Have you been thinking about using a home meal delivery service? There are many options but you may be wondering - exactly how does it work? Are there contracts I have to sign? How is delivery handled? Will it be delivered to my door or do I have to pick it up somewhere? Do I need to be there in person to sign for my meals?
So How Does It Work?
Food delivery services do things a little different from company to company but many follow similar general principles. Very few services will let you order single diet delivery meals. Most plans are based on their customers ordering a week to a months worth of food at a time. You can order many meals for delivery: dinners, lunches and breakfasts.
Doing this allows them to reduce their costs since they can purchase in quantity. Many people order a weekly plan although you could order a whole months worth of meals at a time. The prepared dinners, lunches and breakfasts will come to you weekly in special cooling containers to ensure freshness.
Are There Contracts I Have To Sign?
To make it easier on you and avoid hassles, companies will typically set up an automatic renewal process. There’s no need to call to reorder and your food is automatically shipped to you weekly.
Any time you decide you want to cancel a program just inform the company's customer service team and they will stop billing your account.
How Is Delivery Handled?
Meals are delivered weekly to your door step. Most services do not require you to be at home to receive your food. (The containers meals are shipped in are made specifically to keep food cool and fresh so your food can be dropped off and you can often pick it up later in the day). You can even request your dinners delivered to your work from some services.
Is It Expensive To Get A Home Delivered Meal?
Expensive is a relative term. Prices range from company to company and will be determined by quality and quantity. When you factor the time saved from preparing and cooking the food yourself you can usually expect to save money in the long run by getting your meals delivered.
As an example some diet meal delivery services start at around $11 a day - inexpensive, yes but you get what you pay for. The better meal plans that make your food fresh will average around $17 - $25 a day.
For less than a restaurant dinner, you can get chef prepared meals.:
Do I Have To Give Up My Fresh Fruits And Vegetables?
No, you certainly don't have to give up fresh fruit if you are one of these plans. If you are going to add in fruit it is recommend that you have no more than one serving per day and that you eat the fruit with a protein (i.e. a protein snack). Fruit contains fructose, a natural sugar, which will increase your blood sugar when eaten by itself. Make sure to eat it with a protein (or healthy fat) so it can help stabilize your blood sugars
Vegetables can also be eaten with these plans. There are approximately 25 calories for 1 cup of raw veggies. It is recommend that you limit the consumption of raw vegetables to no more than 4 cups per day. Remove unhealthy items such as croutons, cheese, and dressing from your salads. Using 2 tbsp or less of a low fat or light dressing helps keep the meal healthy. It is OK to eat all vegetables!
How Do I Order?
Just about every service has an easy-to-use and order website with pictures of the meal plans, instructions for cooking your meals (this will be on the packaging as well), cost of the food, nutritional information and sometimes any special deals available. An order usually arrives in 4 - 7 days. you can check with the company to see if they offer same day delivery on certain popular plans.
Once received you can place the food in your freezer for later use or pop it into your microwave for 5 - 10 minutes or heat them in a conventional oven for around 20 - 30 minutes. As mentioned before the heating instructions will come with the packaging.
You can order diet delivery meals for 1 person or many, it's up to you. Locally delivered meals can be more expensive than the nationwide services which keep costs down by having a much larger client base.
Most services will provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so if you try them and the food is not to your liking, you can get a refund.
This is a great way to diet at home. Regardless of whether you want easy low calorie meals, gourmet prepared meals, low carb diet meals, healthy vegetarian meals or even a holiday feast for the whole family, you can most likely find it in a meal delivery service.
Bon Appetite!
P.S. BistroMD™ may compensate me when you purchase their program. Please let me know your results.
