Meal Kits

Home Chef is yet another entry in the meal kit service roster; meals start at $7.99 per serving, depending on what you’re eating.

But unlike many other services of this nature, you can choose meals according to special dietary requirements.

The service also offers breakfasts, smoothies, and lunch.

It certainly seems to be an innovative company, and that bodes well for clients. Does it measure up in terms of service, though?

Let’s check it out more thoroughly in this review.

How Does Home Chef Work?

All you need to do is to enter your zip code; the service does not deliver to the whole country yet, but it delivers to a lot of it. Once you’ve checked that they cover your area, it’s time to make your choices.

Next up, fill in your preferences to let Home Chef know what meals you like. This step is where you can choose low-carb meals, no soy meals, and so on.

Another aspect of this service that is slightly different is that you’ll receive an email on Monday, detailing your choices for the week. You’ll get fifteen options to choose from, so there is bound to be something for everyone.

The company also offers a “Customize It” option. With this option, you’re able to swap out the protein in some recipes, or even double it if you prefer. You have to make sure that you reply to the email by Friday of the same week, though.

From there on, sit back and wait for the kit to be delivered.

The box contains fresh ingredients, comprehensive recipe cards, and whatever you need to make the recipe. You’re expected to have some basics at home, like oil and basic seasonings. Everything else is provided, though.

Each ingredient is packed and clearly labeled so you can sort the recipe easily. The veggies are prepped already to save you time, and all of the packaging is recyclable.

The box itself is lined with biodegradable fibers and is insulated; ice packs keep the food fresh.

The recipes are easy to follow with step-by-step instructions, and the chefs include their cooking tips along the way. You’ll not only learn to make the recipe but also improve your overall culinary skills.

If you need to cancel or skip a particular week, that’s no problem. You do have to make sure that you cancel by noon on the Friday before your delivery is scheduled.

If you do so, there are no charges or penalties to pay, and you can resume the service any time you like.

Types of Meals Available

You’ll start by creating a dietary profile.

Choose between:

• Omnivore
• Seafood
• Meat
• Pescatarian
• Vegan
• Vegetarian

You’ll also be asked to list your preferences or special dietary requirements, such as:

• Ingredients you don’t want
• Whether you want low-carb or low-calorie meals
• If you require dairy-free meals
• Other preferences like avoiding gluten

You have a choice between premium meals and standard meals.

The premium meals contain more high-value, specialist foods, and if a meal is marked in orange, you can change the protein or increase the quantity of protein.

Home Chef also offers five-minute lunches, which arrive ready to eat, and are excellent for grabbing on your way out of the door.

In addition, you’re able to add a fruit basket or smoothie if you like. This is one of the other things that sets this service apart among the best meal delivery services.

Pricing

The pricing depends on the meal type. You must order a minimum of two servings.

The company incentivizes ordering more by paying the shipping on orders over $45. Orders under that amount incur a standard shipping charge of $10 a box.

The fees are as follows:

• The Standard Meals: $19.90 for two servings or $38.80 for four servings.
• The 5-Minute Lunch Meals: $15.98 for two servings or $3.96 for four servings.
• The Smoothies: $9.90 for two servings or $19.80 for four servings.
• The Fruit Baskets: $9.90 for two servings or $19.80 for four servings.
• Premium Meal: The prices vary and are market-related.

Company History

The company was started in 2013. The founder, Pat, wanted to provide a healthy alternative to takeout.

The idea was to provide an easy alternative for busy people who didn’t always have time to shop.

The company has expanded to cover 97% of the American population and produces millions of meals a month.

Some of the product line can also be found in grocery stores.

