Everyday life has a habit of being ridiculously busy. One wakes up, goes to work, comes home from work, goes to sleep, and repeats the cycle over and over. Work hours continue to get longer, and the amount of personal time one has continues to shrink. As such, people often have to partake in fast (and unhealthy) food to compensate for the lack of tangible time one has in their day. There are those wanting to cook and eat healthy. However, a long work day — with a potential commute — makes the proposition of cooking at home rather difficult.
As a result, meal plans have suddenly become all the rage. In a short amount of time, people can now eat healthy, nutritious meals with minimal effort. There are three companies in particular pushing this newfound movement: Blue Apron, Freshly, and HelloFresh.
Blue Apron
Blue Apron provides customers with both the ingredients and the tools to craft delicious, healthy meals. Customers first pick out recipes that appear to be appetizing. From there, a chef-designed tutorial is provided with step-by-steps on how to cook the meal at home. Potential items include farm-fresh seasonal produce, meat with no added hormones, and sustainably-sourced seafood. Customers can cancel memberships at any time, and also are afforded the opportunity to take part in potential discounts.
HelloFreshÂ
Based in Berlin, Germany, HelloFresh also offers premeasured ingredients with chef-designed recipes. There are over 2,500 recipes from which to choose from. There are varying types of plans — including vegetable-centric ones, classic plans, and ones geared towards families. Each recipe offers an estimate on how long the cooking time will be. This is especially nice for those trying to budget time accordingly. Customers may choose the number of servings as well as the amount of weekly recipes when selecting their own tailored plan. One can get a meal for as little as $8.74.
Freshly
Freshly is a very interesting entity. Prospective customers are able to chat with members of the company on their user-friendly website. As detailed, Freshly offers fully-cooked meals prepared by chefs. They’re then delivered daily to one’s front door. The customer would then just have to microwave the meal. Customers are able to choose from over 30 different gluten-free meals with a weekly rotating menu. One gets $40 off their first order upon joining, and can continue to get discounts for every friend that signs up. Those working long hours can also take solace in the fact that shipping is free. Customers can get between 4, 6, 9 and 12 meals per week (ranging in price from $50 to $107.99/week).
Without question, online meal plan services have tremendous value. They save customers time, and offers healthy alternatives at very affordable prices.
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