Picky Eaters Meal Delivery Services

Have you ever got home at the end of the day, decided you don’t want to have to cook dinner, and headed straight to a meal delivery app or called up your local takeaway restaurants to help you out?

If you have, then you’re just like millions of other people across the United States and plenty of other parts of the world too! However, there is another alternative to the takeaway apps and Chinese restaurants in your neighborhood…

Meal delivery services are becoming increasingly popular because they offer convenience and variety at a low cost. Not to mention, they also allow customers to customize their meals according to their preferences.

That’s right, the days of having to carefully remove the pickles from your burger or eat around the mushrooms in your pasta sauce are over! Plenty of meal delivery services now give their customers full control over how they want their meals to be prepared. 

This is just one of the many reasons why more and more picky eaters are converting to the ways of the meal delivery service and enjoying all the extra free time it gives them.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at some top meal delivery services for the diner with a slightly more selective palate and helping you decide which is best for your needs.

What Is A Meal Delivery Service?

It’s easy to confuse a meal delivery service with something like UberEats or Postmates which is just a takeaway service.

Apps like the ones we’ve just mentioned will simply deliver food from food and drink establishments to your home and charge you for the convenience of not having to go out and get it yourself.

While this is pretty convenient at first, the added costs can quickly stack up. Not to mention the fact that you’re limited to the menus of restaurants near where you live.

A meal delivery service differs because it will give you the ingredients and instructions to make your meals, but you’ll still have to cook them yourself.

With most services, you’ll be able to choose from a list of menu items and even tailor dishes to your own dietary wants and needs.

Then, the ingredients will be delivered to your doorstep, pre-portioned out, with recipe instructions in the box so there’s no guesswork involved, and you can guarantee yourself a delicious meal.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the best online meal delivery services out there:

Home Chef

Home Chef is an award-winning meal delivery service that offers everything from healthy breakfasts and lunches to gourmet dinners and desserts.

The company was founded by two former chefs who wanted to create a meal delivery service that would provide customers with high-quality meals without any hassle.

The company has been serving its customers since 2009 and currently operates in Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and Vietnam!

You’ll start off your Home Chef journey with a quick quiz about your dietary preferences so that they can work out which meals will be best for you.

Once it comes back with some suggestions about what you might like, you can customize any order in just about whatever way you like. Feel free to add ingredients, remove ingredients, or change quantities

Home Chef is one of the best around because of the high level of versatility it offers. For example, you can choose from a wide selection of 15-minute meals as well as some fancier dishes from their culinary collection.

You could basically eat Home Chef meals every day for weeks and not get bored!

Overall, this service offers the best combination of affordability and quality. Plenty of customers have confirmed how impressive the quality of ingredients is for such a reasonable price per meal.

Sun Basket

If you’re looking for a great value meal delivery service, then Sun Basket may be right up your alley.

This company delivers fresh, seasonal produce straight to your door. They offer a variety of different options including salads, sandwiches, soups, entrées, snacks, sides, beverages, and more.

Their products are sourced directly from local farms and growers to ensure that they only use the freshest ingredients available.

They also do all the portioning and even some cooking for you, so there really is minimal effort required on your part.

One of the great features of this service is how healthy some meal plans are. For example, you can choose a variety of carb-conscious, paleo, or gluten-free meal plans to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In general, we think this is probably the best option for the healthy eater who wants to keep close control over what they’re putting in their body.

After all, while Sun Basket makes great suggestions for delicious, healthy meals, the customer can always customize their order in a variety of ways to suit their needs.

Hello Fresh

Another popular choice among those who want to stay within budget is Hello Fresh. This company specializes in delivering fresh, healthy meals straight to your doorstep.

They have a number of different meal plans ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. You can also opt for a vegetarian plan if you prefer to avoid meat.

All of these plans come with recipes and instructions included, so you don’t need to worry about having to cook anything at all.

Each week, you’ll receive an email with a shopping list and recipe card for each dish. These cards include step-by-step instructions to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

While the selections available on Hello Fresh might not be as diverse as some other meal delivery services on our list, their system is generally a lot simpler and more straightforward.

They only have a select few categories of meal plans, but each one features a pretty diverse range of interesting dishes which you can customize to a pretty great extent if you want to.

The biggest downside to Hello Fresh is the cost. The prices are pretty much double what you’d pay for similar meals elsewhere. However, if you’re willing to spend a little extra money, this is definitely worth checking out.

Blue Apron

Blue Apron is another popular choice among those who like to eat healthily. Their meal kits feature a wide selection of tasty, nutritious foods that are easy enough to prepare.

You’ll get everything needed to create a complete meal, including a recipe card, detailed instructions, and a shopping list.

You can either pick a specific menu or simply let them suggest something based on what’s currently in season.

If you decide to go with a recommended meal, Blue Apron will send you a weekly email with a new recipe and shopping list every Sunday.

The meals are made up of mostly vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins, and dairy products. They’re all fairly healthy choices, but it’s important to note that many of the items used aren’t organic.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that you should be careful when selecting what you put into your body.

With that said, Blue Apron offers a variety of options for people looking for healthier food options. If you’re interested in trying out the service, check out their website today!

Freshly

Freshly is yet another meal delivery service that focuses on offering healthy, wholesome meals.

Their meals are designed to help you reach your daily nutritional requirements without breaking the bank.

However, the biggest benefit of going with Freshly is that most of their meals can be ready to eat in under five minutes. This is perfect for people who have a busy lifestyle but don’t want to fall into the unhealthy trap of ordering fast food every day.

In fact, all of Freshly’s meals are gluten-free, use natural ingredients, and generally have great emphasis placed on healthy eating.

