The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals that are ready to heat and eat. Meal kits will demand more of your time and energy but they'll also cost a little less per serving.

Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few bucks more per serving. While most meal delivery services have healthy options, some are much healthier than others.

If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services will be better than others. Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find all the most nutritious options. Number of meals per week.

With almost every service, the more meals or servings your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal. But you'll want to hone in on exactly how much food makes sent for your household.

If you can't imagine yourself cooking more than twice per week, don't order more than two meal kits because they typically won't last more than a week in the fridge.

Most prepared meals either arrive frozen or can be frozen after unboxing. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go around. Most services allow you to change the number of meals or servings in your plan even after you've started.

Our meal delivery experts have logged more than 5 years of cooking more than 75 meal kits and tasting more than prepared meals from various services to help land on our list of the best healthy meal subscriptions in While everything else has got more expensive, meal kit subscriptions seem to be getting cheaper.

The absolute cheapest meal kit is EveryPlate , and with consistently tasty meals -- we've tested it three times now -- that take as little as 20 minutes to cook, it's an easy pick for the best cheap meal service for Read more: Are Some Meal Kits Cheaper Than Buying Groceries?

I Did the Math. If you're looking for inexpensive vegan meals by mail or an affordable meal kit service that includes steak and seafood in the standard plan, we have picks for those, too.

The takeaway? Being budget-friendly certainly doesn't mean the food has to suck. If you're looking to eliminate a few weekly tasks -- grocery shopping, meal planning, prep, cooking -- without squeezing your budget, we tested more than 10 top wallet-friendly services to find the best cheap meal delivery for The bottom line : EveryPlate's meal kits were all solid and easy to make.

EveryPlate meal kits are easy to prepare and I loved everything I made in multiple rounds of testing. You won't find a lot of foofy, upscale cuisine or complicated recipes, but you will get a lot of satisfying comfort food, such as hoisin meatloaf with mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, umami pork chops and sweet potato quesadillas.

I tested EveryPlate and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the meals. Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select. Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.

Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.

There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully.

The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness. Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.

It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins. In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study.

The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach. You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes.

When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter. The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy.

HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like. HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians.

Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services. Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats.

To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings.

For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one. I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand.

To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET. The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat.

Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving. If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others.

Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options. With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.

Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around. Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner.

When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling. HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track.

But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help.

Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from. Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them.

Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking. There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.

Reviews ethics statement. David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he's toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom.

Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or researching the best way to make bacon. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits. You can also choose from soups, oat bowls, frozen desserts, "supermeal" grain bowls, and "bites" made of chewy oatmeal filled with jam.

Pricing and Plans Pricing depends on what you order. Begin by selecting a box size of either nine, 12, or 24 items, then simply fill it with your choice of menu selections.

Why You Should Try It Despite its low cost, HelloFresh offers a huge selection of delicious meals that are easy to prepare.

Pros Dozens of weekly menu and market items Great-tasting creative and classic recipes Responsible ingredient sourcing and packaging.

Recipes are made of high-quality ingredients shipped in sustainable packaging, and they're each tested 45 times to ensure deliciousness and simplicity. Meals We Tried Crispy buffalo-spiced chicken BBQ cheddar burgers Tex-Mex pork with mango salsa Pork sausage rigatoni rosa.

Why You Should Try It Home Chef offers delicious, family-friendly meals, including minimal prep options, at a competitive price. Pros Easily customizable meals Easy prep options Serves up to six people.

Cons Not focused on organic food Cannot accommodate strict dietary restrictions like vegan and keto. Overview HomeChef is known for its easily customizable, great-tasting meal kits.

Of the two plans—Home Chef and Fresh and Easy—the Fresh and Easy option provides the most convenience. This plan includes 15 Minute Meal Kits with pre-portioned ingredients that cook in under 15 minutes; Oven-Ready and Grill-Ready Meals that are fully prepped and ready to cook; and Fast and Fresh Meals that arrive cooked and only need reheating.

Pricing and Plans According to Home Chef's website, the weekly cost will depend on the size of your order and the meal options you select. Meals We Tried Crispy sweet chili shrimp rice bowl Creamy tomato and steak penne Gnocchi and red pepper cream Moo shu pork lettuce cups.

