Are meal delivery companies like Home Chef, Blue Apron, and Hello Fresh worth it. The cost and convenience of weekly cook-at-home meal kits.
Surprisingly, the most popular article on Greatvest Tools so far this year isn't about paying off student loans, buying a home, or building better credit. No, our article comparing meal delivery services like Home Chef, Blue Apron and Hello Fresh has consistently gotten more daily pageviews than any other single article.
On second thought, perhaps it's not that surprising. These services are relatively new to the market, so people want to learn more before they buy. More importantly, meal delivery services provided two things young people with disposable income don't mind spending money on:
- Good food
- A pleasant experience (cooking the meals)
My question today: Are meal delivery kits purely a luxury, or can meal kits save you enough time -- if not money-- to be a justifiable regular expense?
How much do meal delivery services costs?
Ordering three meal kits for two people from a meal delivery service like Home Chef costs roughly $60 a week, or $10 per serving. You can, of course, spend more, but don't expect to find anything much cheaper.
At $60 a week, meal kits cost less than dining anywhere but a fast food joint, but certainly more than the per-plate cost of a fully home-cooked meal. If you shop frugally and diligently eat your leftovers, you're probably eating for a LOT less than $10 a serving.
As a result, we don't meal plan and grocery shop based on cost very often -- we just have to get it done. So meal delivery services' convenience is quite attractive, and we're willing to pay a premium for that -- although, in our case, that premium might not be as large as it could be.
The biggest cost downside to meal kits? There are rarely leftovers. The kits contain just enough food for two portions. That's good for your waistline. But it's bad if you're hoping to stretch a recipe over two meals. It also means that you won't waste leftovers who forgot to waste, and that is something I do like since we've been cooking with Home Chef -- we rarely throw food away anymore.
How much time can meal delivery save you?
A meal delivery service will only save you money if you currently dine out every single night. But about time? How convenient are meal delivery services?
Lauren and I have now prepared and enjoyed over 150 meals from Home Chef, Blue Apron and other services. My verdict? Meal delivery services' convenience factor is a two-edged sword.
Planning and shopping
Needing to plan and shop for three fewer dinners a week easily saves us time.
On weeks we receive a meal delivery, FedEx just drop the box on our porch while we're at work. Thanks to their packaging, the meals can stay fresh for a couple of days, never mind the few hours until we get home. We unload the ingredients to the fridge in about 2 minutes until we're ready to cook.
One thing I love about Home Chef versus some competitors is that Home Chef bundles all the ingredients you need for each recipe. When it's time to cook, you're never hunting at the bottom of the produce bin for a loose tomatillo -- you just dump the ingredients and go.
When compared to the time it takes to find recipes, add to the shopping list, and pick those ingredients at the store, meal deliveries are clearly faster. How much faster? That's tough to say, but I would guess about 15 or 20 minutes a week. No, that's not a ton of time. But it's meaningful time.
We do our meal planning and shopping on Sundays -- a chore that takes one of us about 2 hours, on average. Even if we can shave a little bit of time off that chore, it feels like a win. That's more precious free/family time.
Prepping and Cooking
Of course, you still have to cook the meals! The experience of cooking these recipes is part of the appeal. You learn new techniques and about new ingredients. But some recipes are definitely more involved than a meal you might plan for a busy Tuesday night.
I've never encountered one of these recipes that you could reasonable cook in under 30 minutes. Between 35 and 45 minutes seems to be about average from prep to plate. Meals from Blue Apron and Plated tend to take longer -- in some cases, over an hour.
Another reason Home Chef is currently my favorite meal delivery service is that you can cook most of their meals in about 40 minutes. They also tend to send some ingredients partially prepped (such as individual garlic cloves instead of an entire bulb) which saves time on prep. I've cooked a few Blue Apron meals that, while delicious, required 30 minutes of zesting and dicing before evening lighting the stove.
Another perk? Home Chef lets you know how involved a meal will be to cook before you order. Most meals are listed as "Easy" or "Intermediate". Those are best for weeknights, although don't be discouraged from setting aside a weekend evening to tackle an "Advanced". You're sure to learn some new cooking techniques that will make the meal all-the-more memorable.
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