Ready meals delivered are a convenient and healthy option for those looking to avoid grocery shopping, meal planning and food prep. The key is to find a service that provides a variety of meals that are nutritionally balanced, without too much salt and sugar.
Meal delivery services can deliver premade meals to your home, or they can send you ingredients for you to prepare yourself. The best services provide step-by-step recipes that will help you improve your cooking skills while introducing new flavors and cuisines. They also offer options for people with food intolerances like gluten and lactose. Some of the top-rated meal delivery services include Blue Apron, CookUnity and Freshology.
While these services can be a great choice for those who are struggling to find the time or energy to cook, they can also come with some drawbacks. For example, some of these meals are high in saturated fat and/or sodium. These foods are typically packaged in larger portions, so they can contribute to overeating and weight gain. They may also lack in flavour, which can lead to menu fatigue and reduced enjoyment of foods, thus contributing to poor eating habits over time.
As a registered dietitian, Stefani Sassos finds that meal delivery services can be a useful tool to support her busy lifestyle. She frequently relies on these services to get nutritious meals on the table, especially for her family’s dinners. She stays up to date on the latest meal delivery services and leads our meal kit testing efforts for Good Housekeeping.
Meal kit delivery services offer a variety of menu options, from chef-created recipes that will challenge your cooking skills to frozen meals that can be reheated in the microwave. The best meal kits will be labelled with the number of servings they contain, so you can easily track your nutritional intake.
Several meal kit delivery services also make it easy to customize your plan based on your schedule and taste preferences. For instance, Factor has a rotating menu that includes low calorie picks, protein-based options and twists on takeout favourites. It also offers the flexibility to pause or cancel your subscription anytime.