There are so many box delivery meals out there to choose from now that taking a break from your own recipes and ingredients from your own fridge can be a great way to refresh your weekday dinner routines. I know I get in a rut trying to eat healthy while making something that my kids and picky husband will eat.  I have tried three of these services and have rated them.

1. Green Chef

Green Chef gets my #1 favorite vote. I’ve made about 4 weeks worth of meals recently and have been delighted! There are a few things that separate Green Chef from some of the others. Here’s what I’ve found:

• You can choose what kinds of meals you want, Paleo, Gluten-free, Vegan, Omnivore, etc.
• Directions are easy to follow. Each step is in a little box with a little photo and ingredients are highlighted.
• Recipes are good and use spices and sauces that would not have time to make on my own.
• Ingredients are organic and fresh.

(I had this particular meal last night and it was yum!)

2. Blue Apron

Blue Apron was the first meal service that I subscribed to. I used it for almost a year with success. The recipes were good, but I found a few negatives :

• Directions were a bit complicated and seemed to take a long time to prep.
• Ingredients were seasonal (which is good), but when I was given eggplant for 3 meals in a row I would become bored.
• Lastly there was no choice in type of meals. Yes, you could edit the kinds of proteins, but you could not choose the overall meal category.
• Ingredients were not always fresh. I received produce that was rotten on numerous occasions.

3. Sunbasket

I used Sunbasket over the summer at the lake.

• Like Green Chef you can choose the type of meal you want – Paleo, Meat, Gluten-free, etc.
• Organic and fresh
• Interesting recipes

I did feel like the calorie count seemed higher with these recipes. My personal goal was to eat/cook a healthy meal for my family and stay trim so this bothered me a bit. I also received alot of red meat, which I don’t love in general.

With all of these boxed meals you get an email the week before with pictures that tell you what you are getting the next week. I think this is kind of fun and helpful for planning out your week. I have found that when I receive a protein that I’m scared of (like lamb or pork) I will end up substituting for my own protein. This is a bit annoying and I hate throwing away the money, but it’s still worth the meal.

Also, I don’t use boxed meals all year long. I will use them when I’m too busy to think about cooking from scratch or when I’m in a cooking rut. September is so busy with the start of school that not thinking about dinner has been amazing. There are times that I use these just for me if I’m eating healthy and know my kids won’t go for seafood or experimenting with ingredients. Of course, this week I discovered via my Green Chef meal that my kids are obsessed with roasted sweet potato fries! Win!