Alternatives

• Daily Harvest: Focuses completely on health foods and offers single-serving sizes.
• Sunbasket: Offers paleo and clean alternatives as well as the normal fare.
• Veestro: Offers a selection of plant-based meals and an a la carte menu.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Tasty meals with simple recipes that are easy to prepare
• Convenient
• Lunches available as well
• You can opt to add a fruit basket
• A lot of customization is allowed
• Low-carb and low-calorie options are available
• Pick all of your meals
• Easy to cancel your subscription or suspend deliveries for a while if you like or skip a week if you don’t like the meals for that week
• The portions are reasonably sized
• The ingredients are prepped and sorted by recipe
• Free shipping for orders over $45
• You can find the product line in grocery stores if you’d like to try it out first
• Delivers to 97% of the United States

Cons

• Premium meals can be on the expensive side
• The standard meals are not badly priced, but the others are a little on the high side
• A seasoned chef might find the selection boring

Home Chef Review Final Thoughts

The meals offered through Home Chef are relatively simple, and if you’re a top-notch cook, you’d probably find them a little boring.

For most people, though, there is enough of a creative twist to make the meals interesting.

Pricewise, it’s about average for meal kit delivery services. The advantage of having the proportioned recipes is that you don’t waste ingredients.

Being on a plant-based diet usually means that you will have to prepare your own meals, for the most part, to maintain your healthy eating habits.

You’d probably imagine it would be difficult to track down a dedicated meal delivery service that can suit this particular need.

However, Veestro is an exciting twist to this narrative…and if you read on below, you’ll soon know how.

How Does Veestro work?

Veestro is a California-based vegan meal delivery company. This company was established by vegans for vegans and lives up to its claims with a vast selection of carefully-selected vegan meals.

To get started on Veestro all that you need is an internet connection.

Go to their site and pick your plan from any of the three available. Once you understand what each plan is all about have found the right fit for you, you can then move on by clicking the ‘Get started’ button.

This action will lead you to a page where you will see the different delivery options available under each plan.

Select the right amount of deliveries that you want and the frequency. Once you have this set up and reviewed the pricing, proceed to check out—enter the necessary information to make the payment.

You will then have to enter your physical address (no P.O. boxes), and the delivery will be promptly dispatched.

Depending on your location, your delivery will take anywhere between one and four days to reach you. Once you have received your delivery, it’s time to dive in and start enjoying the fabulous meal that has been prepared with your health in mind.

Veestro allows its clients to make cancellations and to skip weeks, but this information needs to be communicated beforehand.

For cancellations, you will need to notify them at least seven days before your next delivery; failure to do this will mean that you get a delivery that most probably will not use, and you will get charged for it all the same.

Types of Meals Available

Being a vegan-focused service, you obviously will find no meat products on the menu at Veestro.

In addition to being vegan, the company also puts particular emphasis on having the right balance of all the essential nutrients.

If you are interested in high-protein products, then there is an option for you as well on Veestro. Veestro also only sources farm-fresh organic products that have been labeled as non-GMO.

However, the unfortunate thing is that depending on the distance you may be from the company, it can be hard getting these meals delivered to you at the appropriate temperature. However, Veestro puts much effort into the right packaging that helps preserve the meals for you.

Quick preparation is a priority as well, and you will be able to serve your meals in less than five minutes after they have been delivered to your doorstep.

In addition to the meals being vegan, Veestro also puts gluten-free clients in a top-priority position for menu options.

This is especially important for customers that may have allergies that prevent them from consuming gluten.

Pricing

Veestro has three plans available on its website:

1. A La Cartè –This plan allows you to hand-pick the ingredients that you would like to be included in the final product to be delivered to you. This plan requires that you know ahead of time what you want to make.
2. Chef’s Choice – This plan is most suited to new Veestro users or anyone that would like to eat a meal that has been hand-picked by a professional chef. This plan lists the chefs’ daily top picks for you to choose from.
3. Weight Loss – As its name suggests, this plan is meant to help you out with any weight issues that you might be having. It offers you a wide variety of meals that help you control your intake of calories with a daily maximum of 1,200 calories.

Typically, the pricing on Veestro starts at $117 for the most basic plan of 10 meals for two people.

