Are ready-to-cook deliveries worth it?
The last question you want to hear after a long day at the office (especially if you don’t have an answer) is “What’s for dinner?” Multiple options exist for getting fast food and even restaurant fare delivered, but meal-delivery services occupy a different niche: They compile the ingredients to prepare a home-cooked meal. Select the meals you want from their menus, and they’ll ship the recipes and fresh ingredients to your home.
I tried two: Blue Apron (www.blueapron.com) and Hello Fresh (www.hellofresh.com). For my family of four, I ordered two meals featuring ground turkey and salmon from Blue Apron and three meals featuring ground beef and chicken from Hello Fresh. Both services deliver in the continental U.S. in boxes outfitted with insulation and gel packs. When I opened the boxes, the meat and fish were cold. The services assume that you have basic pantry items on hand (notably olive oil), but they provide premeasured spices and recipe-specific items, such as teriyaki sauce, sesame oil and honey, that you might not have.
During my deadline week at work, when we would otherwise have eaten the same old spaghetti or takeout, we ate healthy food that earned four thumbs up from my husband, two teenagers and me. Recipes were easy to follow, but I still spent an hour cooking each evening, and neither service provides a kitchen cleanup fairy.
You must sign up for your meals a week ahead of time. Blue Apron offers a two-person meal plan ($9.99 per person for three meals a week) and a four-person plan ($8.74 per person for two or four meals a week). Hello Fresh requires you to order a minimum of three meals per week for two or four people, starting at $10.75 per person if meat or fish is on the menu or $9.08 per person if not. Both are subscription services (no extra charge, and you can cancel anytime).
When I comparisonshopped the ingredient lists at my local grocery store (and included its $10 delivery fee), I found that I actually saved $8 on groceries with Blue Apron. But Hello Fresh was pricey: $25 more than I would have spent at the supermarket. Not having to think about what we’re having for dinner? Priceless.