Toronto Meal Delivery Services
Sunday, October 16, 2016
In 2016,
people are downright BUSY. No longer are
the days where you go to school or work and then head home to do nothing. Nowadays people seem to work longer hours
and commit to a ton of different after work engagements. Whether it be social events, fitness activities, continuing education, time with kids, etc.
there is always something keeping people occupied.
Amidst these busy lifestyles, people tend to
spend endless amounts of money on eating out and grabbing ‘meals’ on the
go. I for one have had weeks where I
buy breakfast, lunch and even dinner and afterwards I feel awful for spending
so much money and filling my body with food that is full of hidden ingredients
and calories. I always think to myself
‘if only I had the time to COOK’, the reality is, I CAN find the time to
cook. Whether it be preparing meals on a
Sunday, or sticking to recipes that take 30 mins or less, there is always a way
to make home cooked meals. Making your
own meals means knowing the ingredients you’re consuming, saving money, and feeling
good about consuming your own creation.
To help those who lead busy lifestyles or for those who want to dabble more in the kitchen, meal delivery services in Toronto are here to save the day. There is an extensive
list of companies in our city that deliver pre-portioned ingredients and recipes so that even the most novice cook can prepare a delicious meal in around 30 minutes. With all of the convenient options out there, I took a closer look at 3
different companies in Toronto to see what their meal delivery service was all about.
Overview:
Fuel Foods is
a Toronto-based team of health, wellness, and nutrition professionals combining
30 years of experience with over 20 years in the kitchen. The major goal of
Fuel Foods is to provide readily-available nutrition to those who struggle to
maintain a healthy lifestyle balance.
Fuel Foods works with people of varying fitness levels and health goals
and tailors unique plans based on their needs.
Food:
Fuel Foods
delivers meals that are ready made so you just have to pop it in the microwave
for a few minutes and your meal is ready to be devoured. The menu changes weekly and has main dishes
that are nutritious and balanced. Each meal offers the calories, proteins,
carbs and fat count so you can easily keep track of what you’re consuming. Main dishes range from Jerk Spiced Chicken
Thighs with Mushroom Rice and Green Beans to Miso Baked Salmon with Lime Chili
Barley, Bok Choy and Carrots. There are
also breakfast items such as Protein Pancakes with Peanut Butter and Jam,
Oatmeal with Granola and Fruit, Fuel Omelet, and much more.
The Plan:
Fuel Foods
offers three different plans. The Easy Plan,
the Custom Plan and the Vegan Plan. The
Easy Plan starts at $162 a week for two meals per day plus breakfast. You can opt out of breakfast or up the meals
to three per day, etc. There are lots of
options to choose from.
Delivery:
The meals are
delivered twice a week so that you always receive fresh meals. Deliveries within the regular area occur
twice each week, on Sundays and Wednesday evenings (4:30-9:30pm) and Monday and
Thursday mornings (9am-1pm). Fuel Foods
currently delivers regularly throughout Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga,
Oakville, and Burlington.
Verdict:
I like that
Fuel Foods delivers twice a week and that the meals are already prepared. Warming them up takes a second and the meals still tasted very fresh. For breakfast I tried the protein
pancakes with Peanut Butter and Jam which were a bit dry and bland. For main dishes I tried the Red Curry Salmon,
Panko Parm Chicken, Black Bean Zucchini Turkey Burger, and Sirloin Steak. I was pleasantly surprised at how flavourful
each dish was. The meats and fish were
cooked perfectly and didn’t taste ‘off’ after heating up. Each meal had accompanying vegetables and whole
grains making it a well-balanced meal. I
would order from Fuel Foods again if I lived an extremely busy lifestyle
where cooking was not an option. I think
a lot of those on the go would find this company useful, as well as those trying
to achieve certain fitness and health goals.
Overview:
Chef’s Plate
mission is to create meaningful human connections through food. They want you
to have fun in the kitchen and step out of your cooking comfort zone to
experience cooking with farm-fresh ingredients, nutritious recipes and achieving chef-worthy results. Everyone can become a cook with Chef’s Plate!