These prices increase with each tweaking of the preferences and number of deliveries to be made. One has the option to choose between ten, twenty, and thirty meals.

The servings can be for two, four, or six people, and the deliveries can be made weekly or every other week.

This, however, changes for the Weight Loss package, in which there is a five- and seven-day plan.

Company History

Veestro, like most other meal delivery companies, has not been in the industry for long.

They were formed in 2012 with an aim to create healthy recipes for vegans. The company was among the very first vegan food delivery companies.

The success that it has experienced since its founding has made it one of the top meal kit options.

Alternatives

• Purple Carrot is a vegan ingredient delivery company that was founded in 2014.
• Daily Harvest is a farm-fresh meal delivery company that delivers 98% organic meals.
• Marley Spoon is a flexible meal delivery subscription service that delivers different meal recipes to your doorstep each week.

Pros

• Vegan – This company was built by vegans to serve other vegans.
• Weight loss plan – When eating for weight loss, Veestro’s Weight Loss Plan can help
• Recyclable packaging – Veestro stays true to its quest to ensure we live in a safe, sustainable environment, and all their packaging material is 100% recyclable.

Cons

• Pricey – Veestro is a bit pricey, as its plans start at $117 a week.
• No fresh pickup – Veestro does not have a central location that allows you to pick up your orders while fresh.

Veestro Review Final Thoughts

Veestro is a perfect fit for vegans that are looking to eat healthily but are not interested in cooking.

Additionally, this service is a great fit for anyone looking for a sustainable weight loss eating plan.

The sheer volume of meal kit delivery companies available nowadays can leave you lost on which one to decide on.

However, each company will suit some specific need for a particular group of customers.

Sun Basket is one such company, and this review looks at the services that they provide.

How Does Sun Basket Work?

The first thing you are required to do before using the Sun Basket services is register on their website.

The only unfortunate thing about this registration process is that it cannot be skipped; Sun Basket does not have a feature that allows you to order meals on their platform as a guest user; you must commit to a particular plan.

But registration is simple, and there is a prominent ‘Get Started’ icon when you load the company’s homepage — follow the prompts from there to have your account set up.

Future orders can be made from the service’s mobile app; the same goes for any account management activities.

You will then need to choose a plan that suits your specific needs and the number of people that you want the meals to serve.

Once you have this sorted out, proceed to the menu to choose what you want to eat. With your selections made, fill in your location details to make the delivery possible, and then checkout. Delivery dates can be selected—but then again, this will largely depend on where you are ordering from.

The deliveries are made in proper packaging that ensures the quality and freshness of the food is maintained.

Additionally, you will receive a recipe book that contains all the meals included for that week. This inclusion is a deviation from the norm, as most other meal delivery companies only offer recipe cards.

The recipe book allows you to try out different meals at home, and at the end of the book, there are engaging games for children to play while you cook.

Types of Meals Available

Sun Basket offers up to 18 meals per week. This extensive offering is a clear bonus over all other meal delivery companies that usually have no more than ten available. With Sun Basket, you can choose from a vegan diet (which is available up to three times a week), a vegetarian diet, and meat and fish diets.

Additionally, there are also gluten-free meals, as well as other variations for dietary restrictions.

All of Sun Basket’s meals are organically grown, and the meats are all hormone-free. Sun Basket endeavors to ensure that it sources every one of its meals from honest farmers that adhere to healthy and safe farming practices.

You will also have quick and easy meal options to choose from that allow you to prepare your dinner in a short time. If you are looking to add a bit of exotic flavoring to your week, there are also Mediterranean options—and as if that weren’t enough options, there are also Chef Picks.

The Chef Picks are made by the most respected experts in the industry.

Note that for all meals, you will need to have a few kitchen essentials on hand, such as salt and oil, that are not delivered with the package.

Also, there are some ready-made sauces that Sun Basket provides, which can be hard to replicate on your own at home.

