Photo 4/12
Veestro
Price: Starting at $10 per meal for the a la carte option or $8 per meal if you do a meal pack
Good for: Vegans and vegetarians strapped for time
Pros: Ease of preparation, healthy-ish plant-based meals
Cons: Not always filling, much more expensive than your typical frozen meal
Tester's Notes: These frozen, easy-to-prepare meals are great for those who are transitioning into or committed to a plant-based diet. Our taster found it easy to move her meal for the day from the freezer to the fridge in the morning. Come lunchtime, you're only four or five microwaveable minutes away from a delicious, vegetarian meal.
At $8 to $10 a pop, these meals were probably cheaper than what you'd get on your lunch break, and definitely healthier. They are slightly more expensive than some vegetarian frozen meals you might find in the freezer section, but you can rest assured that they're organic, non-GMO and preservative-free. They also have gluten-free and calorie-restrictive options, which is good if you're looking for a strict regimen. Our taster particularly liked the country fried chick'n with veggies and mashed potatoes and gravy, calling it "hearty" and "amazing" tasting.
Image via @veestrofood
Photo 5/12
Gobble
Price: $11.95-$13.95 per meal
Good for: Cooking newbies who are intimidated by food preparation and/or short on time
Pros: Tasty meals, interesting menu, easier to prepare than cooking a meal from scratch, easy clean-up
Cons: Not quite as quick and easy as advertised (though still pretty quick and easy)
Tester's Notes: Wannabe chefs can keep their day job as long as they have this meal kit to cut out grocery shopping and menu selection. Gobble sends meals almost entirely pre-prepped (think: pre-cooked lentils, pre-boiled eggs, already-poached potatoes), so all you have to do is put everything together. With the prep work out of the way, dinner no longer seems like a giant effort at the end of your day. "All of the meals were much more ambitious than something I'd attempt if I were flying solo, which was nice because it allowed me to break out of my food rut," said our taster.
Recipes are relatively easy and quick to prepare. The extent of your hands-on cooking will involve chopping veggies, sautéing meat and boiling water -- and most of the meals can be prepared in one pot or pan, which makes clean-up easier. The directions are easy to follow, the portion sizes are generous enough for two people, and each meals has a mix of veggies, grains and meat.
While Gobble says each meal can be prepared in 10 to 15 minutes, that might be a slight understatement, or maybe only true for real chefs. In reality, sometimes the cooking time alone is 10 minutes. Our taster found it was more like 20 to 30 minutes to get a meal on the table, but still stressed it felt like minimal effort for a really delicious meal that costs less than takeout.
Image via @gobbleinc
Photo 6/12
Pete's Paleo
Price: $15-$25 per meal, depending on the plan you choose
Good for: Meat lovers who hate cooking (though there are meat-free options, too)
Pros: Prep is non-existent and food is filling and flavorful
Cons: Possible quality control issues
Tester's Notes: "Cooking" this meal couldn't be easier -- you simply snip open the vacuum-sealed packs, plate them and heat it up. A godsend for health-conscious foodies who work 10+ hours a day.
The menus change weekly and with the seasons, so you won't get bored, and include items like deliciously seasoned garlic lamb, pulled and slow-cooked with tons of flavor, shaved sautéed fennel and roasted colored potatoes. The organic ingredients are responsibly sourced from farmers and ranchers that the company has a direct relationship with, so you can feel good about where and how your food is grown. Chefs prepare meals the same week the vegetables are harvested. Meals are also gluten-, dairy- and soy-free.
Both our non-Paleo tester and her husband were impressed by the ample portions and gourmet flavor. While our taster did experience some issues like sand in the fennel and a piece of cardboard in her chicken -- it didn't dampen her enthusiasm for the meal plan, which she still cites as one of her favorites for convenience and taste.
Note: Pete's Paleo assured us that complaints like grit their vegetables are rare (and they've never had one regarding cardboard). Quality is their top concern and they offer a full replacement or refund for any inconsistencies.
Image via @petespaleo
Photo 7/12
Sakara Life
Price: You can order the 3-day meal plan for $239 (about $80/day) or the 5-day plan for $349 (roughly $70/day). Each day consists of three meals plus snacks, wellness water and tea
Good for: Someone obsessed with clean eating. It's vegan, and gluten- and dairy-free
Pros: Large, filling portions. Gorgeous, Instagrammable dishes that make you feel like a better person
Cons: Some of the meals weren't as good as others
Tester's Notes: Rave-worthy meals included the Sakara nicoise salad, made with adzuki bean tempeh, and an "egg" made from cashews and macadamia nuts; wild mushroom pasta with black truffle oil and sauteed spinach, using chickpea pasta; and a melt-in-your-mouth Greek yogurt and roasted grape tart. Because the ingredient list is so clean and the meals are presented so thoughtfully, you feel virtuous for eating them, which is never a bad thing. Our taster even called one of these meals an "I-didn't-want-it-to-end heaven."
The meals were slightly hit-and-miss for our taster, though. The good ones were amazing, but there were one or two that ended up in her trash (and wasting food never makes one feel virtuous).
While the plans are pricey, they do come with a ton of fancy wellness perks: Superfood Beauty Water, Detox Tea, and two snacks. The Dark Chocolate Granola was described as "life-changingly good."
The 100 percent plant-based, organic program is designed with nutrition in mind and takes all the work out of eating healthfully. Not once did our tester miss sugar or processed food, nor did she experience salad fatigue, despite the 4-6 cups of greens in each lovingly crafted creation.
Image via @sakaralife
Photo 8/12
Urban Remedy
Price: $55-$73 per day for meals, juices and tinctures
Good for: Detoxing or easing your way into a juice cleanse
Pros: Nutrition content readily available, filling portions and zero prep
Cons: The calorie count seemed off -- website said 1,400 max, but our taster counted 1735 in a day, not including the tinctures
Tester's Notes: The Metta Morphosis plan is a delightful cleanse/detox that will make you feel light, bright and oh-so righteous in a healthy state of mind. The green drinks are delicious, and the soups and nut milks were filling enough that I wasn't even the slightest bit hungry by the end of the day. That might have been because they were on the heavier side, calorie wise. While the green juice was 50 calories, the salads were in the 400s and the nut milk, which is the last thing you consume before bed, was 360. If you're using the plan to cut out certain ingredients, like gluten or sugar, that's fine -- but you might be disappointed if you think it's a cleanse that will help you shed pounds. However, there are other plans available if a svelte figure is your goal.
The Metta Morphosis plan will help you feel lighter, though, and will certainly help shut down sugar and carb cravings over the course of three days. Our taster especially liked the Veggie Pho Soup and Umeboshi Salad. The plan offers a daily meditation and guided movement, which is the kind of thoughtful consideration Urban Remedy approaches food with, too. These plans are great for slimming down before a big event (without starving yourself and turning into a hungry monster in the process).
Image via @urbanremedy