With less and less time left to spend in the kitchen on a daily basis, it is surprising to see most of us turning to meal delivery services. After all, who wants to bear the hassle of shopping and cooking when you can order a meal with just a few clicks? This is especially important for all those frugal moms looking to save money and time.
With some of the top 10 meal delivery services, you can choose your favorite meals from a much more diverse menu and get them delivered right to your doorstep within minutes. These services have certainly become increasingly popular as they are convenient, affordable, and timesaving. While meal delivery services can save you a lot of time and effort, are they worth it? Read on to find the answers.
Before you delve into the comprehensive analysis of meal delivery services and their overall worth, you should understand what meal delivery services are all about.
What are meal delivery services
Meal delivery services are outlets and platforms where you can go and order pre-prepared meals and get them delivered to your doorsteps. Now, there is no need to deal with the hassle of grocery shopping, meal planning, prepping, and cooking.
These services satisfy customers’ various dietary preferences and nutritional needs. For example, you get options for a low-calorie diet or a menu meant for a plant-based eater, keto, and more.
With so many options to pick from and apparent benefits, one wonders if meal delivery services are worth it or if there is another side to them. Well, the answers depend on what you are looking for, your daily schedule, budget, and eating habits. Let us look at the pros and cons of meal delivery services.
The benefits
When you start looking at and comparing different meal kits over the years, you will certainly find that they have evolved and become much cheaper. They are a better option for picky eaters who want a specifically tailored meal plan.
- Convenient as they save time and effort
One of the key benefits of meal delivery services is their convenience in our busy and hectic lives. With more and more women working and demanding lifestyles, finding time for grocery shopping and cooking is getting more challenging every day. Thus, meal delivery services offer unparalleled convenience and save time and effort. - Greater variety and higher quality
Today, meal delivery services are willing to work diligently to cater to their customers and their specific demands. They source the best quality ingredients from reliable suppliers and prepare a diverse menu to cater to different preferences and tastes. The recipes are tried and tested by reputed chefs and cater to different dietary needs. As the recipes come with easy-to-follow instructions, even complete novices can feel confident in the kitchen. Thus, one can be sure of enjoying top quality and taste with meal delivery. - An enjoyable culinary experience
Meal delivery services can provide customized meals that follow a specific diet plan per the customer’s needs. Moreover, these service providers are willing to listen to their customers and help them enjoy the service to the maximum. Whether it is about changing a meal or taking a break, one can easily do that and enjoy a great experience. Thus, one can now enjoy greater fallibility as meal subscriptions become more adaptable to the needs of the customer.
- Less wastage due to portion control
Another major advantage of meal services is portion control and reduced food waste. Traditional grocery shopping and food preparation often leads to excessive buying or purchasing what we don’t need. Plus, there is no control over the meal portions. But with meal delivery services, you know precisely what ingredients you are getting according to nutritional guidelines and can follow a balanced diet based on pre-portioned ingredients. As a result, there is less food wastage and calorie gain.
Although meal delivery services are particularly useful for families with working professionals, there are some drawbacks and considerations that one must pay heed to.
The drawbacks
- Losing the skills of cooking
Growing demand and dependence on meal delivery services can lead to limited time, and the kitchen, as a result, can hinder the development of cooking skills for the family. After all, cooking is a creative activity that can be enjoyed by the family, and thus, one may miss out on the satisfaction of preparing a meal together and from scratch. The upcoming generation may lose cooking skills due to increased reliance on meal deliveries. - Health risk of cross-contamination
As meal kits are often prepared together, there is always a risk of cross-contamination. Moreover, there could be sourcing issues, and one may need to know exactly where the ingredients are coming from. Thus, it is essential to order from only the most reputed meal kit provider who are transparent and care about the health of their customers. One can ask them to tailor the meal as per your needs and include only locally produced fresh ingredients. - The higher costs
Cost is a common concern among customers, as many find it challenging to deal with the expense of ordering meals regularly. While there is an undeniable convenience, there are higher costs involved with some meal service providers when compared to traditional cooking. Thus, it is crucial to weigh the financial aspects and compare them to the time and effort saved to make the decision. - Bear an environmental cost
Although an increasing number of meal delivery services now realize the importance of being eco-friendly and sustainable, they still need to make considerable efforts to curb their carbon footprint. The convenience of meal delivery certainly comes at an environmental cost, as transportation leads to greenhouse gas emissions, while the extensive packaging leaves an impact on the planet. Choose meal service providers that use recyclable packaging to cut down on greenhouse emissions and wastage. Thus, those aspects of meal delivery services remain essential among environmentally conscious consumers.
Now that you are aware of both the pros and cons of meal delivery services, it is essential to get aware of a few tips and tricks to get the most out of a meal subscription.
- Choose only the top meal service providers that rank high on value, offers, and environmental ratings.
- Take advantage of sign-up offers and get deep discounts to lower the costs.
- It is highly recommended to order a larger number of meals and servings per week to lower the costs.
- Cook the seafood recipes and other recipes with leafy greens, cheese, and fresh dairy first, as they will spoil first.
- You can delay cooking with food items such as potatoes, steak, and chicken, which can last a week easily.
- Order steak, seafood, chicken, pork, and fish for maximum nutrition, and choose recipes that will give you more money.
Only sometimes trust the recipes when it comes to seasoning as there is no one-size-fits-all, and thus trust your instincts when it comes to salt and spices. There is no denying that meal delivery services offer myriad benefits in terms of convenience, customization, and saving time and effort. However, as a customer, you need to make the right choices to determine the worth of these services and get the best value out of them based on your lifestyle, priorities, and values.
