Meal Delivery Services
The concept involves having meals that delivered to your door as many time as you wish. These services allow busy people to have meals delivered right to their door so they can heat them up and enjoy them fast. There are dozens of different services on the market today, so it can be hard to figure out which one is right for your specific situation. Learning more about the prepared meal system industry will help you to decide if this is a good option for you, and if so, which plan to choose.
They generally work on a subscription basis, although you can usually pause or cancel very easily. You decide how many meals you want each week, normally 1, 2, 3, or 4, and you can choose how many portions. Most services offer a choice of 2 or 4, but even if the numbers don’t add up, you can use the ingredients on another day or prepare food for the whole week. The food comes with recipe cards ready for you to cook each meal as and when you need to do so.
How Do Meal Delivery Services Work?
Most of the featured meal kit services offer a similar experience of meal recipe delivery, but they all have unique qualities, which is why we recommend that you read their reviews.
If you select a plan that matches your culinary tastes, the preferred amount of recipes, and the number of mouths to feed, you will enjoy your experience no matter what. Once you pick the best plan for you, you will have the option to select specific meals from the menu.
Some of the above providers will deliver meals to your door that are already made and just needs to be reheated. Others deliver the ingredients and you cook the meal following the recipe or modifying it to your liking.
You can pick the best time for you, and the box will be delivered consistently at the hour that works for you. No worries about being late as the boxes are insulated to ensure freshness and quality.
What are Prepared Meal Plan Delivery Services?
A prepared meal plan delivery service cooks meals, packages them up, and has them delivered right to your door. You then keep them in your refrigerator or freezer (depending on the plan you choose) to cook when you need them. In most cases, these are high-quality meals that taste great, and in many cases, are good for you.
There are different services for different people based on their needs. If you don’t like cooking at all, you can choose a no cook meal plan that is ready to eat, comes with microwavable meals, or at least is oven ready. If you don’t mind cooking, but you don’t want to do the shopping or planning, there are meal systems that will just send fresh ingredients for meals, along with instructions. From no prep meals to fully prepared, no cook meal plans, there really is something for everyone.
Why do People Love Meal Delivery Services?
It is easy to see that people love premade meal systems. Each customer seems to have a different set of reasons why they signed up, and why they keep ordering week after week. The following are among the most popular reasons why people love precooked meal plans:
1. Saving Time – The number one reason people love these meal systems is because they are fast and convenient. You don’t have to go to the store to pick up all the ingredients, and in many cases, you don’t even have to prepare them. This can save you hours each week.
2. Reduced Waste – You won’t buy food from the store ahead of time, then fail to prepare it, so it goes in the trash. For many people, the reduction in food waste makes it so these meal systems actually save them money!
3. Tons of Options – There are a lot of different prepared meal systems on the market today, and each of those systems has lots of options. This means you can get exactly what you want, at a price you can afford.
4. Healthier Than Takeout – Most prepared meal systems today offer surprisingly healthy food options. Some even specialize in healthy fare. On average, the food from these types of programs will be significantly healthier than going out for fast food.
5. Customizable – You can choose the type of food you receive based on diet, food preference, or a variety of other factors.
6. No Mess Cooking – While some prepared meal systems will require you to cook in your own pots and pans, many are just warmed up and enjoyed. This means far less mess to clean up!
Oven Ready Meals vs Takeout
People living extremely busy lives today often don’t have time to cook their own meals every day. This is why things like fast food (and other takeout) are so popular. The oven ready meals from premade or pre-assembled meal plans are an alternative that is getting very popular.
Many people like to compare premade meal plans and takeout food (and especially fast food) to see which is a better option. In the vast majority of cases, the ready to eat meals that are delivered to your door are going to outperform takeout in just about every way. For example:
No Need to Go Out – When getting takeout you need to either leave the house to pick it up, or have it delivered (for an extra charge). With the premade meal services, all your meals will be delivered to your door each week.
Healthier – Meal plans are typically designed to be pretty healthy compared to fast food. It is true that you can choose a salad or other healthy option at most fast food locations, that is not what they are best known for.
Less Waste – While each meal plan is going to be packaged differently, they will generally have less waste than takeout. This is because multiple meals are delivered in one box each week. With fast food, you’re getting separate bags, napkins, straws, and wrappers each time you go out.
Are Premade Meal Plans Healthy?
This will depend almost entirely on which meal service you choose, and which meals you sign up for. Some of the options will provide you with fairly traditional meal plans that don’t focus on any specific type of diet goals. In this case, the food may not be considered ‘healthy’ by most standards. That being said, however, these meals are packaged and delivered with reasonable portions, which makes even the less healthy meals much better for you than consuming massive portions that you get from fast food or other options.
For those who are thinking about their health (which should be all of us!) there are prepared meal plans that will meet virtually any type of diet or health goals you can imagine. Some of the services specifically specialize in providing you with healthy meal choices. Many of them offer weight loss meal plans, vegetarian meal plans, vegan meal plans, keto meal plans, Atkins meal plans, and many others. Whether these are oven ready, microwavable meals, no cook meals, or any other type, you can find a delicious meal plan service that meets your precise nutritional needs.
How to Choose the Right Meal Plan for You
Choosing the right premade meal plan is important for many reasons. While these plans don’t typically come with any long-term contract, you still want to think through your options to ensure you get one that you will be happy with. For most people, the best option is going to be to take some time to think about what types of foods you enjoy, what diet requirements you have, and whether you want no-prep meals or something you have to cook. Once you know this information, you can read reviews of the various meal plan services that operate in your area so you can make an informed decision. Of course, if you ever find that you’re unhappy with a prepared meal service, you can always cancel and choose a new one!
Subscriptions
All of the services listed on our meal kit comparison offer friendly and fast delivery based on weekly or monthly subscriptions. You can decide whether you want to have the ingredients delivered or your meals prepped. With a variety of recipes and plans available, there is a meal kit delivery service for everyone.
