Meal Services - A Quick Unscientific Review

We have been experimenting with meal services the last several months. To us, the convenience, health benefits, and variety of meals were the top reasons we wanted to try these services.

First, we looked at all of the options and compared, serving size, meal options, price, and frequency of meals. Hello Fresh won out to be our first selection.

Hello Fresh

First time subscribers receive a great discount. This makes the first week super affordable.  For our family, the 3 times a week, 4 person options was perfect. We loved the meal sizes, plenty for all of us (and one is an 18 year old boy/man wannabe). The food was fresh, organic and the meat sustainably raised. Not sure what sustainably raised means, but if you want to know more, click here. Most weeks have 2 meat meals and a 1 non-meat meal.

Some positive things to note:

1. There are a lot of pork options
2. Ditto for the sweet potato option (luckily we love both)
3. Customer service is PHENOMENAL! One time we didn't receive lemon grass - they refunded the entire meal! 
4. Packaging is organized by meal - love this
5. Most recipes take less than 35 minutes to make.
6. You receive everything you need for the meals - if you need a tablespoon of honey, you receive it.
7. You can skip weeks or cancel at any time.

Some negative things to note:

1. Too much pork
2.  Would love more beef
3. Penny for penny, it's a good deal, but would love a little bit cheaper option

Blue Apron 

Like Hello Fresh, first time subscribers receive a great discount. This makes the first week super affordable.  For our family, the 2 times a week, 4 person options was the closest option we could afford. For our 18 year old boy/man wannabe, the servings were too small. The food was fresh, organic and the meat sustainably raised. Seems to be the trend here!

Some positive things to note:

1. Interesting meals with food items I'd never think of combining - love learning new techniques and combos
2. Super fresh
3. Meat was delish
4. You can skip weeks or cancel at any time.

Some negative things to note:

1. Portions are too small.
2. Meals are a bit more complicated and I'm using too many pans.
3. We'd like a 3 meal per week options (only options are 2 or 4 times a week)
4. More expensive than Hello Fresh, especially since the serving sizes were smaller.

Plated 

As with all of the other meal services, the first week comes with a big discount. Kinda a reel them in
with a good deal and they'll stay. This time of year our kids are either at school, working or playing sports, we selected the 2 meals a week, 2 person option. The food was fresh, organic and the meat sustainably raised.

Some positive things to note:

1. Interesting recipes. I love to cook but sometimes I'm like, "What am I going to cook?"
2. Fresh
3. You can skip weeks or cancel at any time.

Some negative things to note:

1. Portions are too small.
2. I don't like how contents are packaged
3. More expensive than Hello Fresh, especially since the serving sizes were smaller.

In conclusion; I don't know if you were keeping score, but Hello Fresh was our top choice. We really liked the recipes, options, and pricing. The meals are quick and easy!

It seems as if every week a new meal services jumps into the meal service pond. We'll keep exploring and tasting and I'll post updates.