For the orange chicken I doubled the orange juice and soy sauce and also added honey and chili flakes. They offer a weekly menu of 30 meals to choose from and cater to a variety of diets, including Mediterranean, keto, vegan, and gluten-free.

But what I like most about this meal delivery service is the variety of flavors within the menus. With options like salmon with creamy chimichurri , creamy mushroom and meatball soup , and Italian roasted carrots with barley and ricotta , I found it easy to stay satisfied without getting bored.

One of the best meals I tried was the enchilada-spiced ground turkey bowl. Not only was it tasty—smoky and savory with a pleasant crunch thanks to toasted pepitas—but also the premade enchilada sauce and ready-to-use paprika-cumin blend helped keep the prep and cook time down to 25 minutes total.

Green Chef. That said, CookUnity does offer a huge variety of options. Some favorites? The grilled chicken yassa with jollof rice and plantains , the short rib with herb mashed potatoes , and the ginger salmon cakes with miso-Sriracha sauce.

Just play around and try a bunch of meal options to learn what you like best. It has a lot going for it: There are plenty of options to choose from, the shipping is quick, and the meals are super easy to cook. I sometimes eat meat the cuts of beef and pork I received were tasty, fresh, and high-quality but was happy to see plenty of vegetarian and plant-based options to choose from, like black bean and corn tacos and bulgar grain bowls.

My only caveat is that there was a lot of sameness to many of the meals I tried—repeat ingredients or the same seasonings used across disparate international cuisines. Still, portions were large, leftovers were plentiful, and I really enjoyed the convenience of knowing dinner was taken care of.

Hello Fresh. Hungryroot is essentially a virtual grocery store with hundreds of recipes built around the food on its digital shelves. After using Hungryroot for half a year, I eventually grew bored of the recipes, which were basically permutations of a core set of foods and ingredients—the same sesame ginger sauce applied to different styles of bowls and salads, for instance.

But I became deeply attached to several grocery items, such as the prepackaged garlicky herb chickpea duo , a dish I loved mixing into quinoa or farro for a quick and refreshing lunch. Even the best home cooks can get a little tired of making dinner post holiday cooking season.

If you want to eat meals that are nutrient-dense but dead easy to prepare, Factor is probably the way to go. Factor is a little like a fancier, dietitian-approved TV dinner. Here are the steps: Take the meal tray out of its paper sleeve, poke holes in its plastic lid to let air out, and pop the tray in the microwave for two minutes.

The carnivorous dishes became a little repetitive, to be frank: Many of them consist of a small slab of meat sitting on a bed of some purée, accompanied by a couple dollops of different greens. Not bad for a ponzu chili steak bowl with charred snap peas and ginger rice.

I also appreciated the relatively low level of packaging with this kit, and the fact that there were plenty of comfort foods and vegetarian options.

That said, healthy eating is not necessarily the name of this game: a dish of scampi-style scallop linguine included four tablespoons of butter for two portions and no vegetables save for a single shallot.

Territory Foods, another brand that solely provides premade meals, began in as a meal delivery service targeted at the cult of Paleo adherents. Because of that structure, menu options vary widely across locations and change frequently, though everything is always free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugars.

Choose your delivery schedule once or twice weekly and number of meals at least four per week. Each meal is priced individually, and you can skip weeks without penalty as often as you need to. I like how many filtering options there are when choosing dishes: customers can limit by diet Paleo, of course, but also vegan, vegetarian, keto, Whole30, low fat, and more or even specific macro amounts.

Of all the different meals, miso pesto ramen with shrimp was my mainstay—the shrimp were large and tender, and the brown rice-and-millet ramen was delicious both hot and straight from the fridge. I also found myself returning to the Springbone chicken and rice , which came close to the halal cart I used to frequent near my office.

The best part about all of them? Meals arrive in an insulated cardboard box. Except for the included ice packs, all the packaging is recyclable; the Paleolithic people would be proud. All the dishes are vegetarian, and I often use them as a base for my dinners or add a quick-cooking veggie—like frozen peas and carrots to their upma —to call it a day.

You could also add meat. My favorite meal was the dal makhani. It's made from a short list of simple ingredients, has all the creamy richness you'd expect from the dish, and it takes seven minutes to prepare as opposed to overnight in the slow cooker.

I ate this with a dollop of yogurt, chopped cilantro, and premade rotis. I also appreciate that Cumin Club offers dishes from distinct places of origin, like Kolkata and Chennai—both regions that represent my cultural identity but that often get overlooked when it comes to Indian food in the US.

The Cumin Club. All of the dishes I tried were flavorful and well-seasoned, and I enjoyed the unmatched diversity of ingredients.

Not to mention, all of the meals are quick and easy. I appreciated that the sauces and dressings were premade and actually tasted good and that the protein choices for the meals were customizable.

For example, when ordering the BBQ meatloaf with garlicky greens and potatoes , you can select either ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey. For other meals, you can even choose your preferred cut of steak or chicken.

They also offer weekly fully prepared, microwave-ready meals I can vouch for the turkey chili mac with cheddar. Go directly to our top picks to order your weekly meals: Sign up for Purple Carrot , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Marley Spoon , or skip ahead to read our review.

Sign up for Home Chef , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Gobble , or skip ahead to read our review. Sign up for Dinnerly , or skip ahead to read our review.

