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I tried 6 home meal delivery services…here is my comparison

Mar 15, 2020 · 570 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my privacy policy for details.

Lately I feel like there have been an abundance of commercials for home meal delivery services. Services that deliver a box of fresh, pre-portioned food and recipes right to your doorstep. I wanted to try them out, so…I tried 6 home meal delivery services, and I’m sharing what I thought and a comparison of the different services. Since posting this meal delivery services comparison review, I’ve added several services I tried and loved, I think up to date I’ve tried 12 services. I’ll keep updating this article as I try more (and I updated the post as a few companies have closed.)

The best home meal delivery service comparisonsWith life being so busy – between work, being a new mom and just life in general, I was starting to really feel like I was in a cooking rut. I didn’t even want to think about what to make for dinner, I had zero inspiration, zero time to go to the grocery store, and zero motivation. When I kept hearing all the commercials for meal delivery services, I thought I’d look into them and give them a try. There are so many different companies out there! I made a list of all the different ones I wanted to try out, and each week tried a different service.

Meal Kit delivery comparison review

Here are some of the pros and cons, and at the bottom of the post I share a comparison chart to give an overview.

Home chef meal delivery review

Home Chef (use code 40SWEETPHI to get $40 off your first two boxes if you’re a new customer!!)

Pros:

  • Loved that there were lots of meals to choose from
  • Lots of delivery day options which is always nice
  • Absolutely LOVE that besides the designated meal plans you can add additional meals (so if the plan is 3 meals for a family of 4, if that week you want 4 or 5 of the meals, you can add them on and not change your plan!)
  • One can add on breakfast/fruit/smoothie/premium meals which is nice
  • Food is really tasty – their flatbreads or meatball options, whenever I see them on the menu I order them because they’re so good. Honestly, their food tastes SO GOOD!
  • A binder came with the first order so that one could put all the recipes in the binder
  • Definitely most flexibility if you’re a family of 2, 4 or 6 or if there are vegetarians, you don’t have to completely change plans, you can choose vegetarian options. This is great for families
  • All the ingredients for a recipe were in a bag, meat was in a separate, sealed bag!
  • The food is so good, I got my sister hooked on this service after she tried two other services. They have the most ‘family-friendly’ meals too (meaning menu items that I think the whole family would enjoy!)
  • I wrote another post about Home Chef and meal delivery for special occasions (like for example for Valentines Day!) and I wrote a Home Chef meal kit delivery review post!
  • I worked with Home Chef to get SweetPhi readers an exclusive discount! Use code 40SWEETPHI to get $40 off!!

Home Chef Slow Cooker Meals

  • Home Chef also has ‘oven ready’ options where they send you everything (even the oven dish) to make a super quick meal and they have no cooking required salads! Also they just added slow cooker meals!
  • The food is SO GOOD!

Home Chef meal delivery review Cons:

  • Their website was a little difficult to figure out at first (I had to email them to ask about how to ‘skip/pause’ weeks)

Sun Basket

I was a little late to the game trying Sun Basket, but they have easily become my favorite (I should have listened to friends who had tried it sooner!) If you want to read a review of the best healthy meal delivery service I wrote about them, click here.

Sun Basket meal delivery for new moms

Pros:

  • Healthy meals (that don’t taste ‘healthy’). I like that I don’t have to look at the calories per meal, because they’re generally all under 500-700 calories per meals (other meal delivery services per serving sometimes are 1200+ calories!)
  • Lots of options
  • They let you preview the meals before you become a member
  • Lots of options for different diet-friendly meals (like vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.)
  • Organic ingredients
  • They include eggs! A lot of meal delivery services don’t include eggs for recipes that call for eggs, so I was very pleasantly surprised that they did.
  • Their weekly box comes with a magazine which includes the recipes and also other helpful articles and recipes, it read like a magazine!

Sun Basket meal kit delivery review

Cons:

  • The meals are very healthy and delicious, but if you’re looking for something a little more on the indulgent side, this service is probably not for you. They have a lot of unique healthy recipes, so you don’t miss any of the unhealthy stuff. But if you’re a ‘steak & potatoes’ type of person, I’d try one of the other services.
  • The magazine (which was listed in the pro section) is nice, but it’s a little hard to find the recipes that are in your meal kit – I wish they would list the page numbers on the ingredients to make it easier to put the ingredients together with the recipe.

Fresh n lean meal delivery for new moms

Fresh n’ Lean

Pros:

  • Fresh n’ Lean offers already cooked healthy meals where all you need to do is heat the food up!
  • Loved that they offer breakfast/lunch/dinner and snacks
  • Especially loved their Protein + plan, the meals really filled me up!
  • The food was really good, and again, really filling and it made me feel good if that makes sense (like my body loved how it felt after eating the food)
  • The meals had a pretty long fridge shelf life – these are not frozen meals, so I liked that I didn’t have to eat it within a day or so of receiving it
  • Major pro was not having to ‘prep’ or cook anything
  • Really enjoyed that the food could be microwaved or cooked via stovetop or oven
  • Loved that you could order a la carte meals or a whole plan/weeks worth

Fresh n' Lean meal prep meal delivery service review

Cons

  • If you order breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks for a weeks worth, the box is really big and the meals take up a lot of fridge space (but it’s not so much a con because you then have meals for the whole week)
  • They are single serving meals so if you’re feeding a family you would need to order multiples.

