coolest part for me, though, was when I took a peek at the packaging and the menu, to find out that my options were actually tailored to my region, partnering with local chefs and restaurants to create the weekly menu of over 35 rotating options.
My Ginger Garlic Chicken Salad was not only ready-to-eat and delicious but was also made by Chef Rachelle Slotnick of Chantilly, VA.
Also, a nod to the packaging, the removable slip contains the calories, protein, fat, and carbs of each meal, should you be tracking yours, as well as the eat-by date and the warming instructions if needed on the back.
The last thing that really sets Territory Foods apart is the pricing plan structure. When setting up my account, the first thing to make note of was just how many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner there are.
In unboxing, one quick thing to remember is that there is dry ice that comes on top of your order, so make sure to have an adult unpack and dispose of the ice. As for the meals, the smoothies and wellness shots can be thawed in the fridge or enjoyed as an icy treat.
I chose the latter for my mango guava smoothie due to my impatience, and it was a refreshing option that I sipped on during this whole review, and eventually melted into a drinkable smoothie. With options like salmon with creamy chimichurri , creamy mushroom and meatball soup , and Italian roasted carrots with barley and ricotta , I found it easy to stay satisfied without getting bored.
One of the best meals I tried was the enchilada-spiced ground turkey bowl. Not only was it tasty—smoky and savory with a pleasant crunch thanks to toasted pepitas—but also the premade enchilada sauce and ready-to-use paprika-cumin blend helped keep the prep and cook time down to 25 minutes total.
Green Chef. That said, CookUnity does offer a huge variety of options. Some favorites? The grilled chicken yassa with jollof rice and plantains , the short rib with herb mashed potatoes , and the ginger salmon cakes with miso-Sriracha sauce.
Just play around and try a bunch of meal options to learn what you like best. It has a lot going for it: There are plenty of options to choose from, the shipping is quick, and the meals are super easy to cook. I sometimes eat meat the cuts of beef and pork I received were tasty, fresh, and high-quality but was happy to see plenty of vegetarian and plant-based options to choose from, like black bean and corn tacos and bulgar grain bowls.
My only caveat is that there was a lot of sameness to many of the meals I tried—repeat ingredients or the same seasonings used across disparate international cuisines. Still, portions were large, leftovers were plentiful, and I really enjoyed the convenience of knowing dinner was taken care of.
Hello Fresh. Hungryroot is essentially a virtual grocery store with hundreds of recipes built around the food on its digital shelves. After using Hungryroot for half a year, I eventually grew bored of the recipes, which were basically permutations of a core set of foods and ingredients—the same sesame ginger sauce applied to different styles of bowls and salads, for instance.
But I became deeply attached to several grocery items, such as the prepackaged garlicky herb chickpea duo , a dish I loved mixing into quinoa or farro for a quick and refreshing lunch. Even the best home cooks can get a little tired of making dinner post holiday cooking season.
If you want to eat meals that are nutrient-dense but dead easy to prepare, Factor is probably the way to go. Factor is a little like a fancier, dietitian-approved TV dinner.
Here are the steps: Take the meal tray out of its paper sleeve, poke holes in its plastic lid to let air out, and pop the tray in the microwave for two minutes. The carnivorous dishes became a little repetitive, to be frank: Many of them consist of a small slab of meat sitting on a bed of some purée, accompanied by a couple dollops of different greens.
Not bad for a ponzu chili steak bowl with charred snap peas and ginger rice. I also appreciated the relatively low level of packaging with this kit, and the fact that there were plenty of comfort foods and vegetarian options. That said, healthy eating is not necessarily the name of this game: a dish of scampi-style scallop linguine included four tablespoons of butter for two portions and no vegetables save for a single shallot.
Territory Foods, another brand that solely provides premade meals, began in as a meal delivery service targeted at the cult of Paleo adherents.
Because of that structure, menu options vary widely across locations and change frequently, though everything is always free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugars. Choose your delivery schedule once or twice weekly and number of meals at least four per week.
Each meal is priced individually, and you can skip weeks without penalty as often as you need to. I like how many filtering options there are when choosing dishes: customers can limit by diet Paleo, of course, but also vegan, vegetarian, keto, Whole30, low fat, and more or even specific macro amounts.
Of all the different meals, miso pesto ramen with shrimp was my mainstay—the shrimp were large and tender, and the brown rice-and-millet ramen was delicious both hot and straight from the fridge. I also found myself returning to the Springbone chicken and rice , which came close to the halal cart I used to frequent near my office.
