I love every aspect of cooking from shopping fresh ingredients to trying different seasonings for new flavors. However, cooking becomes more of a chore than a pleasurable activity when I get a busy schedule. Yes, there’s takeout but I don’t want to splurge on unhealthy meals which is why I get curious with prepared meal delivery service.
Meal delivery services have become popular these days because of their convenience. You simply need to reheat the flash-frozen meal within minutes and you can enjoy your favorite meal with adequate nutrition. Below, we have rounded up 15 of the best meal delivery services out there.
Our Top 3 Picks:
| Product | Our Rating | Key Features |
|
bistroMD |
#1- Best Choice |
|
| Diet-to-Go | #2 |
|
| Trifecta Nutrition |
#3 |
|
Top 15 Best Prepared Meal Delivery Service Reviews
01. bistroMD:
Who said that you can only eat bland and boring food when you’re losing weight? Well, BistroMD offers diet food plans that are healthy and delicious. SImply input some important details on bistroMD so they can formulate the right meal plan to achieve your weight loss goals.
BistroMD works because each of their recipes is created to give you the right macronutrients. Every entree consists of the right balance of complex carbohydrates, fiber, lean protein, and healthy fat. You can expect to get fresh, flash frozen food delivered in your door every week.
What’s On The bistroMD Menu?
bistroMD offers breakfast, lunch/dinner, and snacks. Their chef prepares more than 100 meals so you don’t have to cook. All you need to do is reheat these flash, frozen meals and enjoy.
Each of bistroMd’s programs meet or fall under the US Dietary Guidelines for sodium requirement, averaging 2000-3000 mg daily. If you’re allergic to gluten, you can choose their new gluten-free program. Currently, they don’t provide a dairy-free program and strictly vegan entrees but they provide a complete Vegatarian Program.
Here are some of the best meals in bistroMD:
- Italian style omelet
- Canadian bacon and Swiss omelet
- Lasagna with garden marinara
- Salmon with dill mustard sauce
- Salted caramel pecan
How To Order From bistroMD:
Go to their website and click the Shop button. In the Order page, select your program: standard, gluten-free, heart healthy, diabetic, and menopause. Pick a program that fits your needs and weight loss goals.
Next, decide how many meals you want? You can choose a 7-day full program or a 5-day full program that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. If you want lunch and dinner only, select 7 days or 5 days of lunch and dinners.
- Meal plans are scientifically proven to deliver weight loss results
- Every recipe is developed with the right macronutrients
- Customized meal plans to suit your needs
- Offer more than 150 pre-made meals
- Delicious and interesting entrees
- Not for lactose-intolerant
- Regular weekly price includes shipping costs
Best For:
bistroMD is best for people who want to have a customized meal plan for weight loss. They offer several programs to fit your needs.
02. Diet-to-Go:
No more stressful planning of what to eat when you try to lose weight. Diet-to-Go promises to have prepared meals delivered to your door. The prepared meals arrive frozen so you need to heat them up first before you can eat and enjoy.
Diet-to-Go follows the food safety standards to deliver the best food to your doorstep. They have been in the food industry for more than 25 years. Within that period, they help people achieve their weight-loss and healthy living goals.
What’s On The Diet-to-Go Menu?
Diet-to-Go offers four menus: the Balance menu, Balance Diabetes menu, Keto-Carb30 menu, and Vegetarian. The Balance menu is the brand’s top rated menu because of the fusion of restaurant-quality flavors and balanced food portions. Calories, sodium, carbohydrates, fat, and cholesterol are controlled.
The Balance Diabetes menu is developed to help control your blood sugar. For those who like the Atkins-style low-carb diet, the Keto-Carb30 menu might be perfect for you. The Vegetarian menu offers healthy protein sources, such as eggs and dairy.
Here are some of my favorite Diet-to-Go meals:
- Blueberry pancakes, turkey sausage
- Mediterranean pizza
- Orlean’s tuna salad
- Fiesta Burger
- Aztec Quinoa salad
How To Order From Diet-to-Go:
First, you need to enter the zip code of your area to determine whether they can deliver in your area. For California, they deliver fresh meals every tuesday and friday. The charge per delivery is $9.99.
