Bon appétit—made simple

It’s 6:30 p.m. and you’re stuck in traffic. It’s dinnertime, but you still need to pick up your meal’s ingredients, prep them, and finally cook. You’d like to eat at a reasonable hour, but it’s unlikely. Is it time to consider a meal-prep service?

What’s a meal-prep service?

Between grocery shopping, prepping and cleaning, making dinners for yourself or your family can feel like a chore. With a meal-prep service, you order a kit of raw ingredients delivered right to your door—along with recipes of your choice.

They can provide balanced, wholesome dishes that can assist with weight loss or maintenance, or improve your diet. Most services give you flexibility to customize your choices from vegetarian to paleo to keto. So, no matter what your preference, a meal kit gives you all the ingredients to fix healthy meals that suit your specific dietary needs at home.

The pre-measured ingredients usually include a protein, vegetables, sauces and spices. With recipe in hand, you simply combine the ingredients and get cooking!

“An increasing number of my clients choose these types of services,” says Andy De Santis, Registered Dietitian. “They save you time, and that helps to reduce eating out and improves your diet’s overall quality.”

The health factor

Think about how often you’ve scraped together a lunch from leftovers or just ordered take-out on the way home. You may not have the time or energy to cook healthy foods from scratch every day. But living on restaurant fare can lead to poor eating habits and take a toll on your health.

De Santis says that if you’re going to order food anyway, it makes sense to switch to a service that delivers recipes and ingredients to you. He adds that even though you get some initial help, the recipes are likely more nutritious.

The time factor

Ingredient kits already save you shopping and prepping time. De Santis says there’s another major benefit. Families get everything they need to cook dishes together. So get the kids involved and save even more time. Young children can be asked to sprinkle a seasoning, stir a stew, or rinse vegetables. The kids can also set and clear the table, and be involved in some food preparation. Many adolescents see cooking as an avenue of self-expression and would happily pitch in with the cooking process.

The money factor

Since you’re probably not an expert chef, you may not know the exact quantities of ingredients you need when cooking a dish. That means you may end up throwing away some ingredients or even a part of your meal—a waste of money and food. With pre-proportioned kits, you get the food you like and the amount you want without the added costs.

“The meal and ingredient delivery market continues to expand,” says De Santis. “That means competitive pricing and an impressive selection that’s catered to you.”  

Bring on the holiday cheer

The coming holidays are a time to gather with friends and family. Wouldn’t it be nice to sit down and enjoy your guests instead of cooking all day? Consider ordering a pre-cooked family feast so you can enjoy a no-stress holiday with your loved ones.

In contrast to kits that provide you with raw ingredients, you can order a fully prepared meal for your family. Many of your local grocery stores, restaurants and caterers offer holiday packages that are ready to heat (and eat), so there’s no cooking or prep required. Depending on where you order from, you can either pick up your food or get it delivered. But the convenience doesn’t stop there. These packages can also accommodate various dietary needs.

“Prepared holiday meals are flexible and can offer you more dishes than you may be able to make yourself,” says De Santis.

Your banquet can include all the classic fixings, starting with the turkey and going straight through to the pie. The dishes will likely come cold, so you'll still have to use your oven, but heating up food is much easier than starting from scratch.

Cheers to a happy and restful holiday season!

Shopping for and preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner every day costs time, energy and money. Let a meal-prep service help so you can focus on what matters most to you.

For more information on healthy eating and nutrition, visit https://andytherd.com/.