Martha & Marley Spoon

I  tried Martha & Marley Spoon after writing this review but had to add it in. It is Martha Stewart’s meal delivery program. The food is good, very family friendly. I liked that some of the recipes are from Martha’s cookbooks.

The best Martha Marley and spoon review

Pros:

  • Very family friendly.
  • Love that some of the recipes are from Martha’s cookbooks, and that there are adaptations and time saving tricks. For example if a recipe is made in a pressure cooker/Instant Pot, it will give directions for the pressure cooker and how to make it if you don’t have one.
  • The food is super good, recipes the whole family would love. I’ve kept several of the recipes to make again.
  • There are plenty of options.
  • I felt like the portions were perfect.

Cons:

  • I did feel like some of the recipes used a lot of dishes to make them, but I’ve come to find that a lot of meal delivery kits recipes do use quite a few dishes and kitchen utensils.

Every Plate meal kit delivery review

Every Plate

Pros:

  • The meals are so affordable, the Every Plate slogan is “America’s Best Value Meal”
  • Meals start at $4.99 per serving
  • The food is good, pretty standard and same as other services
  • I like that one could see the menu without being signed up to their plans
  • The recipes were really similar to other services so that was great

Cons:

  • All the ingredients came in one box. I know it probably really saved on costs, but having to sort for the ingredients to make a recipe is not great.

Real Eats meal delivery review

Real Eats

Pros:

  • Healthy chef-cooked meals (already cooked)
  • Loved that the calories per serving were listed big right on the front!
  • All you do is boil and serve
  • The food was very flavorful
  • Would be good for one person

Cons:

  • The bags are not that easy to open and are hot, obviously after being cooked, so it’s kind of hard to plate (I burned my fingers trying to squeeze the sauce out of a pouch)
  • The meals were all kind of ‘saucy’
  • Not ideal for a family (if you are more than 1 person or making more than 1 serving, the different bags get confusing in a pot, they’re not labeled), but the food itself is good and my kids did eat the food.

Green Chef

Pros:

  • All organic (the other organic meal service I LOVE is Sun Basket, I’ve gotten so many comments about them and they’re allergy/diet friendly!)
  • Meals came with sauces that were already made and were really tasty
  • Minimal prep, only had to chop 1 or 2 things per recipe
  • Loved the way the food/recipe cards were labeled and color coded, it made it very easy to know which items to use
  • Meals were done (start to finish including prep) in 30 minutes

Cons:

  • Didn’t like that one couldn’t swap out meals/recipes. You choose a plan and then are just sent the designated meals
  • Online system doesn’t show more than two weeks in advance upcoming meals
  • This could be a pro or con – the portion sizes were huge. Each meal for 2 we ended up having leftovers for a 3rd meal.
  • We waited 4 days to make one of the recipes – veggie burgers- the arugula and kale were rotten. Contacted customer service and they immediately apologized and gave a credit on our account.

Greenchef meal delivery review

Blue Apron

Pros:

  • The food tasted really good
  • Appropriate serving sizes, no extra portions
  • Liked that one could choose between a few meals

Blue Apron meal delivery service reviewCons:

  • Lots of chopping/prep work
  • Lots of dishes/utensils required
  • Lots of making sauces/different components of the dish
  • Missing key ingredients (emailed their customer service and they immediately apologized and gave me a credit on our account.)
  • Cooking instructions/times were wrong on 2 of the 3 recipes (example 6 minutes to cook an entire chicken breast – it was still raw on the inside)
  • Cooking times varied and the dishes took a lot longer than expected to make, one 30 minute expected time ended up taking close to 50 minutes from start to finish.
  • A lot of leftover ingredients (example: sent whole head of garlic when all one needs is 1 clove)

Hello Fresh

Pros:

  • Really liked that all the ingredients for a particular recipe came in a box with all the ingredients for that recipe
  • Unique flavor combinations
  • One can choose different meal options, but there’s not a lot of flexibility between plans (if you want a family plan, there are only a few options, same with the vegetarian plan, there are only three options, and one can’t get a vegetarian meal with other meat meals)
  • Liked that the meal options include a breakfast one
  • All the food was tasty
  • Easy directions to follow

Hello Fresh meal delivery service reviewCons:

  • The website is as not as easy to use as other ones, but once one knows where everything is it gets easier
  • There are not a lot of options on some of the plans (for example, if you want a family plan and have 3 meals, there’s only 5 to choose from) versus if you’re on a 2 person plan, there’s like 6+ meals to choose from.
  • They have the same meals very frequently so it gets difficult to find options you haven’t tried

An honest review of Hello Fresh meal delivery

Yumble Kids

If you’re looking for healthy and delicious meals for your kids, I would definitely recommend Yumble. Their food is nutritionist approved and is food your kids will actually want to eat. I had my son Ben try it out, and a few year later my toddler twins as well. I personally loved having a fully cooked meal all ready to go in the fridge ready for them if I’m at work or just need a quick meal. I tried a few bites and was super impressed, all the food tasted super good! Yumble Kids is definitely made for busy moms who want good meals for their kids. My kids also love their snack energy balls!

