Healthy meal delivery services: 7 best to have on your radar, as tested by team MC
Keen to scroll the best companies prepping healthy, tasty meals ready to deliver to your door? Look no further.
So, you’re on the hunt for a healthy meal delivery service that’s tasty, nutrient-dense and also won’t break the bank (cost of living crisis, we’re looking at you).
Lucky for you, you’re in the right place. My name’s Ally Head and I’m the Health Editor here at Marie Claire UK. I’m a fan of building a healthy lifestyle that doesn’t cost the earth. For me, one of the simplest ways of doing this is having the freezer stocked with simple, tasty, healthy options for those days when you really don’t have the energy (or patience) to cook. Yep – it happens to the best of us.
Naturally, we wouldn’t want to recommend anything without having tested it – so, between the team, we’ve tried out seven different healthy meal delivery services for you. There are some good ones – keep scrolling for our favourites. Don’t miss our guides to what to eat after a workout, and healthy snack ideas, while you’re here.
Healthy meal delivery: 7 to have on your radar
1. Potage ready meals, potage.co.uk
From £6.75 | 5/5 rating | Balanced nutrition, hearty, home-cooked | Minimal waste.
What we thought when testing: Ally Head, Health and Sustainability Editor, thought: “Potage has long been one of my go-to brands for tasty salads and veg-packed meals, so I was excited to try their new lockdown offering. The meals are delicious – freshly prepared every day in their London kitchen and packed full of as many as five different portions of veg.”
“It’s as close to home cooking as you’ll get from a meal delivery company, and you can really feel the love (and nutrition) Georgia and team pack into their dishes. Don’t miss the brownies if you’re after a treat, too.”
2. AllPlants, allplants.com
From £6.75| 4.5/5 rating | Balanced nutrition, vegan | Minimal waste.
What we thought when testing: Ally Head, Health and Sustainability Editor, thought: “AllPlants are reshaping the market when it comes to vegan food – their dishes are so tasty and versatile, you genuinely can’t notice that they’re not meat. My favourite is the Power Plant bowl, but their Green Mac and Cheese is also delicious.”
“I love the brand’s ethos and that everything is made by professionally trained chefs in-house – plus, they’re a B Corp, so you know you’re spending money with a brand that genuinely cares about the planet, too.”
3. PRESS Health Foods new ready meals, press-london.com
From £8 | 3/5 rating | Most meals were a balance of carbs, fats and protein | Recyclable plastic but could have been better
What we thought when testing: Ally Head, Health and Sustainability Editor, thought: “I’m a big fan of PRESS juices so when I saw they’d launched their brand-new ready meals, I was keen to try. All vegan and made from natural ingredients, and all – bar one risotto – are high protein, too, offering great office lunches for post-gym. The meals were filling, tasty, and ready after just 3 minutes in the microwave, too. Plus, they froze well, which made for great grabbable “I forget to make lunch” options.”
“I wasn’t impressed with the recyclable plastic, though – I thought that the brand could have done more to make the packaging eco-friendly.”
4. HelloFresh, hellofresh.co.uk
From £33.48 (two people, three recipes) | 4/5 rating | Five a day stated on the recipe card | Cardboard packaging can be recycled but plastic used for the food containers.
What we thought when testing: Grace Lindsay, Ecommerce Writer: “If, like me, you’re a bit of a novice when it comes to the kitchen, I couldn’t recommend Hello Fresh enough. The service allows you to select from lots of different dinner ideas, and delivers perfectly proportioned ingredients to your house, meaning you are never wasting food as you only have as much as you need.”
“There are lots of different meal ideas to choose from, whether you are vegetarian, are looking for dinners under 650 calories or want quick 20-minute recipes to whip up in no time. The ingredients each come with a recipe card with simple steps to follow. I’ve picked up so many cooking skills along the way, and feel so much better now that I am eating fresh, whole produce every night instead of my usual microwave meal.”
5. Green Chef home food kits, greenchef.co.uk
From £3.35 per serving | 4.8/5 rating | Choose from keto, lower-carb, flexitarian, vegan and vegetarian | Carbon neutral.
What we thought when testing: Ana Ospina, Senior Art Editor, thought: “Green Chef sent meal kits with pre-measured ingredients and straightforward recipes a beginner chef could follow.”
“I received a box packed with high-quality ingredients – including vegetables, seasonings, sauces, grains, meat, poultry, and fish, depending on the meal plan you pre-selected. It came with easy-to-follow recipe cards. The portions were just right and they incorporated a lot of flavours and textures, so the meals were tasty and satisfying. My favourite was the spiced cod tacos, which were easy and delicious. I was really impressed by the quality – the food and recipes were outstanding. Green Chef is good for foodies and anyone who likes to cook, but maybe wants a bit more variety in their meals and doesn’t mind spending time in the kitchen to prepare.”
“I also liked how eco-friendly Green Chef is, they work with British suppliers, so the food is seasonal and ingredients have lower emissions. They’re 100 per cent plastic and carbon-neutral and committed to sourcing ingredients that are free of GMOs, pesticides, and antibiotics. One thing to note is the meals did take longer to prepare than stated.”
6. Balance Box diet ready-made meal plan, balancebox.com
From £26.99 per day | 4/5 rating | Nutritionally-complete meals | Ethically sourced ingredients.
What we thought when testing: Ana Ospina, Senior Art Editor, thought: “The meals are very healthily and packed full of fresh ingredients. While some are designed for day-to-day, the ones I tried are designed for weight loss, and it didn’t feel like I was dieting at all. All the pre-prepared meals have plenty of protein and fibre-rich fruit and vegetables, so they do a good job of keeping you feeling full. I especially liked the snacks, which were delicious bars packed full of nuts and dried fruit.”
“The meals are devised by a nutritionist so they have all your essential vitamins and nutrients and everything is worked out for you. The meal plans contain breakfast, lunch and dinner along with two snacks, with the whole lot totalling either 1200 or 1800 calories a day, depending on whether you want to lose weight or maintain. It’s easy to follow – you don’t have to think about your meals at all as it’s all done for you. It’s perfect for people who have very busy lifestyles who want to eat well – but be warned, it is pretty costly.”
7. The Detox Kitchen, detoxkitchen.co.uk
From £29.99 a day | 4.5/5 rating | A balance of protein, fat and carbs | Minimal packaging.
What we thought when testing: Ally Head, Health and Sustainability Editor, thought: “I love The Detox Kitchen meals. Not only do you know that they’ve been prepped with care and packed full of good-for-you ingredients, the recipes are really innovative, too.”
“I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and filling all of the dinners were, and I love that the delivery comes with snacks and juices, too. The packaging was minimal and I didn’t have to throw away loads of plastic – normally a downside of delivery services like this. Plus, Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan… which gets a yes from me. Healthy meal delivery, sorted.”
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