While Dinnerly is not geared toward weight loss, it does offer a low-calorie meal filtering option that includes a variety of meals that are generally under calories, at a budget-friendly price.

Dinnerly requires some meal prep and cooking, however, recipes are only five steps and can be prepared in 30 minutes. There are offerings for two and four servings, making it a good choice for couples and families or individuals who like to have leftovers on hand for the next day.

Learn More: Read Our Dinnerly Review. Fresh N Lean is a great option if you are on a specific diet and want quick and easy, non-frozen, portion-controlled meals. Fresh N Lean caters to people on special diets including keto, paleo, vegan, Whole30, or Mediterranean, with all meal plans averaging under calories per meal.

We liked the ease of these non-frozen, heat-and-eat meals, and the option to add on breakfasts. Learn More: Read Our Fresh N Lean Review. Daily Harvest offers a wide variety of low-calorie vegan meal options including smoothies, grain and oat bowls, soups, flatbreads, and ice creams with minimal prep and cook times.

These chef-designed plant-based meals are high in fiber from fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, optimal for maintaining a low-calorie diet and supporting overall health.

We love that Daily Harvest meals are made with organic ingredients and are free of artificial ingredients, fillers, gums, refined sugars, and stabilizers. All products come frozen and require minimal prep and cooking, making it easy to increase your daily fruit and vegetable intake.

Learn More: Read Our Daily Harvest Review. When placing orders, you'll first need to select a box size—either Small 9 items , Medium 14 items , or Large 24 items. Then, simply fill the box with whatever menu selections you like.

While pricing depends on what you order, Daily Harvest offers volume-based discounts; the more items you buy, the more money you'll save. Per-Item Pricing. Volume Discounts. With a variety of meal kits, heat-and-eat meals, and grocery add-ons, Sunbasket is a great choice for people looking to follow a nutritious, low-calorie meal plan full of nutrient-dense, sustainably sourced, quality ingredients.

We love the range of flavor profiles featured and the versatility of this meal plan, offering meal kits if you are up for cooking, or quick heat and meals. Additionally, you can add a la carte grocery items including healthy breakfast options, snacks, and lean proteins like grilled chicken and wild scallops.

Learn More: Read Our Sunbasket Review. Meal Kits. Prepared Meals. Meal delivery services offer pre-portioned meals and ingredients, so there is typically less food waste, which may be more cost-efficient depending on your usual grocery shopping, meal planning , and cooking habits.

The cost of meal delivery services varies greatly and depends on the type of plan you choose. For example, prices typically drop per serving as you increase volume, so a meal plan for four would be less per serving than one for two. A low-calorie meal is considered one that is aligned with your daily calorie intake for weight maintenance or weight loss, which depends on many factors, including age, height, weight, energy expenditure, resting metabolic rate , and overall health.

However, generally, low-calorie meal plans for women are considered between 1, and 1, calories per day and between 1, to 1, calories per day for men.

It's important to remember that calorie-restrictive dieting is not suitable for everyone, so it's important to check with a healthcare professional. For those who are too busy to cook or have trouble eating balanced meals, low-calorie meal delivery services can help you optimize your nutrition, as they typically contain portion-controlled proteins, vegetables, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.

Low-calorie meal delivery services can also help you to achieve and maintain an optimal weight, which is associated with better health outcomes. If you have specific goals in mind, consider meeting with a registered dietitian RD or using one of the meal delivery services that offer counseling with an RD to help assess all of your nutritional needs.

Reaching your individual health goals will ultimately make these meal delivery services worth it if they fit your budget. We contacted the customer service teams at each of the companies, collected data, and rigorously reviewed each one.

Our Verywell Fit writers are all registered dietitians who relied on their research and its resulting data to inform their reviews. Healthy eating plan. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Healthy weight.

Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. By Anne Cook Carroll, MS, RD Anne Cook Carroll is a Registered Dietitian. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising.

Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance.

Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. Meal Delivery Services. By Anne Cook Carroll is a Registered Dietitian with a master's degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University.

Anne Cook Carroll, MS, RD. Learn about our editorial process. and Katie is a food editor for the Commerce team at Dotdash Meredith. Katie Tuttle. Best Low-Calorie Meal Delivery Services of Best for Nutrition Counseling: BistroMD Best for Weight Loss: Diet-To-Go Best Variety: Hungryroot Best Value: Dinnerly Best High Protein: Fresh N Lean Best Plant-Based: Daily Harvest Best for Customization: Sunbasket.

Best Low-Calorie Meal Delivery Services View All. Best Low-Calorie Meal Delivery Services. Frequently Asked Questions.

Best for Nutrition Counseling : BistroMD. Sign Up Now. Key Specs. Why You Should Try It. Pros and Cons. Pros Many breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to choose from Programs created by physicians and registered dietitians Meals are ready in as little as five minutes.

Cons Some meals lack flavor and texture Cannot choose delivery date. Pricing and Plans. Meals We Tried. Chicken, rice, and cheddar casserole Salmon with dill mustard sauce Turkey breast with cranberry apple chutney Oven-fried catfish with spicy tomato leek sauce Baked pasta marinara with chicken sausage Meatloaf with honey bourbon glaze Mojo pork with black beans and rice Grilled salmon with creamy pesto.

Best for Weight Loss : Diet-To-Go. Pros Pre-portioned meals Many low-calorie options Meals ready in just two to three minutes. Cons Users report site can be clunky. Sample Meals We Tried.

