Cheeseburgers are delicious. But they're also loaded with things that are really bad for our bodies like trans fats, processed flour, and refined sugar. That's why in recent years experts have suggested that it's best to avoid those fast-food favorites for a healthier alternative. But what's a body to do when comes mealtime, and they're hankering for something delicious? Well, for a growing number of people, healthy meal kit delivery services are the answer.
Convenient, efficient, and easy to use, a healthy meal kit comes with everything you need to satiate those hunger pangs and treat your body better at the same time. We know what you’re thinking; healthy cooking is just too hard. Well, think again. Thanks to pre-packaged ingredients, smart instructions, and time-saving tips, meal kits are making it possible for anyone to prep a finger-licking-good meal in minutes. Curious? Here’s everything you need to know about making the switch from your regular Happy Meal box to an upgraded (still happy!) healthy meal box today.
Before you can decide if this is the right option to satisfy your nutritional needs, you need to know what a meal kit is and what it is not. There are services that’ll bring you healthy prepared meals straight to your door. That’s not what we’re talking about.
Healthy meal kit delivery services bring all the ingredients you need to create a delectable dinner for you and your family or friends straight to your door. All you need to do is assemble and eat. It’s like Ikea for meals!
The most important distinction between healthy meal kits and prepared meals is that you’re the one doing the cooking. This is good for two reasons:
1. It’s cheaper: Ordering prepared meals constantly can add up and fast. Most people cannot sustain that kind of eating habit for too long. But signing up for a healthy meal delivery subscription can be affordable and delicious!
2. It tastes better: Anyone who has ever had a frozen dinner knows exactly what we’re talking about. No matter how good the quality and how quickly they freeze it, this option cannot compare to a fresh, home-cooked meal.
That being said, some of the best healthy meal delivery kits like Home Chef and HelloFresh can be ready to go in less than half an hour, some in just a few minutes!
Ok, so meal delivery kits might be starting to sound like a good option. Of course, the skeptic inside of you will question if healthy meal delivery services really exist? After all, healthy ingredients are generally not the cheap ones, which is why mass-produced food packages are usually loaded with junk like preservatives, additives, and other “ives” that will add more calories, zap nutrients, and decrease the health factor considerably.
Good news! Healthy meal kits do exist, and in abundance, in fact. As the world gravitates towards a healthier lifestyle in general, meal kit delivery services are taking note and making the shift as well. Take Green Chef as an example. It's the first USDA-certified organic meal kit delivery service, and it provides you with the healthiest ingredients, including non-GMO, antibiotics, pesticides, and growth hormones.
Sun Basket is another great option that cultivates a personal relationship with each of its fishermen, farmers, and ranchers to get only the best sustainable, fresh, and ethical products.
And don’t think that has to come with an exorbitant price tag. Services like EveryPlate have meal kits for as little as $4.99 a serving. So, now you really have no excuse!
The biggest reason people do not eat healthier is that it's just too darn hard! Cooking a pot of pasta and sauce is something just about anyone can do, and it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. So, while we all have high aspirations of treating our bodies better by fueling them with nutritious foods when life gets hectic (is it ever not?), and you're pressed for time (again?), most of us fall right back to our old, unhealthy ways. And another pasta dinner is born.
That's the beauty of healthy meal delivery kits. These healthy meal boxes are designed for convenience and speed, making it easier than ever to prepare delicious as well as HEALTHY meals for your family. There are several ways that meal delivery kit services make it a cinch for anyone to be a super chef:
The first step to making a home-cooked meal is the hardest for many people: menu planning. Creating a balanced meal that will taste good and work well together is a tricky task and one that many people avoid at all costs. And even if you've conjured up a lovely menu, you still have to find recipes to create those delectable details. Healthy meal delivery kits take all of the planning out of the picture. You can browse through delicious menus loaded with options, pick the ones you like, and order them straight to your door. It's dinner in minutes without the hassle!
