Home meal delivery service used to be a foreign idea. Having complete meals sent to your home prepped and ready for you to cook felt strange. Isn’t it easier and cheaper to shop for your own foods than have them delivered? Not necessarily. There are lots of reasons why a meal delivery service can make your life easy, nutritious, and budget friendly.
3 Reasons To Consider a Home Meal Delivery Service
1. Home Meal Delivery Service Saves a Lot of Time
If you are a busy person, meal delivery systems can save you a lot of time. In fact, this is the reason I initially had an interest in them.
I was working 40+ hours per week I began researching healthy food delivery options and decided on Green Chef.
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From meal planning, shopping, food prep, and more- a home meal delivery service can streamline cooking and save you time and energy.
Many times, one family member does the majority of the meal planning, shopping, and cooking.
Over the course of a week, that’s a lot of meals! As a matter of fact, some people set aside an entire day to plan meals for the week, make grocery lists, go to the store, shop, bag, and lug the groceries home…then still have to find time to put them away and cook. That’s a lot of energy for one day.
Maybe you're someone who doesn't do well with planning and has no clue what you want to eat or serve your family. Do you spend time making frequent trips to the store to grab items throughout the week? This takes valuable time from your daily routine to make sure you have meals for your family.
2. Home Meal Delivery Services Can Improve Your Health
It’s easier to eat healthier with a home meal delivery service because all the guess work is removed. Simply choose meals that sound appealing, and the company sources the ingredients and provides everything you need to cook a meal.
Home meal delivery services are also great for portion control. Though you can order as many portions as you’d like, having a system in place can help you avoid overeating and stay healthy.
Meal delivery systems can help you eat better and choose foods you may not have tried before. Some people aren’t savvy in the kitchen or they are unaware of the nutritional value of certain foods. Meal delivery systems can help you try new foods and increase your health all in one.
3. Meal Delivery Systems Can Save You Money
Many meal delivery systems offer discounts when signing up. This can instantly save you money on your next shopping bill. Not only that, they generally offer a variety of packages to fit any budget.
If you’re not careful, food can easily go to waste in your fridge. It can be frustrating to buy a large quantity of an item for one recipe. You may not need an entire head of cabbage for one dinner’s recipe. Using meal delivery means you only get the ingredients you need in the correct portion for your meal. This can reduce waste and save money.
Meal delivery systems are a time and money-saving alternative to sourcing all of your week’s food. For some families, it can make a big difference in the health of their meals and the amount of time they have to do other things. This makes joining a meal delivery service an enticing and economically sound decision.
There’s a Meal System for Every Lifestyle
Thankfully many home meal delivery services make it effortless to serve healthy foods for every lifestyle.
Your family may be a meat-and-potatoes type, which means they look for healthy foods that contain meat protein, but some families prefer vegan or other types of meals. Many meal delivery services offer special-diet foods that support all lifestyles.
Food allergies can be a challenge for families, but many meal delivery services have meal plans that work well with specialized needs. From gluten allergies, nut allergies, and dairy allergies, many companies are conscientious and offer meals that meet special requirements.
If you’re keto, paleo, or want all organic there’s a service for you. As meal plans become more common, there are a lot of companies vying for the consumer’s attention. A simple search reveals a host of companies to choose from. Narrowing down the right company for you can be as easy as looking for companies that work with your-
- Healthy dietary needs
- Budget
- Experience level
- Time spent in the kitchen
Once you’ve decided these factors you can determine which service will fit best with your lifestyle. It can also be beneficial to try more than one to see which you prefer.
How To Get The Most From a Healthy Home Meal Delivery Service
If you do a simple Google search for meal delivery systems, you’ll find there are a lot of them. They are all competing for your loyalty and money and have bright and shiny marketing that can make it hard to choose the right meal system for your family. What should you be looking for when it comes to services? Let’s find out.
Choosing the right service has a lot to do with your expectations and how much time and effort you want to spend on meal preparation. If you or your family have special dietary needs or hold to a diet plan, it can also influence your choices. Another consideration is how much variety you’d like to have in your weekly menu.
Here are some tips for choosing the right meal delivery system for your family.
Tip #1 – Pay Attention to Quality
Most companies base their reputation on the freshness of their foods. Whole foods that taste great and keep your family healthy are important. Determine which companies offer whole foods, easy to follow recipes for newbies, and generous portion sizes. If each of these are high, you’re likely to have a better experience.
Tip #2 – Pay Attention to the Price Point
While it’s important to pay close attention to quality and portion sizing, it’s also important to pay attention to the costs. Breaking things down to costs per serving is important.
Keep in mind that you aren’t simply paying for the food on your plate, you’re paying for the services that chose the food, prepped the food, and packaged the food for delivery.
