Meal Delivery Comparison: Plated vs Blue Apron vs Hello Fresh

I’ll be honest, cooking is not something I enjoy doing all that often.  But as someone that is really into eating healthy, cooking my own meals is the best way to control what is being put into the food I eat.

However, going grocery shopping and the thought of having to wait in long lines can be quite annoying for me.  Especially being someone that struggles with being patient.  

So with me lacking patience and also time, it can be tough to find time to cook a healthy meal at home. Therefore the only option at times is to eat out at a local diner or restaurant.   

But we all know there are a couple of issues with eating out.  One being you have no control over what is being put into your food, and the other the cost. 

• Eating out can be considered unhealthy due to the amount of sodium that is usually put into your food to make sure it tastes good.  According to one study group, restaurant chains are overloading their foods with salt.
• The cost of eating out can also be a bit much as well.  Studies have show that the gap between cooking and eating out is growing larger.

I’m a personal trainer and the first time I ever heard about meal delivery services was from another trainer. She mentioned services like blue apron and how they deliver fresh ingredients to your home to cook.  

She said she tried it as a way to meal prep for the week. So I thought about giving it a try to see if it was something I would enjoy.  

You would think that a service like this would be a bit expensive, but you’ll be surprised how inexpensive a service like this really is, depending on your eating habits.

Growing Popularity of Meal Delivery Services

If you are someone that is familiar with meal delivery services, then you know there are quite a few to choose from.  They all seem to be similar in how they deliver food to you, but what makes them all different. With so many people struggling to find time to enjoy a nice healthy meal at home, there has been a growing trend of meal delivery services popping up.  

Whether you are a couple or a family of four, meal delivery services could be the help you’re looking for when it comes to satisfying your meal prepping needs.  Do keep in my that this service may not be for everyone.

Especially if you are someone that has time to go grocery shopping and cook your own meals.  But if you are someone that just doesn’t have the time, and are not a fan of the fast food life, then meal delivery services could be a great alternative to that.

Plated Review

Plated understands how time consuming it can be to decide what to make for dinner, much less go shopping for it.  This can take up a lot of time especially when you have so many other things going on throughout the day.  

With plated, they make it easy for you by letting you pick your own recipes from week to week without any limitations.  You get to choose from 12 new recipes every week where dessert is optional.

However they are priced a bit higher than other meal delivery services.

How much does Plated cost?

All meals are $12 per serving and you get to choose how many nights per week you would like your meals delivered.  Your choices are 2,4,6 nights per week.  

Plated Deals:  Get your first plated night FREE

Blue Apron Review

It’s hard to get through the day without hearing or seeing some type of promotion about blue apron, and for very good reason.  They are a very popular meal delivery service and you will see how later.  

The first thing you can expect to do when signing up online is to choose your meal plan.  You get your choice of 2-5 meals  that can serve between 2-4 people based on the plan you choose.  Upon checkout, after you have filled in all the necessary details like name and address, you will be given the option to choose your delivery date.  You are also given tracking info so you have an idea of when it will arrive.

Blue apron lets you select from a weekly menu the meals they are preparing for the upcoming weeks.  I will admit that I tend to be very particular with the foods I eat, so I found myself a little disappointed with some of their selections.  

Not to say you will be, but I found myself skipping through weeks to find meals I thought I would enjoy.  Let me not forget to mention, blue apron lets you skip a week of meal delivery if you plan on being on vacation or if you don’t like their selections for that particular week.

They also let you choose you dietary preferences before selecting a meal so that they are able to show you the best available choices.  So if you are someone that prefers not to have pork or beef, you can check off the boxes, and they will only show you meals that do not contain pork or beef.

When receiving your meal package, you will be provided with all the necessary ingredients, along with step by step instructions on how to prepare your meals.  Your are even given the expected time frame for which it will take to prepare each meal.  I have to say that I was really excited to open the box and see the creation I was about to make.

Not being the amazing cook I wish I could be, it did take me a bit longer to prepare and cook the meal than what was suggested on the sheet.  But i’m sure that is due to me lacking patience when it comes to cooking.  If you are someone that loves to cook or is at least decent when it comes to cooking, i’m sure you could get it done in less than an hour.

Every week there is new meal to choose from their weekly menu, and they make this very simple with just a click of the button.  Unlike how most ingredients are delivered before they reach your home, blue apron is cutting out the middleman.  

So when ingredients are ready to be picked up from farm producers, blue apron delivers them straight to your front door.  Thus making sure you get fresh quality ingredients.

What’s the cost?

Blue apron offers a 2-person family plan which costs $9.99 per meal per person, and a family plan that will cost $8.99 per meal per person.  You can select between 2-5 meals per week and there looks to be shipping costs of $7.99 for any selection under 3 meals.

When dealing with a service like this, I first wanted to analyze the cost and see if it was even worth it.  Then as I thought about the cost of eating out, and the convenience of not having to go grocery shopping, it made sense.  Plus the discount you get for being a first time customer was a big motivator for at least trying it out.

Blue Apron Deals:  Get $30 off your first order with Blue Apron

Hello Fresh Review

If you’re not much of a meat eater, then hellofresh may be what you’re looking for.  Although they do offer meal plans that include meat, not many meal delivery services have a meal plan specifically for vegetarians like hello fresh.  

This makes finding something you like very convenient as fars as meal delivery services go.  Not only are you getting convenience, but also fresh quality ingredients delivered straight to your front door.

Hello Fresh Prices

Both the Classic and Veggie plan cost $9.99 per meal, and the Family Plan costs $8.74.

Comparison Chart: Plated vs Blue Apron vs Hello Fresh

What’s Trending

Plated    Blue Apron    HelloFresh

As you can see from the charts, each delivery service is highly searched.  With more and more people not being able to find time to cook at home, meal delivery services helping make eating in simpler.

Although looking the chart below can make choosing a little more difficult, the great thing about these services is the fact you can try them risk free.

Summary

Hopefully you have a better idea of what you are looking for when choosing the best meal delivery service for you.  

As you can see, they all claim to deliver fresh quality ingredients, but if you factor in price, Plated comes in a bit higher than both Blue Apron and Hello Fresh.  

All three services offer some type of vegetarian plan which is a big plus.  So when making a choice for which service is best for you, all it really comes down to is preference.  

So please don’t be afraid to share your thoughts and experience below with any of these services