Lastly, Sun Basket also has a wine shop on its list of services, so that you can to pair your meal with a perfectly complementary bottle of vino.

Pricing

Sun Basket has two general plans, the Classic Plan (three recipes per week), and the Family Plan (two to four recipes per week).

The Classic Plan starts at $11.99, and you will have servings for two or four people, depending on your preferences. In this plan, the total for the first box will cost you $71.94, and you will have access to up to 18 recipes that you can choose three from weekly.

The delivery cost is not included in the total price, and this will be charged separately depending on your location.

However, you will not be charged shipping on your first order.

The Family plan starts at $10.99 per serving, and you will have servings for four or six people as suits your needs. There are up to six recipes that you can choose two, three, or four from.

The total for the first box is $87.92. Just like the Classic plan above, the delivery fees are charged separately, but the first week is free.

Sun Basket allows you to cancel at any time, but you are required to cancel a week before your delivery which can prove quite inconvenient.

A good thing though, is that you can skip weeks in between and still resume where you left off.

The customer service is fast, but there are instances of accounts being suspended because of not communicating cancellations on time.

Company History

Sun Basket was founded in 2014 in California, employing around 400 people.

In its five years of operation so far, this company has grown to be one of the best meal delivery companies by offering up to 18 recipes a week.

Alternatives

• Hungryroot is a plant-centric meal delivery company that focuses on delivering nutritious meals to its customers.
• HelloFresh is a German-based meal-kit delivery company that operates in the U.S. and is among the largest market players.
• Veestro is an efficient, vegan meal recipe company that also offers a weight loss plan.

Pros

• Recipe book– Compared to other companies that only give you a recipe card, Sun Basket delivers a recipe book that can be used for far longer.
• Many weekly recipes – Sun Basket has 18 recipes available each week.

Cons

• Pricey – Compared to other companies, Sun Basket is more expensive.
• Suspension of accounts – Cases of account suspension without warnings are common with Sun Basket.

Sun Basket Review Final Thoughts

Sun Basket is a great option for someone looking for a wide variety of recipes to choose from.

The convenience of managing your account from a mobile app also makes this service a preferred one.

Whether or not you are a vegetarian, plant-based meals can be a great addition to weekly meal plans for their nutritional benefits.

Many times in life, it gets hard to keep up with a healthy diet.

A company like Purple Carrot that delivers plant-based meal kits to your door can really come in handy in this endeavor.

How Does Purple Carrot Work?

To place an order, you first have to go to the company’s website. Click on the ‘Get started’ button positioned at the middle of the screen. You will then be asked to choose between the two plans that will be presented to you on the next page.

Once you have picked the one that is most suitable for you, click on it to proceed to a new webpage.

Here, you will be asked to register an account on the platform.

If you have a Facebook account, this is made easy through the automatic profile registration process. Your data remains secure—and don’t worry, Purple Carrot will not post anything on your Facebook timeline.

You can then explore the extensive menu options available to you and choose what you want to have delivered.

Once registered, fill in the necessary delivery details—be sure to use your street address, and not a P.O. box. You can then proceed to the check out page…and then all you have to do is wait for your meal kit to be delivered.

Depending on where you are, expect delivery to take between one or two days.

The process is quite seamless, and you will receive a refrigerated box with your chosen meal plan along with a recipe card to help you prepare it.

Deliveries are typically made on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

For any cancellations or questions on how your deliveries will be made, Purple Carrot can be reached via email and phone.

The phone number is not available at night, but the email response team is always on standby to respond to your queries at any time.

Types of Meals Available

Purple Carrot has eight dinner recipes available each week that you can choose from.

The company also offers you the option to opt for quick-fix, gluten-free, or high-protein meals. This flexibility enables you to tailor your meals to the most suitable menu for you.

Additionally, Purple Carrot allows you to choose breakfast and lunch recipes as well. There are also top chef picks that are carefully selected to help you get the most out of a tasty and nutritious meal. And now, with their recent partnership with the TB12 plan, there is an option for athletes and super-physically active individuals.