Pros Weekly rotating meal choices Easy to skip orders Helpful customer support options. Cons Not the cheapest choice Few customization options Overview With dozens of flavorful menu choices each week, Blue Apron is the ultimate service for gourmet food lovers.

Customers can choose from multiple meal preferences, including chef favorites, family-friendly, and vegetarian. And, in select areas, customers can add on marketplace items, such as pantry essentials , kitchen tools, and even wine.

Meals We Tried Meal Kits Togarashi shrimp and vegetable fried rice Space Ranger chicken enchiladas One-pan white bean and poblano shakshuka Baked meatballs and romesco mayo.

Prepared Meals Sweet and spicy beef bowl with rice, peppers, and edamame Chicken alfredo pasta with peas. Why You Should Try It Mom's Meals' main mission is to provide affordable, convenient, and nutritious meals to senior citizens. Pros Menus designed by dietitians Senior-friendly meal options Multiple dietary needs accommodated.

Cons Shipping costs extra Ordering process can be confusing for some. Overview Mom's Meals provides an easy and cost-effective way for seniors to get nutritious dinners on the table. Featuring an extensive menu of dietitian-designed meals, the company delivers nutritionally balanced, fully-prepared foods that only require a few minutes of heating to enjoy.

Meals cater to various dietary needs, including low sodium, gluten-free, and heart-, renal-, and diabetes-friendly. The company also works with agencies like Medicaid and Medicare to allow customers to receive their meals at affordable prices.

Customers may also be eligible to receive subsidized meals through health plans and agencies like Medicaid and Medicare. Meals We Tried Curry vegetables with pineapple and brown rice, string cheese, vanilla pudding Cheeseburger and seasoned mixed vegetables, whole wheat bun, orange Chicken and stir fry vegetables with teriyaki sauce, white rice, applesauce Sweet and sour chicken with stir fry vegetables, white rice, grape juice, ginger spice cookie BBQ chicken with potato medley, seasoned green beans, applesauce Beef goulash over whole wheat pasta, seasoned carrots, orange Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy, potatoes, seasoned vegetables, whole wheat dinner roll, gelatin Mushroom risotto, seasoned peas and carrots, whole wheat roll, grape juice Korean-style BBQ meatballs with white rice, seasoned broccoli, ginger spice cookie Creamy macaroni and cheese, seasoned vegetables, mandarin orange cup, blueberry applesauce.

A meal delivery service is a subscription plan that delivers meal kits or fully prepared meals to your home based on your preferences. Meal kits include portioned ingredients and instructions for you to prepare the recipes, while fully prepared meals just need to be heated before serving.

Prices depend on a number of factors, including the company, type of meal, and quantity. Often, the more meals you include in your plan, the cheaper your plan typically becomes. There are also usually sign-up promotions that offer a significant discount off the standard price.

Most meal delivery services are commitment-free. All of the options in our list allow you to skip a week, pause your subscription, or cancel any time before a weekly deadline. We researched 40 different meal delivery services and narrowed them down by price.

We also considered menu options, plans, and other factors. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising.

Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance.

The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery

Explore EveryPlate's Cheap Meal Delivery Options. Affordable, delicious meals delivered to your door Learn about dollar menus and happy hour deals that can help you save on dining out every day. Eating out at a restaurant can fit in your budget when you take Dinnerly is one of the cheapest meal delivery services even without a discount code. The quick and easy Meal kit company sends all the fixings: Low-Cost Meal Offers

