Meal Prep Services
In today’s busy world, many people do not have the time to cook healthy and delicious meals every day. This has resulted in people turning to fast food, or just whipping up quick meals that are lacking in flavor just so they can eat. In recent years, many companies have begun offering meal prep services to solve this problem.
Meal prep companies do exactly what it sounds like based on the name. They plan and prepare meals for their customers and deliver them right to their door. There are a variety of different options available, each of which will help you to ensure you and your family are able to get delicious meals that are healthy, but also extremely easy. Learning more about meal prep can help you to decide if this is a good service for you.
Types of Meal Prep Companies
One of the best things about meal prep companies today is that they come in a number of different categories. The following are the key categories of meal prep companies that you should be aware of. Deciding which of these options will work best for you will really help to narrow down your options and make deciding easier.
General Meal Delivery Services
General meal delivery services are going to offer multiple different types of meals to choose from. They will typically have options to meet just about every popular diet plan. You will either go in and select the specific meals you want each week, or just choose the general type of food you prefer, and they will select it for you.
General meal prep companies are a great option for anyone who doesn’t follow a specific diet plan and enjoys most types of foods. You will be able to get an excellent variety of meals, so you do not ever get tired of eating the same types of things. This category of meal prep is also a great for those who just want to order one or two meals each week and then prepare on their own for the others since it is so easy to use.
Specialized Meal Delivery Services
Meal prep companies that specialize in specific types of food are becoming extremely common, and with good reason. They offer meals that are created to meet the exact dietary needs of one category of customer. This can make it extremely easy to follow a diet plan that would otherwise be difficult. Some popular examples of specialized meal prep options include:
- Organic Food Meal Prep – If you want to enjoy food that is made with all (or mostly) organic ingredients, this category is great for you. They use only the highest quality organic ingredients to prepare your meals. Naturally, this option is typically going to be a little more expensive than most others.
- Vegan Meal Prep – Vegans do not eat any meat or other animal products, which can make it a challenge, especially for those just starting out. Vegan meal prep companies make it easier than ever to follow this lifestyle. Anyone who tries to claim that vegan food does not taste good will quickly be proven wrong by trying meals from companies in this category.
- Vegetarian Meal Prep – Vegetarians do not eat meat, but will consume other animal products such as cheese, eggs, and more. Companies that focus on this category offer a great variety of meals that you will enjoy.
- Low Carb Diet Meal Prep – Low carb diets are very popular and include options like the keto diet, primal diet, Atkins diet, and more. Get the food that is low in carbs and high in protein and fat that you need delivered right to your doorstep.
- Weight Loss Meal Prep – If you want to make losing weight easier than ever, there are meal prep companies that are focused specifically on this area. They can help you to get all the nutrients you need while keeping your calories at a healthy level.
Of course, there are other companies that focus on other types of food as well. No matter what type of diet plan you follow, the chances are that there is a meal delivery service that can meet your needs.
Preparing Your Meals
The next option to look at when deciding on a category of meal prep service is how you prepare the meals. These companies do not deliver the food hot and ready to eat. They ship the food and you have to do at least a little bit of basic prep work.
Some companies are ‘heat and eat’ solutions. This means that the meals are already prepared and ready to heat up. Sometimes they will be pre-cooked and all you have to do is put them in the oven or microwave to bring them up to the desired temperature. Other times, these meals are all put together but need to be cooked. They will provide instructions for how long you need to put them in the oven or cook them on the stove.
The other option is meal prep services that deliver you all the ingredients, in the exact amounts that you need. When you are ready to enjoy them, you just combine them as instructed and cook them up. This minimizes the amount of time you are spent cooking, but you are still actively involved in the process.
Getting Meal Prep Delivered to Your Home
One of the things that makes meal prep services extremely convenient is the fact that you do not need to go shopping for your food. The company will prepare your meals and deliver them right to your doorstep. Most companies do a weekly delivery, but others will do bi-weekly or at some other interval. You just grab the package off of your doorstep and put it into the freezer or refrigerator until you are ready to eat.
Some foods will be sent frozen so they can be kept for just about as long as you want before you use them. Other companies send all fresh ingredients, so you will need to enjoy them within a week or two at the most. Either way, you will not have to go grocery shopping for your food, which will save you a lot of time and energy.
Ordering Your Meal Prep Meals
When you are ready to buy meal preps, you will need to make a few important decisions. Fortunately, the process is quite easy and won’t take you long at all. You will need to find a trustworthy company that is able to provide you with great food made from quality ingredients. This company will also need to be able to meet your specific dietary requirements, if you have any. Of course, you also want your food to taste great!
With dozens of different companies offering this type of service, you can be confident that there is one that is ready to meet your specific needs. Start by evaluating which companies offer meal prep delivery, and then narrow down that list to the ones that are most likely to meet your needs.
Which Meal Prep Companies are Available?
There are dozens of meal prep companies in business, and more are opening all the time. Due to the popularity of these types of services, many companies are launching their own take on meal prep solutions. Many of them will offer a great variety of different meals to choose from, and others focus on niche diets such as vegan, vegetarian, keto, and others.
Of course, not all of the meal prep companies are of the same quality. Some of them don’t live up to the quality that their customers will demand, and others are still trying to prove themselves. There are, however, many excellent options out there such as Trifecta Nutrition Meal Delivery, Purple Carrot Meal Deliver, Sprinly Meal Delivery, and Medifast meal Delivery, among many others.
Taking the time to find the best meal prep delivery service for you is well worth the effort.
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.
Best Meal Prep Services
So, with all that in mind, it is time to ask which meal prep service is best. The fact is, there is no one size fits all answer to this question. The best option will really depend a lot on your specific dietary requirements, the number of people you will be feeding, and more.
For example, someone who is a vegan will not likely want to use the same service as someone who enjoys eating a lot of meats and other animal products. With this in mind, the ideal way to find the best meal prep delivery service is to read reviews and comments about all the top-rated options. From there, narrow down your list to just those that can best meet your unique requirements.
Once you have your list down to just two or three, consider trying them all out. Most meal delivery services offer excellent discounts and promotions for new customers. Sign up for one and use it for a month. At the end of the month, try another one and see how it goes. Once you have tried all the ones that were on your list, you can decide which one to continue to use going forward.