The best part about all of them? Meals arrive in an insulated cardboard box. Except for the included ice packs, all the packaging is recyclable; the Paleolithic people would be proud. All the dishes are vegetarian, and I often use them as a base for my dinners or add a quick-cooking veggie—like frozen peas and carrots to their upma —to call it a day.
You could also add meat.
Bixes independently evaluate all recommended products and Vlaue. If you click on Savings on car accessories we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Let's face it: Putting dinner on the table every night can be challenging, no matter how big your household is. Between work and home life, finding the time to plan meals, buy groceries, and cook can be challenging.
Value meal boxes -
Lab results: Given the delicious recipes, high-quality organic ingredients and meals curated for different dietary needs, Green Chef is a favorite among our nutrition experts. You'll pay a premium, but the items come neatly packaged, organized and pre-portioned. Testers said they loved the portion sizes, saying that the meals filled them up and had great flavor.
Favorite dishes included spicy Tunisian-style chicken, Italian beef stuffed peppers, salmon Caesar salad and Cajun blackened chicken. On the downside, some testers noted that the instructions could be a bit complex and required many pans and bowls, but that the pictures on the recipe cards were very helpful.
READ OUR REVIEW : Is Green Chef Worth It? This simple and affordable meal delivery service makes weeknight dinners a breeze. All recipes have only six ingredients, five easy steps and require minimal chopping.
Plus, they can all be made in 30 minutes or less and are seriously mouthwatering. How it works: Choose from over dishes that change weekly and all have limited ingredients, which means less chopping and cleaning.
Meal categories include family-friendly, vegetarian, vegan, fast, healthy and reduced-carb. The service will suggest recipes based on your taste profile, but you can swap them before your next delivery.
Lab results: If you're looking for tons of options to choose from, this service is for you. Even the vegetarian offerings on the menu are robust.
Our testers raved about how much easier Dinnerly was to prepare than other meal delivery services they have used in the past.
They were also happy with the variety of recipes. Favorites included steak dishes, tacos, stir-fries, noodles and burgers. Testers remarked that the meals were suitable for beginner cooks, and the recipes earned top marks for flavor and fresh ingredients.
Our Lab experts like that Dinnerly keeps costs low by cutting down on excess packaging and not printing recipe cards the recipes are available online. RELATED: Best Vegetarian Meal Delivery Services. If you're trying to avoid cooking at all costs or just need some help with a few meals during the week, Fresh N Lean is an organic and fully prepared meal delivery service.
Meals are ready in three minutes in the microwave or can be heated in the oven or on the stovetop. How it works: Begin by selecting from over menu options each week.
There's the option to build your box à la carte too. The menu is updated weekly and nutritional information for each meal is provided on the company's website. You can also add sweet or savory snacks and proteins, including breakfast muffins and grilled salmon.
Lab results: Testers loved the convenience of these fresh-not-frozen prepared meals that simply require heating. Our experts like that the company caters to various dietary needs and preferences, like high-protein meals, keto offerings, Whole 30 meals and more.
And our dietitians point out that the service only uses humanely raised, grass-fed beef, cage-free poultry, free-range eggs and sustainably sourced seafood.
Among our testers, the service received top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals. Since the meals are fully prepared, they can be pricey so keep this in mind. Sunbasket offers ready-to-heat meals as well as traditional meal kits.
All offerings are made from high-quality ingredients and organic produce , with every recipe crafted by chefs and registered dietitians. How it works : Sunbasket offers traditional meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes that can be made in 40 minutes or less.
You can filter both options for specific dietary preferences including paleo, carb-conscious, gluten-free-friendly, keto-friendly, diabetes-friendly, Mediterranean, vegetarian and pescatarian.
Lab results: Our experts love that Sunbasket has a plan option for pretty much any preference you might have. We also liked that Sunbasket selects organic produce and responsibly sourced meats and seafood.
The brand's dietitians ensure that all meals are typically under calories and mg of sodium but high in protein and fiber. Favorite meals included the penne rigate with yellow squash, the sheet pan pork sausages with roasted apple and delicata squash and the different taco offerings.
The breakfast options were also a big hit. The actual meal selection isn't super robust, but the service does give you the option to add standalone proteins to your box which can save you a trip to the butcher or fishmonger. RELATED: Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services.
Founded in , HelloFresh was one of the first meal kit delivery services, and it offers a wide variety of curated meal plans, making it a popular pick in our tests. All ingredients are pre-portioned for each recipe. How it works: There are over 30 meals to choose from each week.