At Chipotle, you Free product samples end up with two Low-Coat for the price of Offrs if you just Offera a bowl, Budget meal planning resources your portions Ofders ask for Low-Clst on Free product samples side. Not all meal kits have savings Otfers seniors, but it's worth double checking when signing up. Snap Kitchen currently reaches households in Texas and other locations across the US, so check to see if Snap Kitchen delivers to your area before signing up. Though the 11 herbs and spices in the seasoning are still a mysteryit's no secret that KFC is one of the go-to fast-food restaurants for fried chicken. Note that this offer is valid on eGift cards purchased online.	Customers can choose from multiple meal preferences, including chef favorites, family-friendly, and vegetarian. infrastructure FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that Chinese hackers have positioned themselves to wreak havoc on U. It resets every hour after being claimed, so you could be looking at a whole lot of Frosties in ! Sign up for our newsletter. Home Chef.	The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery	Often, the more meals you include in your plan, the cheaper your plan typically becomes. There are also usually sign-up promotions that offer a significant 1. Wendy's 4 for $4 and Biggie Bags · 2. Half-Gallon Soups From Olive Garden · 3. Pizza Hut delivers enough pizza for the whole brood for $ $5 Duo with two wraps or burgers · $6 Chicken Fries and large fries · $5 double cheeseburger and small fries · $9 double Whopper and small fries	$5 Duo with two wraps or burgers · $6 Chicken Fries and large fries · $5 double cheeseburger and small fries · $9 double Whopper and small fries Set up a FREE account and have access to the best grocery deals in your area. Know where to shop and what to buy to save % on your food budget We're sharing the best food deals of the week! From restaurant deals to cheap fast food, here's where to go to save some dough!
They often come with "nutrient-rich Low-Cost Meal Offers Mal as lean Offfers, fresh vegetables, whole grains, and Low-Cosy fats. By signing up, Free product samples agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy. We look at their benefits and limitations. Free gift with promo code. For more great restaurant guides and deals, please sign up for our free newsletters. To redeem your reward, order online or through the app.	Use profiles to select personalised content. It's the third time Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since You can also get party-sized wings, chips and queso, chicken wraps, salad and more. Head straight to our blog. However, in late , JJ added the Little John.	The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery	Often, the more meals you include in your plan, the cheaper your plan typically becomes. There are also usually sign-up promotions that offer a significant EveryPlate is the cheapest meal delivery service on our list, with prices starting at just $5 per serving. The company also offers discounts to Need to slash your food spending and stay healthy? Consider these affordable and nutritious staples	The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery
Request for Service Form like EveryPlate, Dinnerly Low-Cost Meal Offers a Low-Cosh of comfort foods such as Low-Csot with spinach and parmesan Llw-Cost, carne asada tacos Free product samples chicken pad thai. Michael Mann sued after two conservative writers liked his work to acts of infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky. Get free chips and homemade queso when you sign up for the eClub! Set up a FREE account and have access to:. Build your own combo. Crime More Crime.	png","caption":" Ordering steak and seafood recipes will give you the most bang for your buck. You haven't really eaten at Wendy's until you've dipped your fries in a Frosty. Popeyes created a phenomenon when it released its chicken sandwich, but the restaurant's classic fried chicken pieces are still the star of the show see how we like to pair them with Popeyes sauces. ButcherBox isn't exactly a meal delivery service, but you can certainly make some excellent meals with what this online butcher service sends in its monthly boxes. You won't see a ton of haute cuisine in EveryPlate's weekly menu, but there are plenty of satisfying dinners for the cold weather ahead. Reviews ethics statement. You still needed to spend a little extra cheddar to make it a meal.	The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery	EveryPlate is the cheapest meal delivery service on our list, with prices starting at just $5 per serving. The company also offers discounts to Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for 15 of the Best Family Meal Deals to Order on Busy Nights that Won't Bust Your Budget · 1. Panda Express Family Meal · 3. Pizza Hut Big Dinner Box	EveryPlate is the cheapest meal delivery service on our list, with prices starting at just $5 per serving. The company also offers discounts to One of the top tier fast food deals, however, still has to go to Wendy's for its 4 for $4. For less than $5, customers can grab chicken nuggets 15 of the Best Family Meal Deals to Order on Busy Nights that Won't Bust Your Budget · 1. Panda Express Family Meal · 3. Pizza Hut Big Dinner Box

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Low-Cost Meal Offers - We're sharing the best food deals of the week! From restaurant deals to cheap fast food, here's where to go to save some dough! The meal has to be right around $5. 2. We're looking for the best food the joint offers on a budget. It's not about the most food you can get Meal kits and prepared meals for under $6 a serving? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Restaurant & Food Delivery Deals Near You: Save today with our great takeout & restaurant deals. Check Groupon first & book online for fast delivery

Here's a look at what our list ended up looking like. Meal kits "can be a great way to ensure your nutrients needs are met without having to buy individual ingredients or measuring out portions," says Jennifer May of the Sydney City Nutritionist and Food Intolerance of Australia.

They often come with "nutrient-rich meals such as lean proteins, fresh vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. But it's not as simple as assuming all meal kits handle these elements of a balanced meal equally; May reiterates the importance of checking each meal's listed nutritional facts to ensure there is ample protein, fiber, and sodium content to meet your daily needs.