Yumble kids meal delivery service review

 

Comparison:

Meal delivery review comparison with ratings
Comparison chart updated Dec. 2020

 

After writing this post, several companies went out of business (Plated & Terra’s Kitchen) I got a lot of questions about meals that are already made (cooked) or servings for one – my recommendation for that would be Fresh ‘n Lean. Also, after writing this post and reading the comments, Sun Basket is really loved by a lot of people. It’s all organic and the meals look super tasty-I have tried their meals and understand the love, they’re amazing!

Home chef meal delivery kit services review

Summary:

If you’re interested in home meal delivery services, the right one is out there for you!

I was pleasantly surprised that each and every one of the services I tried offered a ‘first time customer’ discount of some kind. I do need to mention -this post is not sponsored by any of the companies I mentioned in any way. I paid for all the services myself (some have referral programs where if you order using my code or special link, you’ll get a discount and I’ll get some kind of credit for future orders or a small amount from your first order.) All opinions are mine alone and based on my experience.

  • Funny thing is, without even looking at the graph, my favorite service was Home Chef  (use code 40SweetPhi for $40 off) they have the best options and the least amount of dishes! I have been ordering from them personally for a few years at this point!
  • For healthy, organic and very dietary needs accommodating (if you’re gluten-free/etc.) my favorite was Sun Basket, a service I tried after putting together the chart, I get them frequently now because we’re always trying to eat a little healthier.
  • If you’re looking for smoothies and soups, try Daily Harvest (super convenient for on-the-go and quick breakfasts/lunches)
  • The cheapest option is Every Plate. Their food is pretty similar to others too which is nice.
  • If you’re looking for healthy already cooked meals, Fresh n’ Lean is the one I’d recommend!
  • If you’re looking for meal delivery for your kids where their meals are already made, I’d recommend Yumble Kids.

Have you ever tried home meal delivery services? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

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Blog Posts best meal delivery service, blue apron meal delivery, Blue Apron review, Green Chef review, Hello fresh review, Home chef coupon code, home chef discount, Home Chef review, Home meal delivery comparisons, meal delivery comparison, Plated meal delivery, Plated review, Terras kitchen review, yumble kids review, yumble meal delivery review

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ann Blankenship says

    September 7, 2017 at 9:08 pm

    I tried Blue Apron, Fresh Choice and Hello Fresh and HF is my favorite too. We are on the bi-weekly plan. Thanks for the review.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      September 8, 2017 at 11:08 am

      So glad you liked the review, and HF is awesome, isn’t it?

      Reply
      • Lynn Moore says

        August 22, 2020 at 6:09 pm

        The 1 thing in common with all the meal deliveries that I don’t like is that you can’t see the menu selections prior to commuting.
        How many people are willing to pay for something without ever seeing it ?
        I’m not !

        Reply
        • Lynn Moore says

          August 22, 2020 at 6:10 pm

          Correction….commiting not commuting 😁😁😁

          Reply
        • Sweetphi says

          August 26, 2020 at 10:35 am

          Hi Lynn,
          I completely agree that if you’re not familiar with the sites, it may seem like the menu isn’t available without entering credit card information, however most sites actually have it posted. It’s usually on the top menu bar. For example Home chef has it listed on their menu as ‘Our Menu’ – hope that helps
          Phi

          Reply
  2. Danielle says

    September 7, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    Question: My spouse is allergic to all nuts and most fish. Would your recommendations change for my particular circumstance?

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      September 8, 2017 at 11:09 am

      They might…I just didn’t look into the allergy side of the services though, so I can’t answer that question, sorry!

      Reply
  3. Shirley Burkkhardt says

    August 25, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    I agree with the comment about Florida heat. I now have tried Blue Apron, Home chef and Martha. I have cancelled my account with Blue Apron as the boxes came so beat up, vegetables were already wilted and was missing salmon in one package, they did promptly credit my account but then had to reorder to receive credit. I do think Home Chef is the best so far but am going to try some of your suggestions

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      August 27, 2017 at 3:47 pm

      So glad you liked the review Shirley! I just got a delivery of home chef last week and the food was so tasty. Hope you like the other ones you try 🙂

