3 Reasons you need Meal Boxes in your life…plus Family Meal box reviews

I cannot tell you enough how many great reasons there are to use a Meal Box service and why I LOVE THEM! 

My top 3 reasons I LOVE meal boxes!

1. TIME SAVER – You won’t have to go to the store (especially important during the pandemic) and search for your individual items needed to make up your recipe -they all come to you in a box! A great busy mom hack, work from home sanity saver, and stress reducer when we feel like we are always in the kitchen!
2. TEACH YOUR TEENS HOW TO COOK (optional if you don’t have teens of course!) – Are you looking to have your teen help make dinner – this is your solution!  They have all the ingredients gathered and step by step instructions to make a meal!  My daughter loves making meals and I love seeing her cooking skills improve and the whole family discover new meals we may not have otherwise tried.
3. TRAVEL BONUS HACK – If you are traveling to a place that has a kitchen – a suite, VRBO, using or renting your RV, etc., order a box to arrive before you leave or at the place you are staying)!  You can take the items with you as the recipes all have pre portioned ingredients (mini bottles of vinegar, small sour cream packets, etc) and you have all your ingredients ready for a few meals to reduce stress and save money while you are traveling (and especially now when it is hard to eat out in many states!)

Plus these are awesome for boss moms/bloggers/work from home peeps who need more time to rock their goals! Whether once a month, or every week if it works for your family,  give yourself and your family the gift of healthy and easy meals – and save yourself a trip to the store too!  You MUST try a meal box!  The meals are delicious, the food is fresh and not processed, and it adds variety and ease to your life!!

I am not new to the meal box game – I have used them for years, but I have seen a huge improvement in flavor and options and variety over the years!  A few other ways of how we have taken advantage of using meal boxes to meal plan over the years– if I am on deadline for work,  if I want to try something new, if I am out of town I will order one for my hubby when I am gone and makes it easy for him to have everything to cook himself a meal, as mentioned above, I have even ordered them and taken them with us in a cooler before a trip so you have all the ingredients to cook meals in a timeshare or Airbnb/VRBO or RV!  It makes it so simple!

Now with being at home during COVID, I feel like I am ALWAYS in the kitchen, so this saves me from having to go to the store and meal plan for at least a few meals!  It really has helped my sanity. 

So now on to my individual reviews – there are pros and cons of each box – and I am including special savings options for my readers to get started.

*SECRET MOM & BUDGET HACK: I like to use a discount from one company and then pause it and rotate between-meal box subscriptions (just be sure to pause/cancel/delete your subscriptions if you are swapping around with them, I use my google calendar as to not forget!) Each company will want you back so they will send you a special discount after a few weeks or months, so using this strategy you can rotate between meal boxes trying new boxes, getting a great variety and never paying full price.

Almost all  Meal plan options listed you can choose between 2-6 meals with 2,4, 6 servings per delivery to customize for your family.  HelloFresh is the only one that has 8 servings that I have reviewed.

MEAL BOX DELIVERY REVIEWS

EVERYPLATE – This one wins the day for my family.  My family is pretty picky with meals and this one tends to have more familiar meals that everyone will eat.

Recipe/Prep:  Beginner level with step-by-step instructions. The recipes are fast to make with some chopping, but meats are precut, and some sauces are premade. I don’t like how you having to chop my own garlic, so I usually just use jarred chopped garlic.

Tastes: 8+ options to choose from a week. Tastes great and has more familiar flavors if you have a picky eater

Price:  $4.99 per serving. The price point is the best among all the meal boxes – about 1/3 less than other boxes. Low price doesn’t mean they skimp on taste.

Healthy Options: There are some vegetarian options but not a lot of other diet specific meals,

Extras: You can add extra protein like chicken breast or steaks to your box. 

EVERYPLATE FIRST TIME ORDER DEAL : $20 off your first order $1.66 per serving for your first order!

HELLO FRESH – One of the original meal box plans!

Recipes/Prep: Average meal takes 30 Minutes to make so usually pretty fast. Intermediate level with step by step instructions. The recipes take a bit longer to make – lots of chopping for most recipes.   They give you all the details of what is in the recipe so you can recreate the recipes.  They go up 8 servings per meal!

Tastes: Often highest-rated meal plan but I have found flavors not as great as others. 20+ options though so lots to choose from each week.

Price: Average $8.99 per serving/$7.99 shipping. They have a great intro deal so definitely worth trying them out!