EveryPlate sits proudly at the top of our list of affordable and accessible meal kits for seniors. While its menu doesn't cater specifically to older adults like some other meal delivery services, you'll find its recipes to be very easy to follow.

Meals typically take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete, which is great for older adults that may be put off by longer, more involved meal kits.

EveryPlate is ideal for seniors without specific dietary restrictions since its main focus is keeping costs low. There are still a number of plant-based recipes to choose from, however, as well as plenty of low-calorie recipes in the Nutrish and Delish plan.

Marley Spoon is a meal kit company that's all about the cooking experience. Each box contains quality ingredients and recipes based off of Marth Stewart classics. These have been pared down to be more beginner friendly, making it easy to prepare a home-cooked meal that looks like it belongs in a cooking segment.

Dinner options like the Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta or Martha's Classic Corn and Poblano Enchiladas may seem daunting at first, but these healthy and nutritious meals boast a minute serving time at most.

Ingredients, allergens, and detailed nutrition facts can all be found online, as well as on the recipe card that arrives along with everything you'll need to cook. Meals variety is mainly limited to lunch and dinner each week, with more than 30 recipes to choose from when choosing your options for delivery.

Seniors can select the vegetarian option for a selection of plant-based meals instead, albeit with slightly less variety than other meal kit companies. Marley Spoon is perfect for older adults that want to try their hand at gourmet home-cooked meals, but would prefer clear and concise cooking instructions.

There are meal plans for two or four people, with anywhere between two and six recipes delivered on a weekly basis. For seniors looking for a meal delivery service that offers quick and delicious meals without the hassle of shopping or prep work or cooking , Mosaic Foods has some of the best meal kits out there.

It boasts a menu of entirely plant-based recipes as well, making for a great healthy choice. Its line of bake-and-serve frozen meals come with next to no prep work; just pop each meal with its very own oven-safe tray included into the oven for a dish that's ready in minutes.

You can choose anywhere from six to 18 items to be delivered each week. Selections are made à la carte, so you have complete control over what arrives on your doorstep each week.

Snap Kitchen is a meal delivery service that provides ready-made dinners that heat up within minutes for the perfect hassle-free dinner. Recipes are crafted by expert chefs and approved by dietitians directly from the company's gluten-free kitchen in Fort Worth, TX.

Snap Kitchen is committed to providing healthy and organic ingredients to its subscribers. Ingredients that are sent out each week are free of any preservatives, antibiotics, hormones, or artificial sweeteners.

For anyone interested in trying out one of Snap Kitchen's meals, you may find premade meals at your local grocery store; Snap Kitchen has offerings available at many Whole Foods Market locations. If you live in Texas, you may have seen one of Snap Kitchen's eight retail stores located throughout Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.

This meal kit company serves up premade, easily prepared meals that can go straight from the fridge to the microwave or stovetop for a quick and painless dinnertime experience. Snap Kitchen currently reaches households in Texas and other locations across the US, so check to see if Snap Kitchen delivers to your area before signing up.

Residents of Austin, Dallas, or Houston, Texas, who are close enough to a retail location can save an additional five percent by signing up for a Snap Pass plan. Top Shelf Meals is a great senior-friendly meal delivery service that offers fully customizable orders, dietitian-developed meals for different diets, and a flexible signup process that doesn't pull any fast ones with things like surprise fees.

Older adults can order healthy and satisfying meals online at their own convenience. What sets Top Shelf Meals apart from other meal kit companies is its variety when it comes to certain dietary restrictions.

You can find meals that are low-sodium, keto-friendly, gluten-free, plant-based, diabetes-friendly, and more. Although its weekly recipes are health-forward and cater to a number of preferences, that doesn't mean Top Shelf Meals' selections aren't interesting and unique.

As of the time of this writing, it boasted seasonal specials available for a limited time including Shrimp Creole, Braised Short Rib, and the intriguing Sweet Onion Bacon Jam Burger. Simply create an account online and start browsing the weekly menu.

Delivery is nationwide, so Top Shelf Meals can easily reach you wherever you may be -- just look out for a box being delivered via FedEx or courier service. The best meal kits meet you where you're at, financially speaking.

