It's been a while since I've done a post. I've been busy but I've also been trying out different services for this post since November, so I have been working on this, just in the background :)
I'm sure a lot of you have seen things on meal kit delivery services, they've been becoming quite popular. You might recognize companies like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. If you haven't heard about these companies, basically they provide you with a fully planned meal (except drinks) with all the ingredients you need to make it, delivered right to your doorstep. What's even better than just having everything planned and purchased for you, is that they are usually tailored for the amount of people you'll be serving so you don't have to make a meal sized for 8 people and end up with leftovers for weeks and they also usually provide you with the exact amount of an ingredient needed so you also don't end up with random bits of extra items that usually go to waste.
It's really awesome. And they're usually very tasty, healthy, and not too difficult to make. But it's expensive. Of course, because it does so much for you -- planning and grocery shopping are eliminated, which is worth a lot. Prices average around $50 - $70 a week for 3 meals for 2 people. I can certainly make meals myself for a lot cheaper than $20, I try to keep it under $10 a meal (for both my husband and myself together).
The good news is, they offer great discounts on your first delivery or through referrals (like mine below!) and you can also earn money for referring others. You just have to make sure you cancel on time before your next delivery so you don't get charged the full amount! This can definitely make it worth it because it is really a fun experience, you get to keep the recipes you really like to make it again in the future (though you have to buy the ingredients), and I learned a lot about cooking in general. Many also offer a lot of different options for different dietary restrictions, especially vegetarian.
So here's my breakdown on the companies I tried. If I try more in the future, I'll be sure to add it on to this list.
The Good: They have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert options. I only chose 2 items from their "Quick and Easy" section and they have been simple but tasty. There's a variety of serving sizes and meal options to choose from.
Ingredients for each meal are separated into bags.
The Bad: Prices are a little high, that's why I chose some of the cheapest meal items.
The Price: Meals range from $12-$79 depending on serving size, breakfasts start at $10, and desserts start at $15. Shipping is free if it's over $40, otherwise shipping is $10.
The Deal: Get $10 off with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: You don't have to sign up for a plan, you can just buy when you want. If you do sign up for the weekly plan, you need to cancel at 11:59PM PST Wednesday before your delivery week.
The Good: The veggies are often pre-cut, makes prep time so much faster! Good customer service. Many different diet options.
The Bad: Very healthy, almost too healthy for me (you know where you notice that you're eating healthy because it's not the best tasting things). I did have a problem with freshness on a bag of arugula, though they did refund a little :)
The Price: $10.49 per meal for a 2 person plan, $11.99 per meal for a family plan. $9 for shipping.
The Deal: 4 free meals with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: 7 days before your next scheduled delivery
The Good: This is the cheapest (along with EveryPlate) meal kit service I've found out there. It's cheap enough that I am continuing to use it.
Part of why it is so much cheaper is that it has less ingredients which means that it is easier and takes less time to make. But the meals have still all tasted really good.
The Bad: They don't separate the ingredients for each meal for you or have printed recipe cards which can be a bit annoying to have to use your phone or other device to look up the recipe.
The Price: $5.00 a meal for 2 or 4 portions. $8.99 shipping.
The Deal: Get your first box free by commenting below and I will give you a unique code.
When to Cancel or Change Items: 6 days before your next scheduled delivery
The Good: This is my favorite. The price (along with Dinnerly) is the cheapest meal kit I've found but the taste is still just as good as the more expensive ones. I've had a couple of the best meals I've had in a long time from EveryPlate.
As I stated above, Dinnerly is cheaper because it has less ingredients and they don't print the recipes on cards. EveryPlate has less overall packaging as the other expensive options but still gives you the printed recipes and more ingredients than Dinnerly, which makes it tastier. I'm not sure how EveryPlate is able to offer their meals for so cheap, but I will take advantage of it and continue to use the service regularly.
They have been relatively simple to make and don't take too long.
The Bad: Again, they don't separate the ingredients for each meal for you but that doesn't really bother me. I don't really have anything bad to say about this one.
The Price: $4.99 a serving for 2 or 4. $8.99 shipping.
The Deal: You get $20 off your first box with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: Midnight 5 days before your next scheduled delivery
The Good: This is a runner up only based on price. They're very fresh (duh!), fun and unique flavors, and not too difficult. Plus they give old customers a lot of 50% off coupons to restart again so I've actually received several boxes from them. I don't think there's a single recipe I haven't liked.
All the ingredients (except meat) are separated by meal into individual cardboard boxes to make it easy to store and to grab everything you need for each meal.
The Bad: I don't really have anything bad to say about this one.
The Price: $9.99 a meal for 2 or 4 adults, $8.74 a meal for 2 adults and 2 kids. Free shipping.
The Deal: You get $40 off your first box with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: 11:59PM PST 5 days before your next scheduled delivery
The Good: The chicken was already diced! I love it when prep time is cut down. Ingredients are separated by meal into boxes.
Order as many or as few meals as you want for as many or as few people as you want. It's not a set number of meals for a certain number of people. You can also add sides, salads, and desserts! There's lots to choose from.
The Bad: You can't remake the recipe later because it doesn't have amounts listed :( I also had trouble cancelling and had to contact customer support.
The Price: Dinners range from $8-$18 per serving for adult meals; $4-$6 for kids meals; sides, salads, and desserts $4-$8. There is a delivery fee, though I'm not sure how much since I got this through a Groupon and can't find out through their FAQ. There's also a membership option that's more like the other companies, though you have to be in a specific area and I didn't qualify so look that up if your interested.
The Deal: Get $20 off with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: 6 days before your next scheduled delivery
The Good: Another yummy one. They also separated ingredients by meal into bags.
The Bad: Monday delivery only. Also, they wouldn't cancel right away, they kept sending me follow up emails and/or calls to make sure I wanted to cancel. That was kind of annoying. They did give me a $20 credit for my next order though, so worth it?
The Price: $11.49 per serving for 2 or 4 people, $9.99 per serving for 4 people + $5.99 shipping after first order
The Deal: 3 free meals with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: Thursday at 12:00PM PST
The Good: Very easy! Spices were already chopped and prepped and I think that's the most time consuming thing.
There are a lot of meal options. You can also add salad, meat, and sides.
The Bad: You have to return the box (they schedule a pickup for you but if you're in an apartment complex, like me, and delivery people don't always go into your building for that, you'll have to bring it to your local FedEx). I guess it's better for the environment though :)
The Price: Meals range from $9.99 to $17.99, minimum order of $62.99 and $64.99 for free shipping
The Deal: Get $40 off with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: I couldn't get an exact answer on when you have to cancel by. On their website it just says it has to be before something is in "process" to not be charged.
I put this one at the bottom because it is a little different than the rest. These are not meals you make, they are pre-cooked and packaged, you just need to microwave and eat!
The Good: No prep or cook time! A lot of meal choices, though they don't change each week, they only add new ones every so often. So if you go back to order more, there aren't as many options. But hopefully they'll keep growing and adding more! This is a great option for single people because you don't have to have 2 of each meal.
The Bad: Nothing really bad to report :)
The Price: From $8.99 per serving to $12.50 per serving, depending on how many meals per week to you get. Free shipping.
The Deal: Get your first 6 dinners for $39 with
this link!
When to Cancel or Change Items: Again I couldn't find out exactly when you need to cancel by. It's always safe to say a week before your next delivery.
I also tried Blue Apron, Gobble, Marley Spoon, and Plated but they didn't offer referral programs.
The one complaint I have is that getting herbs off the stems takes so much time! I discovered this nifty little product and it works great and saves so much time!
Is there a service you tried that I should check out?