The other thing that people hate about home cooking is the process before the cooking stage. You have to trek to the store, figure out which ingredients you need, stand in line, lug packages home, and only then when most people are finished for the day, can you start your cooking spree.
Healthy food delivery services alleviate all of that annoyance and work by doing the shopping for you and delivering everything you need straight to your doorstep. This is also a huge time-saver, so people who stress about not having enough time to make a home-cooked meal can actually save a lot of time by ordering their own healthy meal box to go.
The best part of all is the prepped ingredients. Some services go so far as to peel and dice the vegetables for you. You literally just open the packages, toss them together, and eat. Even ones that are more “elaborate” than that only require a few minutes and very minimal prep work. Just imagine opening your first healthy meal box. Everything comes neatly packaged, labeled, and ready to use. There’s no prep work required; just toss it in and go!
Don’t know about you, but we’ve opened many a cookbook and closed it again soon after with our heads spinning from the instructions. Lines and lines of text, a lot of which most people don’t even know the terminology being used, are intimidating and off-putting for most people.
And that’s another thing that meal kit delivery services do right. They offer easy to understand and easy to follow instructions for fast and fun home cooking. Hello Fresh is a great example of this. This healthy meal subscription service offers you possibly the easiest meal kits on the market. Even with zero cooking experience, you’d be hard-pressed to mess these meals up! Each kit comes with clear instructions telling you step-by-step how to prepare your meal.
Some services like Green Chef go one step further by color-coding ingredients, so you just can’t fail! Take out all of the ingredients of the same color to prepare a single meal. Leave the other colored ingredients in the box for the next time you’re ready to whip up a healthy meal kit.
And now, here’s the best part. Healthy meal box delivery services take all of the guesswork out of eating well. No calculations, no calorie counting, and no nutrient balancing. Everything is clearly worked out for you with dietician-approved, tasty, and healthy meal delivery plans. Some services like BistroMD and Diet to Go even have registered dieticians on staff to evaluate every single meal kit that goes out for nutritional value. Meals are crafted to contain the proper amounts of nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats, along with some great vitamins and minerals as well.
These healthy meal plans also provide you with another health benefit: controlled eating. One of the biggest reasons people aren’t losing weight is because we’ve grossly distorted our portions perception. Ask anyone how much food the average person needs to be satiated, and nine times out of ten, they’ll get it wrong. The same is true of eye-balling serving sizes. Even people who are trying to eat healthier usually end up getting it wrong, underestimating their serving sizes and the amount of calories they’re eating on a typical day.
But healthy meal subscription services can alleviate this issue. Since all of the ingredients for your meals are portioned for a healthy meal plan, you won’t succumb to overeating or miscalculations. This way, you are treating your body better, not overloading it with more calories than it can handle, and you’ll end up losing weight, looking good, and feeling great.
A word to the wise, though. Not all food delivery services were created equal, and some far outrank the rest. To get the best experience, ingredients, and options, do your research. Read a few healthy meal kit reviews, compare healthy meal kit prices and plans, and choose the one that has what you’re looking for.
If you compare healthy meal deliveries, you’ll see a lot of variety. Some won’t ship to your area, while others charge a lot for shipping. Some services offer fresh, organic ingredients, while others use whatever is cheapest. Healthy meal box reviews will tell you what real people think of them and what their experiences were with these services to give you the best idea of what to expect.
What’s more, healthy food delivery can actually save you money and be less wasteful. How often do you buy an entire package of something because a recipe calls for it, only to use a tablespoon, and then leave it sitting in your pantry for six months until it gets thrown out? All the time. Since ingredients are portioned out and delivered to you, you won’t have to buy extra ingredients.
It’s 2020, time to start taking control over your life, eating healthier, and treating yourself more kindly. That’s an easy resolution to check off thanks to healthy meal kits. Choose from the best healthy meal services on the market, and see the difference convenience can make to your health.