Meal kit delivery services are an excellent option if you are looking to put together a decent home-cooked meal without spending too much time or effort. You can pick a meal of your choice and have all the ingredients delivered to your doorstep, which you can then prepare with ease. But, just like any other subscription, you must ask yourself an important question: are meal kit services worth it?

You may wonder if there is a need to pay for pre-portioned and ready-to-cook ingredients, especially when you consider that fact that you still have to follow the recipe and prepare the meal.

A meal kit includes the recipe, fresh-cut ingredients, and all condiments that would go into the dish. The best part: it all comes in a neat little box. So, you never miss or ignore a key ingredient or seasoning. Moreover, you waste nothing and use up the exact right quantity of ingredients.

Key reasons why meal kit delivery services are worth it

• Variety of meals
  Cooking at home can be challenging daily due to a lack of ideas. Even though you want to cook a healthy and filling meal, you struggle to make up a decision about what to cook. Meal kit delivery services provide you with the recipe and most importantly the inspiration to try something new and unique once in a while.
• Zero prep
  There are days when you may have all the inspiration to cook a stunning meal. But, shopping and prep time can be tiresome and often inconvenient. Here is where meal kits come in handy, as you will get all the ingredients necessary delivered to your doorstep. Premium services allow you to choose and plan recipes for the entire week in advance as well. So, you know exactly what to cook without having spent much time or efforts in planning a menu.
• Fast and convenient
  The experience of ordering a meal kit is no different than placing your fast food order online with your favorite food joint. The only difference is you get a bunch of healthy produce and ingredients delivered to your doorstep. You can use all these ingredients to prepare a delicious and filling meal without the excess calories and saturated fats. The delivery services are quite efficient and some meal kits that feature frozen ingredients can be pre-ordered for the entire week.

• Special diets for health
  Are meal kit services worth it if they offer special custom diets that supplement your nutrition requirements? Absolutely! Sometimes, dietary limitations can narrow down the choices of your meals and can be quite tiresome because of the prep time. Where else would you find all the ingredients portioned and ready to be delivered at your doorstep? Premium meal kit delivery services feature several low-carb and gluten-free recipes for those suffering from food allergies as well.
• Keep track of your nutrition
  Meal kit services are especially worth it if they let you keep track of what you eat. Most delivery services print and provide you with the nutritional values of the ingredients. This will help you track your daily calorie intake. As a result, you are sure of what you eat. This is an extremely lucrative option for weight watchers and people who follow special diets.

Are meal kit delivery services worth it in terms of their price?

Let us consider the most important and determining factor when choosing a meal kit—its price! Along with the best culinary experience delivered at your doorstep, you get meals worth every penny, especially considering the cost per serving. We are talking about how much you are willing to spend on one plate of food. Also, when compared to grocery shopping, are you spending less or more? Herein, we can discuss the top 3 meal kit delivery services of 2019 and compare prices.

• Diet-to-Go
  The premium service offers BMI-based custom plans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Another key highlight is that the meal planner helps you substitute multiple recipes. On a daily basis, you will end up spending anywhere between $18 and $26, depending on the type of meal you choose and your location. Also, you will have to pay a shipping charge of $9.99 per order.
• Home Chef
  At Home Chef, you can choose from a variety of diet plans and recipes that feature high-quality ingredients. The service also has flexible delivery options and uses environment-friendly packaging for all its kits. The standard cost of these meal kits varies depending on the number of servings (generally two or four) and the frequency of deliveries during the week. These meal kits start at $39.80 for 2 servings/meal for 2 meals a week and go upwards of $238.80 for 4 servings/meal for 6 meals a week.
• Martha Marley Spoon
  Enjoy ready-to-order meal kits, easy-to-follow recipes, and fresh and proportioned ingredients with your preferred delivery date to your doorstep. Prices for 2 services/meal for 2 meals a week start at $49.99 and go upwards to $120.83 for four servings for 4 meals every week.

You can also try Dinnerly, BistroMD, Sun Basket, Hello Fresh, Green Chef, Plated, and Freshly® as alternatives. You can order these once to check if they are worth subscribing to for the entire week. Most meal kit delivery services allow you to terminate your membership whenever you want. Though some services may be a bit on the pricier side, you still save time and effort, which you otherwise wouldn’t have.