The Best Healthy Meal Kits, According to a Nutritionist
Get healthy meals delivered to your door to make weeknight cooking easier.
Cooking more meals at home continues to be a trend, but the hustle and bustle of life as we know it today can derail your healthy meal plans. This has led to a spike in healthy food delivery services, promising to help take the load off some of the shopping and meal preparation. Several tried and true players are still in the mix, but new companies with innovative ideas are joining the meal services trend. Here are nine companies making healthy meal plans you can get delivered right to your door on a regular basis.
How Healthy Meal Deliveries Work
Most meal delivery companies allow for weekly orders via websites and apps. Once signed up, the ordering process is user-friendly. In many cases you can choose your meals and the number of servings you need per week. I was very impressed that all deliveries I tried came intact and properly temperature-controlled, which is very important for keeping food safe to eat. Most brands used eco-friendly packaging, which is also a major plus.
The Best Healthy Meal Plans and Services
One of the most diverse and affordable plans around, Hello Fresh offers family favorites like pasta, burgers, grain bowls and tacos. I love how easy they make it to scale their recipes and they are definitely one of the best options out there for a family with small kids or a household of diverse palates.
Sakara delivers inspired, plant-based, prepared meals and snacks that are just as beautiful as they are tasty. I was drawn in by the creative flavor combos and truly blown away by how fresh and flavorful these meals were. Daydreamer Soba Bowl with Tahini Dressing and Banana Protein Bread with Macerated Berries were totally marvelous. In addition to meals, Sakaralites (as they are affectionally referred to by the brand) also receive weekly deliveries of dietary supplements and herbal tea. As with any supplement, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian to make sure they are safe for you to take.
A long-standing favorite for a reason. Whether it is plant-based smoothies, flatbreads, grain bowls or latte pods, Daily Harvest offers some of the freshest ingredients and is constantly evolving their product line with new and exciting, meals, snacks, drinks and snacks. New oat milk frozen treats are a cold and creamy, dairy-free dream come true and don't sleep on the brand's latest innovations: Harvest Bakes, a line of ready-to-bake meals that make weeknight dinners or work lunch a breeze.
Another spin on health food delivery, Hungryroot combines the convenience of online grocery delivery and the ease of meal kits. A weekly shipment contains a well-balanced mix of fresh ingredients for cooking, plus some ready to eat options to get through your busiest days. Deliveries offer a nice balance of plant-based and meat-containing dishes. My weekly haul included Sous-Vide Mushroom Egg Bites, gluten free Four Cheese Tortelloni, a pack of heat-and-eat Lentil Quinoa Rice Mix and snacks like Black Bean Brownie Batter and Vanilla Almond Honey Granola Bars.
This fresh joint has brick and mortar locations and sells prepared meals at select Whole Foods throughout the southern U.S — and now they deliver. Simple, clean recipes with tons of flavor and variety will go a long way on weeknights when you're just too tired to cook. I still dream about the kale Caesar salad I had from this spot more than seven years ago.
I have long heard good things about this plant-based deliver service. I received some samplings from their Thanksgiving box and was very impressed with the innovative recipes — the Pear Cranberry Crisp and Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash were especially good and easy to prepare. Deliveries included very nice inserts and full page, illustrated recipe instruction. I did notice some inaccuracies with the nutrition facts that I brought to the company’s attention.
Like Instacart, but for your favorite restaurants and specialty food shops. From gifts to meal kits to a hankering for Kona coffee from Hawaii — a culinary adventure is in your future.
This popular service offers a blend of cooking kits and ready to eat meals and covers all your meals and snack desires. Sunbasket does an excellent job catering to special dietary needs, offering plans that cater to Paleo, Diabetes, Pescatarian, Mediterranean diets and more. From pasta, to curry to borscht, their impressive menus likely have something for just about every kind of eater.
Many home cooks stress over making it to the store to buy fresh fish. As seen on TV, I was so excited to give this fish delivery service a whirl. Trying to help home cooks take the guess work and anxiety over shopping and preparing fresh seafood, Fish Fixe features portions of shrimp, scallops, tuna and halibut, crab cakes, salmon and more. The brainchild of two busy moms, Fish Fixe delivers sustainably sourced frozen seafood to your door, plus offers a ton of creative ways to enjoy your seafood bounty.
Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a registered dietitian, certified athletic trainer and owner of Dana White Nutrition, Inc., which specializes in culinary and sports nutrition. She is the author of four cookbooks First Bites: Superfoods for Babies and Toddlers, The Healthy Air Fryer Cookbook, The Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook and Healthy Quick and Easy Smoothies.
*This article was written and/or reviewed by an independent registered dietitian nutritionist.
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