Next, choose a plan that fits your unique needs. For Balance and Keto-Carb30 plans, you have the option to stick to the Original plan or go without seafood. The Balance Diabetes and Vegetarian plans offer five or seven days of meal rotation per week.
- Offers free delivery for the first two weeks
- Kitchens follow the highest standards of safety and sanitation
- Allows personalized menu
- Provides four delicious meal plans
- Provides free diet analysis
- Limited calories may not sustain your energy
- Delivery is limited to certain areas
Best For:
Diet-to-Go is perfect for those diabetics and followers of the Keto diet who want to lose weight.
03. Trifecta Nutrition:
Trifecta offers cooked meal delivery service to help you achieve your fitness goals. They plan the meals, shop for ingredients, and cook a wide variety of meal options. We like how the meals are vacuum sealed to preserve the meals well and keep the items from moving around in the package.
Another good thing about Trifecta is that it constantly changes its meals, flavors, and ingredients to prevent diet burnout. Trifecta keeps it fresh so you stay motivated in your diet. They have an in-house professional chef, Mario Limaduran, to prepare your delicious macro balanced meals.
What’s On The Trifecta Nutrition Menu?
Trifecta Nutrition offers eight menu plans: Paleo, clean, classic meal, Keto, vegetarian, vegan, a la carte, and gluten-free. Except for the Classic menu, all the plans have a rotating menu to keep you surprised every week. If you want to control your budget, select the a la carte to create 20 meals for as low as $119 per week.
The meal options include grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, grass-fed bison, wild caught fish, seafood, and organic produce. They’re free from soy, gluten, dairy, and GMOs. Here are some of the tasty entrees from Nutrition:
- Balsamic brussel sprouts with chicken
- Cage-free chicken kabob
- Beef, sweet potato & mixed veggie
- Cilantro coconut rice
- Spiced Moroccan quinoa
How To Order From Trifecta Nutrition:
The first thing that you need to do is select your plan- paleo, keto, etc. You can select up to four meals per day so you can satisfy your hunger the whole day. However, one meal per day is enough if you plan to cook a lot at home.
Go a la carte if you want to control your budget. Trifecta will send you the pre-cooked ingredients and you pack your own meal. Choose from grass-fed to wild-caught proteins to organic vegetables.
- Ingredients are organic and natural
- Nice and secure packaging
- Meals are high in protein and low in sugar
- Contains no gluten, soy, and dairy
- Gives you an option to pack your own meals
- Macro count seems to be way off
- Some veggies taste greasy
Best For:
Trifecta Nutrition is best for athletes, Paleo diet followers, and anyone who want to gain muscle.
04. Freshly:
Freshly offers a variety of ready-made meals delivered in your doorsteps. You only need three minutes to heat the chef-prepared meals and you can have a healthy meal during the busy days. The food is packed in a biodegradable recycled denim insulation, which I like because it keeps the meal fresh.
I appreciate the sustainability efforts of Freshly because everything inside the box is recyclable. With the help of ice packs, your meals stay frozen for 48 hours. There’s an expiration date marked on the box so you don’t have to worry about meals getting spoiled inside your fridge.
What’s On The Freshly Menu?
Freshly offers more than 30 menu items of all natural dishes. The dishes are grouped into six menu categories: Feel-Better Food, Home Bistro, Market Day Meals, One-Bowl Nourishers, Takeout Twists, and Whole Comfort. You can choose 4-12 meals per week.
Every Freshly meal is a single serving, for a single person, at one sitting. The meals should take about three minutes to heat up in your microwave. Freshly recommends plating the meals rather than consuming them straight from the container.
