I’ve tried just about every subscription meal kit option available and wanted to share my honest thoughts if you are thinking about trying one!
Eric and I love dining out, but that can be tricky with 3 little kiddos now. Also, since we are currently in quarantine, these meal kits are a great option to try something new at home.
A few reasons we love the meal kits:
We can try something new – and save the recipe to try it again on our own
I have a binder filled with our favorite recipes from meal kits so I can make them again. I write notes on each recipe card so I know which was a hit! This comes in handy for nights that I need inspiration, or an easy side dish.

We can stretch a meal for 2 to feed our family of 5.
And no, we’re not starving anyone! Our kids are little still (ages 1-5) so depending on the meal, I make one or two extra sides and we can all share everything. This could be as a simple as adding a salad for Eric and me and a side of mac and cheese for the kids.
We’re not wasting any ingredients.
We can try new recipes at home without having to go to the store and buy a bunch of ingredients that we don’t normally use. Everything in the meal kits comes in the perfect portions for that recipe.
Delicious meals.
We’ve been really happy with almost all of the meals we’ve tried. For some services, customers can rate and review the meals so the companies know which to repeat.
Healthier than eating out.
Of course this depends on where you would be eating out and what you order. For the most part though, we eat healthier at home with fresh ingredients. You also know what is going in each recipe.
It’s also less expensive than eating out at a restaurant!
I usually pour a glass of wine (pre pregnancy) and do all the prep and cooking myself, but once In awhile it’s fun to get the kids involved too π
(Kinzie being “Olaf”!)
I’ve seen quite a few advertisements for most of these so it may be hard to decide which one to go with. This post is NOT sponsored, just my real review so I hope it helps!
I will include referral links to use when ordering too! These are helpful to share with friends because YOU get a reward and they do too π
MY HONEST REVIEW ON MEAL KITS THAT OUR FAMILY HAS TRIED:
PS. I’m having Eric weigh in here too so you get both our opinions.
Home Chef
Home Chef tops our list for a few reasons: they offer family friendly meals that are always delicious, easy to make and the portion sizes are decent. Overall, their meals have been a slam dunk with the entire family. We also like that they give us the recipe cards that we can keep in our book and make again and again at home (some include recipe seasonings and things that you can’t duplicate).
Eric likes that the meals are hearty and meat is quality.
ALSO, Home Chef just started “Oven Ready” options which is great if you want a good meal but don’t have the time to prep dinner.
Typical meal is $9.95/serving + FREE shipping.
Link to order Home Chef and get $35 off your order
Green Chef
If it were just me, Green Chef would be on repeat. I LOVE the healthy and interesting options that they offer. You can even choose meals that cater to Keto, Paleo, and Plant powered diets. The dinners have been hit or miss with Eric. He’s more of a “typical meat and potato guy” vs kale and tofu guy (his words!).
Downfall: you can’t duplicate a lot of their recipes since they send premade dressings and seasoning mixes.
Typical meal price is $11.99/serving + $6.99 shipping.
Link to order Green Chef and get $25 off your order
Hello Fresh
They are a close 2nd to topping our list! They offer a wide variety of meal options that fit just about anyone’s needs. The meals were good and the recipes were not hard to make.
We were on the classic plan and meals were typically $8.99/serving + $6.99 shipping.
Gobble
I had a Groupon for this and glad we tried it! I like that the meals are designed to be made in 15 minutes and they take care of all the prep work (peeling, cutting, etc.)
It’s not as popular as the others but geared towards families and busy people (perfect for us). The kids liked the meals and we’ve made one of the recipes quite a few times again already!
Typical meal is $11.99/serving + $6.99 shipping. Click here to get 2 meals for two for $18.
Blue Apron
It’s been a couple years since we’ve tried this one. Honestly, I do remember the recipes being a little more complicated and not enjoying the process of cooking as much. Eric vaguely remembers the meat quality being so-so. This could have changed in the last 2 years so it may be worth trying again!
Daily Harvest
This is a great option for individual meals. They have healthy soups, smoothies, harvest bowls, and more. They use a lot of superfoods and customers give honest reviews on each item that you can read. You can also search meals by their key benefits, including immunity boosting, energizing, digestive support, anti-inflammatory and others. We are trying it out next week and will keep you posted!
Plans start at $6.99/item.
Click here for $25 off your first Daily Harvest order.
Meez Meals
Meez Meals is available in the Chicagoland area. They have delicious vegetarian meals that have the option to add meat if you’d like. When we lived in the city, we ordered from them all the time. Eric (who loves meat) enjoyed the vegetarian options just as much as when we added meat.
Use code ShiningOnDesign50p for 50% off your first Meez Meals order.
Yumble (for kids)
Yumble offers fully prepared, healthy meals for kids. These are a life saver for busy parents. Most only take 90 seconds in the microwave. We stretched these too to feed all 3 kids. I would heat up 1-2 meals and split them 3 ways so they could each try a little (my one year old is super picky so these were great!). Of course we would have something else on the side too π
Click here to get 50% off your first 2 weeks of Yumble.
I also wanted to mention a local food delivery service that we like too. It’s called Foodie on the Fly and available in the Chicagoland area. Meals are homemade by a local Mom and delivered to your door. When I was newly pregnant, I was not up for cooking a lot so their meals were a great option to serve our family!
Any other favorites or services I missed? I’d love to hear your feedback!
PIN FOR LATER!

