Let's face it, grocery shopping is a chore that very few people like to do. Living in a big city, it can be difficult to get to the stores and plan out the week's menu - especially if you don't have a car, or if you just don't have time. Meal kits are a convenient alternative and are seeing a massive growth in popularity! If you're new to the idea of meal kit delivery services, here's a few things to know:
What It Is...
Meal kit delivery services are a great way to save yourself time (and money). When you subscribe to a meal kit delivery service, you don't have to worry about planning your meals for the week or going grocery shopping only to have leftover ingredients that'll go to waste. Depending on how many people you're going to be cooking for, you can select how many meals you'd like for the week by choosing from a number of recipes.
Depending on the meal kit delivery service you decide to go with, the prices and recipes vary. Meal kit delivery services like Home Chef, Hello Fresh, Plated, and Green Chef eliminate the need to go to the store, since all the ingredients you need to make each recipe are delivered right to your door. Which service you choose to go with depends on how much you cook, the food you like to eat, and how much you're willing to spend.
How It Works
Another benefit to subscribing to a meal kit delivery service is that you can schedule how frequently you'd like to receive your box in the mail, so if you want to pause your subscription if you're going out of town, you can do that. If you decide to receive a meal kit weekly, you'll be prompted each week to choose the recipes you want to make for the week.
When it comes to the different meal kit delivery service brands, they're not all created equal. Here's an overview of some of the services you can choose from:
Home Chef
Price: $9.95 per serving.
Plans: Two to eight weekly meals with a maximum of six servings each.
Out of all the meal kit delivery services I tried, I liked Home Chef's options the best. When you sign up for Home Chef, you fill out a taste profile that will tailor the recipes you're offered each week. If you're vegetarian, it'll show you only vegetarian recipes, for example. Additionally, Home Chef offers "add-ons" such as smoothies, fruit, and easy-to-make lunches. These add-ons are good options for people who can't get to the grocery store as often. Considering that Home Chef offers up to eight meals with six servings each, it's ideal for families.
Another thing I liked about Home Chef is that they provide EVERYTHING you need to make the recipe, even including the small things like butter. For some reason, the other meal kit delivery services I tried didn't include butter if the recipe called for it - and it would be a disaster if a recipe you were making called for an ingredient that they just assumed you already had. An added bonus of Home Chef is that they're based in Chicago, so the ingredients are super fresh. Although, Home Chef didn't have as much variety in terms of weekly recipes compared to other services – they only offer eight to choose from each week.
Plated
Price: $9.95 - $11.95 per serving.
Plans: Two to four meals a week, with two to four servings each.
The unique thing about Plated is that it gives you the option to include dessert in your weekly meals. I think Plated is good fit for "foodies;" they offer the most variety in terms of recipes, with up to 20 recipes to choose from each week. Like Home Chef, Plated offers vegetarian options. Overall, I liked how Plated provided the most options in terms of recipes. If you're a picky eater, or you like a lot of variety, Plated is a good option.
Hello Fresh
Price: $8.74 - $9.99 per serving (They also offer a 15% student discount).
Plans: Classic (two to four people, three recipes a week), Family (four people, two to three recipes a week), and Veggie (two to four people, three recipes a week).
From what I experienced with Hello Fresh, I'd say that it's a service for people who enjoy gourmet food. That being said, the food I tried from Hello Fresh was the best out of the other kits I tried. Each week, they offer eight recipes, including a "premium" meal which uses high-end ingredients. The week I tried Hello Fresh, I got a meal that included a recipe for truffle mac and cheese which was to DIE for.
Green Chef
2 Person Plan starts at $10.49 per meal, while Family Plan (2 dinners for a family of 4) starts at $11.99 per meal. These prices vary depending on which menu plan you choose.
The stand-out thing about Green Chef is the variety of organic, free range and GMO Free ingredients they include. This really sets it apart from other meal kit services, however, for organic purists, it's important to note that not every ingredient is organic, often the meats will be free-range and antibiotic/hormone free rather than fully organic.
The menu ranges from Vegan through to Carnivore and includes Paleo, Keto and Gluten-Free plans. With such a broad range of menu plans, you're able to switch between plans depending on if you like the look of the recipes on other menus more. The drawback to this is you can’t select individual dishes, you have to choose from the named plan e.g. Paleo - and you get the three dishes that come with that menu. This can be a bit limiting at times and reduces the amount of choice you feel you have over the dishes.
The great thing about the recipes is that they’re easy to follow - the recipe cards are well thought-out and very visual, Green Chef provides every ingredient, and the recipes are great for introducing new and unusual ingredients and different cultural cuisines into your diet. And, the end result is always a gourmet, restaurant standard meal.