Recipe Delivery Services: The Real Deal  

 

Home cooking is gaining popularity again! There has been a growing trend in home-delivery services that deliver ingredients and recipes so you can prepare your meals yourself. We will run you through some of the most popular services, but here are some general thoughts:

Pros: Ingredient and recipe delivery is a great way to learn how to cook. Meals are less expensive compared to eating out at a restaurant. For most services, ingredients are supplied by local farms and delivery is free. They decrease food waste since you are delivered exactly what you need and nothing more.

Cons: While some services allow you to choose your meals, others do not. Calorie counts can often be high for those looking to lose weight. We also feel like some of the vegetable servings can be smaller than we would recommend. Also, watch out for subscriptions! Don't get stuck in a plan- read the fine print!

Blue Apron: Ingredients are delivered to you, and you get to prepare the meal following their step-by-step directions. Before you choose a meal, they let you know what kitchen tools are required (and even sell them on their site). They have a 2-person plan and a 4-person family plan. While they accommodate many dietary preferences (for example, you can request vegetarian or any protein besides pork), we do not recommend this service if you have a serious food allergy. They claim their meals range from 500-800 calories. Depending on the individual and their needs, this may be too high if you are trying to lose weight. We recommend really reading through the recipes and seeing if any modifications can be made (leaving out the butter etc.).

Hello Fresh: This service also delivers recipes and ingredients so you can prepare the meal yourself. Besides just listing calories, they provide a full nutrition breakdown which makes it easier to plan meals (although most of these will need to be modified for those who want to lose weight). However, you can only choose the meals you like through the "Classic Box". The other boxes are a "surprise". They list potential allergens for each meal and also aim to use farm-fresh ingredients.

Plated: Not a family plan- Plated allows you to cook for two. Like the two mentioned above, this service prides itself on using sustainable ingredients and is very focused on seasonal menu items. You get to choose your meals/recipes, and similar to the last two services, calories range from 600-800 calories. It's tricky to find the nutrition info, but it's there (click on the the "FAQ's" icon on the bottom and you'll eventually find it). We find some of the meals lack balance between carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

All in all, this can be a good tool if you want to learn how to get more creative in the kitchen, but it still requires some research to choose the meals that are best for your needs (and knowing how to modify if necessary/possible).