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6 Healthy Meal Delivery Services
What’s for dinner? It’s a perennial question. For some, it’s an excuse to dig into the newest cookbooks or blogs for inspiration. But for those of us who hate grocery shopping, don’t feel comfortable with our cooking skills, or have zero time to plan (let alone cook!), the question causes a fair bit of anxiety and stress.
1) Chef’d
Meal kits
For: The wannabe celebrity chef
Need-to-know: Chef’d is for all those times you’ve ever watched Top Chef and wished that you could eat what Padma Lakshmi was eating, too. The Los Angeles-based company has big-name chefs, nutritionists, and foodie gurus (from TV personality Robert Irvine to clean eating expert Keri Glassman) create a range of recipes. You just need to find a favorite, place your order, and you’ll receive all the pre-portioned ingredients you need (organic wherever possible) to get dinner on the table. And if phrases like “mince garlic” send you into panic mode, don’t worry: Chef’d has videos demonstrating cooking techniques on its website. Some recipes called for cooking techniques I haven’t dared try at home otherwise (poached fish anyone?). But thanks to the step-by-step directions, I plated a perfectly cooked piece of fish.
Healthy factor: Chef’d offers a range of recipes to meet your healthy, gluten-free, or Paleo needs, like the Mediterranean Citrus Poached Halibut from Top Chef alum Fabio Viviani or the Green Chili Turkey and Cilantro Rice Bowl from Chris and Heidi Powell of ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss. And, if you’re a Tone It Up Nutrition and Bikini Bundle member, you can sign up to receive weekly dinner meals, all approved by the Tone It Up nutrition team.
Delivery details: With Chef’d, you can choose your delivery date, and your meal will be delivered between 8 A.M. and 8 P.M.
Cost: Two-serving meals range between $19 and $39. No subscription or minimum required. Shipping is free on orders over $40.
2) Freshly
Prepared meals
For: The time-crunched healthy entrepreneur
Need-to-know: Freshly promises healthy meals in two minutes or less in other words, it’s your alternative to ordering Seamless on days when you’re too busy to even set the table (never mind cook). Your meals arrive at your door not frozen, but fully cooked so that all you have to do is reheat. Choose breakfast, lunch, or dinner from Freshly’s weekly menu, with Three Bean Ancho Turkey Chili and Denver Omelette among the customer favorites. And yes, they plan on expanding their menu throughout the year.
Healthy factor: All meals are high in protein, low in carbs, and contain zero gluten, refined sugars, or hormones. Curious about the nutritional profile of each dish? Just head to the website for ingredient lists and nutrition info. And to cut down on food waste, Freshly also donates extra meals to local shelters and farms.
Delivery details: Your meals are kept insulated in biodegradable, recycled denim—a stylish, eco-friendly alternative to styrofoam—and non-toxic, water-soluble gel packs. Freshly ships to 17 states in the western half of the U.S. and plans to expand east later this year.
Cost: Choose six, nine, 12, or 21 meals per week. Meal plans start at $69 per week (for six meals) and go up to $229 per week for 21 meals, shipping included.
3) Green Blender
Smoothie kits
For: The smoothie obsessed
Need-to-know: Green Blender is here to help you break out of your smoothie rut. Each week the company sends you five seasonal smoothie recipes and all the pre-portioned ingredients you need to make two 12-ounce servings of each smoothie. Founder Jenna Tanenbaum finds inspiration for recipes everywhere, from cheesecake and mojitos to seemingly un-smoothie-fiable foods like salads. And perhaps most impressive, the company has yet to repeat a smoothie recipe.
Healthy factor: The smoothie kits are packed with organic, non-GMO produce and superfoods—including all-star ingredients like goji berries and camu camu that not everyone has access to at their local supermarket. Case in point: Subscribers recently received a mandarinquat (AKA a hybrid of a mandarin orange and a kumquat), which is said to taste a bit like a Sour Patch Kid.
Delivery details: Green Blender’s delivery area includes the entire Northeast, as well as parts of the Midwest and Southeast, and the company recently started shipping to Southern California and others areas on the West Coast.
