Subscription-Based Meal Planning Services

siraphine

You know those meal planning services that like...send you the food to your house and you can cook it for the day it's scheduled? I'm awful at planning meals, and unable to go to the store regularly for a while. Are any of those actually credible? If so, which should I look into?

elphie754

There are ones that are credible, but they are usually very expensive.

nowine4me

I tried Blue Apron and Home Chef. Both are expensive. Home Chef has more choices easier prep. I liked it, but when Summer rolled around, want to get back to grilling outside. FYI - You can search and download the recipes and shopping lists on the websites. As an alternative -- here's a link to a bunch of easy and low-calorie meals, I use it a lot.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/packages/healthy-every-week/healthy-mains/healthy-weeknight-dinners.page-8.html

Chef_Barbell

I have used HelloFresh and expensive is relative IMO. I prefer the idea of not having waste that gets thrown out. I will be using meal planners after the baby is born to make life easier.

VintageFeline

I'm in the UK, we have Hello Fresh and Gousto. I use both semi-regularly. As above, expensive is relative. I have cognitive issues that can make just going into a supermarket a monumental feat and at times I can stare at pre-made food in there and still not be able to think what to get for the next 2, 3, 4 days. So these services are great for me when I am well enough to cook but not well enough to plan and/or shop.

And the no waste thing is a massive bonus. Due to my almost total inability to plan I often end up wasting food and feeling dreadful about it.

Kait_Dee

I prefer pre-made meal delivery service options when I'm on the road with work. If you're in the states, I really like Fuel Meals (reasonably priced and balanced!). You can customize and purchase just want you need (12 or more at a time I believe) and they ship across the states. They freeze and keep well and are made with good quality ingredients (except their frozen veg - ick).

They have great options; I often only order lunch/dinner type meals and focus on prepping breakfast and snacks myself, which is a good time saver for me. If you watch their IG account, they frequently have discounts available (usually monthly).

cwolfman13

I know a couple people who use Blue Apron...they're legit and I think most of these are...but they're also expensive.

CMNVA

I ordered Blue Apron for a week. It is legit and the food is good but it did take me some time to prepare the meals in the evening. The food is not prepped for you so some of the meals require a lot of chopping and some don't. Thinking of trying Hello Fresh.

sarahlynn10782

I've been getting Green Chef for 2 weeks now... Here is my review!

I received my first delivery from Green Chef last Wednesday and have made all 3 of the meals. One meal was not very good... I felt like the Beef Mole Chili had way too much cocoa and overpowered everything, which was a bummer! The other meal was the Spaghetti Squash Alfredo, which was good. That was my first time cooking squash and it was kinda fun! The 3rd meal was Katsu Chicken, and that was really good also! The meals are supposed to serve 2, but these are large servings, at least for me, and I can stretch them out to 3 or 4 meals/servings. This week I received items for Roasted Chicken and Farro, Philly Cheesesteak Bowl and Italian Grilled Cheese.

I will say, I was very impressed with the packaging from this company! All the items were tightly packed inside a cardboard box with a Jute lining and 2 good sized frozen re-usable ice packs. The food was cold and fresh, although there was one jar from this weeks delivery that was not quite closed and spilled slightly. Some of the items come in heavy plastic jars, which I plan on re-using for meal preparation in the future. Others are packed in plastic bags or smaller cardboard boxes. Each food item is clearly marked with a color coded label, so you can match the items up with each recipe card. The recipe cards are on heavy card stock and are printed in color, with photos showing every step. I only wish it listed the exact measurements of each item in case I wanted to make this again... They do have the measurements on their website if you login to your account for most items, but not all, which is a negative.

On their website, they also have the following weeks meals listed and if something doesn't sound good, you can skip that set of meals as long as the delivery hasn't been locked in. Or if you don't want a delivery at all one week, you can skip it, but you need to let them know a couple of weeks in advance. One of the biggest pluses about this company is that you can choose your meal preference, whether it be Omnivore, Carnivore, Paleo, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free or Vegan. You can change this preference out on their website for future deliveries if you wish, but once again, you need to let them know a couple of weeks in advance.

I do not have much experience cooking anything other then Mexican food, spaghetti or simple beef dishes because my husband is extremely limited on what he likes, so it has been fun cooking things that are completely different then what I am used to. I feel like this service is going to help me to really learn how to cook and to hopefully help me substitute some of the junk I have been eating for healthier food. I do think this service is pricey (a little over $80), but considering everything seems to be organic, the time it takes to individually wrap each separate food item and the cost of shipping, the price is justifiable. No food goes to waste because everything is measured to a tee. Overall, I like Green Chef and will continue using it! Hope this review is helpful to anyone who has been curious about this service!

[Link removed by MFP Staff]

cappri

I've used Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Sun Basket and Plated. All of them are good. I have been using Plated exclusively lately, they have the most versatile menus. My subscription is for two people but depending on the calorie count of the meal I usually get two dinners and at least one lunch from each of the meal kits.

It was hard for me to transition to cooking for just two people and having everything pre-portioned and delivered to my door is wonderful!

GuruRas

I alternate between Hello Fresh, Green Chef and Sun Basket. I order vegetarian meals - Green Chef is the only one if the three that offers vegan. Hello Fresh from is 30% cheaper. They're all tasty and good with good customer support. I like the variety, recipes, time saved shopping and measuring, and lack of waste. Sun Basket and Green Chef offer more organic foods, though HF tries... it looks like SB had more direct relationships with food producers and farmers.