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If you simply can’t wrap your head around the planning, prepping, and whipping up of a healthy meal on a weeknight, a kit-based meal service just might be the answer. Even if you have no problem doing your own menu planning, meal kits can offer a reprieve to for busy parents, even if only for a couple nights a week.
Our top picks
A meal kit for families with adventurous eaters: Hellofresh
A meal kit for bigger families: Home Chef
A meal kit for busy families: Hungryroot
A meal kit for nutrition-focused families: Green Chef
A meal kit for families cutting back on meat: Dinnerly
A meal kit for fancy families: Blue Apron
A meal kit just for the kids: Little Spoon
The appeal of meal kits for families is easily apparent. Planning only requires clicking on a few photos of food that looks good and then the pre-portioned ingredients get shipped directly to your door. The price per meal tends to be less or, at worst, on par with the cost of takeout for more than two or three people, so while not as economical as planning and shopping for your own menu, meal kits can offer some economic benefits, too. There’s also time saved, with no need for meal prep or grocery shopping, except maybe for Goldfish crackers and apple sauce pouches (and if you’re truly grocery store-averse, you could consider a delivery service for that, too). Plus, with the ability to skip weeks, customize favorites, and plan ahead, most meal kit company plans are less intense than some other subscription-based food services out there.
I’ve got two kids at home and have tested multiple meal kits, as have our other editors and writers, and from those reviews we’ve handpicked the family-friendly aspects of each major meal kit service, as well as some you might not have tried (hello first time customer promos!). For one, we’ve noted when some services provide what we’ll call “family style meals,” or dishes that feel more like you’re making a big batch of home-cooked food to share at mealtime, as opposed to a bunch of individual portions. We’ve also broken down each service to compare portions offered, extras and add-ons, dietary needs, and other key factors to help you find the best meal delivery service for your family.
A meal kit for families with adventurous eaters: HelloFresh
Even though there’s a good chance you already used up your new customer promo code years ago, it might be time to give HelloFresh another look. What it does offer is sheer variety, with as many as 100 weekly menu options. In other words, you won’t get tired of the same old items showing up. But another way to look at this diversity of dishes is that your family can try dozens of recipes throughout the year, offering you the chance to expand your palates with new flavors and formats.
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