Family dinner just got a little easier.
When you’re busy at work or with the kids all day, it can be hard to find the energy to whip up something healthy for dinner. So, many of us resort to old standbys like macaroni and cheese, whatever’s in the freezer, pizza delivery and takeout. In other words, we sacrifice nutrition for convenience.
In recent years, however, a slew of meal delivery services have cropped up nationwide to fill this very niche. With names like Munchery, Blue Apron, Plated, HelloFresh and Home Chef and taglines like “Reinventing Weeknight Dinners,” the relatively new food delivery services specialize in delivering healthy, well-balanced chef-quality meals – cooked or uncooked, depending on the service – right to clients’ doorsteps.
Of course, meal delivery doesn’t come cheap. For instance, Blue Apron (BlueApron.com), which delivers a box filled with recipes and the ingredients to make them, costs at least $9.99 per person per meal,while main dishes on Munchery (Munchery.com) also run around $10 (plus a delivery fee). But before you write off such services because you’re on a meal budget, here’s some good news: There are strategies for saving on meal delivery services. Here are five ways to make meal delivery more affordable.
Find discounts for first-time users. Before you order, be sure to search online for discounts for the service you want to use. You can check with search engines as well as on the services’ sites and social media profiles.
For instance, when I recently searched for Blue Apron coupons in Google, a now-expired Blue Apron deal on Gilt City for new clients popped up, and on Twitter, Blue Apron was recently offering two meals free with clients' first delivery. Meanwhile, Munchery, which currently serves the San Francisco area and just expanded to Seattle, is offering a special discount (the first entrée free for every new order) for Seattle customers through July 29 (see the company’s blog for more details). Elsewhere, Healthy Bites Food (HealthyBitesFood.com), which serves the District of Columbia area, offers new clients $15 off their first order of $100 or more, according to the service’s website.
Take advantage of deals for frequent users. Most meal delivery services also offer special rates for those who order most often. Munchery, for example, offers unlimited free delivery for $39 a year. Healthy Bites Food, meanwhile, takes 5 to 15 percent off of weekly orders for those who have purchased multi-week packages. And if the meal delivery service in your area doesn’t advertise such deals online, you can ask the service directly about any discounts.
Order early. With some of the services that deliver ready-made meals, the earlier you order, the better for your wallet. For instance, those who place their Munchery orders two days or more in advance can get “special early bird discounts” of 10 to 25 percent off most items.
Refer a friend. After you’ve signed up for many of the services, you can cut your food or delivery costs by referring a friend to your particular service. Plated (Plated.com), for instance, offers free delivery to those who refer two friends. Elsewhere, Munchery offers discounts to those who refer a friend that places an order, and PeachDish (PeachDish.com) also offers a referral discount.
Ask for meal delivery as a gift. Finally, most of the services can be purchased as gifts or offer gift cards, so you can easily ask for meal delivery as your next birthday or baby shower gift.
Whether these services are worth the money or not for you will of course depend on whether you like their food. If you have picky eaters in your family, then these services might not be for you.
There certainly also are other ways to get your meals delivered for less. For instance, if you just had a baby or are about to have one, you may want to consider setting up a meal delivery chain, where you friends and family take turns bringing over meals for you.
In addition, if you don’t mind having to plan your own meals and pick out the ingredients, there are many alternative ways to cut your meal costs, such as avoiding impulse buys and creatively using your leftovers, as well as making sure you’re not serving your children too much food.
There also are many ways to eat out for less, such as ordering one meal for you and your young children to share. Of course, if you’re short on time but you have a little wiggle room in your food budget, meal delivery services, combined with the five savings strategies mentioned above, might be worth a try.
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