March 9 (PR) : Meal delivery services are becoming more popular every day. They are convenient, great for working parents or those who work a lot, and are also perfect for someone who can’t cook and wants to learn with a few simple meals. 

If you Google “meal kit delivery near me,” you are sure to be bombarded with dozens of different kits and services. Here are the things to look out for when choosing the right one for you. 

Type of Meal Box 

Two main types of kits are on the market. The first one is services that provide premade, frozen meals. These services are very popular with working professionals as you can quickly heat one when you get home or take one to work for a hot lunch. 

The second is kits (such as these) that provide menu cards and pre-measured ingredients. These are great if you have more time on your hands or you want to learn to cook. The meal cards are often simple to understand and allow for simple cooking. 

Dietary Needs 

Many services cater to those with nut or milk allergies, are diabetic, have high cholesterol, or have some other kind of dietary need. Unless you have a very rare nutritional need, you are sure to find a service that can cater to you. 

If not specified, you need to make sure you contact the meal service kitchen or company and find out if they prepare their food in a kitchen with nuts or other allergens. 

Options

Most meal services provide one type of meal; more often than not, it’s dinner. However, numerous services now offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Health and wellness kits offer this more than any other kind. 

You will get your healthy meals, but you will also get snacks such as protein bars, low-calorie bars, or meal replacement shakes even. While these kits are more expensive, they provide you with all the food you will need for a day. 

Cuisine Choices 

Many meal services provide only one cuisine. But some allow you to mix and match or adjust your subscription as you want to explore new flavors. If you don’t want to change cuisines, you may want to change your meals. 

While there is some variety in meal kits, most services aren't making more than 5-10 different meals, meaning you will end up eating the same thing reasonably soon. Look up what options are available, and choose a service that allows you to adjust your menu if you want. 

Difficulty 

As mentioned before, you can get meal kits that provide the ingredients, and you do the cooking. These meals can range from simple stir fry and pasta dishes to more complicated meals like a roast. 

These types of kits have become very popular with people who want to learn to cook or cook homemade meals more often, as there is far more variety, and you can up the difficulty when you want to and challenge yourself. 

Nutrition 

While these meal kits make cooking much more manageable, you still want to eat something that adds to your five-a-day and isn’t packed with fats or sugars. Most meal delivery kits pride themselves on being homemade replacements or meals that are better than anything you can get at a fast-food restaurant. 

While there are exceptions, this means that most meal kits are healthy, packed with healthy foods, but still delicious. 

Portion Sizes 

This is one aspect of a meal-delivery kit that you should always be aware of; portion sizes often put people off choosing a service because the sizes are small, but you are still paying a premium. 

It is important to remember that you will only receive “just enough” more often than not, and there won’t be any leftovers. While this is fine for some, others may see this as a dealbreaker, especially those who only have the time to make one cooked meal a day. 

Price 

With a little bit of research, it is easy to find a service that is the perfect balance between quality and price. 

Many services are pricey, but you will receive the best ingredients, excellent service, a lot of variety, and a generally enjoyable experience.