      Reply
  4. Edie Allyn-Page says

    August 21, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    We tried a couple and settled on Home Chef. I consider myself a good cook (witness my waistline) but the experience has retaught me and my husband a little about portion size. Theirs are adequate but not what I would choose – the 16 ounce Ribeye. My point being that they provide the correct portions for an adult. We have learned to eat healthier. A confirmed vegaphobe – I am enjoying some roasted and pan seared veggies, but please don’t tell my mom. Of course everything isn’t a hit, but most are. Sometimes I alter a little here and there. Like when I just needed fried chicken tenders instead of whatever they wanted me to eat. It is also WONDERFUL not to have to think about shopping, travel (When I say travel, I mean we are 45 minutes from the nearest gallon of milk.) and menus for those three or four nights every week. Well worth the money.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      August 23, 2017 at 11:31 am

      Thank you so much for the awesome comment Edie! I feel the same way, you just said it so well – it’s definitely teaching me about portion size, my husband was even saying the other day he feels like he’s losing weight, but it hasn’t been at the sacrifice of taste or weird diets, it’s just eating better portioned food. Even though I’d consider myself an adventurous cook, there have been multiple meals where I had never used an ingredient before, so it’s neat to try out the different things! Glad to hear you like the services as much as I do!

      Reply
  5. Candy Gareiss says

    August 9, 2017 at 3:26 pm

    Do you have a recommendation for people living in Florida? We used Home Chef of a few weeks and packages arrived with the cooling packs melted and sometimes the boxes soaked through. While all the meat remained chilled some of the vegetables wilted. (It gets pretty hot here in August.). They were kind enough to credit our account when I made them aware but the shipping was the big issue. Any suggestions for Florida delivery?

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      August 9, 2017 at 3:44 pm

      Oh my goodness, I never even thought of that with the heat! So I don’t know how different this would be, but have you tried Hello Fresh? When they deliver the packages (at lease the ones I’ve had delivered) they had these gel packs that they put at the bottom of the insulated box, and I think they’ve been delivered on an 80 degree plus day and were fine. I can’t remember which other service it was, but it came with dry ice. But I’d definitely ask whichever company before they shipped again.

      Reply
    • Leslie says

      September 7, 2017 at 6:01 pm

      Candy – you might try Home Chef again – I was getting frustrated here in Texas also but they recently changed packaging and it addresse many of the issues I’ve seen folks mention.

      Reply
    • Joanne says

      September 22, 2017 at 1:55 pm

      I use Hello Fresh and they have the food well insulated. I have no problems. Also, they buy sustainable food and many organic items. I love their recipes and it is easy. I have never used my kitchen this often.

      Reply
      • Sweetphi says

        September 24, 2017 at 6:56 pm

        Hahah I agree about never having used my kitchen more Joanne 🙂 I also love the sustainable ingredients, and I find myself using ingredients I never would have!

        Reply
  6. Micko says

    August 6, 2017 at 9:47 am

    Thank you ???

    Reply
  7. Meredith says

    July 30, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    We are currently using Sun Basket and enjoy it very much!! The menu options are great and the food is fresh with a lot of flavors. However, we are thinking of trying other companies just to compare. I am glad you shared your comparisons as I think it was helpful in our decision. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 31, 2017 at 8:13 pm

      Thank you for saying that Meredith! Hope you enjoy the other services you try 🙂

      Reply
  8. Karyn Jones says

    July 29, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Just finished a month of Hello Fresh and loved it but wanted to try some others – I think you just saved me a LOT of time. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 30, 2017 at 1:13 pm

      Thank you so much! Glad you liked the post 🙂

      Reply
  9. Heather says

    July 29, 2017 at 9:44 am

    Just got my first kit from Hello Fresh. Loved it!! The 2 recipes I have tried have been a hit. Can’t wait to try more!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 30, 2017 at 1:14 pm

      I’m so glad you like them too – they were my fave one!

      Reply
    • Susan Myszkowski says

      September 30, 2017 at 7:53 am

      Could not find the way to reply to original post but our experience with Hello Fresh has been a little different. It has never been delivered in the window it was supposed to arrive hence cooling bags completely melted, soggy bottom on box. Also, the salad greens they include are not yet any that we like…mostly arugula (yuck). Chili recipe was terrible until I doctored it up with things from my own kkitchen. I am however pleasantly surprised how nice it feels to not have to struggle with…what am I going to fix for dinner. And, it keeps me out of the grocery store when I am hungry, we all know how dangerous that can be! ?

      Reply
      • Sweetphi says

        October 1, 2017 at 4:14 pm

        Thanks for sharing your experience Susan, that is different then mine and i’m sorry to hear that, especially because I feel like since I have been using Hello Fresh (or other services) they have gotten better! Like they used to not include eggs, and now they do (at least I know Hello Fresh and Home Chef do) and they now separate the meat and other items so nicely. I do relate how nice it is to not have to think about what to make, guesswork is definitely taken out of it. Thank you for sharing though, i’m always interested in what people think!