From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service

Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages - A quick look at Healthline's picks for the cheapest meal delivery services ; Most affordable: EveryPlate | Skip to review ; Best for families From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service

And a lot of the dishes we tested were actually ready faster than the estimated recipe time. There are a few minor downsides we found, though, like disorganized packaging and fewer included ingredients. The ingredients are not organized according to each recipe, which means you'll have to sift through a pile of produce and packaged spices before cooking each meal.

Dinnerly also doesn't deliver printed recipe cards, so you'll have to refer back to your email as you cook. We also found that you may need to have some staples on hand before your package gets delivered, like fresh garlic and apple cider vinegar.

But don't worry: Dinnerly will send you a list of ingredients via email before the box arrives. Despite these minor hiccups, we think Dinnerly delivers major value for the price, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a better meal delivery service with such excellent value.

Read the full Dinnerly review. Favorite meal: Soy-ginger pork tenderloin with garlic rice and green beans. Cost: Visit Dinnerly for updated pricing.

Subscriptions can serve two or four people, and you can choose anywhere from two to six meals per week. Like its name suggests, Home Chef provides customers with the tools necessary to become true masters of the kitchen.

Home Chef also offers oven-ready meals which come with their own cooking trays and the option to swap out proteins, making it appealing to an even wider swath of busy cooks. Aside from classics like the farmhouse fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green onion gravy, and corn , Home Chef also offerings meals that are diverse enough to include healthy meal options.

It also accommodates almost any dietary preference, including vegetarians and vegans. The menu offers at least 25 dinner options per week, as well as a handful of oven-ready meals. There are also some lunch and snack choices as add-ons to its main menu. We were impressed by the depth of flavor in the yang-yang beef with shishito peppers , a lighter alternative to traditional American Chinese food, and loved the hot honey salmon with zucchini and tomatoes for its summer simplicity.

What we love most about Home Chef is its organization. Ingredients are divided per meal into labeled bags that easily slide into the fridge, recipe instructions are consistently clear, and time estimates are always accurate.

Plus, the website is easy to navigate, allowing you the freedom to choose what you want and skip delivery weeks at will. One of its only downsides is the lack of variety on the weekly menu.

We would describe most of Home Chef's recipes as American-style, with a few Italian or Mexican-inspired options each week. HelloFresh, on the other hand, offers a wide range of dishes with international flair every week, like Peruvian chicken and Indian-inspired curry. Home Chef would be also wise to incorporate more biodegradable packaging into its existing model.

Read the full Home Chef review. Favorite meal: Farmhouse fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green onion gravy, and corn. Cost: Visit Home Chef for updated pricing. Subscriptions can serve two, four, or six people, and you can choose anywhere from two to six meals per week.

Paneer Tikka Masala was our favorite dish we tested from Gobble, our pick for best pre-prepped meal kit. That means your box will contain pre-portioned ingredients, pre-made sauces, and partially-cooked starches that require simple reheating, plus pre-sliced, -diced, and -minced veggies.

We were pleasantly surprised by the ingredients' freshness, and found that everything survived a day or two in the fridge before cooking.

Our biggest qualm with Gobble is that not all recipes are created equally. While some dishes were inventive, balanced, and super flavorful, others had us wishing we tweaked some of the ingredients ourselves.

That said, most of what we tried was very tasty and we would definitely make most of the dishes again. But because Gobble preps most of the veggies for you, there's unnecessary albeit recyclable packaging for things like chopped onions, which means more stuff for you to dispose of.

Read the full Gobble review. Favorite meal: Paneer and cauliflower tikka masala with garam masala basmati rice. Cost: Visit Gobble for updated pricing. Although we found some flaws with this fully vegan meal delivery service a few years back, our second time testing proved most if not all of our issues had been remedied.

We tried Purple Carrot for two weeks—trying meals from both the meal kit menu and the prepared meals section—and were impressed by the results. Previously, we found the brand to suffer from confusing recipes, bland flavors, and unsatisfying portions.

This time around, we were excited by the menu's international variety, protein-packed ingredients, and overall tastiness. Standout plant based meals included the tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews , which was addictively tasty, and the buffalo tempeh quinoa bowl , which had a satisfying balance of heat and freshness.

We also tried the brand's single-serve prepared meals, which arrive ready to eat after a few minutes in the microwave. These meals weren't to the same level of deliciousness as the freshly made stuff, but they were still hearty, balanced, and decently tasty.

We were happy enough to take them to work on in-office days. Subscribers to Purple Carrot can choose between either two or four servings a week for a meal kit subscription, or three or four meals a week for a prepared meal subscription.

You can also add prepared meals to your meal kit subscription for an additional cost—that's what we did. There are about a dozen meals to choose from each week, and several are conveniently labeled for folks with dietary restrictions, like Gluten-Free or Nut-Free.

There are even a few Less Prep options, which feature pre-mixed sauces, pre-cut veggies, and recipes that require fewer pots and pans. The service also offers breakfast and lunch dishes, plus add-ons think snacks and pantry staples from the cleverly named Plantry.

There were still a few minor hiccups during testing, like an unusual recipe card format and slightly inaccurate cook times. But once you get used to this learning curve it's not a dealbreaker.

Whether you're a longtime vegan or just someone looking to add more plant-based ingredients into their life, we recommend subscribing. Read the full Purple Carrot review.

