From figuring out what to cook and collecting the ingredients from the store to preparing the meal, cooking can be a lengthy process. There are readymade meals in the market that you can heat in a microwave, but they come with preservatives and additives that can cause serious health problems if consumed in the long run. To come up with a better and healthier solution, food experts developed special meal kits, which are ingredients shipped right to your doorstep, but are they economical?

Meal kits – How do they work?

Meal delivery service or meal kits might differ from each other, but they work on the same principle of providing fresh ingredients at your doorstep, along with recipes that you can cook in minutes. The meal delivery services have a huge online presence, and the websites have a wide range of menus, which change on a weekly basis.

Some services also let you choose specific ingredients if you are on a diet, whereas others offer tailor-made, diet-specific meal services like keto and paleo, and gluten-free meals. All you need to do is select your meal plan, quantity, and its delivery date.

Meal delivery vs grocery shopping

Meal kits vs grocery store shopping is a comparison every household needs to know:

• Portion control
  Budget and rationing are the factors that most of you may struggle with on a daily basis. As mentioned above, meal delivery services send meal kits that are perfectly portioned and pre-measured. They also let you decide the number of meals, giving you better control on portions. Some meal delivery services also deliver prepared meals.
  Even though the ingredients are cheaper when grocery shopping if we compare a meal kit vs grocery store, you have to buy them collectively at a store to avoid frequent visits. So, there are higher chances of wastage, which is ruled out with meal kits. Ordering meal kits from meal delivery services can also help you cut back on grocery expenses, giving you better control on your budget.

• Healthy options
  Cannot find anything healthy to order from a takeaway? Do you want to avoid the temptation of tacos and pizza every night? Well, meal delivery services can be your best bet. Healthy eating is another factor to consider when comparing meal delivery and grocery shopping. Several online meal delivery services offer tailor-made and specific health meals based on diets like gluten-free, low-carb, keto and paleo diet.
  On the other hand, it can be difficult to choose healthy ingredients from a grocery store as you might not be aware of which foods to eat or avoid if you are on a specific diet. Many meal delivery services, on the other hand, have inhouse dieticians and nutritionists who create diet recipes.
• Convenience
  Imagine coming home after a busy day and cooking a meal from scratch. Even the thought of it can be tiring, especially when you’re just learning to cook or don’t enjoy cooking.
  The biggest point when comparing meal delivery and grocery shopping is that meal delivery services save meal preparation time. Meal kits are a convenient way to learn cooking and eat something new every day. Almost every meal delivery service offers recipes with meal kits. All you need to do is follow the instructions, and you can prepare a sumptuous meal for you and your family.

After this comparison between meal delivery services and grocery shopping, if you opt for the former, you need to pick the best of the lot to ensure that you get your money’s worth. Here are the most popular meal delivery services that deliver tasty and healthy meal kits to avoid grocery store shopping:

• Sun Basket
  It is a popular meal delivery service if you are specifically looking for diet-specific meal kits. Sun Basket offers gluten-free, paleo, pescatarian, low-carb, and even diabetes-friendly meals at your doorstep. You can order two to four recipes per week, and the costs range from around $52 to over $100, depending on the number of recipes and servings ordered. Sun Basket ships nationwide, except to Alaska, Montana, Hawaii, and parts of New Mexico.
• Martha and Marley Spoon
  This meal delivery service sources the most sustainable ingredients. Like all other meal services, you can choose from meal plans to meet a variety of needs. One of the best features about Martha and Marley Spoon is that it offers 20 new recipes every week. You can order two to four meals per week, and each portion costs anywhere between $7 and $10.25, depending on how many people you order it for.
• Blue Apron
  Blue Apron offers a weekly box of everything you need to prepare at least two meals for up to four people. They also offer ingredients based on your dietary preferences. With everything from basic to seasonal ingredients, Blue Apron is a weekly subscription service that offers recipes to prepare meals. The cost of a minimum order is $47.95 per week, with shipping in the contiguous United States.
• Freshly
  If you are not up for cooking, some meals delivery services deliver prepared meals at your doorstep and Freshly is one of them. It delivers single-serving meals developed by a team of nutritionists. You can choose from four to 12 meals per week, and it also allows you to change the meal plans at any time. Meals are delivered in recyclable and refrigerated boxes, and the cost of the minimum order is $50 per week.