        Reply
  10. Sheikh says

    July 21, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    Excellent Sweetphi, Thanks for great comparison. Will certainly help next time I order meal online.
    I really appreciate your work you are making people life easier.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 24, 2017 at 12:28 pm

      So glad you found it helpful 🙂

      Reply
  11. Nathania says

    July 17, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    Was wondering if you also know off hand, if any of these home delivery services offered diff. types of plans such as; Vegan, low carb, etc… ? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 19, 2017 at 1:11 pm

      Yes, I believe some of them do. I believe Green Chef offered a Vegan option 🙂

      Reply
  12. Dawn Connor says

    July 16, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    One of the most thorough and relavant comparisons for actual families. I have tried Blue Apron, Home Chef, and Plated.

    One thing with Blue Apron, after a while, you get similar flavors. Although we like their dishes, you felt like you had something similar the week before. I have an active account and only request a box once a month or every other month. The downfall is you only get 2 meals – for us, the 3 meals is about optimal.

    I have consistently stuck with Plated – their ingredients seem to be fresh and of high quality, which is why we didn’t last with Home Chef (once got 6 rotten potatoes sent to me).

    I might just sample the Hello Fresh, just to compare. Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 19, 2017 at 1:07 pm

      Thank you so much for the super sweet comment Dawn, I really appreciate that, and so glad you liked the review! It’s the absolute worst when ingredients arrive rotten, isn’t it?
      I like Hello Fresh because it seemed to me that they use the least amount of dishes when cooking their recipes … and I’m all about that lol 🙂

      Reply
  13. Ryan Cook says

    July 11, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    This is a great post… my fiancé and I do Hello Fresh and set it to only ship once a month. It adds variety to our meals and we have enjoyed everything we have made and even made one of the recipes again. We got a discount for Blue Apron and will be giving that a try next week. I will now have to check out some of these other services as well. Thanks for the input and information you have provided.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 12, 2017 at 6:20 pm

      Thank you for commenting. I too think that it adds variety, I just started using the services again after having a baby – definitely makes life a little easier 🙂 Hope you enjoyed reading about the other services, besides Hello Fresh, you might really like Plated – I love their dessert option!

      Reply
  14. Denielle says

    July 5, 2017 at 10:52 pm

    Hi, thanks for this amazing comparison…it’s what made me want to give meal delivery services a try! I decided to sign up for Plated but sadly my first box never showed up. The tracking shows it was scanned on Sunday evening for delivery on Monday, and here we are a week and a half later with no updated tracking info, and still no box. I’m still very anxious to give Plated a try but I’ve had to skip the next 4 weeks because we’ll be out of town. Plated immediately reimbursed me but the shipping company, LaserShip, has offered no explanation, just an email with the same crummy tracking. Has anyone heard of them or experienced missing/undelivered boxes as well?

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      July 9, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      So glad you liked the comparisons. That’s so odd that your box never showed up, that must have been so disappointing, I know I would have been. I’ve never had that happen, thankfully, so hopefully (sadly for you) it was a weird fluke!

      Reply
  15. Weiser9 says

    June 24, 2017 at 9:17 am

    Is there anything out there for singles (that’s not already prepared?)

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      June 27, 2017 at 4:30 pm

      That’s such a great question, I have not come across anything yet…if I do ever find something I’ll let you know- hope a reader can chime in!

      Reply
    • Rob says

      July 1, 2017 at 7:59 am

      Dinner Thyme allowed for this. Awesome service. However, they just suspended service for a few months.

      Reply
      • Sweetphi says

        July 9, 2017 at 2:12 pm

        I’ll have to check them out when they’re back, thanks Rob

        Reply
  16. Shaton says

    June 22, 2017 at 2:12 pm

    Love your post. I’ve used Home Chef on a couple of occasions and really enjoyed the food but most of all I enjoyed not having to plan meals. However, after the 2nd time using them, the food didn’t excite me anymore so I’m currently on pause. I have been looking at Hello Fresh so it was great to see your comparison…… same with Plated. I may consider using several of these services on a rotated basis over a period of time – Maybe 2-3 months and then change. That way the flavors and choices may stay more inspiring.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      June 23, 2017 at 11:04 am

      I’m so glad you like this post, thank you for your comment! You know, I was the same way, after trying these services back to back, I needed a little break before using them again. I love that you can just pause your account and come back later – they definitely helped with meal time inspiration.

      Reply
  17. Rita says

    June 20, 2017 at 7:59 am

    Dear Phi,
    Love this segment was reading it to Al especially with everything that is going on. Thinking a lot about you this week. Love you, Rita

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      June 21, 2017 at 7:26 pm

      Thank you so much Rita!! We loved trying the different services out, it was a really fun post to do. Thank you so much for your thoughts this week- much appreciated, we’ll keep you posted 😉 Love phi

      Reply
  18. Christina Moehrke says

    June 14, 2017 at 11:29 am

    Hello! I absolutely loved your post on meal delivery services and found it to be very insightful. My husband and I just received our very first Hello Fresh box last night and were pleasantly surprised. The organization was great and the first meal was excellent (Juicy Lucy burgers). I like how Hello Fresh allows you to send a $40 coupon to your friends who might be interested and if they sign up you get $20 off your next order. We have also ordered a box from Blue Apron to come at the end of the week to compare. Home Chef and Plated are next on the list to try.
    While I don’t see that it will be a significant savings to our budget, it certainly runs close (some cheaper, others a little more) and it keeps me from having to come up with different meal ideas every week.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      June 16, 2017 at 6:42 pm

      Thank you so much for your comment and feedback! I definitely know what you mean, it’s not so much the budget saving, but it’s the ‘mixing it up’ factor and having different meal ideas that i don’t have to think up myself lol! Hope you enjoy the other meal delivery services as you try them. I found it fun to try different ones and compare them to each other!

