Local food delivery services offer prepared meals, groceries or meal preparation kits. These services can help you eat better if you’re cooking-impaired (or don’t have the time or patience to go grocery shopping.)
10 Signs You Should Invest in Food Delivery Services
Some services offer fresh ingredients and accompanying recipes so you can cook meals at home without worrying about menu planning. You sign up for the service for a specified amount of time and choose a plan (daily, weekdays, weekends or a certain number of deliveries a week). Most services let you cancel anytime without a fee.
Prepared meal services offer a variety of cuisines, including Asian, Mediterranean, French, Italian, Mexican, Brazilian and Southern food.
1. You Don’t Have Time to go Grocery Shopping.
If you have a demanding job, travel a lot or have other commitments that make it hard to go grocery shopping, you can have groceries delivered by your favorite supermarket. Many grocery stores have online shopping carts so that you can choose your favorite foods. Delivery times vary, and some companies offer 24/7 service. Using an online service to buy groceries may help you consume 40% fewer high-fat foods per week.
Meal preparation kits offer healthy foods to make it easier to cook your dinner at home. Online meal kit providers select recipes and ingredients based on your needs (1-person, 2-person, and family plans are usually available).
Specialty food delivery services connect you with farmers, bakers and other producers of fresh-made goods. Customer service reps can help you choose the most nutritious or cost-effective foods for your needs.
2. You Only Eat What’s Quick and Convenient.
You may rack up a weekly food bill that’s even higher than using a delivery service if you eat out at a fast-food place or get Chinese take-out because it’s convenient. Fast-food and fast-causal restaurants (Denny’s, Olive Garden, etc.) may offer meals to sate your appetite faster, but the food may not be fresh.
Some food delivery services offer prepared, delivered meals for less than you’d spend on General Tso’s Chicken and Wonton soup (without the free fortune cookie.)
3. You Don’t Know How to Boil Water.
Okay, you probably know how to boil water. But you should consider signing up home meal delivery if your idea of a home-cooked meal is waterlogged macaroni and cheese and canned soup.
A food delivery service saves you the time and frustration of struggling over a hot stove if you have no cooking or meal planning skills. You’ll receive breakfast, lunch or dinner (depending on the plan you choose) at your doorstep, expertly prepared.
4. You Have a Hard Time Deciding What to Order for Takeout or Delivery.
Do you take forever to decide what entrée to order (or even which restaurant to choose)? A food delivery service can help you make up your mind by offering pre-selected, healthy foods for one or more restaurant-quality meals a day.
5. Everything You Eat is Unhealthy.
If you eat three junk food meals instead of three square meals a day, you may be doing more than risking a thin waistline. (Maybe you eat doughnuts for dinner and potato chips for breakfast, or snack all day instead of sitting down and eating a full meal.)
Food delivery services offer high-quality, nutritionally-balanced entrees. Most services have chefs and menu planners to create great-tasting meals with a high percentage of the (daily value) DV of vitamins and minerals.
Don’t eat cereal straight from the box when you get home from work. You can have a vegetarian, ethnic or reduced-calorie delivered to you, no phone call or spur of the moment online order necessary.
6. You Want to Lose Weight.
Choosing a healthy, low-calorie restaurant meals can be a challenge. Most restaurant entrees contain more calories, sugar, and salt than homemade dishes. It’s easy to cheat on your diet if you eat out a lot or order takeout food. Cooking at home takes time, and you may not be skilled at making tasty, weight-loss meals?
The solution? Contact one of the many food delivery services specializing in healthy, low-calorie meals if you want to get down to your fighting weight.
Weight loss programs have traditionally offered prepared meals for their members, but diet meal services offer an alternative. These companies deliver appetizing, low-fat meals that fill you up, so you won’t be tempted to snack later in the day.
7. You Spend Too Much on Food and Still Feel Hungry at the End of the Day.
Pizza delivery, takeout, and snacks from the vending machine drain your bank account and make you gain weight. Sign up for a meal delivery service if you’re stuck in this no-win routine.
You may agree that it’ll save you time but wonder about the money angle. Between the entree, drink, dessert, tax and tip, a delivered restaurant meal could cost $30 or more. With a food delivery service, you save money over ordering from a restaurant every day.
8. You’re a Vegan or Vegetarian.
Even small cities and towns have at least one vegetarian restaurant. Chain supermarkets offer a wide selection of produce and prepared veggie meals, but the selection may not be enough to keep your palate entertained day after day. Vegetarian or health-oriented food delivery services offer many creative meat-free meals.
9. You Have Special Dietary Needs.
Menu planning can be stressful if you have diabetes, have allergies, high blood pressure or any other chronic health problem. Choose a food delivery company with a wide variety of dishes, so you can find some that are right for you. A healthy diet delivery service will have gluten, sugar and salt-free meals to ensure you avoid harmful ingredients.
10. You’re Impatient.
You don’t have the patience to gather measuring cups, pots, pans and spices, much less follow a recipe. Spending a half hour or more preparing a meal seems like such a chore. You have a short attention span. After a long day at work, and on weekends, you just want to relax. A meal delivery service gives you delicious food when you need it without any effort on your part. Sign up food delivery services, and they do the rest.
