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- If you just don't have time or energy to actually cook your own meals, you might like to try a meal delivery service that sends ready-to-eat meals to your door.
- Daily Harvest is the best meal delivery service we've tried with its fresh ingredients, healthy foods, and good prices.
Meal kit services are all well and good until you make your way to the stove. Because let's face it - even if you're being provided with ingredients, recipes, and step-by-step directions, a box full of pre-cut vegetables and pre-portioned proteins does not a great chef make.
While meal kits cut down on the amount of shopping and planning you have to do for dinner, they don't actually cut down on the amount of time you have to spend in front of your burners of your oven. And that, my friends, is why I present to you not meal kits, but delivered meals.
It is a subtle difference, you see, but a key one to be sure. Meal delivery services don't send you ingredients on ice - instead, they send you entire dinners or lunches or breakfasts on ice. And rest assured, this is not your mother's frozen TV dinner. The meal delivery services of 2019 are healthy, delicious, and surprisingly creative. So whether you're pressed for time, exhausted, or simply not a genius in the kitchen, these services may be your saving grace.
When picking your meal delivery service, you'll want to keep a few things in mind. First and foremost, what type of meals are you looking for? If you're a fan of smoothies for dinner, you may want to look to a different provider than if you tend to have your biggest meal at the end of the day.
Second, you'll want to keep any dietary restrictions in mind. Luckily, just like meal kit offerings, many meal delivery services can cater to a wide range of restrictions, whether that's vegan, paleo, or something in between.
Also think about exactly how much effort you're willing to put into making your meal. While some services will send you microwave-ready meals, others may require a spin in the blender, or perhaps some time in boiling water. Of course, all are easy, but some are admittedly easier than others.
Finally, price points should come into consideration. There can be a pretty wide range in price tags based on ingredients, dietary restrictions, and the like, so if you're looking to save calories and money, you'll want to choose carefully.
No matter which of our favorite meal delivery services you choose, we're sure you'll have many delicious meals to look forward to.
Here are the best meal delivery services we've tried:
- Best meal delivery service overall: Daily Harvest
- Best vegan meal delivery service: Veestro
- Best complete meal delivery service: Sakara Life
- Best meal-in-a-box delivery service: Banza Mac and Cheese
- Best meal kit-adjacent meal delivery service: Hungryroot
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
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