      Reply
  19. Edward says

    April 5, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    I just signed up with Plated…. I will let you know about my experience!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      April 7, 2017 at 12:39 pm

      Hope you enjoy it 🙂

      Reply
  20. Karla Carter says

    March 18, 2017 at 2:01 pm

    Thanks for this amazing comparison! Has anyone tried Purple Carrot? It looks fresh and healthy. I’ve been tempted to try it!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you so much – so glad you liked the comparison. I heard from one of my friends who tried Purple Carrot, she said she liked it, but it’s all plant based (vegan) and she said that while she’s vegetarian, she’s not vegan. She said the food was good, but that she like some of the other delivery services with vegetarian plans better. Hope that helps – I’ve never tried it personally.

      Reply
  21. Mary W says

    March 18, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    Friends of mine were given one of these meal services as a gift. These are people who think cooking is taking dried food out a well known brand name box and boiling it. They were thrilled with the meal service. It really opened their eyes and taste buds to new possibilities. The gift proved to them that they really can cook from scratch and it’s not as difficult as they thought. They gave their gift very high marks and were raving about it. Consider a week or month of these services as a gift for someone; new Moms and Dads, college students, someone new to the neighborhood – there are endless possibilities. And no – I do not work for any of these companies.

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:16 pm

      I absolutely love the idea of giving one of these meal services as a gift. I’m totally going to gift my mom and sisters one!!

      Reply
  22. Jessiva says

    March 18, 2017 at 5:22 am

    This is such an amazing resource! I love the fact that you took the time to review each and every service and break it down with pros and cons! I’ve only tried Hello Fresh and we did like it, but discontinued it the end of last summer when we needed to kind of pull together the budget. I’ll have to remember Plated too, it looks like another great option! Well done!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:19 pm

      Thank you so much, so glad you liked this post! It was a lot of work, but fun to put together. I know what you mean about the budget though, I tried all of them with the first time customer discounts and then after had to skip a bunch of weeks or services because it definitely adds up. It was really nice to get a bunch of different ideas and inspiration though 🙂

      Reply
  23. Darcy says

    March 17, 2017 at 8:41 am

    Thanks for this post! I had not really paid attention to these; we’re cattle ranchers and all of the commercials I’ve seen are for Blue Apron, and I personally don’t agree with their marketing/portrayal of traditional (vs organic or natural) farm products as “bad”. I just signed up for Hello Fresh with your code, and want to try Plated next. Thanks for the review & for sharing!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:26 pm

      Thank you so much for your comment Darcy, I truly appreciate it! I know what you mean – I felt inundated with commercials and do not always like the strong messages. I was surprised by which services I ended up liking vs. not lol. Thanks again for the comment 🙂

      Reply
  24. Betsey Weaver says

    March 16, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Thank you for your wonderful post! My husband and I really loved everything you had to say and how you put it all together. Appreciate the time and effort you put into this! I shared it on my Facebook page because I have lots of friends asking about these meal delivery services. Good work!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:38 pm

      Thank you so much for your awesome comment Betsey! And a big thank you for sharing on Facebook, I really appreciate that 🙂

      Reply
  25. Kay Bastian says

    March 16, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    Phi, Thank You for this post, I love it! very informative and I love the number rating at the end, I now will try one or some of them based on your post. ❤?

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:49 pm

      I’m so glad you liked the post Kay!! Thank you!! I hope you like some of the services – I know they have inspired me to try new things in the kitchen 🙂

      Reply
  26. Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says

    March 16, 2017 at 4:23 pm

    Woah, this is such a thorough comparison. Thanks so much for all the details! I tried Blue Apron and really enjoyed it and I can totally see the value in ordering meal kits. Life is so crazy – it such a time saver1

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 19, 2017 at 12:56 pm

      Thank you so much, so glad you liked the comparison. It was fun to do, but also a lot of work lol. I do like meal delivery services, it was nice not to have to think about what i was going to be making for dinner, and totally inspired me with different flavor combinations I normally wouldn’t have tried!

      Reply
  27. Sues says

    March 15, 2017 at 9:00 pm

    What an awesome post!! I still haven’t tried any meal delivery services (trying to resist!), but I know where to come if I decide to go for it 🙂 I’ve heard awesome things about both Hello Fresh and Plated!