Start by selecting one or more preferences which include:. The menu rotates with new recipes added weekly. Lab results: We could tell HelloFresh has been at this for a while — our experts found the instruction cards easy to follow and the packaging proved superior to other services we tested, in terms of both performance and sustainability.
Testers gave this service top overall scores for quality, saying that the food tasted great. Popular dishes included Middle Eastern chickpea bowls, pan-seared sweet soy glazed chicken and vegan coconut curry tofu lettuce wraps.
I thought the food tasted better than what we would get from takeout at a restaurant! Larger households will appreciate the offerings from Home Chef that include different plans for up to six people per meal.
You'll find a ton of options from five-minute meals to more elaborate entrée masterpieces. How it works : Start by taking a quiz that assesses your dietary preferences, allergies, level of interest in cooking and delivery preferences to determine which meal plan is best for you and your family.
Choose from 30 different recipes each week. Meal kit options include:. You'll also find six weekly recipes in Kroger grocery stores from Home Chef if you'd rather pick up the items yourself. Lab results: Our registered dietitians appreciate that Home Chef offers a wide variety of meal kits and that you can filter for calorie-conscious, carb-conscious and vegetarian options.
You can also now customize the proteins in your meal which is a major plus. Our testers gave the service rave reviews, with top scores for portion sizes and satiety of meals, easy-to-follow recipes and freshness of ingredients.
Favorites included hot honey crispy chicken, beef and poblano tamale pie, BBQ mushroom flatbread and shrimp campanelle primavera. Testers agreed that the quality of ingredients was better than other services they had tried in the past.
They thought this service was especially great for families, since the recipes were especially simple to follow and yielded delicious results. The fact that they have a section curated specifically for families is a real plus.
READ OUR FULL REVIEW: I Tried the Home Chef for Three Months. Let award-winning chefs craft up restaurant-quality meals for you with CookUnity.
The fresh, never frozen, meals come fully prepared and delivered straight to your door. You'll find a changing menu of dozens of options from some of the most talented chefs in the country. How it works: Start by setting any dietary preferences and then selecting four, six, eight, 12 or 16 meals per week.
Menus are posted two weeks in advance, and you can choose your weekly meals or let CookUnity select for you based on your preferences.
You can also filter by dietary preferences like gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, and beyond. The meals arrive fresh and come with expiration dates as well as instructions on how to heat them. Lab results: The service received top scores from our testers and Nutrition Lab experts for flavor, portion sizes and overall food quality.
Favorite meals included the beef bourguignon with buttered egg noodles by Chris Ratel, chicken tikka masala by Andres Mendez, lamb kebab with turmeric hummus by Akhtar Narwab and marinated chicken shawarma over Israeli couscous by Einat Admony.
Our nutritionists also appreciated that the brand provides a full nutrition facts panel on each meal, too. Although the brand does offer filters for dietary preferences, the selections can be quite limited.
We found the service best for gourmet comfort food, but the brand also offers some health-conscious fare. Even though many meal delivery services provide all of the ingredients and instructions, it can be hard to find the perfect cooking method every time.
That's where Tovala comes in — the brand sends you neat packages of ingredients that require quick assembly. You'll then use the brand's signature smart oven to cook your food perfectly when you scan the corresponding QR code.
How it works: Start by purchasing one of the brand's smart ovens that can bake, broil, toast, reheat and even air fry.
Then, select from over 30 new, chef-crafted meals each week. The meals are portioned for one and arrive fresh. Mostly pre-prepared, they require one minute or less of prep for example, adding a prepared sauce to a salmon filet. After scanning a QR code, the oven works its magic, cooking your meal in around 20 minutes or less.
When choosing meal options, you can filter for carb-conscious meals, gluten-free options, vegetarian offerings and calorie-smart picks. Lab results: While purchasing the Tovala oven means this meal delivery service has a steep start-up cost, we love that it not only prepares Tovala meals but can also scan and cook over 1, different foods.
Plus, you can use the Tovala recipe library to make your own meals from scratch in the Wi-Fi-connected oven too. While testing this service in the Lab, we were amazed by how consistently and perfectly cooked each meal came out.
At-home testers were impressed with the high-quality ingredients and loved that cleanup was a breeze. Favorite dishes included miso-glazed salmon with broccoli, chicken Parmesan with stuffed shells, crispy chicken potstickers with sweet soy noodles and Salisbury steak meatballs and mashed potatoes.
Martha Stewart's meal delivery service serves up minute recipes with fresh ingredients. The kit aims to introduce home cooks to new flavors and ingredients while also teaching new cooking techniques, and each meal only requires six steps per recipe.
