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5 Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services 2024: Top Brand Reviews
Updated on
- Written by Mitchelle Morgan, Health Writer
Medically reviewed by
Melissa Mitri, MS, RD
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Bistro MD
- Dietician certified meals.
- Meals designed to help you lose weight
- Gluten-free, cardio-healthy, and diabetic-friendly meals
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Fresh N Lean
- Non-frozen, fresh meals.
- Non-genetically modified organism (GMO) and fresh ingredients
- Meals can be refrigerated to extend shelf life
Freshly
- Fresh meals with no additives or extra sugar
- An affordable option for large family meals
- Gluten free certified by a reputable brand
Nothing compares to a wholesome meal cooked at home. However, not all of us have the opportunity, time, and patience to rush to the grocery store frequently, follow meal prep steps, drop it in an oven, and wait for it to be ready before we can enjoy a meal.
Fortunately, there are simple options for individuals with hectic schedules trying to reduce their intake of processed foods and takeout. Wonderful, premade meals can be delivered to your door by prepared meal delivery services, saving time-consuming effort and allowing you to eat warm meals that are freshly prepared.
There are also many possibilities for individuals who care about their health and those who follow specialty diets like veganism and vegetarianism, have diabetes, or want to limit carbohydrates.
However, before we get into the best prepared meal delivery service and what they offer, let us first understand these services.
5 Best Prepared Meal Delivery Services In (April. 2024)
- Bistro MD – Best Pre-Made Meals Delivery Services for Weight Loss
- Fresh N Lean – Best Fresh Pre-Made Meal Delivery Service
- Freshly – Editor’s Choice
- Splendid Spoon – Best Wide Variety of Healthy Meals
- Purple Carrot – Best for Plant-Based Pre-Made Meal Options
What Are Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
The best meal delivery service providers ship fully prepared meals to your door. Unlike meal kit services, which need some preparation (which typically involves cooking), these prepared dishes are sent fully prepared. Some of these are frozen meal delivery services, whereas others are sent fresh.
They provide a variety of low-effort, prepared foods that one can heat. The above services may be a breath of convenience, especially at the end of a long and stressful day. These services mean the consumer can avoid the long queues at the grocery store at the end of each day. Not only that, but they skip the entire cooking process and go straight to eating their meal after preheating it for just a few minutes.
Most prepared meal delivery companies provide distinctive and personalized meal options to meet your unique dietary needs (from portion sizes to amount of protein). Furthermore, they can cater to specific food restrictions such as low-carb, gluten-free, low-FODMAP, and vegetarian. This contrasts with the olden days’ mundane TV dinners or frozen foods.
Who Should Try Prepared Meal Delivery Services?
Anybody who wants quick meals but is unwilling to shell out the cash for pricey takeout will benefit significantly from meal delivery.
Dieters can benefit significantly from meal packages as well. You may control your weekly intake of fat, carbohydrates, sugar, and calories with the aid of several services that cater to Low FODMAP, Whole30, paleo diets, organic, keto, vegetarian, and vegan dieters.
Families should choose meal packages with more significant serving sizes. For example, some meal delivery services offer family-size meal packages at about $5 per person.
Who Are Meal Delivery Services Not For?
Although some food services are reasonably priced, ordering food is typically more costly than preparing it yourself. As such, meal delivery services might not be suitable for those with a minimal food budget.
Food delivery services may not be sufficient if you’ve got an excessively huge appetite or high-calorie needs. Most meal sizes are enough for an average individual; however, they may not be adequate for people with extremely high-calorie needs.
People who must adhere to stringent food restrictions or have severe allergies may also not wish to use food delivery services. Always ensure that no allergens are cross-contaminated whenever the culinary crew is cooking meals, and speak with your doctor first.
5 Best Ready-To-Eat Meal Delivery Services In 2024
Bistro MD
Bistro MD is the best meal delivery service for weight loss. You begin your weight reduction regimen by mapping out each meal in a very simple way.
- Dietician-certified meals
- Meals designed to help you lose weight
- Gluten-free, heart-healthy and diabetic-friendly meals
- Mainly geared for weight loss
This service provides dietitian-designed meals to help you reach your weight reduction goals as well as gluten-free, heart-healthy, and diabetic-friendly meals. There is also a food plan made exclusively for menopausal women to address the unique nutritional demands at this stage in life.
