Food delivery has revolutionized dinnertime. Today, it’s possible to go online or pick up the phone and call for a meal. Many restaurants even have apps that let you order quickly and easily, and reward you for ordering frequently. If you live in an urban area, chances are you have access to a wide variety of food above and beyond the standard pizza delivery.
While calling delivery from a local restaurant has long been an option for dealing with hunger, it’s only recently that make-your-own meal services have appeared on the scene. These food delivery services give you all the ingredients and allow you to do the cooking in the comfort of your own home. They’re prepared fresh, which means that you don’t end up with a sub-par meal.
Services such as Plated, HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Terra’s Kitchen, PeachDish, Chef’d, Home Chef, and Purple Carrot are designed for busy people who don’t have time to do the prep-work involved in putting together a healthy, nutritious meal. Here’s an overview of what each service provides:
- Plated. With Plated, you get to choose from a selection of recipes. Recipes are developed by chefs but are simple enough for the average person to master.
- HelloFresh. HelloFresh is an international food delivery service with branches all over the world. They offer meal kits with local ingredients and step-by-step recipes that are developed and delivered on a weekly basis. They offer special boxes for families, vegetarians, and additional fruit.
- Blue Apron. Blue Apron offers free delivery across the nation. You get to choose as many weekly recipes as you want and ingredients are pre-measured. Delivery is on a weekly basis. They offer how-to videos online.
- Terra’s Kitchen. Terra’s Kitchen focuses on delivering healthy meals. Ingredients are seasonal, pre-proportioned, and prepped to ensure that cooking takes less time. You get to choose from their ever-changing online menu.
- PeachDish. With PeachDish, you create a weekly meal plan from their selection of recipes. They use regional and seasonal ingredients, which are delivered to you.
- Chef’d. Chef’d features recipes from renowned chefs and high-quality ingredients delivered straight to your door.
- Home Chef. The Home Chef meal service focuses on meals that you can prepare in less than 30 minutes.
- Purple Carrot. The purple carrot is a vegan meal delivery service. It takes the work out of eating a plant-based diet by allowing you to choose vegan recipes. Delivery is included. Purple Carrot provides an environmentally ethical meal service.
Most people are surprised at the quality of these services. Not only will you widen your culinary horizons, you’ll also improve your skills in the kitchen by following the recipes provided. The ingredients come with a recipe with step-by-step instructions, which means that cooking doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders—the whole family can get involved.
Reviews indicate that meal delivery services provide ingredients that are at least as fresh as those you would find in a supermarket. Meal delivery services are an ideal option for people who don’t have time to create a healthy meal plan and go to the grocery store. They’re becoming more and more popular.