Healthy Options: Not as healthy choices but have Meat & Veggies plan, the Family Friendly plan, the Low-Calorie plan, and the Veggie plan.

Extras: Have had a few packaging issues with them – leaky meat but they seem to be better now.

HELLOFRESH FIRST TIME ORDER DEAL: Deal $40 off

BLUE APRON – The first meal box our family tried years ago!

Recipes/Prep: Easy level with step-by-step instructions. Usually 30-60 min to prepare so a bit longer prep. They also give you all the ingredients and measurements of what is in the recipe so you can recreate the recipes too

Tastes: We all seemed to like the recipes. The flavors all seem to pop so be careful not to over season if you have younger kids.

Price: Comparable to Hello Fresh and also a good intro deal.

Healthy Options: Can change up meat selections with the meals including Beyond Meat option, Vegetarian, WW options

Extras: Helps identify easy and fast meals to choose too.

BLUE APRON FIRST TIME ORDER $60 OFF 3 BOXES

HOME CHEF – Probably my family’s second top choice of all the plans!

Recipes/Prep: Intermediate level with step-by-step instructions. These recipes seem to take the most time to prep. You make even the sauces from scratch vs prepackaged sauces in some of the others.  You can recreate the recipes with a bit of guesswork

Tastes: Lots of variety. 18 meal options per delivery. Flavor was really good – probably because more prep and the ingredients seemed really fresh.  

Price:  $7.99-$9.95 per serving

Healthy Options: Vegetarian, Soy Free, Dairy- free, Gluten Free, Keto, Paleo, and Organic options and more

Extras: Prob most variety of meals to choose from.  Can add lunches and smoothies and more to your meal box too.

HOME CHEF $35 off your FIRST delivery *plus $20 more off with this link if you haven’t used Rakuten before

SUNBASKET – Prob my favorite for taste with more unique flavor profiles but not as popular with kids and hubby! And lots of vegetarian choices here too! Meatless Monday anyone?

Recipes/Prep: Intermediate level with step-by-step instructions. This plan seemed to have the most unique recipes so  if you are looking for more international flavors or more diet specific, this is another option for you!

Tastes: 10 meal plan options to choose from per delivery. This box had the most unique flavors and variety of ethnic cuisines  

Price: One of the pricier plans. $10.99 per serving/$6.99 shipping. You pay extra for organic meat and seafood.

Healthy Options: Only all organic box of this list. Other options: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Paleo, Diabetic friendly options

Extras: 100% recyclable packaging. Prob most unique flavor palate for meals. The recipe books contain the recipes for a whole week even ones you did not sign-up for.

SUNBASKET Meal Box First Timer Deal: $40 off first order

*If you are like me or my teen and don’t like cutting onions – you have to try these awesome onion goggles!

GOBBLE – This meal box is the fastest to make if you are short on time!

Recipes/Prep:  The FASTEST to prepare in under 15 minutes –  ingredients are usually precut and sauces are premixed (vs making your own sauces with some of the others). Easy level with step by step instructions. You don’t get measurements so cannot really recreate the recipes of these. Usually no more than 3 steps to complete the recipe.

Tastes: These were good, not as fresh tasting as some of the others but a good variety of meal choices

Price: As they have more items prepped they are a bit more pricey.

Healthy option:  They have a Lean & Clean option for 600 or less cals with low carb and lean protein. Vegetarian options too.

Extras: You can add sides, breads, and desserts to this box.

GOBBLE – Try your first 2 meals for $18

BONUS: Besides traditional meal boxes, there are a few other delicious food delivery boxes that I have tried and may be right for you or your family!

Imperfect Foods – This was so great at the beginning of the pandemic!  Fresh fruits and veggies sent to your door plus bonus products like nut butters, meats, grains and more! You can customize a box weekly or get whenever you want!

Imperfect Foods – $20 off your first box!

Daily Harvest – Although pricey these taste amazing and are so helpful to grab and go from the best smoothies to soups and overnight oats and more!  Def worth a try once with the intro offer!

Daily Harvest $25 off now

Yumble Kids Lunches Box – If you are tired of making school lunches for your kids who are home ALL day if you are like me, this is a fun way to give some variety to your kids and give you a break in the kitchen! And first box comes with free table topics and hot pad!

YUMBLE – Get one free week of meals here

So, what do you think? Are you going to try one? Do you have other favorite meal boxes or meal box tips? I hope to do a round 2 – Any others you would like me to review?? Plated, Dinnerly, Freshly??? Let me know what you think if you try a new meal box company too. Share with us in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going!