Here are examples of Freshly prepared meals:
- Laredo chicken
- Herbed chicken romesco
- Chicken livorno
- Sicilian-style chicken parm
How To Order From Freshly:
You can go to their website and pick a plan. There are four choices: 4 meals per week, 6 meals per week, 9 meals per week, and 12 meals per week. Once you’ve selected your plan, choose your desired delivery date. Freshly allows you to receive meals on any day.
Once you’ve selected your delivery date, choose which meals you like. Freshly offers a wide selection of cuisines but not a lot of vegetarian or vegan meals. This meal delivery service mostly offers animal proteins.
- Eco-friendly packaging
- A wide selection of chef-prepared meals
- Includes ice packs to keep the food fresh
- Packed with protein yet low in carbohydrates
- Free of preservatives, gluten, and preservatives
- Lacks vegan or vegetarian options
- The taste is kind of bland
Best For:
Freshly is great for those who are allergic to gluten and peanut. Freshy is gluten-free and peanut-free.
05. Veestro:
Veestro is a great option if you want frozen vegan meals delivered in the comfort of your home. Although the meals might be more expensive than a frozen dish from the grocery store, these meals are well-balanced and dairy-free. All meals use organic ingredients and are 100% plant-based.
Every meal is packaged in a compostable tray with a large paperboard label. There are cooking instructions printed on the label which recommends heating the frozen meals on the stove or oven. Sauces are packed in a BPA-free plastic pouch while dry ice are included to keep the dishes cold.
What’s On The Veestro Menu?
Veestro offers three meal plans: a la carte, chef’s choice, and weight loss.
The A La Carte Plan allows you to take your pick from different dietary preferences: high-protein, gluten-free, low-calorie, nut-free, soy-free, and kosher. You can select all that applies to your needs. Example entrees of the a la carte plan are golden chickpea stew, red curry with tofu, and Meditarranean salad.
Chef’s Choice reduces the guesswork of selecting meals in Veestro. It recommends certain meals that are customer favorites, high-protein, or gluten-free. You can select the number of meals from 10 to 20, and 30.
The Weight Loss Plan offers three meals every day that totals around 1,200 calories. You can choose a 5-day plan or a 7-day plan. If you’re allergic to gluten, you can make the meals gluten-free.
How To Order From Veestro:
First, pick your meal plan- a la carte, chef’s choice, or weight loss. If you have selected a la carte, choose the number of meals you want: 10 meals, 20 meals or 30 meals. Once done with your subscription, select your meals and add them to your cart.
For Chef’s Choice, narrow your selection to Customer Favorites, High Protein, or Gluten-Free categories. Select the number of meals you want: 10, 20, or 30 meals. Next, choose whether you want the meals delivered every week, two weeks, or four weeks.
You only have to select between a 5-day plan or a 7-day plan when selecting the Weight Loss Plan. The meals are served for a single person and just need to be heated in the microwave before eating. You can change or cancel your subscription at any time.
- Offers more than 50 meals
- Includes the hand-picked choices of chefs
- Meals are free of gluten, nuts, and soy
- Packaged in eco-friendly materials
- Heats and serves in five minutes
- The meals seem to taste bland
- Seems to lack of culinary creativity
Best For:
Veestro is best for vegan as all their meals are organic and sourced from plants. The entrees seem to be developed for those who like a vegan replacement for famous comfort foods.
06. Magic Kitchen:
Magic Kitchen is another great meal delivery service that sends flash-frozen meals right to your home. One thing that makes Magic Kitchen unique from its competitors is its specialized meal designed particularly for seniors. They also provide a wide array of nutritious meals for healthcare organizations.
While many meal delivery services provide a variety of meal plans, Magic Kitchen exerts an extra effort to accommodate almost every special diet needs. The meals are packed in a recyclable Styrofoam with dry ice. Dry ice can keep your food frozen for a long time but can cause serious health concerns if stored in a place with insufficient ventilation.
What’s On The Magic Kitchen Menu:
Magic Kitchen seems to offer the most variety of frozen meals. The A La Carte menu offers main courses, desserts, soups, and side dishes. It also offers a bunch of special diet meals for diabetic, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, low carb, low fat ,low sodium, and weight watchers.
