Grace Tang ’21
Lifestyle Editor
How it began: It all started with an Instagram ad. I was scrolling through photos of friends, cute dogs, and relatable memes when a Hello Fresh box came within my field of view. Clearly the price paid for the social media advertisement was worth it because I clicked on that attractive picture before my mind really registered what I was doing.[1] Of course, one thing led to another, and five minutes later I was choosing what meals would be delivered to my doorstep next Wednesday.
Meal kits are pre-portioned and prepared groceries that get delivered to the door on a weekly basis. They come in big cardboard boxes lined with ice, to ensure the ingredients inside are kept fresh.
What’s the verdict? To my astonishment, I enjoyed the meal kits much more than I ever imagined. There are a huge number of meal kit delivery services available, and I have tried three different companies so far. What I like about the meal kits the most are (1) they don’t waste groceries, they’re convenient and in the exactly correct portions when delivered. No more scrounging for ways to eat the rest of your three pounds of carrots or onions, or forgetting ingredients and having to run back to the store; (2) meal kits are also a great way to learn new recipes and improve cooking skills. No matter what your skill level, you can learn to make tasty foods you’ve never tried before, and make them on your own later. I have become much better at making steak and cooking new types of carbs, like couscous.
For pretty much anyone I know, I would recommend getting one or two trial deliveries because they are highly discounted. For example, my first Hello Fresh box (two meals for two people, for a total of four meals that week) came out to under $15. That’s less that $4 for a healthy, balanced, home-cooked meal. As a frugal law student, I appreciated this price-to-product value.
After the trial period, the meals become much pricier (e.g. around $5-10 per serving with shipping) so I would recommend doing trials of a few different companies and choosing the service you most enjoy if you choose to commit to meal kits long-term. Most meal kit companies will give you discounts on the first four deliveries (first four weeks), so you can try different varieties for a long time.[2] Additionally, if you don’t want to make meals in a specific week, all of the companies will let you skip.
Who can do this? One problem that worried me was whether the meals would be too easy or difficult to make. Since grade school, I have been cooking and baking all kinds of recipes, and I thought myself to be a pretty good chef. I wondered if the recipes would be bland and boring. To my surprise, though simple to execute, the dishes were pretty sophisticated and cooking them was a lot of fun. I learned many new ingredients and ways to prepare familiar ingredients. For example, I fell in love with Israeli couscous which I had never made before. I also learned a delicious new recipe for zucchini ribbon salad, where zucchini is sliced thinly with a peeler and eaten raw.
For individuals who don’t cook often, the recipes are pretty much fool proof. Many ingredients (like those in the zucchini salad) are prepared raw, while others are roasted in the oven. As long as you can follow basic instructions, the meals will turn out fine. Be aware that there are basic ingredients like salt, pepper, olive oil, and butter that the meal kits already expect you to have at home and will not supply in the kit.
Different diets: For those who have a dietary restriction like keto, paleo, vegetarianism, veganism, gluten free etc., most meal kits are pretty good about providing options each week that cater to those needs. I would recommend looking for a meal kit that specializes in the diet. Although Hello Fresh usually has a seafood, and two to three vegetarian/vegan meals each week, the selection is much more limited than a vegan meal kit that offers eight options a week for the diet.
Meal kit companies: The companies I have tried are Hello Fresh, Marley Spoon, and Every Plate. Hello Fresh has a good balance of meals, and its recipes are very tasty. Usually I get four portions a week from them. Every Plate is much cheaper than Hello Fresh, and could be a good long-term meal kit as its portions are $4.99 each. However, they generally deliver six meals a week, and the selection is slightly more limited. Marley Spoon is sponsored by Martha Stewart,[3] and they have a whopping twenty selections each week, with pretty gourmet recipes. However, they are the most expensive, so I only got one trial.[4]
Although I have not tried them personally, good vegan or vegetarian meal kits include Purple Carrot and Sun Basket. Green Chef makes great Keto and Paleo meal kits. All of these options have trial discounts as well.
Final tips: As you embark on this meal kit journey, make sure you select your meals as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you miss deadlines, you will get their default or pre-selected options.[5] Almost all the services have apps you can download that keep track of meals and deliveries. Also, don’t forget to cancel your subscriptions, or skip meals when you don’t want a delivery. Best of luck, and happy cooking!
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gt5ay@virginia.edu
[1] If you take Professor Spellman’s Behavioral Decision Making class, you can learn more about the psychology of how people make decisions—that ad was definitely rigged.
[2] Note that the heaviest discounts tend to be on week one and two, so cancellation after the first two weeks is most cost effective.
[3] My cooking hero and guru, honestly watching her cooking videos is how I kill a lot of time. I’m always so impressed at how she doesn’t even look down in her cooking videos, what a badass.
[4] Four meals for the first week of Marley Spoon cost under $20 for four portions, worth it to cook like Martha!
[5] Don’t let this happen! You can preselect meals in future weeks way in advance, so do them all at once.