After you’ve decided on your plan, you may choose how many dishes you desire. Following the most robust regimen with meals 7 days a week is the most straightforward approach to removing the guesswork from regular meal planning.
The program covers breakfast, lunches, and supper for seven days, plus one evening a week to pamper yourself with your favorite dish. You can also choose only to get lunch and supper for five days.
Over 150 meals are made accessible weekly, making it simple to follow the meal plan without getting bored. Although Bistro MD has a continuous paid service, you may always suspend or end it at any time.
Registered nutritionists create the meal plan strategy based on your requirements, goals, and taste preference. You do always have the ability to accept or reject dishes from your food rotation menu.
Fresh N Lean
Although the company might not be as flexible as other competitors, customers are assured that their meal is not only freshly prepared but that it arrives at their door fresh, without being frozen.
- Fresh, never frozen meals
- Non-GMO and high-quality ingredients are used
- Meals can be refrigerated to extend shelf life
- Keto and paleo diets are available
- Not as flexible regarding the available meal options
Whereas many prepared food delivery businesses offer frozen dishes, Fresh n’ Lean exclusively delivers fresh, non-frozen dishes that keep the texture and flavor of the items inside. Natural, non-GMO, and preservative-free ingredients are used in making meals by the company’s chefs.
A vacuum-sealed dish has a refrigeration storage period of between seven and ten days. However, you may freeze the dishes to extend their shelf-life for six to eight weeks when necessary.
Fresh n’ Lean caters to a range of nutritional needs, including ketogenic[3], vegan, low-calorie vegan, protein+, bulking, and Paleo. One can change plans or deactivate their membership at any time.
Among the most excellent features of Fresh n’ Lean dishes are the ability to eliminate up to three items from any meal plan due to dietary constraints, tastes, and preferences.
Fresh N Lean is also the best prepared meal delivery service for singles. You can exclude the main common allergies[4] from the meal using a different option. The price varies based on the number of meals you choose throughout the week; however, the average price is $9.33 for each dish.
Freshly
The business offers the most affordable certified gluten-free meals. They are a good option, especially for those looking for a delicious meal they can share with family.
- No additives or extra sugar
- An affordable option, especially for those with a family
- Gluten-free certified by a reputable brand
- Dairy-free and delicious meals
- Shipping costs extra
Although the idea of ready-delivery orders may sound like an indulgence; you can now benefit from the chance to have Freshly’s prepared and quality food[1] shipped to your door for less than the cost of a take-out meal. They offer plant-based meals, low-carb diets[2], and gluten-free meal options.
When you subscribe to Freshly’s service, you can order cooked meals for as little as $8.99 per dish. You can choose from four, six, ten, or twelve meals per week., Over 30 delicious alternatives are available on the weekly rotating menu, and new items are frequently introduced. Freshly also recently launched FreshlyFit; which provides low-carb and high-protein meals that are well-suited to the paleo and keto diets.
Each dish is free of gluten, and The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIP) has certified Freshly as gluten-free food service.
Each meal is delivered fresh, never frozen, which makes Freshly one of the best-prepared meal delivery service providers. The business’s tagline is “just heat and eat.” However, if the consumer does not want to enjoy the meals right away, they may refrigerate the separately vacuum-sealed dishes.
Splendid Spoon
Splendid Spoon has over 50 healthful gluten-free prepared snacks and meals ranging from beverages and soups to grains and pasta bowls.
- Allows customers to order meals in large quantiles
- Healthful meals
- A wide range of meals to choose from each week
- Not as tasty as meals from other providers
You may select from many meal plans, such as the Breakfast package with five beverages, a Lunch plan with five stews and grain meals, or a mix of the two. Splendid Spoon suggests refrigerating the food after unpacking it to extend its shelf life by one to three months.
We suggest Splendid Spoon for those who desire nutritious meals in a hurry. The meals taste bland because they are not well seasoned.
While Splendid Spoon does not allow you to adjust how many meals you get with each plan, you may select how frequently you would like to get the meals, such as once a week, every other week, or only once per month. The option of an On-Demand Box allows you to order meals in large quantities.
Purple Carrot
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This company is not only about providing healthy prepared meals but also helps needy communities and promotes sustainable business practices.
- Option to change orders using an app
- No shipping or delivery fees
- A variety of plant-based meal options
- More costly per serving compared to others
- Does not allow customization
Purple Carrot, one of the most recognizable plant-based food delivery services, was established in 2014. Like many other delivery companies, the business began by offering meal kits before introducing prepared choices in response to customer requests. Weeknight choices for its plant-based dinner options are now available, and they take two minutes to prepare inside the microwave.