Every meal in the Complete Meals menu contains one entree and 1-2 side dishes. All of Magic Kitchen’s meals are chef prepared and guaranteed fresh. They’re delicious as they feature different cuisines- Asian, French, Italian, etc.
How To Order From Magic Kitchen:
Magic Kitchen gives you the option to order over the phone or online. If you order online, the first thing that you need to do is to go to their website and browse their two menus: a la carte and complete meals. Select your favorite meals for home delivery.
Create an Auto-Ship Meal Program if you like the meals delivered weekly, every two weeks, or monthly without placing any order. For less hassle, register in a Meal program to allow Magic Kitchen to select the meals for your specific needs. Magic Kitchen provides many options.
- Includes a meal plan tailored for seniors
- Offers a wide variety of foreign cuisines
- Provides a wide array of Special Diet meals
- Very easy to order
- Offers discounts
- Portions are a bit small
- High shipping costs
Best For:
Magic Kitchen is best for seniors and anyone who follows a special diet.
07. Sakara Life:
Sakara Life promises to deliver organic food straight to your home. The meals are sourced from plant-based ingredients that are full of healthy fats and nutrients. Unlike other meal delivery services, Sakara Life doesn’t give calories or nutritional information because it focuses on food quality and not food prohibitions.
According to founders Whitney Tingle and Danielle Duboise, Sakara is a lifestyle and not a diet. It’s a pricey lifestyle because five days of its Signature Program costs around $349. Yes, it’s expensive but the customers think it’s worth it because you get fresh, healthy meals.
What’s On The Sakara Life Menu?
Sakara Life provides three meal programs: Signature Program (Level I), Detox Program (Level II), and 20-Day Bridal Program. The Signature Program consists of three meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The menu for this specific week included delicious sounding meals, like Sakara superfood mac + ‘cheeze’, haute chocolate mousse, and the bliss bowl.
The Level II Detox program is offered once a month which aims to clean your body internally. The Bridal program is made to help brides-to-be achieve a perfect body on the day of the wedding.
How To Order From Sakara Life:
First, you need to enter the zip code of your state. Next, select your desired program length: 2 days, 3 days, and 5 days. Choose whether to subscribe weekly for the Signature Program or make it a one-time event. Whatever is on the menu that week is what you’ll get.
Any modification on the dishes, like removing/replacing nuts and grains, cost you an additional $60 a box.
- Recommended by famous celebrities, like Gwyneth Paltrow
- Uses mainly of plant-based ingredients
- High water content and rich of nutrients
- Packaged perfectly to keep the food fresh
- Meals are colorful and delicious
- Very expensive
- Some of the dressings contain extra sugar
Best For:
Sakara Life is great for future brides who want to get that perfect body on the day of the wedding. It’s also ideal for those who want to start a healthy lifestyle.
08. Factor 75:
Factor 75 might be a good choice if you’re into a Keto or Paleo diet. They offer many meal choices and the flavor is surprisingly good at decent prices. I’m impressed with the freshness and great flavor from these healthy prepared meals.
The meals are packaged in a recyclable box, which I think is very convenient when you need to stack them in the freezer. They come with ice packs to keep the meals cold. Unlike other prepared meal delivery services, Factor 75 don’t over freeze their meals so they’re fresher.
What’s On The Factor 75 Menu?
Factor 75 offers three types of menu: Paleo, Keto, and Gluten-Free. The Paleo plan uses quality protein and avoids sugary, starchy processed foods, like grains, dairy, and refined sugar. Example entrees of the Paleo plan are paleo burger, bbq pork tenderloin, and turkey ragu butternut lasagna.
The Keto plan has low levels of carbohydrates, moderate level of protein, and high level of healthy fat. Example entrees of the Keto plan are steak with loaded cauliflower mash, carnitas style pork, and garlic parmesan chicken breast.