    Reply
    • Sweetphi says

      March 16, 2017 at 6:53 am

      Thank you so much! I was really feeling just low on inspiration and motivation to cook, and I do have to say it was fun trying all the different services and some of the recipes totally inspired me to get cooking again. I really like that one can ‘pause’ or ‘skip’ weeks, so after trying all these different services I can space them out to once in a while 🙂

      Reply
      • Buffy Coffey says

        March 17, 2017 at 5:21 am

        This post is awesome! I’ve been trying to figure out ways to make dinner time easier because we all get home at different times. Meal delivery service is something I’ve considered but, I haven’t had time to do any research. Plated is one I haven’t heard of so I may check that one out this weekend. Everyone I know has raved about Blue Apron but, when I looked on their website, I felt like there weren’t many options and the majority of the meals Phoebe would not eat. Hello Fresh was next on my list but, Plated might be a better option for us. Thanks for sharing your experience with each of them. This was extremely helpful!

        Reply
        • Sweetphi says

          March 19, 2017 at 12:37 pm

          Thank you so much for commenting Buffy!! I’m just like that – trying to find ways to make dinner time easier, because it can be so hard to come home at the end of the day and then start the process of thinking of ‘what’s for dinner?’ These services were really helpful. I feel like everyone I know has heard of Blue Apron, and I have to say, I was very surprised by how much I did not like their service. There was SO MUCH prep work and dishes involved (I think I counted and for one meal I used like 5 bowls for mixing, 3 pots, 2 pans, and a bunch of utensils – a whisk, a zester, multiple knives, etc.)…it’s just not the way I cook. The food from Plated was so tasty, I seriously saved 2 of the 3 recipe cards to make on my own again because I liked them so much, and I loved that I could add on dessert, that too was really good. Anyway, thanks again for commenting, makes me so happy to hear this post was helpful.

          Reply
Newer Comments »

Trackbacks

  1. One month baby update - Sweetphi says:
    July 30, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    […] few months ago I tried 6 home meal delivery services and compared them (my favorite was/is Hello Fresh because they had the least amount of prep/dishes […]

    Reply
  2. What’s For Dinner? An exploration into the ever popular meal delivery | | Alyfe says:
    July 17, 2017 at 11:19 am

    […] of trying it? Check out this comparison of 6 popular services to help you get started with the right one for you! And if […]

    Reply
  3. 5 Ingredient Chicken Caesar Pita Wraps Recipe - Sweetphi says:
    April 21, 2017 at 5:20 am

    […] when I was trying different meal home delivery services (you can see my comparison of 6 different meal delivery services here) and I loved the idea – it was like a chicken Caesar salad in a pita, like a gyro, super […]

    Reply

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Sweetphi - Philia Kelnhofer - food blogger head shot image

Welcome to the SweetPhi blog, I’m Phi! I live in Milwaukee, WI. I’m a busy working mom (and cookbook author x2) to boy-girl twins and a toddler.

I am all about helping make mealtime a little easier and sharing inspiration for those with a busy lifestyle!