Options also cater to various dietary preferences including vegan, vegetarian, fast, healthy, family-friendly, low carb and no added gluten. The service provides you with almost everything, but you'll need to have a few basics like oil, salt and pepper. Lab results: Our testers liked that Marley Spoon's instructions were well-written and easy to follow, even for new cooking techniques they had not tried before.
Picky eaters enjoyed the family-friendly meals too. Overall, our experts and testers appreciated how thorough the kits were. One tester said, "I found this to be a high-quality kit, from the packaging of each individual ingredient to the recipe details to the final product.
Nutritious, fully prepared meals are delivered fresh to your door and never frozen with Factor. The options cater to a variety of diets, and the meals can be conveniently heated in the oven or microwave.
All subscriptions include one complimentary consultation with a registered dietitian, which is a great perk. Plan preferences include:. Lab results: Testers and experts both loved the variety of meals offered by Factor, as well as the portion sizes and the simplicity of heating.
Meals were delivered in great condition and ingredients tasted fresh. For those on low-carb and keto diets, the amount of compliant options on the menu was a welcome change from other services that have limited offerings.
Plus, the meals were tasty, satisfying and creative, but take note that many of the keto meals are very high in fat. Favorites included the pork tenderloin with cheesy cabbage, vegan mushroom marsala and herb cream cheese salmon.
RELATED: Best Low-Carb Meal Delivery Services. Embrace a plant-based diet with this vegan meal delivery service that features globally inspired recipes. All of the meals are completely plant-forward and kits come with a weekly recipe booklet that you can keep to re-create your favorites.
How it works: Purple Carrot offers standard meal kits as well as fully prepared meals. For the meal kits, everything is already plant-based, but you can also filter recipes to choose high-protein options, meals under calories, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free offerings. You'll also have the option to add on additional plant-based grocery items, like vegan cream cheese and crackers with the brand's Plantry offerings.
Lab results : Although many meal delivery services offer vegetarian plans, our nutritionists love that Purple Carrot showcases an array of tasty and nutritious vegan options for those following a plant-based lifestyle.
Plus, the service has been clinically proven to help people lose weight and lower LDL cholesterol. But for a kit that doesn't include meat, it is on the pricey side per serving. It encouraged me to try new flavors and food combinations I wouldn't have thought of myself.
RELATED: Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services. Think of Hungryroot as a master meal planner — the service will generate a list of groceries for you paired with recipes for the week and ship everything straight to your door.
It takes the hassle out of having to meal plan or keep your fridge restocked, and it saves you a trip to the grocery store. How it works: Begin by taking a quiz to tell the service about your dietary needs, who you're feeding and more.
Multiple dietary preferences can be met, including dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, omnivore, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and more. The service then creates a grocery plan and fills your cart with suggested groceries and recipes to meet your needs, but you can always edit the delivery to get exactly what you'd like.
Add on individual grocery items like snacks, breakfast foods, fruit and more if desired. You can give feedback on your groceries and recipes so the service can improve deliveries each week. Lab results: Testers rated Hungryroot as one of the best services in our evaluation, saying that the meals were so easy to prepare and that the portion sizes were generous.
Busy families appreciated that the cart would auto-fill and generate not just groceries but also corresponding recipes, but of course, you can customize it if desired. Our registered dietitians note that all of the items are free from partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and artificial preservatives.
One tester said, "It was so fresh, the variety was amazing and everything was so quick to put together. Loved that everything came precut and prepackaged. Specifically, I really enjoyed the delicious sauces!
Its Michelin-star chefs team up with physicians and dietitians to create delicious meals that accommodate complex dietary restrictions. All meals are fully prepared and require refrigeration upon arrival. How it works : The subscription option is designed to help you maintain a low-FODMAP regimen over the course of two to eight weeks.
You can also subscribe to choose your meals and have them sent on a recurring schedule or opt for a one-time order. Epicured offers over menu items ranging from fully prepared bowls, entrées and soups to smoothies and energy bites. The brand uses organic ingredients whenever possible. Lab results: Testers were pleasantly surprised by the flavorful meals, even though they were gut-friendly.
Learning that it was gluten-free and low-FODMAP had me prepared not to like the texture or flavor. But surprisingly, it was all very good. RELATED: Best Gluten-Free Meal Delivery Services. At the Good Housekeeping Institute , our food and nutrition experts test and review all different types of food products and services.