The Gluten-Free meals use nutrient dense grains. Glutenous ingredients are substituted with almond flour, butternut squash, and coconut flour.
In my opinion, their best meal is the Shrimp Alfredo because the seafood tasted fresh. The chicken parmesan is decent but it would have been better with more vegetables. The sauce on the taco bowl was kind of a let down though.
How To Order From Factor 75:
First, choose the style of meal you like- Paleo, Keto, or Gluten-Free. Next, select the number of meals you want weekly- 4 meals/week, 6 meals/week, 8 meals/week, 12 meals/week, or 18 meals/week. Now, select your favorite meals from the menu for that particular week then checkout.
- Offers free shipping
- Meals are fresh and delicious
- Free of gluten, soy, refined sugars, and GMO
- Meals have a nice presentation
- The package includes a breakdown of nutrition
- Tend to have high sodium content
- No option to personalize meals
Best For:
Factor 75 is best for anyone who follows the Paleo and Keto diets because they have a special plan dedicated for them.
09. Top Chef Meals:
No one is more homemade than Top Chef Meals. This meal delivery service offers a variety of comfort food meals right on your doorstep. For a little upcharge, you can add 50% more entree to a meal.
Top Chef Meals founder Paul Ghiron created this meal delivery service with the aim to provide healthy, affordable meals. The meals come with large portion sizes and cover a wide array of dinner options. They come packaged in plastic trays, which is an upgrade from cardboards that won’t hold a seal better.
What’s On The Top Chef Meals Menu?
Top Chef Meals offer a wide variety of meals from starter packages to a la carte menu, seniors meals, and kids meals. They even have a special low-carb menu for Paleo and Keto diets, as well as, for special needs, like diabetic and renal. You name it, they have it.
This service offers almost 400 entrees and side dishes. Some of their best meals are Cavatappi Bolognese, Chicken Marsala, and Filet Mignon. The American Meatloaf is kind of a let down because the meat was a little dry.
How To Order From Top Chef Meals:
First, create an account and browse through the menu. Choose your entree and select your favorite customizable side dishes then add to the card. Submit your order.
- Offers customizable meal plans for every special need
- Uses clean ingredients with no preservatives and GMOs
- High in protein and low-carb meals
- Generous portion sizes
- Reasonably priced
- The food lacks flavor
- Delivery isn’t available on some areas
Best For:
Top Chef Meals is perfect for anyone who follows the Paleo diet, as well as seniors and weight watchers.
10. Fresh N’ Lean:
Fresh N’ Lean is another great meal delivery service that offers organic food straight to your home. They offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. The meals arrive fresh in a box and should be ready to serve in three minutes after heating up in the microwave.
You can control your subscription. Switch plans until you find the perfect meal plan that fits your needs. You can also cancel anytime.
What’s On The Fresh N’ Lean Menu?
Fresh N’ Lean offers five different menu plans: protein +, keto, paleo, vegan standard, and vegan low carb. The Protein + menu is filled with delicious ingredients from wheats to meats. The dishes under the Keto menu contain lean proteins, low carbohydrates, and higher fats.
Paleo is a menu designed with tasty and simple dishes. Vegan Standard is a great plant-based option with a creative combination of vegetables. Vegan Low Carb is a great way to minimize carbohydrates and calories in your diet.
How To Order From Fresh N’ Lean:
First, select your meal plan that fits your lifestyle. Select the number of meals you want every week: 1, 2, or 3 meals daily. Next, customize the plan according to your special needs. Do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions? You can exclude up to three ingredients.
Unlike other meal delivery services that give you control over which meals to receive in the box, Fresh N’ Lean gives you the chef-selected menu from that particular week. Fresh N’ Lean select the meals for you.
- Caters to both vegan and meat lovers
- The menu changes every week
- Subscription can be changed or cancelled anytime
- Uses organic and all-natural ingredients
- Vegetables are nicely cooked
- Some of the dishes are a bit bland
- Lacks customization options
Best For:
Fresh N’ Lean is perfect for busy people who follow a paleo, vegan, and keto diet. With the pre-selected meals, you can enjoy a variety of meals every week.