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Make ahead breakfasts for the win 🙋🏼‍♀️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This freezer frittata is gluten free and great for making head and then having a delicious breakfast all ready to go in the morning⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’ve shared how to make this for eating after you make it, and for how to freeze it, and a bunch of different customizing options!!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You can find the clickable link in my bio https://sweetphi.com/freezer-frittata-recipe-with-salsa-and-sausage/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#freezermeals #makeahead #onthegobreakfast #grabandgomeals #breakfast #brunch #makeahead #breakfastideas #foodphotographer #instafood #instayum  #foodblogger  #foodblogeats  #thekitchn  #sweetphiblog  #workingmom  #theeverygirlcooks  #theeverygirl  #easyrecipe  #frittatarecipe  #familyrecipes #eggs #healthyfood #mealprepideas #mealprepbreakfast #mealpreprecipes #breakfastfood #recipedeveloper #glutenfreebreakfast #glutenfreerecipes
Iced coffee or hot coffee?! ☕⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There’s nothing I enjoy more than a cold, delicious iced coffee from Starbucks. But sometimes I don’t have the time (or, let’s be real, the 💰) to pick one of these bad boys up in the mornings, so I was determined to figure out how to make Starbucks iced coffee at home, which is exactly what I did with this french press iced coffee!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Clickable link in profile 👉🏻https://sweetphi.com/starbucks-iced-coffee-copycat-recipe/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#coffee #coffeetime #lifefuel #coffeecup #coffeelover #coffeebreak #coffeegram #coffeelove #frenchpress #busybee #morningcoffee #coffeelife #momlife #easyrecipe #workingmom #sweetcreamicedcoffee #bosslady #icedcoffee  #homemade #pursuepretty  #pourovercoffee #FoodWineWomen  #sweetphiblog  #foodblogeats  #☕️ #momfuel #foodstylist #recipedeveloper #momoftwins #icedcoffeeforlife
Who doesn’t love Mexican food?! 🙌⠀⠀⠀⠀ Who doesn’t love Mexican food?! 🙌⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I like to prep these Mexican chicken and quinoa bowls on the weekend and then have everything ready to go for a quick dinner during the week.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I just separate everything in containers, and then when we need a quick dinner, I just put everything on the table and let everyone choose their toppings.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Clickable link in profile 👉🏻 https://sweetphi.com/mexican-chicken-and-quinoa-bowls-recipe/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#dinnerideas #chickenrecipes #quinoa #healthyeats #chickendinner #bowls #bowlmeal #glutenfreerecipe #sweetphiblog #easydinnerideas #easymealideas #recipes #healthydinner #quickmeals  #30minutemeals  #easyrecipe  #foodblogeats #healthy #healthyfood #workingmom  #mealplanning  #whatsfordinner  #theeverygirlcooks  #recipedeveloper #mealprepsunday #mealprep #glutenfreerecipes #glutenfree #mealprepideas
I love using my Instant Pot for soups because you I love using my Instant Pot for soups because you can build amazing flavors in no time at all! ⏱️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When you make this Instant Pot chicken and rice turmeric soup, it will be bright yellow! You’ll taste flavor notes of ginger and lemon (and, of course, a slight earthiness of turmeric). YUM!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Do you cook with an Instant Pot?!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Clickable link in profile 👉🏻 https://sweetphi.com/instant-pot-chicken-and-rice-turmeric-soup-recipe/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#instantpotrecipes #instantpotrecipe #sweetphiblog #dinner #dinnerideas #dinnerrecipes #recipes #easydinnerideas #instantpot #quickmeals #easyrecipes #recipe #easydinnerrecipe #mainmeal #mainmealideas #soup #souprecipe #turmeric #mainmealrecipes #familydinner #supper #supperideas #chickenrecipe #chicken #goldensoup #turmericsoup #soupseason #souprecipes
Can we talk food storage? 
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Storage containers and finding the right ones that work for me has been a complete game changer! 
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Not only do I use containers as mixing bowls/etc but I also use them for food storage and for photography props!
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Fave food storage containers 👉🏻 https://sweetphi.com/best-food-storage-containers/ 
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#foodstorage #containers #ecofriendly #sweetphiblog #foodphotographer #foodphotohraphyprops #foodstoragecontainers #kitchenfinds
I can’t get over how much I love my air fryer. 🤩 Do you use one?!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I was skeptical at first, but the food is so delicious and quick to make!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This air fryer falafel bowls recipe is so versatile that you can’t go wrong. They work great as a dinner or even an appetizer/snack for a party or a lunch!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Clickable link in profile 👉🏻 https://sweetphi.com/air-fryer-falafel-bowls-recipe/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#airfryerrecipe #airfryerrecipws  #sweetphiblog #lunch #easyrecipe #lunchideas #mealprep #lunchrecipes #recipes #lunchrecipe #falafel #falafelbowls #airfryer #airfryerrecipes #easylunch #healthy #healthyrecipe #vegetarian #vegetarianrecipe #mainmeals #mealideas #mainmeal #mainmealideas #easylunchideas
"WOW! Delicious easy and flavorful pork roast and "WOW! Delicious easy and flavorful pork roast and potatoes recipe" - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ SweetPhi Reader Emily 
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I love seeing comments like this one on my 5 ingredient crock pot pork roast and potatoes!
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I absolutely love making recipes in the slow cooker because of little hands on time and are very set-it-and-forget-it type meals.
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Do you use a slow cooker?
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Clickable link in profile or 👉🏻https://sweetphi.com/5-ingredient-crock-pot-pork-roast-potatoes-recipe
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#crockpotrecipes #slowcookerrecipes #5starreview #recipereviews #sweetphiblog #dinner #dinnerideas #dinnerrecipes #recipes #easydinnerideas #crockpotrecipe #glutenfreerecipe #glutenfreerecipes #foodblog #recipeoftheday #easydinnerrecipe #mainmeal #mainmealideas #crockpot #slowcooker #pork #porkroast #meatandpotatoes #mainmealrecipes #familydinner #supper #supperideas #5ingredientsorless #5ingredients
Imagine making a soup, spending hours over the sto Imagine making a soup, spending hours over the stove stirring a pot and waiting for flavors to develop…💭

Now forget that!!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This healthy instant pot baked potato soup recipe only take about 30 minutes start to finish, and is SOOOOO good.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Clickable link in profile 👉🏻 https://sweetphi.com/best-healthy-instant-pot-baked-potato-soup-recipe/⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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#soups #soupandbread #soupseason #instantpotrecipes #pressurecookerrecipe #potato #potatorecipes #easyrecipe #soup #souprecipe #familymeals #pickyeaterapproved #instafood #instayum #dailyfoodpic #whatsfordinner #foodblogeats #sweetphiblog #instantpotrecipe #recipedeveloper #onepotmeal #onepotmeals #soupseason #freezermeals #freezercooking #makeahead #potatosoup
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