Meal kits are the latest and greatest in fast meal prep at home. It is a meal kit delivery service that includes all of the raw ingredients needed for a meal while still being flavorful, healthy, and quick to make. The kits have evolved, and companies offer the ability to customize meals based on price, unique diet, portions, and more.
Meal Kits come every week, wrapped in sturdy protection and cooling ice packs. All users need do is follow the cooking instructions provided and create amazing meals from pre-portioned ingredients.
If you’re thinking about signing up for this kind of service, consider the pros and cons of meal kits listed below to make a more educated choice.
Pros and cons of Meal Kits
The pros of signing up for a meal kit service include:
- Cook for Enjoyment
Meal kits are meant to take the stress out of meal preparation. Not only do you avoid spending time choosing what’s for dinner, but you don’t have to worry about getting home in time, or forgetting to take things out of the freezer! Cooks can turn meal-making into something fun and pleasurable, since the planning is done, and the food is fresh.
Just open the box, and enjoy the ride!
2. Healthy
There are all kinds of healthy options when it comes to meal kits, including wraps, salads, and smoothies. Cooks can choose recipes that help them eat healthier and enjoy portion-controlled selections that stay in line with their goals and lifestyles.
The best part is, cooks can learn new recipes that are healthy and delicious, encouraging them to expand their ingredient horizons!
Some of the meal kit services that offer many healthy meals are Sun Basket, Green Chef, and Home Chef.
3. Diet-Friendly Options
Meal kits have expanded their meal options to cater to our different diets. These include recipes for gluten-free needs, Paleo diet, Keto diet, low-calorie diet, Mediterranean diet, and more. most meal kit services that specialize in diet-friendly meal kits use registered dietitians to create and design their menu options. Moreover, most meal kit companies offer the option to customize their box, eliminating foods they do not eat – like meat, pork, dairy, etc, so there are many options to choose from to suit you and your family-specific needs.
some of the meal kit services that offer a large variety of Diet-Friendly meal options are Sun Basket, Home Chef, Dinnerly, and Hello Fresh.
4. Portion Control
If you need your meals to be portion-controlled, meal kit companies are the perfect solution for you. Since meal kits come with pre-portioned serving sizes, you can be sure you are eating the portions you need and not overeating or wasting food.
5. Less Food Waste
One of the great things about meal kits is that they provide exact measurements of the ingredients you’ll need for each meal. Doing so means you won’t end up with excess food waste or unused grocery items!
6. Convenient
Meal delivery companies exist to save us time. It’s no surprise that not everyone has time to prep meals or make a trip to the grocery store! Meal kits take out all of the fuss of prep and planning, and instead make meal planning and cooking an absolute breeze.
Cons of Meal Kits
The potential cons of signing up for a meal kit service include:
- Price
Naturally, some meal kits are more expensive than others. Fortunately, with so many great companies to choose from, there is an affordable meal kit option for every individual and family that saves money.
If you’re looking for a reasonable-priced meal kit option, Dinnerly, Hello Fresh and EveryPlate have many affordable choices, with a cost of meal ranging from 4.5$ to 9$ per serving. Additionally, you can use our site to compare brands and seek out the latest beginner promotions.
2. Excess Packaging
To ensure zero food waste, meal kits tend to put a little extra into their wrapping. This means there is some excess packaging that isn’t always reusable or recyclable.
If you want to be eco-friendly, some meal kit companies, like Sun Basket and Green Chef have recyclable outer packaging and reusable ice packs. Other Companies, Like Dinnerly, are trying to reduce their plastic bag packaging to the minimum.
3. Disliking Recipes
The meal options in meal kits are seemingly endless; however, there is still the chance that you might not like a recipe you order. If you have picky eaters at home, there are lots of family-friend meals and kid-friendly meal kit services, that offer simpler ingredients and more home-style cooking.
Be sure to look into the ingredients of each meal before selecting it; you can also check out your box of recipes before putting it together! If there’s a spice or herb you don’t like, you can always swap it for something you prefer in your pantry.
4. Grocery Shopping
Although meal kits are great for providing lunchtime and dinnertime meals, they don’t provide you with all of your necessary groceries. There will still be a need to head to the grocery store for snacks, breakfast, etc.
Do Meal Kits Work?
From our point of view, after trying out many meal kit services for a long time, the pros of using meal kits with no doubt makes it a great service to try out! Meal kits are constantly evolving to cater to different preferences and needs. Whether you want to eat healthier, prep less, or learn new recipes, there is a meal kit service for you! Check out our ranking and special offers, to get started with your personal meal kit experience.
