The new year symbolizes new beginnings. It feels like a fresh start, a time to reset or improve ourselves in some way. 

Many of us know we need to eat better, but our resolution to do so fades quickly when faced with little time for or the know-how to prepare nutritious meals. Cooking at home is the best way to eat a healthy diet, but shopping, prepping and cooking, not to mention cleaning up afterward, is a big job. If the task of cooking meals is overwhelming for you, perhaps it is worth looking at a meal delivery plan instead of calling DoorDash, eating cereal or relying on frozen processed meals.

My family has tried four different meal delivery kits: Blue Apron, Purple Carrot, Hungryroot and Factor, plus a couple of options from Kroger. Meal delivery kits either send recipes and all the ingredients needed to make the meals, meals that require little to no prep or heat and eat. Each time the meals arrived with everything fresh and cold; the process was simple and reliable. Plans are easy to cancel or pause. 

Overall, we felt that we had reasonably healthy meals that were tasty and easy to prepare but sometimes sodium content was too high. Prices given here are approximate, as prices vary depending on specific meals or plans. While these companies make efforts to use compostable or recyclable packaging materials, meal delivery kits come with a lot of packing material to dispose of each time. Companies do work on reducing food waste and source food locally when possible. 

Blue Apron has been around since 2012 and delivers high quality fresh ingredients with easy recipes. There are several plans to meet dietary preferences such as kid friendly, ready to heat or vegetarian. Costs start at $8 when buying four meals a week for 4 people plus $9 for shipping. At first, we found Blue Apron to have a wide variety of interesting meals like pork chops with peach sauce or Sicilian-style bucatini, but later it seemed like every meal had potatoes. Blue Apron is good for families with children and who don’t mind cooking.  

If you are vegan or simply curious about vegetarian eating, Purple Carrot is the meal delivery service for you. Purple Carrot offers meal kits you prepare or fresh or frozen ready-to-eat meals. The produce is organic when possible. These vegan entrees aren’t boring, they are big on flavor using lots of herbs and seasonings. This is where we learned that vegan meals are often much more flavorful and interesting than meat dishes. Purple Carrot portions are generous so you feel full afterwards, something those who haven’t eaten many vegetarian meals may be concerned about. Purple Carrot is our favorite.

Hungryroot offers fresh ingredients that are ready to use such as sauces, cooked meats and fresh produce. Hungryroot strives to provide nutritious meals made from whole foods for health-conscious people that are free from high-fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. With Hungryroot, you can add pantry staples and fresh groceries to the meals you select. Hungryroot prices start at $65 per box and free shipping for plans $70 and up. Hungryroot allows you to select the exact number of meals you want each time. We thought the meals from Hungryroot tasted good and were excellent for those who want to spend little time preparing food. I was truly surprised how good the precooked meat tasted warmed up. They offer a wide variety of meals from which to choose. We particularly enjoyed the cheesy spinach artichoke chicken and beef short ribs with sweet potatoes and broccoli.  

Factor is a great option for those who don’t want to cook at all, as meals are delivered ready to microwave in their tray. The dietician designed meals are freshly prepared using pasture-raised, grass-fed meats that are free of antibiotics, refined sugar, hormones and genetically-modified ingredients. There are various options to fit your nutritional goals like high protein or gluten free. The meals we tried were really good, though I thought the portions were a little small for me at times. The cardiologist’s main concern was that the salt content was high in some meals, so this may not be good for those with high blood pressure or for eating too often. Factor also has a range of items you can purchase such as juices and breakfast options. The cost ranges from $11 to $14 per meal.

For occasional help with meals, Home Chef meals found at Kroger are a good local option and there is no subscription needed. (A subscription option is available online, but Kroger carries them in the deli area.) We tried the chicken burrito bowl (only $11 for a meal for two) and while it was decent, it was my least favorite of the meal kits. While at Kroger, I picked up the Honey Garlic Chicken meal from Kevin’s Natural Foods, $11 for a meal for one. We thought it was very good, but the sodium content was too high. 

Meal delivery kits can help you change your eating habits and learn to control your portion sizes. They can save you time planning meals, shopping and cooking if you get ready-to-heat or meals that require minimal preparation, but probably won’t save you much money. Still, they are a nice way to take a break when life is just too demanding.