Favorite meal: Tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashews. Cost: Visit Purple Carrot for updated pricing. Unlike the other services in this roundup, CookUnity delivers fresh, fully prepared meals directly to your door—no cooking required.

CookUnity wowed us from the moment we created an account and started browsing the hundreds—yes, hundreds —of meal options that are offered in any given week.

Each dish on the website is curated by one of CookUnity's featured chefs, who typically specialize in a certain style of cooking. Subscribers can choose to filter the overwhelming number of offerings by anything from diet type think vegan and keto , ethnicity think Mexican, African, or Mediterranean , or by featured chef once you become familiar with them.

When we tested these meals, it felt like we were dining at a restaurant. Each dish was flavorful, fresh, and enticing; they felt like they had been cooked fresh—but the prep took mere seconds.

The meal packaging prompts you to choose between a typical pre-made meal preparation read: microwave or a chef-suggested preparation. The latter requires popping the tray into the oven or transferring the food into a pan.

We opted for the chef's suggestions—and it was worth it. A few of the dishes we tried had smaller portions and left us craving more of a balance of protein, carbs, and veggies. But this issue can easily be avoided by reading the in-depth meal guides on the website to see what's featured in each dish and what its nutritional information is.

Read the full CookUnity review. Favorite meal: Sesame-ginger tofu poke bowl. Cost: Visit CookUnity for updated pricing. Despite the success of its competition, the original meal kit service still has some fight left in them.

Time and experience has allowed Blue Apron to keep prices low, perfect time estimates on recipes, and offer fun wine-pairing and gift options.

When we originally tested this service, we had problems with flavors and ratios being off. Oregano overpowered orecchiette , jalapeño overwhelmed peach salsa, and my polenta was in desperate need of salt, spice, or anything to make it more than a bland mush. But when we tested it again in , we found that the menu offered much more variety.

Flavorful meals like Mexican-spiced shrimp bake and shawarma chicken and currant rice had us enjoying every last bite. A few details continue to fall short, though, like disorganized packaging and inaccurate time estimates.

There's also a lack of vegan offerings with this meal kit. But if you're someone looking for dietician-approved meals, tasty recipes, and options for wine and breakfast, you might be very satisfied with this kit. Read the full Blue Apron review. Favorite meal: Crispy skin salmon with salsa verde and farro salad.

Cost: Visit Blue Apron for updated pricing. Different plans are available. Each dish we tested, from hibachi-style steak and rice bowls to apricot dijon chicken legs, was quick and easy to prepare and used high-quality ingredients. While we were disappointed by the recipe for creamy peppercorn chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots chicken breast can easily dry out when baked, and the sauce was overwhelmingly peppery , we found the other meals satisfying.

However, EveryPlate is focused on affordability and not specific diet plans, which means its recipes may not suit everyone.

But if you're looking to subscribe to a meal kit on a budget, EveryPlate just might do. Read the full EveryPlate review. Favorite meal: Apricot dijon chicken legs with roasted carrots and lemon garlic couscous.

Cost: Visit EveryPlate for updated pricing. Meals like chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad were simple, sophisticated, and downright American, just like the homemaking queen. The service is also far from ideal for those with dietary restrictions—in typical American fashion, every recipe revolves around an animal protein or heavy carbs.

Since we originally posted our review, Martha and Marley Spoon has added more vegetarian and low-carb options, but we haven't tested them yet. The service did score points with us for its eco-friendly packaging, made almost entirely from biodegradable materials.

Most of its recipes were also easy to follow for new cooks. Want to learn more? Read our full Martha and Marley Spoon review. Favorite meal: Chipotle-spiced steak with potato salad and charred snap peas. Like Sunbasket, Green Chef promises organic ingredients and a variety of different diet-based meal plans think keto, paleo, and vegan at different price points, with about eight options to choose from per week.

What sets Green Chef apart from other services is its commitment to organic and ethically sourced ingredients. The company is USDA-certified organic, meaning that customers are buying certified ingredients from suppliers that follow strict standards.

When we tore open our bags for dishes like red-miso steak stir-fry and chicken with harissa apricot sauce, we were surprised to see that many of the ingredients were pre-prepped. The carrots and cabbage were already chopped, the miso sauce was already prepared, and there was a baggie of finely minced garlic and ginger that was almost a paste.

All these pre-prepped ingredients made preparing our food very speedy and simple. Most were plated and ready to eat in 30 minutes, and we only dirtied a handful of prep bowls, one pan, one pot, and a cutting board. However, convenience has its drawbacks.

Many of the pre-chopped veggies were brown or wilting by the time we went to cook with them. But otherwise, we quite enjoyed Green Chef.

Read the full Green Chef Review. Favorite meal: Red-miso steak stir-fry with udon noodles, carrots, edamame, pickled ginger and carrots. Cost: Visit Green Chef for updated pricing. This meal delivery service offers a wide variety of recipes that will satisfy omnivores and vegan customers alike with its certified organic produce.

Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas and crispy tempeh tenders with barbecue sauce and lemon-shallot green beans were among its standout offerings when we tested. We were impressed by how easily our Sunbasket dinners came together, relying on just a few key ingredients and spice blends to do most of the heavy lifting.

