For individuals with busy lifestyles, balancing work, family, and household responsibilities can make it challenging to find the time for grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking. Meal delivery services offer a convenient solution, but the vast array of options can be overwhelming. The ideal service should align with specific dietary needs, offer high-quality ingredients, provide diverse flavors, and fit within a reasonable budget.
Understanding the Landscape of Meal Delivery Services
To simplify the selection process, numerous meal prep companies have undergone testing to identify the best choices for various budgets, diets, and lifestyles. These evaluations consider factors such as meal types, dietary suitability, ingredient quality, flavor variety, and cost. Healthline experts and editors have personally tested over 35 popular meal prep companies to provide reliable recommendations.
These services adhere to stringent food safety and manufacturing regulations set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They also partner with trusted shippers to ensure the safe handling of food products.
Key Considerations When Choosing a Meal Delivery Service
When selecting a meal delivery service, several factors should be taken into account:
- Dietary Needs: Does the service cater to specific dietary requirements such as low-calorie, low-carb, vegetarian, vegan, keto, paleo, or gluten-free?
- Meal Type: Does the service offer prepared meals that are ready to eat, or meal kits that require cooking?
- Ingredient Quality: Does the service use fresh, high-quality ingredients, and are organic or locally-sourced options available?
- Flavor Variety: Does the service offer a diverse menu with a variety of flavors and cuisines?
- Cost: Does the service fit within your budget, and are there any hidden fees or subscription requirements?
- Convenience: How easy is it to order meals, and how flexible are the delivery options?
Top Premade Meal Delivery Services for Weight Loss
Based on testing and evaluations, here are some of the best premade meal delivery services for weight loss:
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Eat CRUSH Meals
Eat CRUSH Meals offers healthy, nutritious meal plans designed to support weight loss and wellness goals. Their chef-made, gourmet meals start at $9 per meal, and customers can choose from weekly or monthly deliveries. Meals are delivered to your door or available for pickup at local locations.
- CRUSH Weight Loss Essential: A chef-crafted and nutritionist-approved program designed for a balanced approach to health and wellness, promising potential weight loss of up to 10 lbs in five weeks.
- CRUSH HIGH PROTEIN/LOW-CARB: Paleo-friendly, ready-to-eat meals to support a healthy lifestyle and weight management.
- CRUSH Breakfast: Ready-to-eat, chef-made breakfast options for a convenient and healthy start to the day.
Customers have praised Eat CRUSH Meals for their quick, easy, and tasty meals that meet macronutrient requirements for a heart-healthy diet. The service is ideal for busy individuals who don't have time to cook daily. Eat CRUSH Meals focuses on delivering delicious, nutritious, and affordable options without hidden fees. Their meals are 100% cooked and microwave-safe.
Mom's Meals
Mom's Meals provides meal options and programs tailored to a wide range of health and nutritional needs. With nine condition-specific menus and over 60 meal options, customers have numerous tasty choices.
Customers have expressed satisfaction with Mom's Meals, praising the variety, taste, and freshness of the food. The service is particularly helpful for managing health conditions and dietary needs. The meals are the perfect size, easy to prepare, and alleviate the pressure of shopping and cooking every day. Mom's Meals also offers choice, giving consumers a sense of control that is tremendously important.
Factor
Factor provides calorie-conscious, individually portioned meals designed by registered dietitians and chefs. The service offers a complimentary nutrition consultation and more in-depth nutrition coaching for long-term weight loss programming.
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Factor offers a variety of plans, including Keto, Protein Plus, Calorie Smart, Flexitarian, Vegan + Veggie, and Chef's Choice. The Calorie Smart plan features meals with 550 calories or less, and all meals arrive fresh, never frozen. The meals are high in protein, which helps keep you full. However, some meals, especially the keto-compliant ones, can be high in fat and sodium. Meal variety and portion sizes were highly rated in tests.
BistroMD
BistroMD focuses on nutritious prepared meals specifically designed for weight loss, with plans catering to different medical conditions like diabetes, heart health, and menopause. The menu selection is substantial, with over 150 meals per week to choose from on their Signature Program.
Dishes arrive frozen and just need a quick reheating before you dig in. The service even has a team of in-house registered dietitians that can create a custom diet program for you. BistroMD meals are balanced, satisfying, and science-backed. Testers gave the service top marks for convenience, variety, freshness of ingredients, and ease of reheating the meals.
Other Meal Delivery Services to Consider
In addition to the top picks, several other meal delivery services offer options suitable for weight loss:
- Trifecta: Popular in the CrossFit community, Trifecta offers prepared meals with curated macros for specific goals and a corresponding app for personalized weight management. Meals are developed by a team of dietitians, chefs, and doctors.
- Green Chef: A USDA-certified organic meal kit service with a Calorie Smart selection featuring meals at 650 calories or less.
- Blue Apron: Offers both standard meal kits and prepared meals, with options for 600 Calories or Less Meals, 30g of Protein Meals, and Carb Conscious Meals.
- HelloFresh: Offers a Fit and Wholesome plan with dietitian-approved meals all under 650 calories per serving.
Meal Kits as an Alternative
For those who enjoy cooking, meal kits can be a good option for weight loss. These services provide pre-portioned ingredients and recipes, making meal preparation easier and more convenient.
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- Dinnerly: A simple and affordable meal delivery service with a large weekly menu and options that cater to a calorie-conscious lifestyle at 650 calories or less per meal.
- EveryPlate: One of the most affordable meal delivery services on the market, with a Calorie Smart plan featuring meals around 650 calories or less per serving.