Cost: There are several subscription options. Prices range from $39–$49 per box, depending on how many you purchase upfront.
4) Green Chef
Meal kits
For: The organic foodie
Need-to-know: If you care about where your veggies come from, meet Green Chef. It’s the first USDA-certified organic meal kit Choose from five different menu types vegetarian, omnivore, carnivore, gluten-free, or Paleo then your delivery date. Weekly menus are available online so you’ll know what’s available. Each box is jam-packed with all the fixings to make three meals for two people in less time than it takes to catch up on the most recent episode of Girls (think 20–35 minutes). Plus, you can add additional servings and change your menu preference with each delivery. And for those who like a nice neat fridge, the ingredients come color-coded.
Healthy factor: About 95 percent of Green Chef’s ingredients are organic, and they vet their suppliers to ensure they maintain ethical and sustainable practices. Meals all lean toward the good-for-you side of things, with entrees like Lemon-Dill Broiled Salmon, Herb-Roasted Tempeh, and Quinoa and Spinach Fritters recently dropped off with subscribers. A highlight: The Sweet Potato Noodle Bake. It was jam-packed with veggies and the smoky almond bread crumbs added just the right crunch on top.
Delivery details: Throughout the United States except Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington, and to limited areas in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Oregon. Packing material is recyclable and compostable.
Cost: It’s a subscription service, with meals ranging in price from $10.49 to $14.99 per person plus $9 shipping and handling per box. Each box contains three recipes for two people (six servings).
5) HelloFresh
Meal kits
For: The new cook
Need-to-know: Think of HelloFresh as the Food Network-approved cousin to Blue Apron and Plated (Jamie Oliver is a partner, creating one recipe a week for subscribers). Straightforward, easy-to-follow, and also—and this is key—hard to mess up, the directions walk you through every step of preparing dishes like Mahi Mahi Piccata (which was surprisingly rich in flavor, considering how few ingredients it had). Their recipe cards even tell you how difficult each dish is to make, in case you’re still very much on the “How do you sauté?” end of the cooking spectrum. And for every HelloFresh box purchased, they’ll donate to the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation.
Healthy factor: Their on-staff registered dietitian evaluates every meal before it appears on the menu to make sure it’s balanced and healthy. Plus, they make nutrition labels available on their website, boxes, and recipe cards.
Delivery details: Not only does HelloFresh deliver nationally across the U.S., they deliver internationally too—to the UK, Germany, Austria, Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Place your order by midnight on Wednesday to receive your box the following week (and there are daily shipping options).
Cost: Boxes start at $59 for a Veggie Box and $69 for the Classic Box, with three meals for two people. The Family Box starts at $79.95 for two meals for four people. It is a subscription service but you can change your box from week-to-week. Shipping is included.
6) PeachDish
Meal kits
For: The home cook looking for some Southern comfort
Need-to-know: Get the mint juleps ready, because every week PeachDish offers four Southern- and seasonally-inspired meals (typically two vegetarian options and two meat- or fish-based choices) delivered to members. You’ll get to learn about—not to mention cook with—menu mainstays of the South, like middlins (AKA broken rice that’s a bit like grits).
Healthy factor: This isn’t your grandmother’s biscuits and gravy. For example, PeachDish’s Smothered and Covered Chicken with Herb Grits and Celery Salad is a lightened up version of a southern favorite, with skinless chicken breasts pan-seared instead of dropped into a deep fryer. And the flavorful Pork and Gold Rice Middlins was like a Southern version of risotto, but without all the cheese. Ingredients are regionally and seasonally sourced and organic wherever possible. And nutritional facts for each meal are available online and on the recipe card.
Delivery details: Delivery is available across the continental United States and included with the purchase of your meals. And for a down-home touch, ingredients for each are packaged together in reusable organza bags.
Cost: For this membership-based service, a standard box, complete with two meals for two people, costs $50 (but they do offer discounts for ordering additional servings). There’s a minimum requirement of four servings per delivery and a max of eight.