If a weekly meal plan is cheaper than takeout or other quick and easy dinner options, then it's just a matter of finding meals you like best. Thankfully, we did the math on that one already. All that's left is to know what you want — as well as what you don't. Thankfully, most meal kits make it easy to customize your meal plan without facing higher costs we're looking at you, expensive organic sections at the grocery store.

When asked what ingredients anyone, especially seniors, should avoid to keep things healthy, Elmardi suggested staying away from excess calories and sodium content. We paid close attention to the nutritional value of each meal kit's offerings to build our list, as well as the following considerations:.

Read more about how we review products. It depends on a meal kit's total expenses, given that prices range between different companies. Pre-made and frozen meals are usually the cheapest options from senior meal kits and are worth the cost when pitted against the price of shopping for a traditional home-cooked meal.

Some meal kits do offer discounts for seniors and older adults. Not all meal kits have savings for seniors, but it's worth double checking when signing up. Yes, certain meal kit companies like Snap Kitchen and Top Shelf Meals cater specifically to senior citizens with heat-and-eat meals that are nutritionally balanced.

If you live in a qualifying area for delivery, Snap Kitchen has one of the most versatile menus for seniors looking to eat healthy. Hungry Root is also great for people who live alone and want a quick and easy meal with organic ingredients. Tom Horton is a resident health expert for CBS Essentials, with deep experience in topics ranging from chronic conditions to health-care devices to diet options.

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Who is the man in the hat? It's true. We tested dozens to find the best budget meal delivery for Updated Jan. What to consider. After you've picked between meal kits or meal delivery, you'll want to find a service within your budget. Meal kit or prepared meal delivery.

The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals that are ready to heat and eat.

Meal kits will demand more of your time and energy but they'll also cost a little less per serving. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few bucks more per serving.

While most meal delivery services have healthy options, some are much healthier than others. If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services will be better than others.

Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find all the most nutritious options. Number of meals per week. With almost every service, the more meals or servings your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.

But you'll want to hone in on exactly how much food makes sent for your household. If you can't imagine yourself cooking more than twice per week, don't order more than two meal kits because they typically won't last more than a week in the fridge.

Most prepared meals either arrive frozen or can be frozen after unboxing. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go around.

Most services allow you to change the number of meals or servings in your plan even after you've started. Our meal delivery experts have logged more than 5 years of cooking more than 75 meal kits and tasting more than prepared meals from various services to help land on our list of the best healthy meal subscriptions in While everything else has got more expensive, meal kit subscriptions seem to be getting cheaper.

The absolute cheapest meal kit is EveryPlate , and with consistently tasty meals -- we've tested it three times now -- that take as little as 20 minutes to cook, it's an easy pick for the best cheap meal service for Read more: Are Some Meal Kits Cheaper Than Buying Groceries?

I Did the Math. If you're looking for inexpensive vegan meals by mail or an affordable meal kit service that includes steak and seafood in the standard plan, we have picks for those, too. The takeaway? Being budget-friendly certainly doesn't mean the food has to suck. If you're looking to eliminate a few weekly tasks -- grocery shopping, meal planning, prep, cooking -- without squeezing your budget, we tested more than 10 top wallet-friendly services to find the best cheap meal delivery for The bottom line : EveryPlate's meal kits were all solid and easy to make.

EveryPlate meal kits are easy to prepare and I loved everything I made in multiple rounds of testing. You won't find a lot of foofy, upscale cuisine or complicated recipes, but you will get a lot of satisfying comfort food, such as hoisin meatloaf with mashed potatoes, cheeseburgers, umami pork chops and sweet potato quesadillas.

I tested EveryPlate and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the meals. Having tested all of the leading prepared meal delivery service options, Fresh N Lean ran away from the competition, ticking more boxes than any other.

The food is healthy, thoughtfully prepared, tastes fantastic, looks appetizing and is fairly affordable, depending on the plan you select. Fresh N Lean has five meal plans to help keep folks on track with their specific nutrition goals, including low-carb, vegan, paleo and protein-plus options.

The food I tried was all made exceptionally well, made from simple, whole ingredients. This is the perfect service for families with picky eaters trying to eat well on a budget. Much like EveryPlate, Dinnerly has a lot of comfort foods such as ravioli with spinach and parmesan sauce, carne asada tacos and chicken pad thai.

Dinnerly has an enormous menu of recipes -- typically more than 60 to choose from in a given week. The bottom line: This plant-based meal delivery service had some of the best, healthy prepared meals of any service we tried.