11. FlexPro Meals:
FlexPro Meals is a great meal delivery service if you want to reduce your weight. They offer meals that are low in carbohydrates, low in sugar, and high in protein. Most of the meals include a generous amount of vegetables.
There are more than 25 meals that you can choose from FlexPro Meals. The meals use all-natural ingredients and are prepared by a chef. The bakery treats are surprisingly delicious and they come with some protein benefits.
What’s On The FlexPro Meals Menu?
FlexPro Meals offers three meal plans: low calorie/lean muscle, VIP programs, and Keto. Under the low calorie/lean muscle meal plan, you have to choose between two portion sizes: fat trimmer or lean muscle. Some of the entrees include street taco bowl, backyard bbq, and garlic chicken alfredo.
Keep in mind that the Fat Trimmer portion size contains about 300-400 calories while the Lean Muscle one offers 500-700 calories. The VIP Programs allow you to commit one, two, or three months worth of deliveries. The Keto meal plan offers low-carb meals, like caulo-power pizza, keto chicken parm, and keto steak & veggies.
FlexPro also offers protein bakery treats that are made from scratch. My favorite treats are peanut butter crunch, oreo balls, and nutella bites.
How To Order From FlexPro Meals:
First, select the meal plan that fits your goals then choose the portion size, fat trimmer or lean muscle. You have the option to choose treats or no treats. Next, decide how many meals you want to receive per week- one, two, three or four.
Once done, choose a minimum of 10 meals on the menu and proceed to checkout.
- Provides frequent promotions and discounts
- Bakery treats are satisfyingly delicious
- Generous portion sizes
- Uses all-natural and whole foods ingredients
- Offers a lot of meal selections
- Doesn’t offer free shipping regulations
- Some of the meals have high sodium content
Best For:
FlexPro Meals is perfect for those who want to lose extra calories and fat. They’re also great for diabetics as they use low sugar.
12. Snap Kitchen:
Snap Kitchen offers prepared meals that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and abundant in vegetables. The meals are made fresh daily and contain no artificial sweeteners. They’re also free from gluten, added hormones, and antibiotics.
The meals are under 500 calories, which is great if you’re watching for your weight. They arrived fresh in cooler bags right in your home.
What’s On The Snap Kitchen Menu?
Snap Kitchen offers a wide range of menu including salads, snacks, and drinks. They have a meal plan for vegetarian, keto, and paleo. You can get a lot of plant-based variety from the vegetarian meal plan and fuel from the high protein meal plan.
How To Order From Snap Kitchen:
First, select your meal plan from these eight choices: low carb, vegetarian, balance, whole30, high protein, keto-friendly, paleo, and total custom. Next, add your favorite entrees and select how many meals you want weekly. Snap Kitchen can give you suggestions but you can modify them out for your favorites.
- Offers a lot of meal plan options
- Covers everything from breakfast to snacks and drinks
- Made of fresh and safe ingredients
- Gives a lot of customization options
- Can easily be canceled anytime
- Available in limited areas
- Shipping is a bit expensive
Best For:
Snap Kitchen is ideal for weight watchers and followers of the paleo and keto diets.
13. Yumble:
For busy parents right there, Yumble might be your best option if you want to feed healthy meals to your kids. Every box of Yumble comes with new activities for kids to make mealtime more enjoyable. The ingredients of the meals are carefully sourced from vegetables and fruits to give complete nutrition.
What’s On The Yumble Menu?
Yumble offers a lot of meal options to suit the different needs of kids. They have meals that are gluten-free, no soy, no milk, no egg, and purely vegetarian. There’s also a menu for different ages: age 1-3, age 4-8, and age 9-13.
The entrees that stand out are the chicken nuggets and meatballs. They have a nice texture and taste surprisingly good. The broccoli was alright but the pizza pocket is a bit doughy.