Purple Carrot partners with the Farmlink Project with the goal of reducing food waste. They do this by donating excess organic produce[5] to underserved communities that need it. Additionally, their meals generally consist of organic and non-GMO ingredients. Additionally, everything in boxes delivered by the company is entirely recyclable.
How We Selected Our Picks?
Our decisions were based on expert analysis and tester opinion, which considered general satisfaction, quality of meals, price, recycling measures, and accessibility. Our top selections for the finest delivered prepared meals provide various options, including vegan, gluten-free, and much more.
We also observed that several testers like the ability to customize their meals. Even though the taste is personal, we chose companies that received many positive reviews from testers.
Our testing led us to the conclusion that the businesses highlighted above merit praise for their achievements in their respective areas. However, given how quickly the prepared meal delivery food market area[6] is expanding, more new players will probably start sprouting soon.
Here are some factors we look at when selecting the best pre-made delivery meal kit delivery service.
Quality of Ingredients
We sought services emphasizing quality and fresh, high-quality ingredients.
Deliciousness
We are aware that flavor is a personal experience. Nevertheless, some providers offer tastier selections than others.
Variety Of The Menu
Variety is supposedly the essence of life. Priority was awarded to businesses providing a wide range of meals to pick from to keep people interested in the meal delivery service.
Dietary Possibilities
We provided options to fit a variety of nutritional demands and tastes, whether you usually aim to eat a well-rounded diet or implement a vegan, paleo, or diabetes-friendly regimen.
Cost
Like everything else, the price is essential, especially for a regular service like meal delivery. We picked services with a wide range of costs for their meals to cater to those with different budgets.
Final Thought: Are Premade Meal Services Worth It?
Yes, these services are worth it. You can have nutritious meals at home with very minimal preparation and clean-up.
Premade meal delivery services designed for vegetarians, vegans, active individuals, and those seeking diabetic-friendly or low-carb diets are among the options available.
Make sure to take into account factors like price, accessibility, quality, and variety when choosing a prepared meal delivery service.
Frequently Asked Questions
The customers subscribe to a meal plan by the provider and then select the dishes they want to include. After this, the delivery service will prepare and deliver restaurant-quality meals to the customer’s doorstep.
Freshly. However, depending on your taste preferences and dietary restrictions, one of the other options mentioned above might be a better fit.
Freshly. The premade meal delivery services have budget-friendly meal plans and can accommodate even large families with a lower per-serving cost.
Most of the services mentioned above are healthy. However, services such as Purple Carrot, Splendid Spoon, and Bistro MD stand out.
The best meal delivery services are more costly than cooking from scratch, but for a good cause. They can assist you in meeting your dietary goals while saving you a lot of work and time inside the kitchen. They are a great option for anyone who needs help to fit in balanced meals. Furthermore, they are not always more pricey than take-out. Anyone who frequently seeks fast quality food on the run might save money by storing a nutritious prepared meal delivery dish in their freezer.
+ 6 sources
Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here
- Petrescu, D.C., Vermeir, I. and Petrescu-Mag, R.M. (2019). Consumer Understanding of Food Quality, Healthiness, and Environmental Impact: A Cross-National Perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, [online] 17(1), p.169. doi:10.3390/ijerph17010169.
- Mooradian, A.D. (2020). The Merits and the Pitfalls of Low Carbohydrate Diet: A Concise Review. The journal of nutrition, health & aging, [online] 24(7), pp.805–808. doi:10.1007/s12603-020-1417-1.
- Masood, W., Pavan Annamaraju and Uppaluri, K.R. (2022). Ketogenic Diet. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499830/
- Nih.gov. (2020). Food allergies: Overview. [online] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK447107/
- Organic food and health. (2020). Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny, [online] pp.131–136. doi:10.32394/rpzh.2020.0110.
- Keeble, M., Adams, J., Sacks, G., Vanderlee, L., White, C.M., Hammond, D. and Burgoine, T. (2020). Use of Online Food Delivery Services to Order Food Prepared Away-From-Home and Associated Sociodemographic Characteristics: A Cross-Sectional, Multi-Country Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, [online] 17(14), p.5190. doi:10.3390/ijerph17145190.
Written by:
Mitchelle Morgan, Health Writer
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
