Meal Kit Delivery Service Reviews

Order a three piece and a biscuit PLUS an extra thigh. You're good to go. Take coleslaw over the macaroni salad if your extra health conscience.

Hmm...post the link to Martha. I've done Sunbasket and Hello Fresh. Both were good. I had no problems with Sun Basket but maybe it's what I've ordered and received. Everything was really good, healthy, great for portion control. I get the low carb options because I've been a fat whore during COVID-19 and it needs to change.

OP, is there some reason you can't plan your own meals and shop for the ingredients and prepare them yourself? Serious question -- I just don't understand what these services have to offer someone who describes himself as "a pretty good cook".

They're terrible because of all the waste they produce in shipping them to your house.

[quote]They're terrible because of all the waste they produce in shipping them to your house.

This is the part that bothers me, too. The boxes have to be insulated and full of ice packs and all of that gets thrown out.

[quote]OP, is there some reason you can't plan your own meals and shop for the ingredients and prepare them yourself?

Obviously, I can. That's not the issue.

With not going out to restaurants anymore, I was just looking for something that would offer new types of food I might not think to prepare.

For example, tonight I prepared Greek skewers with pear salad. Both the skewers and salad had ingredients I would not have otherwise chosen to include, but they were both very good.

I'm just looking for something for two nights a week. I will prepare food for all the other nights.

Here are the Martha Stewart meals:

There's a lot of COVID handling going on with these "fresh" meal kits and delivery. You're always better to order hot food that had to be cooked to order. Greek skewers and pears is not exactly hard to make more safely. What a risk old boring men take. One sneeze and your dead.

These companies are like the AOL of 2020: VERY easy to join, but hard to depart.

You can change anything on their websites -- except to leave.

[quote] if your extra health conscience.

Double "oh, dear."

You waddled right into my trap R10. Now I know that you're over 75! Eat your pears, gramps. Ancient grammar fags with their weird food rules and skin care regimes are so fucking ridiculous. Y'all love to give advice when that's all you've left to give.

[quote] There's a lot of COVID handling going on with these "fresh" meal kits and delivery.

please cite your source R8

According to the WHO: [quote] Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that handling food or consuming food is associated with COVID-19.

OK, R6/OP -- I don't mean to criticize, I'm just mystified. I love to eat and like to cook so, now that there's more time for planning and fixing meals, I have no problem coming up with "new types of food I might not think to prepare". I'm in Calif, where pretty much everything grows and people from all over the world operate ethnic markets full of unusual ingredients. I explore new ideas and recipes on the internet, then go out and find whatever looks good and play around with it in the kitchen -- some experiments turn out better than others, but I'm pretty well fed overall. I know I'm lucky to be healthy and able to afford the price of shopping around but, as long as that's the case, I'm not inclined to turn the project over to Martha Stewart.

I get it OP, sometimes it’s fun to try something new that is surprising and easy. Try Martha and see how it goes.

[quote]I have just signed up for "Sun Basket" because their food is supposed to be healthy and organic.

You do realize that organic produce has no added nutritional benefit over conventionally grown produce, nor are there zero "pesticides", and they're not even better for the soil, so don't be sucked in.

R8 / r11 = the "Gramps" troll. Punch and delete.

One thing that drives me crazy about companies like Sun Basket is that they make it VERY easy to sign up, change, and up-charge your orders online-- but you can't quit.

You have to find an 800 number buried in the website, call it, and deal with a human who tries to talk you out of leaving.

It reminds me of AOL. Easy to join, hard to leave.

R13 What you are saying is that it isn't your preference to use such a service.

So you can't answer my question, but felt the need to post about your superiority anyway.

I'd pat you on the back, but you beat me to it.

You can crab about it all you want but I think it's a legitimate question: why do you even need a meal kit service? You can get groceries delivered and look up recipes for free, and it's less cost to you, less waste, less hassle when you want to cancel because you don't actually have to cancel anything.

You say you'll prepare food the rest of the week but you have to prepare the food from kits, too.

R19 Do what works for you, you censorious scold.

Okay, seriously, if you think what I said is literally censoring you, then you may be too delicate for Datalounge.

OP the main one I see advertised everywhere is Hello Fresh. They clearly must be doing something right.

[quote]Okay, seriously, if you think what I said is literally censoring you, then you may be too delicate for Datalounge.

R21 Censorious does not mean "to censor."

It means "faultfinding or carping."

You're, clearly, more at home in a kitchen than a library.

You two motherfuckers stop fighting or I'll turn this car around!

There are WAY too many of these companies and when the dust settles there will probably only be a few survivors. Some have already gone under ... Plated got sold to Albertsons and now they only do in-store meal kits.

It reminds me of a few years back when there were all of those places where fraus could go and prep a meal together. Or the multitude of franchises that offered to sell your stuff on eBay. Have you heard of any of them lately? A passing fad that failed.

Meal delivery services are fine until the day you're craving chicken and it turns out you've ordered some sort of beef stew.

[quote] You can crab about it all you want but I think it's a legitimate question: why do you even need a meal kit service?

We have been using Hello Fresh for a couple of years and added Home Chef in March. My reasons:

1. Both my partner and I are home every days. That's 14 meals I'd have to plan. Hard to come up with 14 unique meals per week.

2. Shopping in NYC is hell. You can only buy what you can carry home. Even with the meal delivery kits, I still have to go get things like olive oil, paper towels, breakfast stuff, salad makings, desserts, etc. That's enough for me to worry about. Lack of storage means multiple trips to the store as it is, I'm not willing to add more.

3. Portion control. The meal kits give you enough for two people. Add a salad and we're good. No second helpings and no leftovers. We're both maintaining our weight while our friends keep complaining they're getting fat.

4. The ability to try new things without having to buy a whole jar of something when you need just a teaspoon for the recipe.

5. Easy to follow instructions. I love the Times food section, but their instructions sometimes leave me baffled. Both meal kits I use come with idiot-proof, illustrated instructions.

6. You have the ability to select your meals about a month ahead of time and it's easy to put weeks 'on hold' when you go on vacation. I usually sit down and plan a month's worth of deliveries at a time and then I can forget about it.

R18, I don't feel superior to you, just curious as to why you do it the way you do. Which seems to boil down to your way is easier for you and you prefer it. We wouldn't enjoy trading places with each other, so it's good that we don't have to. That's what makes horse races! Have a nice dinner, however you get it.

[quote] Shopping in NYC is hell. You can only buy what you can carry home.

There are many services like this R27

One nice thing about the kits is that if the recipe calls for, say, 1 T of black vinegar, you don't have to buy a whole bottle.

I do find the portions to be a bit small -- and I'm no fatty.

I did make a recipe last night and it had some unusual touches I wouldn't have opted for - even if I'd seen the recipe. But they turned out to add some great flavors.

I've tried Hellofresh, Blue Apron, Plated, and Home Chef. Plated was the best but what they all have in common is too many simple carbs. All the meals rely on potatoes,pasta, rice, or bread.

r31 Can't you customize your meal choices to eliminate or reduce carbs? I thought they had options for people on different types of diets, like keto/Atkins.

I've thought about giving them a try. I do like to cook, and I'm retired and live alone, so it would probably work for me -- one meal, and one day of leftovers (or lunch the next day.) I'm not a super adventurous eater, and I don't eat fish at all, so which would be the best service for someone like me? Which has the most choices and gives you the best value for the money?

R32 a lot have low carb options.

My experience with Sun Basket is that there were very few carbs.

Martha Stewart seems to have more carbs.

I don’t like to cook so Freshly is great for me. Very good healthy delicious food at a reasonable price.