I sampled about nine of Mosaic Food's plant-based prepared meal offerings and the vegetarian prepared meal delivery service had an astoundingly high hit rate. Mosaic uses bold and interesting global flavors and employs creative use of meat substitutes such as tofu, jackfruit, cauliflower and vegan sausages to create tasty and satisfying vegetarian meals -- even for this omnivore.

There are some vegan meals, but many of them use dairy products, so vegans must choose their Mosaic meals more carefully. The bottom line: Blue Apron is a classic example of a quality meal delivery service. One of the original providers of this service, it also stands out for eco-friendliness.

Blue Apron is one of the original meal kit services and it's also one of the best. In fact, Blue Apron topped our list of best meal delivery services for with a wide range of excellent recipes, all for an affordable price.

It's true, you can order bistro steaks and roasted trout dinners with Blue Apron's standard plan, where many services charge extra for those premium proteins. In addition to solid meal kits, Blue Apron is the most eco-friendly service of the major players, according to a recent study.

The heartier meals are great too, like the cauliflower rice and pesto harvest bowl with cashews and spinach. You won't need more than a saucepan, toaster or blender to prepare most of the meals, and most can be made in as little as 5 minutes. When I tried Daily Harvest , I loved the interesting smoothie combos such as a chocolate blueberry smoothie with greens, banana and almond butter.

The bottom line : It doesn't get much easier than HelloFresh. This service has tons of cheap meal kit options, more than 50 per week, and allows you to add proteins or extra servings to keep the whole crew fed and happy.

HelloFresh has as many as 25 dinner meal kits per week, so it is nearly impossible not to find something you'll like. HelloFresh also has five or six plant-based recipes a week, making it the best cheap meal kit service for vegetarians.

Over the past few years, we've tested nearly every meal kit delivery and prepared meal delivery service we could get our oven mitts on, and that includes the best budget meal delivery services. Many of the menu options for the meal delivery services we've listed include nutritious plant-based food or high-protein recipes with lots of veggies and lean meats.

To test each cheap meal delivery service, I tried at least four and sometimes as many as 10 meals from any given service. I always choose a range of meals from the various menu and meal plan offerings. For instance, if a meal subscription service offers vegan or vegetarian meals I was sure to try at least one.

I also mixed up the cuisine types to include pasta, meat dishes, bowls and other various styles offered by the brand. To test the best cheap meal kits, there was another set of standards and protocols to adhere to. Here's more on how we test meal kits at CNET.

The first big decision you'll make is whether you want meal kits, which require some prep and cooking, or a prepared meal service that sends fully cooked meals ready to heat and eat. Prepared meals require almost no time and energy, other than what it takes to actually eat the food, but typically run a few dollars more per serving.

If you're keen on eating low-calorie, low-carb, plant-based or pescatarian food, certain meal kits and meal delivery services are better than others. Our list of the healthiest meal delivery services for is a good place to find the most nutritious options. With almost every service, the more meals or servings are in your order per delivery, the cheaper it becomes per meal.

Ideally, you'll want to determine exactly how much food makes sense for your household. That means it's less of an issue if you order too many meals on your first go-around.

Services like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon have meals for similar prices but are focused more on grain bowls and smoothies and might be better for breakfast or lunch versus dinner. When it comes to meal kits, your options are many, and most services provide weekly recipes that are low on calories but still filling.

HelloFresh has the most recipes per week of any meal kit service, so that might be your best bet for finding consistent meals that keep your diet goals on track. But all services list the calorie content for each recipe, along with carbs, protein, sugar and sodium.

Depending on your weight loss goals, a healthy prepared meal delivery or meal kit service can help. Fresh N Lean, Pete's Real Food and Daily Harvest all have low-calorie meals to choose from. Some of the services listed here are healthy prepared meal delivery services , sending fully cooked meals -- often frozen or partially frozen -- and ready to eat when you receive them.

Others include health-focused meal kits with premeasured ingredients all boxed up and ready for easy weeknight cooking. There's a stark difference between meal kits and meal delivery, but both make dinnertime easier and can translate into healthier eating choices for you in Plus, we sussed out the best healthy meal services for those on special diets like keto or paleo or for those who wish to eat organic prepared meals and meal kits.

Wellness Nutrition. Written by David Watsky. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.