Top 5 Health Benefits of Using a Meal Delivery Service

When life gets busy it’s easy to be lured into eating another meal out or even just ordering in from your favorite restaurant. But when you’re trying to lose weight, start a cleanse, or transition to a plant-based lifestyle there’s no easier or healthier way than by cooking at home. With healthy meal delivery services taking over the meal kit market it’s now easier than ever to reap the health benefits of a home-cooked meal. Without even leaving your home.

New studies from John Hopkins University show that home cooking is the main ingredient to a healthier diet. Cooking at home reduces calories, gives you more control over your ingredients, makes cleansing easy, and gives you easy to make, but absolutely delicious plant-based recipes. Home cooked meals also tend to have more flavor and are generally more satisfying, because hello – you cooked it yourself! And gives you an increased knowledge of nutrition and whole foods.

The popular macrobiotic lifestyle even suggests that the emotions of the people cooking your food is absorbed into your meal. The hectic pace of a restaurant kitchen can transfer emotions of stress, chaos,and worry into your food. When you cook at home it’s easier to control the ingredients, portions, and emotions going into the preparation of the meal.

5.) Portion and Ingredient Control

Cooking at home gives you more control over portion sizes and ingredients used. Healthy meal delivery services take things to whole new level though. Choosing your recipes and portions ahead of time means you only get the exact amount of ingredients needed to be delivered to your door. When there are no extra servings left to tempt you, the option to cheat on your diet or weight loss goals is eliminated. It’s easy to fall back on your health goals when your kitchen is stocked with leftovers and snacks from the grocery store.

Healthy meal delivery services also make it easier to source ingredients that you believe in. Are you vegan? Try Daily Harvest or Splendid Spoon. Cooking for a big family, but only interested in using free-range, antibiotic-free meats? Choose from a variety of delicious recipes from Blue Apron.

Do your research on healthy meal delivery services before ordering. Most give you detailed descriptions of the farming practices and ingredients quality and standards. Don’t be shy about trying out a few different services before settling on our favorite either. Take advantage of different first-time discount offers while you test them out. You’ll save a lot of money!

4.) Reduce Calorie Consumption

Cutting calories on white background

Another great benefit of using a healthy meal delivery service? Reduced calorie consumption! Without much effort on your part. Even when you try to make healthy choices eating out, it’s hard to know how many calories you’re actually taking in. Tracking calories can also be tricky when you cook at home on your own.

Sure, a salad is a healthy option. But new studies have shown that salads at independent and chain restaurant often come with up to 1,200 calories! Creamy packaged dressings are often packed with fat, salt, sugar, and preservatives.

When you use a healthy meal delivery service, you can choose meals based on the number of calories in a single portion. Recipes feature detailed nutritional breakdowns and calorie counts so you don’t have to stress about tracking everything on your own. If you’re trying to lose weight pick recipes between 450-550 calories a meal and try your best to give up all the snacks. Eating 1500-2000 calories a day will jump-start your weight loss progress.

3.) Cleansing Made Easy

Have you ever tried to start a cleanse and given up after the first day? I have. Coming up with your own smoothie or juice recipes can result in some pretty bland soupy creations. Not to mention all the space the massive amount of produce needed for a one week cleanse takes up in your fridge. It’s maddening. A lot of work. And messy to clean up.

Tasty juices and smoothies aren’t hard to find on the go. They’re available at almost every corner store in New York City. You can even get a whole week’s worth of juices from places like Organic Avenue and Liquiteria. But you still have to trek out to get them and they’re usually over priced.

Healthy meal delivery options like Daily Harvest and Splendid Spoon deliver nutrient-packed smoothies, juices, harvest bowls, and soups that making cleansing easy. It’s couldn’t be simpler to whip up your favorite smoothie in the morning on your way out the door. All the ingredients come pre-chopped in handy to go cups. Just add your favorite milk and blend. You won’t be discouraged by any bland flavors either. All the recipes are delicious, filling, and detoxifying.

2.) Plant-Based Meals You’ll Actually Love

The power of plants can transform your health. Even if you’re not a vegan or vegetarian, adopting a “flexitarian” diet can help you reach your weight loss goals faster and give your immune system a serious boost. A flexitarian diet allows you to eat occasional hormone-free meats but focuses more on whole foods grown in the ground.

Whole foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and nuts are packed with essential vitamins and minerals that increase your body’s ability to heal and regenerate. Sharon Palmer, editor of Environmental Nutrition says, “when you base your meals on plant foods, you’re packing your diet with the fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats that most Americans don’t get enough of.” You don’t have to cut meat out entirely to reap the benefits either.

After tracking 120,000 people for over 30 years, a Harvard study found that those who ate the most red meat died younger, but that swapping just one meat serving a day for plant-based protein reduced the risk of dying early by 19%. Using a healthy meal delivery service makes it easy to choose plant-based meals that are so delicious you won’t even miss the meat. To ease into a plant-based lifestyle try adopting meatless Mondays or choosing to eat only plant-based meals for breakfast and lunch. Splendid spoon even has diet plans that help you stick to your plant-based goals.

1.) Increased Knowledge of Whole Foods

A study published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that people who cooked at home also scored higher on the healthy eating index. The reason? Cooking at home (healthy meal delivery service or not) gives you a better connection to your food and deeper understanding of nutrition. When you cook for yourself you’re able to tune into which foods give you energy and which make you feel tired and lethargic.

Food is so much more than just something that tastes good and that you need to survive. Food can heal you, hurt you, and even cause you pain in cases of allergies and food sensitivities. Cooking at home gives you a greater appreciation and understanding of whole foods and of your body. It’s can also be a great bonding experience for families and friends to cook together.

If you’re just starting to dabble with becoming a better home cook, here are the 30 kitchen tools you need for a fully stocked kitchen.