From healthy snacks and supplements to food subscription boxes and meal delivery services, we are committed to bringing you the best of the best when it comes to quality, performance, flavor, nutrition and more. Our experts have evaluated over 50 different meal delivery services.
First, we assess how easy it is to navigate and utilize the service's website. We look for robust menu variety, ample dietary preferences to accommodate different needs, simple instruction cards, accurate cooking times and delicious and inventive recipes.
We also evaluate the quality of ingredients upon arrival and whether or not the kit includes everything you'll need to re-create the provided recipes.
We also look for packaging that keeps the food safe and incorporates sustainable features. Other major factors are cost and delivery ranges which we strongly consider in our tests. We've looked at everything from traditional kits that come with pre-measured ingredients to fully prepared heat-and-eat options.
What we've found is that there is really a service for every level of home cook and practically any dietary need or preference. Whether you love to cook or prefer to stay away from the kitchen, there is a meal delivery option for all different walks of life. Real-life feedback from home cooks of all levels is an incredibly value component of our evaluation process.
Testers comment on how easy the kits were to follow, their thoughts on the variety and quality of recipes, the condition of the food upon arrival, packaging and more.
We made our selections based on expert evaluations and tester feedback in the categories of overall satisfaction, food quality, cost, recycling efforts and availability. Our top picks cater to a wide variety of dietary preferences including gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein and more. Although taste is subjective, we ultimately chose companies that scored well overall with testers.
Stefani is dedicated to providing readers with evidence-based content to encourage informed food choices and healthy living. She is an avid CrossFitter and a passionate home cook who loves spending time with her big fit Greek family. How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker.
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Healthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind. After extensive testing, EveryPlate, HelloFresh, and Mosaic Foods are among our top picks for the cheapest meal delivery services.
Read on to see the other services that made the cut. Meal delivery services can be a quick and convenient way to enjoy more healthy, home-cooked meals.
But these services can range quite a bit in price, with some costing even two or three times as much as others. This can make it particularly challenging for anyone on a tight budget to find an option that works for them.
We included an assortment of both prepared meals — which can typically be heated in the microwave or oven with no meal prep required — and meal kits, which include preportioned ingredients and recipe cards so you can make your own meals at home. Keep reading for 5 of the best affordable delivery services in , along with our feedback on each service and a closer look at how they compare.
As part of our testing, we consider several factors, including the ease of the signup and meal selection process, the variety and nutritional composition of the meals offered, ingredient quality and freshness, ease of cooking, and, of course, the taste.
We score them accordingly. Learn more about how we test meal kits. Each service in this article:. There are a few factors you may want to consider when selecting a meal delivery service to ensure that the company fits your lifestyle and budget:.
Meal delivery prices can range quite a bit. If you regularly dine out or order takeout, a meal delivery service could save you money, depending on the service you choose. But compared with buying groceries and cooking meals at home, meal delivery services tend to be more expensive.
Meal delivery services can range quite a bit in price, making it challenging for people on a budget to find suitable options. But several cost-effective services are available, many of which offer options to fit some dietary restrictions and food preferences.
When deciding which meal delivery service is right for you, consider factors such as variety, quality, cost, availability, and ingredients. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
VIEW ALL HISTORY. These Black-owned companies check all the marks for freshness, flavor, and elevating Blackness in the food industry. Dinnerly is an affordable meal kit service that provides quick recipes and the ingredients you need to prepare them.
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While there are many FDA-approved emulsifiers, European associations have marked them as being of possible concern. Let's look deeper:. Researchers have found that a daily multivitamin supplement was linked with slowed cognitive aging and improved memory. Dietitians can help you create a more balanced diet or a specialized one for a variety of conditions.
We look at their benefits and limitations. Liquid collagen supplements might be able to reduce some effects of aging, but research is ongoing and and there may be side effects.
A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based The 6 Cheapest Meal Delivery Services.
Medically reviewed by Alissa Palladino, MS, RDN, LD, CPT , Nutrition , Personal Training — By Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD — Updated on November 28,
All Valke featured on Bon Appétit are independently selected by Free sample trials editors. Goxes, when you buy Free furniture sample reviews through Value meal boxes retail links, we boxees earn an affiliate bkxes. Getting some external inspiration and working Free furniture sample reviews rather bozes harder will allow us to emerge into the spring produce and summer grilling season with fresh excitement about cooking. To help you narrow down your options—you have many—we tried some of the most popular meal kits around. Go directly to our top picks to order your weekly meals:. I would summarize Purple Carrot as a plant-based meal kit for vegans and people who just want to eat more vegan meals wannabe-gans?
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