Food:
Chef’s Plate
delivers all of the ingredients you need to prepare a fresh meal. Each ingredient is labelled and has already
been measured out so all you have to do is follow the recipe instructions provided. The meat is packaged well with ice
packs and insulation so if you’re not home when the package arrives, everything
in your box will stay fresh until you get home. The ingredients are all farm-fresh from local Canadian businesses and the meats are
free from hormones and antibiotics. There is always a nice option of meals each week so that you're not always cooking the same thing.
The Plan:
You can choose the meals for two plan or the family plan which includes portions for
four. You can also choose how many meals
per week you want delivered (2 to 4). As always, your subscription is flexible so that you can skip weeks whenever you’d like. Pricing is affordable with 3 meals per
week for two people costing $65.70 with free shipping.
Delivery:
Chef’s Plate
delivers to most addresses in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba and Alberta.
The delivery date depends on what area you’re in but mine arrived on a
Monday. The box was left outside of my
door as I requested which was very convenient for me.
Verdict:
I liked the
packaging of Chef’s Plate with all of the ingredients neatly packed into brown
paper bags, however the insulation in the box was a bit of a pain to break down
and recycle. There was a bit of a hiccup
in my order where I received the wrong ingredients bag. The customer service was great though and I received
a new box a few days later. I cooked the Cuban Steak Bowl with Rice, Beans and Plantain and the Braised Turkey
with Sweet Potato Mash and Green Beans.
Both were very easy to cook and extremely tasty. Since I was cooking for one, I had enough leftovers
from both meals for lunch the next day.
Overview:
Prepd stops
your aggravating “What’s for dinner?” routine by making delicious, healthy
home-cooking easier than you’ve ever imagined. They create 6 great recipes
each week, then deliver these recipes with all the fresh, pre-portioned
ingredients you need to cook those recipes, right to your door. Home-cooking
has never been easier.
Food:
Each recipe
is pre-tested in the kitchen for deliciousness and is a wholesome and balanced
meal. Prepd makes an effort to support local farms and vendors so that your ingredients
are as fresh as can be. You can also
choose between omnivore meals or vegetarian meals and each meal takes about 35 minutes or less to cook.
The head chef at Eat Prepd has
been a certified chef for over 20 years and is also a holistic nutritionist and
food developer so you can count on the recipes to be balanced and nutritious.
The Plan:
At $10 per
plate, it is only $60 per week for three meals for two people. You have the option of
ordering for one, two or four people. Note, orders for one person are $40 for three meals.
You may skip week’s if need be.
Delivery:
Delivery is
free and the delivery area is: 427 in the west, Steeles in the
north, Victoria Park in the east and the lake in the south. Delivery usually
takes place on a Sunday which is very ideal for me so that I can prepare meals
for the week.
Verdict:
The meals are
delivered in a big cardboard box and each meal is pre-portioned out into
plastic bags. It was easy to store the
bags in the fridge but I would have preferred brown bags. The recipes varied a lot and I ended up cooking a Greek Chicken Salad, Pesto Shrimp Linguine and Roasted Cauliflower Tacos. Each meal was very easy to prepare and the results were definitely praise-worthy. The Shrimp Pasta was the highlight for me as the flavour was impeccable and it took only 25 minutes or so to cook. It’s a meal that I would make again, and thanks to Prepd, I now know how to make it and can buy all of the ingredients next time to impress my guests. I would definitely use Prepd again because the pricing is very
affordable at only $10 per plate. The
meals options are always quite interesting so that you always have a chance to experiment with new ingredients you may have never used before.
For those of you who are interested in trying out Chef's Plate or Prepd I have some coupon codes for you to use on your first order (enter the codes at checkout).
PREPD:
cookingquidnunc-25 <---- 25% off first order, unlimited number available
cookingquidnunc-50 <---- 50% off first order, Only 2 available
Chef's Plate:
#COOKINGQUIDNUNC <--- 3 Free plates off your first order
Happy Cooking!
* Disclosure: The meals were complimentary but the opinions in the post are always my own.
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