That meant spending less time cooking and more time enjoying the food. We particularly loved the flavorful veggies and non-meat protein options, making Sunbasket perfect for people who avoid eating meat.

You can easily skip weeks, adjust delivery frequency, pause your account, or cancel your subscription entirely by easily navigating the Sunbasket website. Favorite meal: Fresh pappardelle verde with sweet pea pistou and sugar snap peas. Cost: Visit Sunbasket for updated pricing.

There are several options to choose from when it comes to buying a meal delivery kit. To help make your selection a little easier, here are some of the most important factors to keep in mind before you subscribe to a delivery service:. As with any subscription service, the price is one detail that should not be overlooked, especially since you'll be paying for the delivery on a weekly or monthly basis.

As a rule of thumb, stick to the basics when you first start out with a meal delivery service. See what it has to offer at a price point that matches your budget, and then weigh your options if you decide you want to switch things up.

Not everyone is a connoisseur in the kitchen, and some folks may want their dinner to be prepared more quickly or easily than others. Certain recipes can take longer to prepare, while some may be less labor intensive. Before ordering your meal kit, check to see how long each recipe is intended to take, as well as how much additional chopping, cutting, or prepping you may have to perform.

If you find yourself having little to no time to cook, then a pre-made meal kit like CookUnity could be your best option. Meal delivery services tend to offer a variety of options to meet a wide range of dietary needs, whether it be low calorie, vegan, or gluten-free dishes.

There's also the benefit of customization, which allows consumers to change some of the ingredients within the meal kit to suit their needs. This is particularly useful when it comes to protein options or excluding a particular ingredient due to an allergy or taste preference. Before you select your meal kit delivery service, check to see what delivery days or times it offers.

Some may vary based on your location, but you'll typically be able to select a delivery date for Monday-Friday, with some services offering weekend availability. This is important to keep in mind as you sign up for your first delivery to ensure you are receiving your meals at the most convenient time for you.

For each service, we ordered at least one box of three or four meals worth two to four servings each.

Using the service's website, we chose a diverse variety of meals when available. We prepared the food on a weeknight for ourselves and our partners or families, and evaluated the quality of ingredients, recipe accuracy and variety, difficulty, speed, cleanup, taste, and more.

We scored and compared each meal and kept detailed notes like true food nerds. Meal prepping and grocery shopping can feel overwhelming. Meal kits are a great way to expand your tastes and eat healthier, bringing you through the cooking process one step at a time and slicing the time it takes to prepare your food in half.

We found many recipes that only took 15 or 20 minutes, and oftentimes less! One study found that popular restaurant meals can have a whopping 1, calories on average per serving. Using a meal kit service can help you better manage your portions and ingredients to eat more nutritious meals and lead a healthier lifestyle.

They can also help you control grocery costs because you won't have excess food going bad in your fridge before you can decide what to do with it. Almost every service we tried offers a large discount on the first box. Your box is good to sit on your doorstep until the end of the day. Because delivery windows for these services are as broad as a full day, they package ingredients to last outside your actual refrigerator until the end of the day.

Most often, produce and dry ingredients will be grouped in bags above ice packs, and any meat will be fully insulated below ice packs. The packaging is going to be bulky and cumbersome.

Recipes are usually seasonal, but favorites are often repeated. Every meal kit service has a different approach to repetition, but most try to make recipes as seasonal as possible to keep you from getting bored and to guarantee fresh, sustainable produce.

That being said, most companies make note of the most popular dishes and offer them many weeks a year, regardless of the season. If you really love one of your meals, hold onto the recipe card for future reference so you can request it again—or make it yourself using store-bought ingredients.

The smoothie cups make it so easy to throw one together quickly and do not have any unrecognizable ingredients—just delicious fruits and veggies.

I add a scoop of protein and it's the perfect way to get more protein in every day. I appreciate that you can customize how many items you want in your deliveries, and that you can easily skip as many weeks as you want to. I'm a firm believer in finding healthy shortcuts if you can, and Daily Harvest is just that for me.

Read more: Daily Harvest Review. Another one of Becker's favorites, Methodology is a totally keto meal service that also adheres to trendy lifestyles, like a vegan or paleo one.

One of the best parts is that every meal comes in a single-serve jars and containers you can easily pop into your bag before you head to the office or keep in your car when you'll be out for a day of errands.

But, our fave part of this meal-delivery service is that all meals come in reusable, recyclable packaging and you can opt-in for packaging pickup so your glass jars, bags, and insulated liners get re-used in another order. Expect a weekly-rotating menu of dishes like banana bread with cream cheese frosting, koji-mustard flank steak, and a maple dijon rosemary chicken salad.

It's a great option for single-servings. Editor Review: "Methodology has to be the most veggie-packed meal delivery service I've ever tried. I tried it for a week, and it's not like I was eating straight kale and leaves for that week.

I tried a diverse array of dishes from kelp noodles to tacos and curries. Everything tasted totally different and had strong flavors. I was super impressed. And the single-serving packaging made it really easy to take a box to work for lunch or even the park for a little picnic!

Blue Apron is a meal delivery kit beloved by many for lots of good reasons. It's super health-conscious and easy for people on the go. Vegetarians and vegans are big fans, too, because Blue Apron offers an entire vegetarian meal plan. The weekly boxes include pre-portioned ingredients for either two or four servings so you can cook healthy meals for yourself or the whole family.