You can check out all the detailed nutritional information on the website before you decide to order anything, giving you full control over what you put into your body.

Of course, you can also change out all kinds of combinations of ingredients to come up with your own unique twists on each dish. However, if you really want to embrace a healthy lifestyle, you might be better off leaving the recipes relatively alone because Freshly chefs work hard to come up with some really tasty, healthy meals.

Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot is another meal kit company that specializes in creating delicious, healthy meals for busy people. However, the twist with this service is that all the meals are plant-based, and you won’t find an ounce of meat in any dish.

Of course, this is perfect for vegetarians and vegans as it offers plenty of variety within the meat-free category. However, if you can’t go without meat in your diet, you’re definitely better off looking elsewhere.

They offer three different types of meal plans:

  • Healthy Meals – These include meals that provide an average of 200 calories per serving.
  • Balanced Meals – These include balanced meals that provide around 300 calories per serving.
  • Lean Meals – These are low-calorie meals that provide only 100 calories per serving.

As mentioned above, Purple Carrot has three different meal plans to choose from depending on how much time you have available to spend preparing your meals.

Each plan comes with a set number of servings, which means that you won’t need to worry about running out of any ingredients.

The Healthy Meals option includes four main dishes, two side dishes, and one dessert. The Balanced Meals option includes six main dishes, two side plates, and one dessert. Finally, the Lean Meals option includes eight main dishes, two side bowls, and one dessert.

The meals themselves are pretty simple and straightforward. You’ll find them to be high in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

For example, the Healthy Meals option includes chicken breast, broccoli, brown rice, spinach, and carrots. Each meal contains around 20 grams of protein and around 10 grams of carbs.

Purple Carrot makes these meals ideal for those who are following a ketogenic diet or who are just looking to get more protein in their diets.

Splendid Spoon

With a name as delightful as Splendid Spoon, you’d expect them to provide some similarly wholesome and light meals, and you’d be absolutely right!

Their meals are made using fresh, organic ingredients, so they’re sure to be packed with nutrients and flavor.

If you’re interested in trying out meal prep, then Splendid Spoon’s services may be exactly what you’ve been searching for.

The company provides three different options:

  • Prep & Cook – This option allows you to prepare your meals ahead of time and freeze them. Once frozen, they can easily be reheated later on when you’re ready to eat.
  • Chef’s Choice – With this option, you simply pick the ingredients you would like to use and let the chef do the rest. They will cook everything together and deliver the finished product to your door.
  • Customized – If you want to customize your own meals, you can select each ingredient individually before placing your order.

All three options come with a wide range of recipes to choose from. Some of the most popular options include:

  • Chicken Pot Pie – A delicious dish consisting of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It also includes peas, carrots, green beans, and corn.
  • Beef Stroganoff – This classic dish consists of beef, mushrooms, onions, sour cream, and noodles.
  • Spaghetti Carbonara – This is another favorite among many people. Consisting of spaghetti, bacon, eggs, cheese, and garlic sauce.

Takeout Kit

Another great service if you don’t feel like cooking is Takeout Kit.

They offer an extensive menu of pre-made meals that you can take home and heat up whenever you’re hungry.

You can choose between several types of meals including:

  • Pasta – These are perfect for someone who wants something quick but still healthy.
  • Salads – Ideal for anyone who enjoys a light, healthy option.
  • Sandwiches – These are great for lunch, dinner, or even a quick snack.
  • Wraps – These are great if you’re going out for a picnic or camping trip.

Each meal comes with a variety of toppings and sides, and you can add all kinds of meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, bread, cheeses, etc. to any dish.

In addition to the meals, you can also purchase individual ingredients such as meats, sauces, dressings, and other condiments.

These meals make it easy to have a nutritious and filling meal without spending hours in the kitchen.

Gobble

Gobble offers a number of different services, but the ones we think are worth mentioning here are their breakfast and lunch delivery services.

Both of these services allow you to choose from a variety of different dishes. The only difference between the two is that one features hot food while the other has cold items.

Both of these services are available seven days a week. You can place your orders online or by phone.

Some of the most popular dishes include:

  • Scrambled Eggs – Served with toast and hash browns.
  • Omelet – Made with ham, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese.
  • French Toast – Served with syrup, strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream.
  • Pancakes – Served with maple syrup, blueberries, and sliced apples.
  • Waffles – Served with butter, strawberries, and bananas.
  • Bagels – Served with cream cheese, smoked salmon, lox, capers, and tomato slices.

The cost depends on how much you order and whether you want them delivered curbside or inside your house.

To get started, simply visit their website and click on “Order Now.” However, If you’d prefer to call instead, they accept both credit cards and cash payments over the phone.

Martha & Marley Spoon

The final meal delivery service we’re looking at is certainly one of the most interesting for a very specific reason…

This is the meal delivery service of the real Martha Stewart herself, so if you’re aiming to be as good a dinner host as the legendary chef, this is probably a pretty good place to start!

With over 18,000 top recipes to choose from, it’s no wonder plenty of picky eaters are going for this service to fill their stomachs.

The service also offers a very wide range of international cuisines, allowing you to take a trip through every corner of the globe with every meal.

The recipe cards that come with every package even include instructions with pictures, making it pretty much impossible to come away with anything less than delicious!

The Argentine steak with chimichurri is a definite customer favorite, with some claiming it’s even better than their local steakhouse.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, those are our top picks for the best meal delivery services for picky eaters.

There’s no shame in having your own preferences over which ingredients you like and don’t like, but it can still be a nightmare to go to a restaurant and have to spell out exactly how you want your meal prepared.

Thankfully, if you go with any of the options from this list, you’re bound to have a delicious and satisfying meal.

Bon appétit!

 

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