As stated earlier, Purple Carrot focuses on plant-based meals.This makes it an unsuitable pick for someone that loves a hearty, meat-filled meal.

However, their vegetarian and vegan meals are well-worth exploring for anyone, as you can simply add a few meat-free meals to your week to reduce fat and calories in your diet.

And believe me when I say that you will not be disappointed when you taste them.

Pricing

The pricing for Purple Carrot’s products is dependent on the plan that you opt for.

The 1-2 person plan goes for $11.99 per serving. You will get three recipes a week for two people. Additionally, you will get free shipping, provided you live in one of the areas covered by Purple Carrot’s services.

The 4-6 person plan goes for $7.99 per serving. Here, you will get two recipes a week for meals that can each serve up to six people. Like the plan above, this one also offers free shipping.

Purple Carrot also occasionally offers discounts on your first order.

Be sure to check the availability of this at the time of registering on the platform; the offer should be prominently featured on the homepage. The company allows you to cancel at any time and also skip deliveries.

However, to skip your delivery for a particular day or week, you will have to let them know well in advance.

The recommended period for this is a week before the next delivery is made. Failure to do this will result in you having to pay for a meal that you did not intend to have delivered.

Company History

Purple Carrot was founded by Andy Levitt, a former pharmaceutical executive who, at age 40, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

Andy discovered the healing power of plants, and thus decided to start the company.

From then on, Purple Carrot has grown to be a reputable meal delivery company that also promotes healthy living. The company lives up to its founder’s goals by keeping all its meals below the 800-calorie mark.

Alternatives

If vegetarian meals don’t appeal to your taste buds, here are a few other meal services you can try:

• Every Plate is an affordable meal recipe delivery company that has plans starting at $4.99 per serving.
• Chef’s Plate offers delicious, nutritious meal plans starting at $8.99 per serving.
• Freshly delivers chef-prepared meals to your doorstep for $11.50 or less per serving.

Pros

• Low calories – All meals that Purple Carrot delivers contain 800 calories or less.
• Fast delivery – Compared to other top meal kit delivery services, Purple Carrot delivers its meals relatively fast, in one or two days.
• Mobile app – Purple Carrot has a mobile app that allows you to make your orders and manage your account from your smartphone.

Cons

• Limited options – Purple Carrot has a limited number of recipes per week for you to choose from.
• Not suitable for avid meat-lovers – For these folks, Purple Carrot may not be an option they’d even want to consider.

Purple Carrot Review Final Thoughts

Purple Carrot focuses on providing convenient and healthy meals, delivered to your doorstep.

Their plant-based menus are a great fit for vegetarians and people who would simply like to decrease the calorie and fat content in their meals.

And the convenience of ordering your meals on a mobile phone app makes Purple Carrot all the more appealing.

**UPDATE – Plated was purchases by Albertson’s grocery stores on September 20, 2017. In November of 2019 Albertson’s announced that they would be closing the Plated subscription service and would be selling plated meals in their stores.

You can try one of the current top meal kit services or visit an Albertson’s location to get a Plated meal kit. All information below is our review of the former Plated subscription service.

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Plated has a slightly different spin on the meal kit business; not only do they provide proportioned meal kits like the other services, but they also allow you to choose a dessert.

With this company, you can also indulge your sweet tooth.

But does the company deliver a great plate of food? Check out how the service works in this review.

How Does Plated Work?

The recipes are designed by professional chefs and feature cuisine from around the world. The cherry on top is that you can also select the perfect dessert to make.

Choose your meals from twenty different recipes every week.

Plated encourages clients to review the dishes so that they know what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong as a company. Their future menu choices will be influenced by these reviews.

You can choose whatever combination suits you; if you don’t like the upcoming meals, downgrade your order or skip the week.

It’s easy to swap recipes if you change your mind and you only order what you want.