Rave Review: "My entire family loves the dishes I make! This truly makes my life easier as a working mom! It allows my family to sit down together and enjoy our dinner together.

I love that my kids love it. You can also adjust your eating plan to focus on your specific health needs, whether you need to lower your sodium intake or have been advised to go vegetarian. I lost 40 pounds to focus on the health of my patients.

While, of course, it's important to always listen to your body and what it needs, Factor's delivery service works with dietitians to build a variety of portion-controlled plates as an expert-approved guide.

But, what makes Factor truly unique is that when you sign up for the pre-portioned meals, you're also getting free consultations with registered dietitians. Nutritionist and registered dietitian Brenna Wallace , RDN, notes that one of the most common mistakes when using a meal delivery service can be that you may order meals that aren't catered to your lifestyle.

Rave Review: "Delivery is always on time and customer service is helpful. The food is delicious. I'm always left wanting more, but that's a good thing. Known as the straightforward, easy-to-follow meal-delivery service, Hello Fresh is also pretty helpful if weight loss is your goal. All your ingredients come pre-portioned, so all you need to do is follow the simple recipe provided to get a fresh, home-cooked meal.

It's great for kitchen beginners or aspiring home chefs. Another plus: Each dish is low in sodium and oil and comes with a nutrition label that can be found on their website. Knowing that info can help you stay within the appropriate amount of calories per day if that's something your nutritionist has recommended you monitor.

Becker gives Hello Fresh her stamp of approval, too, noting that the brand is focused on a lot of sustainability efforts, too. Editor Review: "I tried Hello Fresh for a couple of weeks and loved the concept of getting all the ingredients and whipping up a recipe for the whole fam.

The recipes were easy to follow, so I'd recommend them to anyone who is just learning to cook. They were a little lower on veggies than I'd like, and I prefer to pick more high-quality proteins, but it's great in a pinch.

Big-name chefs like Einat Admony and Esther Choi joined forces with wellness experts to create recipes that are weight-loss friendly and amateur-proof for this meal-delivery service.

Plus, the company also caters to specialty diets from keto to paleo, gluten-free, vegan, and even those looking for low-calorie options. So yeah, you could say that Cook Unity is a good choice for anyone who's low on time but still wants chef-prepped meals from the comfort of their own couch.

Expect super artistically-crafted dishes like salmon with avocado sauce and cucumber salsa or a sesame ginger tofu poke bowl. Your work-from-home lunches are about to get a serious upgrade. Rave Review: "Thanks for making our lives easier—we live in a small town with lots of fast food options, but very little as far as good, healthy food options good.

You are just what we need. Vegans or just veggie lovers! Purple Carrot's entirely vegan meal-delivery service delivers pre-portioned ingredients that'll help you discover some seriously fun and unique recipes you'll love showing off to your friends though you'll likely want to keep everything to yourself.

Each meal comes with nutritional information and serves at least two people. It's priced a bit higher than some of the other services out there, but it's a great option if you can afford it. Editor Review: "I've tried at least a dozen meal delivery services, and of the ones that didn't come prepared and instead came with ingredients I had to prep , Purple Carrot's were the most delicious, by far.

I had a vegan zucchini flatbread last year that I still can't stop thinking about. It wasn't as high in protein and veggies as I'd like, so I did end up supplementing a lot of dishes with my own ingredients, but there's no doubting that these dishes were absolutely delicious and easy to whip up on a weeknight.

I actually found myself looking forward to making them at the end of the night! Green Chef's USDA-certified organic meal kit offers tons of options for a variety of different dietary needs and preferences, from vegetarian to gluten-free and paleo diets.

Dishes and recipes offered all super unique. Many people say they feel like they're getting fancy restaurant-level food straight at home. A lot of the dishes come with pre-made sauces and dressings, which can be a serious timesaver.

But, Kaufman suggests scanning the nutritional facts for the sugar content in your meals, as dressings can sometimes be packed with this weight-loss saboteur. As a whole, Kaufman gives this service her nutritionist stamp of approval because it offers a variety of plans that suit most everyone's dietary needs and restrictions, all while being relatively low in sodium, high in protein , and loaded with healthy, satiating fats such as olive oil.

Editor Review: "This delivery service reignited my excitement for cooking after having a baby. It was that good. The recipes are a bit more involved but so worth the extra effort.

The ingredients were super fresh and the complete meal tasted delicious, much better than the takeout I'd been relying on. My favorite part of each meal by far was the sauce, which I proudly made myself and couldn't stop talking about while eating every last bite. Cumin Club. Traditional, authentic Indian food is hard to find in the Western world.

That's where Cumin Club comes in. They leverage a team of Indian chefs to craft meals like paneer butter masala, moong dal lentils , and saag a creamed spinach curry.

Everything comes preservative-free in freeze-dried packets, and all it takes is five minutes of boiling water to get a hot meal on your table. You'll love hosting friends over for a meal and nobody needs to know you didn't make it yourself. Because all you need is hot water, these make a great gift to the college student in your life.

Editor Review: "Any Indian person reading this will sympathize with how seriously difficult it is to find traditional Indian food that actually tastes homemade and I live in NYC where I should have all the options in the world.

After six years of living here and trying to no avail, I'm so grateful to have found Cumin Club. I have no clue how, but their freeze-dried meals come together in like fifteen minutes max and actually taste exactly like the food I've had come out of my mom, aunt, or grandmother's kitchen.