How To Order From Yumble:
First, input your email and zip code then choose the number of meals you like to accept weekly. You can choose six, eight, or 12 meals per week. Once you’re done, select the meals that you want from the menu and checkout.
- Delicious and creative meals for kids
- Easy to order with the filter option
- Includes new activities for kids
- Meals are perfectly balanced
- Uses organic ingredients
- Not available nationwide
- Plastic wrap is hard to remove
Best For:
Yumble is best for kids aged 1-13 years old. They’re ideal for busy parents who want a quick meal for their children.
14. Home Bistro:
Home Bistro offers prepared gourmet meals straight to your doors across the USA, excluding Hawaii and Alaska. Unlike other meal delivery services, Home Bistro provides health meals inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. They use locally-sourced ingredients to deliver the best tasting meals in your home.
What’s On The Home Bistro Menu?
Home Bistro offers a wide variety of meal options from individual meals to chef choices. The Individual meals are a mix of meat, vegetables, seafood, and fruits. Some of the standouts are the Mediterranean orange honey shrimp and peri peri steak with vegetables.
Meal Combos are meals combined into a single order combo, like the grilled chicken breast with roasted carrots and spicy broccoli. If you’re vegetarian, diabetic, or weight watcher, Home Bistro offers the Dietary Preference menu. SUPERBowls are designed for lunch while the Chef Choices menu are meals selected by the chef.
How To Order From Home Bistro:
On their website, select meals from five categories: individual meals, meal combos, dietary preference, SUPERBowls, and chef’s choice. Choose Best Sellers if you want to make sure that you get the best tasting gourmet meals. Select the quantity from 1 to 10+ then add to cart and checkout.
- Ingredients are locally sourced and all-natural
- A lot of meal options from individual meals to combos
- Caters to different dietary preferences
- Meals are delicious and nutritious
- Available in most areas of the US
- Slightly expensive
- No discounts and promotions
Best For:
Home Bistro is good for those who love Mediterranean cuisine or restaurant quality gourmet meals.
15. FreshDirect:
Aside from groceries, FreshDirect also offers chef-prepared meals without any subscription. FreshDirect offers a wide variety of prepared meals from appetizers to green salads and a la carte entrees. They deliver to home addresses, as well as, schools and offices.
What’s On The FreshDirect Menu?
One thing that makes FreshDirect from its competitors is its loaded menu. They have 4 minute meals, a la carte entrees, a la carte sides, appetizers, etc. You name it, they have it.
There’s also a menu for certain dietary preferences, like dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, and under 500 calories. There are kid-friendly options, as well as, for the whole family.
How To Order From FreshDirect:
First, you need to create an account. Once done, pick your meal from the different categories such as Breakfast, Appetizers, or Green Salads. Determine the quantity of meals you want then add to cart and proceed to checkout.
- No subscriptions and commitments
- Offers a wide variety of meals choices
- Has kid-friendly and dietary preference options
- Includes nutritional information for each meal
- Offers fresh meals
- Delivery is limited in certain areas
- Lacks a section for low sodium meals
Best For:
FreshDirect is a great option if you don’t want to make any commitments to a meal delivery service. You can order anytime you want.
What Is A Prepared Meal Delivery Service?
A prepared meal delivery service sends frozen meals to customers right in their doorsteps. The meals are usually pre-portioned to meet the nutrition needs of each customer. They’re individually packaged with ice packs to protect the integrity of the food.
These services are very convenient because the meals are ready to eat. You simply have to heat them in the microwave, stove-top, or oven for about three minutes and you’ll have a meal in no time. These services often work on a subscription basis so you need to think how many meals you want to be delivered per week.
There are many forms of prepared meal delivery services out there. You can have a limited weekly rotating menu or a customized meal depending on your particular needs. These meals are often prepared by chefs so you can expect quality and great taste.
Why Should Subscribe To A Prepared Meal Delivery Service?
The selling point of meal delivery services is convenience. For people who can’t find the time to cook, getting a prepared meal delivery service is a great solution. The meals only need to be reheated so you can enjoy them anytime.
