We know that after a busy day, it can be difficult to get dinner on the table. And if you’re anything like us, you turn to takeout menus and junk food more often than you’d like. Or maybe you make the same basic meals night after night. Either way, meal kits are a solution.
If you want to save time and eat better, then there’s a lot to like about meal kits. Let’s check out some of the ways they can help make your life easier.
Meal Kits Can Save You Money
When was the last time you threw away food because you bought too much at the grocery store? If you’re like most of us, it happens frequently. With the unpredictable nature of life, it’s easy to accidentally overbuy food that inevitably goes to waste — Americans waste 150,000 tons of food every day.1
gradyreese/GettyBut buying too little food, on the other hand, can also be costly. That’s because you might resort to the quickest and most convenient way to fill your stomach — expensive (and often unhealthy) takeout food. Fortunately, meal kits can act as money-saving alternatives to wasting your money on unused food or takeout.
That’s because you don’t have to worry about buying the right amount of food. Since meal kits only send the exact ingredients each dish needs, you don’t pay for any ingredients that go to waste. Some meal delivery services even offer already-assembled meals, so you can get the convenience of takeout.
Want To Eat Healthier? Meal Kits Can Help
Even with the recent push to make nutritional info more visible on restaurant menus, it’s still hard to know how healthy the food is at a restaurant. As a result, a meal that sounds healthy might not be. Perhaps that chicken and broccoli dinner you’re eyeing, for instance, is actually covered in butter and unhealthy oils.2
Over time, missteps like that can add up to years of unhealthy eating and potential health risks. When you use meal kits, however, you know exactly what you’re eating — both ingredient- and nutrition-wise. Most meal kit services even categorize their menus based on specific dietary preferences or needs like keto or gluten-free options.
Meal Kits Can Save Time and Hassle
After a long day at work, the last thing many of us want to do is spend an hour in the kitchen making dinner. First, you have to decide what to make. Then, you need to prepare the ingredients. Next, you have to sit tight while your oven reaches the right temperature. Finally, you have to wait for the food to actually cook.
Outside of cooking, you also have to take into account the amount of time you spend grocery shopping. The average grocery shopping trip takes 41 minutes, so that adds up.3 With meal kits, the time it takes to prepare and whip up your meals is drastically reduced. Meal kits save you from spending hours shopping for ingredients and cooking meals.
Try Restaurant-Quality Meals Every Week
No matter what it is, most of us get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. If you eat out a lot, then you get tired of going to the same restaurants. If you mostly eat at home, then you get tired of eating the same meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Even if you want to branch out and try a new restaurant or cook a new meal, budgetary restrictions can keep you eating the same foods over and over again. Fortunately, meal kits can help you break the cycle. They combine affordability and diversity.
Most companies offer a revolving menu with new meals to try every single week. And many of these menus are created by respected chefs. As a result, you get to experience restaurant-quality meals from the comfort of your own home.
Meal Kits Can Help You Learn How To Cook
One of the most common things keeping people from enjoying the benefits of home-cooked meals is not knowing how to cook. To be fair, cooking can definitely be intimidating. Finding ingredients that work well together and following complicated recipes can make plenty of us want to stay out of the kitchen.
However, meal kits can take intimidation out of the equation. That’s because they provide detailed step-by-step guides to take the guesswork out of home cooking. As you continue cooking with the assistance of meal kits, you may even get to a point where you can start applying your acquired cooking skills to meals beyond your meal kits.
Make Dietary Changes Easier With Meal Kits
Finally, deciding to make a dietary change can be hard. And actually implementing that change can be even harder. Whether it’s convenience or affordability or taste, there are several things that can make implementing the change a struggle.
That’s why having your meals planned out as much as possible is so helpful. As previously mentioned, many meal kit services divide their menus into categories for different dietary needs. So, you can follow your new diet with relative ease.
The Bottom Line
For many of us, dinner time is one of the few times throughout the day that we get quality time with friends and family. But getting that dinner on the table can be a lot of work. That’s where meal kits come into play. They come with the ingredients and step-by-step instructions, after all.
And, of course, there are options if cooking isn’t really your style. Some companies offer pre-made meals you can pop in the microwave or oven and heat up. Explore your options to find the right meal kit service for your needs. There are a lot of options worth considering.