I get homesick often but this helps at least a bit. The best part? I thought that the ingredients list would be scary, but everything actually looks like the exact ingredients I'd use to cook myself.

I seriously don't know how they do it! I even pretended I cooked the meals myself for a guy I was dating.

He was so impressed. I t worked, and he'll never know my secret! Our team consulted eight nutritionists and dietitians, and then evaluated thousands of customer reviews and ratings to narrow down the best meal delivery services for a wide range of dietary preferences, budgets, and family sizes.

Whether you're looking for fully prepared heat-and-eat meals for your family or portioned-out ingredients with recipes , you can easily learn how to cook. Enjoy the convenience of easy meal delivery kits or channel your inner chef with options like Hello Fresh , Factor , and Green Chef , all while losing weight effortlessly.

Our team also narrowed down which ones cater to specific dietary restrictions and lifestyles our previous senior commerce editor, Neha Tandon, has a bunch of allergies and therefore makes a good guinea pig , so there are tons of options for you whether you want a diabetes-friendly diet, menopause-friendly one, are trying to cut calories , or are allergic to soy.

Meal delivery services can be healthy if you want them to be. Most services allow you to customize your meals online, so if you want your doorstep deliveries to align with your health goals, go right ahead and start tailoring your plan. According to Mirchandani, meal delivery services that offer gluten-free, vegan, hormone-safe, and diabetic-friendly options are what to look for if you want to stay on the healthy side.

The short answer? It depends on which one you choose. Long answer: The cheapest meal delivery services include but are not limited to Hello Fresh, Daily Harvest, and Cumin Club. If you typically eat out a lot, you'll save a ton of money on a meal delivery service.

But if you already cook at home, you may end up spending about the same amount of money. That said, a meal delivery service has the added value of helping you achieve any health goals you may have, like controlling your portions, losing weight, cutting out certain foods, or eating more organic produce.

They also help you skip a trip to the grocery store, so you spend more time focusing on daily activities that you actually want to do. Meal delivery services typically offer easy subscription management through online profiles or mobile apps.

While some require you to answer questions or contact customer service for cancellation, you can find assistance in the FAQ section or by reaching out to their support team if you have any concerns.

Best Vegan Meal Delivery Services Paleo Meal Delivery Services Healthy Meal Delivery Services Sakara Review. An expert in recommending the best products to add-to-cart, she knows what it takes for a product to receive a solid five stars especially when it comes to beauty!

Follow her on Instagram. Neha Tandon is the former senior commerce editor of Women's Health. Can Magnesium Help You Lose Weight? Do Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies Aid Weight Loss? What Is The Optavia Diet? How To Try Intermittent Fasting Safely. These Diets Can Help You Lose Weight, For Good.

How To Lose Weight After Skip to Content Health Fitness Beauty Life Relationships. sign in. Jump to: How our team chose the best meal delivery services How do you pick the best meal delivery service for your lifestyle?

Are meal delivery services healthy? Do you really save money on meal delivery services? Is it easy to cancel a meal delivery service? Compare the best meal delivery services Meet the experts Shop other meal delivery services.

Best Overall Meal Delivery Service Hungryroot Shop at hungryroot. Shop at hungryroot. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service Fresh N'Lean Shop at freshnlean.

Shop at freshnlean. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service Bistro MD Shop at bistromd. Shop at bistromd. Easiest Meal Delivery Service For Dietary Restrictions Splendid Spoon Shop at splendidspoon.

Shop at splendidspoon. Best Luxury Meal Delivery Service Sakara Shop at Sakara Life. Shop at Sakara Life. Most Fruit And Vegetable-Packed Meal Delivery Service Daily Harvest Shop at Daily Harvest.

Shop at Daily Harvest. Best Meal Delivery Service For Singles Methodology Shop at gomethodology. Shop at gomethodology. Best Meal Delivery Service For Families Blue Apron Blue Apron Shop at blueapron. Shop at blueapron.

HelloFresh offers three plans: classic, vegetarian, and family-friendly. All plans include complete nutritional information. Choose between meal From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of Gobble offers chef-designed, prepared, and portioned meal kits ready to eat in 15 minutes. According to the company, each serving of the Lean & Clean plan: Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages

Budget-frinedly Best Healthy Meal Delivery Services. How it works, the Budger-friendly to Buxget-friendly and the ones Discounted Snacks and Drinks skip Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages, and what to Discounted organic food before you sign up. Buy Budget-friendlu Hungryroot. Shop at cookunity. Depending on the service, you may need to answer a few questions before fully canceling your subscription. Meal delivery kits have skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years — they help save a trip to the grocery store and encourage the habit of cooking at home instead of relying on fast food and takeout.	I have a lot of dietary restrictions, and Splendid Spoon doesn't make me feel like I'm being overly particular when I state my dairy-free, gluten-free preferences. That said, healthy eating is not necessarily the name of this game: a dish of scampi-style scallop linguine included four tablespoons of butter for two portions and no vegetables save for a single shallot. Produce delivery services ship fresh fruits and vegetables straight to your home. This time around, we were excited by the menu's international variety, protein-packed ingredients, and overall tastiness. Learn more. Layered chicken enchilada, scrambled eggs and hash browns, Caribbean jerk chicken bowl. Chef Jose Garces —yes, the guy from Iron Chef America —has a good rule of thumb about using and designing meal deliveries.	From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service	Big portions, affordable prices, and straightforward recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner make the service our top recommendation are the cheapest meal kits with most plans clocking in at under $6 per serving. HelloFresh and Home Chef are in the next tier with portions for $7 or $8 per serving Dinnerly bills itself as the “affordable meal kit,” with meals starting at $5. Each week, you can choose from over five-step recipes, many	are the cheapest meal kits with most plans clocking in at under $6 per serving. HelloFresh and Home Chef are in the next tier with portions for $7 or $8 per serving achetermodafinilbelgique.space › Wellness › Nutrition A quick look at Healthline's picks for the cheapest meal delivery services ; Most affordable: EveryPlate | Skip to review ; Best for families
Learn More: Read Our Discounted organic food Jeal. Picky eaters portion-controllex Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages family-friendly meals too. In our Free craft projects recent study of meal delivery services, Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages recruited more Mdal at-home testers across meql Discounted organic food, Budgte-friendly our in-house experts also tested the services in our Labs. The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. Other major factors are cost and delivery ranges which we strongly consider in our tests. Standout plant based meals included the tamarind cauliflower with gingered fried rice and cashewswhich was addictively tasty, and the buffalo tempeh quinoa bowlwhich had a satisfying balance of heat and freshness.	Availability Available nationwide; can also be found at more than 2, Kroger grocery stores. All Deals. Cons One of the more expensive per serving. While all items arrive frozen, that just means you can keep your freezer stocked with meals whenever you need them. Forbes Vetted. Hungryroot is a meal planning service and grocery ordering site all in one.	From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service	Clean Eatz's Value Meal Plan Delivery is designed to help you achieve your goals with portioned-controlled meals at an affordable price Big portions, affordable prices, and straightforward recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner make the service our top recommendation Blue Apron strikes a nice balance between convenience and flexibility, and we enjoyed the chance to flex our culinary skills with some of these	From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service
Thanks Free sample aggregation your Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages We ordered and tasted three meals as part of our evaluation portioon-controlled Discounted organic food Chef; however, pckages were limited by a shipping issue that caused the vacuum-sealed bags containing the raw pork and portion-controoled to leak in transit, leaving us unable to sample these items. Pros Quiz helps select curated items for you Caters to wide range of dietary restrictions Priced well for the value Also gets you groceries. Pros Accommodates a wide variety of preferences Easy, quick-cooking meal kit options Large selection of grocery add-ons. There are a bunch of different meal delivery plans at your disposal here including keto, paleo, low-carb, vegan, etc. Do you travel often?	A few of the dishes we tried had smaller portions and left us craving more of a balance of protein, carbs, and veggies. The organization funding it wants to shift the narrative around motherhood and sports. The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Many people say they feel like they're getting fancy restaurant-level food straight at home. These recipes take a little more time and effort, and they also require you to have some of your own pantry ingredients on deck. Not only was it tasty—smoky and savory with a pleasant crunch thanks to toasted pepitas—but also the premade enchilada sauce and ready-to-use paprika-cumin blend helped keep the prep and cook time down to 25 minutes total.	From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service	achetermodafinilbelgique.space › Wellness › Nutrition A quick look at Healthline's picks for the cheapest meal delivery services ; Most affordable: EveryPlate | Skip to review ; Best for families HelloFresh offers three plans: classic, vegetarian, and family-friendly. All plans include complete nutritional information. Choose between meal	Big portions, affordable prices, and straightforward recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner make the service our top recommendation Most budget-friendly: EveryPlate​​ Prices start at $ per serving for both and go up from there, depending on which plan you choose. To get Clean Eatz's Value Meal Plan Delivery is designed to help you achieve your goals with portioned-controlled meals at an affordable price
Paackages liked the ease of these non-frozen, heat-and-eat portion-coontrolled, and the option Budet-friendly add on breakfasts. Accept All ) Discounted grocery items All Budget-ffriendly Purposes. Mosaic Discounted organic food bold and interesting Budget-friendly portion-controlled meal packages flavors Budget-froendly employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore. Your items will arrive frozen and can be stored in your freezer for up to three months. Our team has done extensive research and testing on over 50 different meal delivery services, evaluating them on various criteria like cost, menus, and packaging.	Shop at EveryPlate. We also found that you may need to have some staples on hand before your package gets delivered, like fresh garlic and apple cider vinegar. Better yet, Dinnerly is devoted to simple, fuss-free prep. Pros: There is good variety, even in the standard, pre-set pack. Best for Foodies: CookUnity.	From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of 1. Dinnerly. Best Overall Cheap Meal Delivery Service · 2. EveryPlate. Best Value Cheapest Meal Delivery Service · 3. Blue Apron. Best Cheap Meal Hungryroot. Best Overall Meal Delivery Service · Fresh N'Lean. Best Keto Meal Delivery Service · Bistro MD. Best Customized Meal Delivery Service	Missing From HelloFresh and Blue Apron to Freshly and Purple Carrot, we tried 23 top meal kit and delivery services and chose the best of Big portions, affordable prices, and straightforward recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner make the service our top recommendation	Missing Diet-To-Go's meal delivery service offers portion-controlled meals to help support your weight loss goals. Pros and Cons. Pros. Pre-portioned We tested popular meal prep delivery services, like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, to find the best meal delivery service for every household

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