Prepared meals are often healthy. These meals are carefully designed to suit every dietary need. There are meals for vegetarian, paleo, weight watchers, as well as, for diabetics.
To make sure that the quality of meals are cut above the rest, most prepared meal delivery services use organic and all-natural ingredients. They’re free from preservatives, GMO, and refined sugar.
Is A Prepared Meal Delivery Service The Same With Meal Kits?
No, a prepared meal delivery service isn’t the same with meal kits. While a meal delivery service sends pre-cooked meals, a meal kit sends pre-portioned and partially-prepared food items for customers to cook. In simpler terms, a meal delivery service sends frozen meals while a meal kit is raw, fresh ingredients.
A meal kit is perfect for you if you don’t mind cooking and you do have a daring palate. Unlike prepared meal delivery services, meal kits are more affordable. However, issues about some missing ingredients may occur and fresh ingredients may turn rancid once you left them sitting outside for too long.
A prepared meal delivery service is quicker to prepare than meal kits. They should be ready to serve after three minutes in the microwave or oven. Customized services provide the best variety with meals prepared to suit your dietary preferences, like gluten-free or keto. Since these meals are chef-prepared and customized to your needs, they’re more expensive.
How To Choose The Best Prepared Meal Delivery Service
Looking for the best prepared meal delivery service is hard, especially if you don’t know what to look for. Here are some things that you need to keep in mind when picking for your first or next meal delivery service.
Know Your Needs:
The first thing that you do when choosing a prepared meal delivery service is to determine what you want. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want a gluten-free or paleo diet?
These questions are important because every meal delivery service has special menus for different lifestyle goals.Make your goals as clear as possible.
Look For Variety:
As much as you want the meals to be nutritious, they shouldn’t bore you for the entire week. The best prepared meal delivery service offers a variety of meal options to choose from every week. You want to like at least three meals in the weekly menu to satisfy your palate.
Most of these meal delivery services put their menus on their website. The menu may change weekly or customized according to every special need. If you have special dietary needs, look for a meal delivery service that offers customization options.
Check The Ingredients And Nutrition Information:
Make sure that the prepared meals meet your fitness goals and dietary requirements. Watch the calorie counts and macronutrients. If you want to lose weight, look for low-carb meals. For leaner muscles, look for high-protein meals.
Every meal should have at least 10 grams of carbohydrates and five grams of fat. Generally, a woman needs 25-35 grams of protein per meal. For men, 30-50 grams of protein per serving is enough to build more muscles.
As for the ingredients, you want them to be as natural as possible. Avoid harmful ingredients, such as preservatives, antibiotics, and GMOs. Look for organic and locally-sourced ingredients. You want a well-balanced meal with meat, vegetables, and fruits.
Stay Within The Budget:
Most meal delivery services are expensive because they’re super convenient. Your choice should depend on your budget. If you want to invest in a good service, don’t be afraid to spend some extra cash.
The price of four meals a week can go roughly $46. If you want to save some costs, look for discounts and special promotions.
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Go For Eco-Friendly Packaging:
You want the packaging of the meals to be recyclable so they don’t harm the environment when you dispose of them. Paper boxes are a better choice over plastic bags because they break down easily into compostable piles.
The best prepared meals are packed in compostable food containers and boxes. If you choose plastic trays, make sure that they’re at least BPA-free so they won’t release any toxic chemicals once you heat the meal in the microwave.
Final Thought
All of the ready to eat meal delivery services that we reviewed above are outstanding but if we have to choose the best premade meal delivery, we pick bistroMD. We like bistroMD because their meals contain the right balance of macronutrients to improve your metabolism and help you lose weight. The chef-prepared meals aren’t only healthy but surprisingly delicious, too.
A prepared meal delivery service is surely a lifesaver if you don’t like to cook. They only require three minutes in the microwave and you can enjoy a healthy meal with less hassle.
How about you? Tell us what your favorite prepared meal delivery service is in the comments section below.
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