Some companies may charge less for their memberships, but also charge for delivery while other companies offer free delivery.
Take into consideration all the aspects of what it takes to get your food to your home and determine which of the companies offers the best value overall.
Tip #3 – Pay Attention to Variety
Most people don’t like to eat the same things every meal. Thankfully, most meal delivery systems change their menus weekly. They rotate their offerings which means you can easily get your favorites again and again without having to eat the same thing every week.
Choosing the best meal delivery system for your family is easy when you take these three tips into consideration. Check the various programs out and compare and contrast their offerings and choose the system that makes the most sense for your family.
How to Balance Meal Delivery with Regular Food Shopping
It’s unrealistic to use meal services as the only means of meal prep for your family. There are plenty of meals and snacks that your family will have outside the ones delivered to your home. There’s a balance when it comes to menu planning and shopping when you are receiving meals delivered to your door.
It might seem awkward at first to make a shopping list that leaves out typical items you use for meals. Since you’ll be getting the protein, produce, and other ingredients for the meals you’ve ordered delivered to your door, it will change the types of foods you purchase from the grocery store.
Consider These Ideas When Making Your Shopping List
Idea #1 – Commit to the menu items you’ve picked for delivery.
Be sure to plan ahead and consider what you’ve got going on in your schedule when you choose your menu items. Be sure you’ll be home to prep and cook each meal that’s coming. It’s an investment to commit to meal delivery and skipping a meal can lead to spoiled food. Avoid giving in to convenience foods like take-out if you’ve made a plan to enjoy your meal delivery service.
Idea #2 – Add one or two protein staples to your grocery list
There may come a time when you have unexpected company, or another situation come up where you need to put off eating one of your meals. Be sure to always add some meat for the freezer to your grocery list. This will ensure you have something already available if there’s an unexpected change in your schedule.
Idea #3 – Add plenty of fruits and veggies to your list.Â
Even though your meals come with the fruits and veggies you need for the specific meal, there won’t be anything extra for snacks or other meals. Be sure to add fresh fruits and veggies to your list. If you love certain fresh fruits and veggies that don’t already come with your meal delivery service, you can easily add them to the recipes and further customize your experience.
Idea #4 – Cut down on your trips to the store
Impulse buys are a significant reason why our food budget suffers. If you are investing in a meal delivery service, you’ll likely needless trips to the store. Be intentional about your shopping list and reduce the number of trips you take to the store and you’ll help keep the balance between meal delivery costs and regular shopping.
Ordering from a meal delivery service won’t eliminate your need for grocery shopping. Finding the balance between what you need from the store and what’s provided isn’t that hard. Over time you’ll adjust and learn what items you need that will support the meal delivery service.
Taste and See- Switching Up Meal Delivery Systems Can be Fun!
Joining a meal delivery service can be a bit of a shot in the dark. They all have great marketing and pretty good reviews. Ultimately, it’s a personal preference that determines your satisfaction. If you aren’t fully in love with your service, consider trying multiple to see which one meets your needs best.
Companies differentiate themselves by specializing in something unique. What draws your attention might shift over time. The more familiar you are with ordering meals online, the more scrutinizing you may become too. It’s ok to want to try something new and see if you like it better. You can always go back if you ultimately prefer one over the other.
Here are some typical reasons why you may want to switch it up and try a different service.
You're Trying a New Diet Plan
If you are diving into a new diet plan, you might want to taste and see what another company has to offer. Some meal delivery services specialize in paleo, keto, or organic foods. It can be fun to try out a new diet plan when someone else creates the recipes and sources the food for you.
You’re Bored
Sometimes you get bored with the same ol’ thing. There’s nothing wrong with switching things up to taste and see what another company has to offer.
Financial Incentive
Let’s be honest, the market is competitive. There may be an offer that comes your way to try a new company. Take advantage of offers that get you more for your money!
Customer Service
Client experience is everything. If there’s something difficult about working with your current service, it might make sense to try another. Many companies offer added features to enhance your experience. Why not try out various companies and see which offers the best overall experience?
Your Skills Are Changing
You may have signed up for a meal delivery service based on your skill level at the time. Chances are you’ve gotten better and better and you may be ready for something more advanced. That’s a great reason to switch and see if you can enhance your skills and increase your variety.
Your Schedule is Changing
You may have more or less time for cooking which could mean you need more or less support from your delivery service. If you are low on time, it might be a great time to find a service that does most or all of the work for you. If you have more time than you once had, it might be a fun time to do some extra chopping and prep.
There’s nothing written in stone when it comes to a meal delivery service. There are lots of reasons why you may want to shake things up and try one or two…or more companies over time. Have fun with it and taste and see the benefits of each company.