The company requires six days’ notice before the delivery to process changes, however.

You’ll get the full recipe and the ingredients that you need for each meal. You’ll need to have some essentials at home, like olive oil, salt, and pepper.

The ingredients are portioned out beforehand, so there’s no waste.

You do need to order a minimum of two night’s meals per week, and you can opt for meals every night of the week if you like.

There are two, three, or four portions per meal options.

The ingredients are chosen based on what’s in season, the seafood is sustainably sourced, and the rest of the ingredients are farm fresh.

The company also looks for artisanal products that are difficult to source in stores.

Choose between:

• Omnivore
• Vegetarian
• Seafood Lover
• Dessert Seekers

The boxes are well-insulated and keep the food fresh throughout the day. This also means that you don’t have to be around when the delivery man arrives.

Types of Meals Available

The meals depend on what’s locally available, and there’s a good selection from all over the world.

If you’re more adventurous, you’re going to love this service. You might find Italian dishes one day, and Greek the next.

We love that you get to try recipes from around the globe because it makes it a lot more interesting. You can choose which recipes you like, so you don’t have to go too far out of your comfort zone, though.

The recipe cards walk you through each step and are written in simple terms everyone can understand.

Another thing that we like about this service is that they source products locally, and they try to support smaller farmers and local suppliers. This means that you’re also going to get a taste of artisanal products that you might otherwise miss.

All of the food is sustainably sourced and grown responsibly, and as far as possible, the produce is kept organic.

The meat is always free of hormones and antibiotics, and it’s pasture-raised when possible. The seafood is also sustainably sourced.

If you need to get dinner on the table as fast as possible, choose the quick meals; most of the meals can be prepared in less than half an hour.

If you’d like more of a challenge or can spend a little more time in the kitchen, they also have more complicated recipes.

Pricing

• Two servings two nights per week is the minimum order; you’ll pay $47.80 a week for this.
• Three servings, two nights a week will cost $59.70, and three servings, two nights a week will cost $79.60.
• Three nights a week will cost you $71.70 for two servings, $89.55 for three servings, and $119.40 for four servings.
• Four nights a week will cost you $95.60 for two servings, $119.40 for three servings, and $159.20 for four servings.

If you’re feeding a family of four, that’s a fair amount of cash. You do need to factor in that you save time and money by not going into the store to buy groceries, though.

That means fewer impulse buys and less wastage all around.

Company History

The company was founded in 2012 and was subsequently featured on TechStars and Shark Tank.

It made a big splash and was acquired by Albertsons for $300 million in 2017. It’s still rated as one of Shark Tank’s big success stories.

Alternatives

• Blue Apron: Blue Apron provides easy-to-prepare meals and even some Weight Watcher recipes.
• Purple Carrot: Specializes in plant-based meal kits only.
• Hungryroot: Specializes in clean eating and nutrient-dense meals.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• You get quality ingredients, locally sourced where possible
• The meats are hormone- and antibiotic-free
• The seafood is sustainably sourced
• There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing your meal. Choose any combination that suits you
• The recipes are easy to prepare with simple instructions
• The recipes are interesting and sourced from many different cultures worldwide
• It’s very convenient
• You can opt to receive desserts as well
• You can skip your box, or change your order easily
• The portion sizes are generous

Cons

• It can be expensive for larger families
• You need to give six days’ notice when you want to skip a box
• The dessert menu is limited

Plated Review Final Thoughts

The Plated recipes are fairly simple and range in the time needed to prepare them; some can be cooked from scratch and plated within twenty minutes.

The recipes are simple to prepare, but there’s a lot of variety—even a more seasoned chef should enjoy this service.

If you’re looking to improve your skills as a cook, this will prove quite interesting for you. You get to try different cooking styles in a more controlled environment.

Overall, the idea is that the food is as tasty as takeout and almost as simple to make. Most meals can be prepped and served in less time than it would take to drive to the drive-through and order.