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A box delivered to your front door with a recipe and all of the ingredients you need for a complete meal. The idea is intriguing - but is it useful or unnecessary?

Like most things, that all depends on you.

Meal kit delivery services have grown exponentially in the last few years to become a $1.5 billion industry. As a a fast, convenient, and healthy meal experience there are a lot of reasons they have such broad appeal. If you haven’t tried one yet, but you’ve been thinking about it, here are some questions to consider that can help you decide if it might be a good fit.

1.Do you want to cook at home More Often?

If you’re on a first name basis with GrubHub drivers, your food costs are probably eating up a lot more of your budget than you’d like. Dining at restaurants, or getting take-out, frequently is often the expensive result of other obstacles that we’ll explore below.

But no matter your reasons for ordering out more than you cook at home, a meal delivery service may be able to address them. Additionally, you’ll probably find that this method of having meals delivered is more cost effective (no tipping, app fees, or other up-charges) you may also find yourself eating healthier, more balanced meals.

2. Do you feel limited by your abilities?

Do you feel limited by your cooking abilities?

Cooking can be intimidating when you’re starting out. Even if you’ve been cooking for a while it can be a challenge to take your skills to the next level. Meal delivery kits can be useful in both scenarios. They’re made to be user-friendly for most home cooks and come with detailed instructions for recipes that are fairly easy to prepare.

But if you’re truly among the culinary challenged, some services even offer meals that are oven-ready so all you need to do is heat and serve. Using a meal service you can put together restaurant-quality dishes in your own home. Chef hat? Check!

3. Are You Bored in the Kitchen and at The Table?

Even foodies can find themselves running out of ideas. As with anything, getting stuck in a rut in the kitchen happens. If you like to cook but tend to stick to simple, familiar dishes a meal delivery service can shake things up. The meals they offer can help you learn new recipes and broaden your culinary horizons.

With all of the variety that meal kit delivery services offer, you’ll be able to experiment with new ingredients that you’ve never used before and create more diverse and elaborate meals. Think of it as the selection of dining out while comfortably staying in.

4. Do you Hate Grocery Shopping?

Some people see going to the supermarket as an adventure while others would rather do just about anything else. Grocery stores have so many options it can get overwhelming with specials, impulse temptations and multiple brand choices for pretty much everything. If you don’t know exactly what you want (and where to find it) you can find yourself wandering the isles and overspending on things you didn’t plan to buy.

So, if you get anxiety just thinking about dealing with shopping for a week’s worth of groceries, meal kit deliveries can help a lot. You’ll be able to shop less while still eating fresh, healthy, interesting food. A win-win!

5. Are you short on time?

Researching recipes and planning out your meals for the week takes forethought and time. And for some people, it’s just too much of a hassle. If making a weekly meal plan isn’t in your schedule, or wheelhouse, it may be easier to have someone else do it.

Maybe you’re fine with planning meals, maybe you even like that part. But when it comes to actually shopping for ingredients, prepping and cooking - time becomes your enemy.

In either case, meal delivery services can be your savior. Many kits come with ingredients pre-prepped to save you time and they can eliminate the need to hunt down a long list of items at the grocery store. All you have to do is go online, click a few buttons and before you know it, a week’s worth of dinners can be at your doorstep.

6. Are you apt to make impulsive unhealthy decisions due to poor planning?

Not planning and shopping ahead for healthy meals can open the door for questionable food choices. It happens to the best of us. The key to eating healthier, and making choices you don’t regret, is consistently planning what to buy and what you’re going to make so you’re never in a position to have to wonder “what’s for dinner tonight?”.

This is where meal kit delivery services can really shine. When you have fresh, healthy ingredients delivered to you, your meals are predetermined so you don’t have to turn to frozen pizza or fast food in desperation.

7. are you trying to Stay within a budget?

A lot of people struggle with over-spending on food. Fresh, high-quality ingredients aren’t cheap which can create a challenge when it comes to managing costs while eating healthy. Meal deliveries aren’t super-cheap but they can be affordable, and as a fixed expense, they can also help you stick to a budget. Meal kits also usually cost less than ordering from a restaurant and for the quality, they are pretty reasonable.

The key to making it work is knowing what you would spend on weekly meal costs to determine how many meals you can get for what you’re willing to spend and take a good look at how it may save you money. You can often choose dinner supplies for anywhere from 2-6 meals a week for 2-4 people (often with customization available). There are so many meal delivery options, all with different price points and features, you may find one that’s ideal for your budget.

8. Do You Hate Food Waste?

If you often find yourself grumbling about waste while chucking leftovers you meant to eat and spoiled food you wish you’d used, pre-portioned meal-kits can help. In the U.S. food waste is estimated to be 30-40 percent of the food supply. That includes waste created in all parts of the supply chain including manufacturing and retail, but it also includes the avocados you bought while feeling ambitious, but forgot to make guac with.

Meal deliveries only include the amount of ingredients that you need to make your predetermined portions for any given meal. That means fewer leftovers and fewer unused ingredients that rot in the fridge. If overbuying and over-preparing are contributing to garbage bags filled with food waste every week, a kit can help cut that down.

If you’re the kind of person who can plan menus, shop, buy in bulk, measure out and freeze appropriate portions, use food before it spoils, prep nightly and finish your left overs all while staying on a budget - you my friend have achieved adulating goals that most of us can only aspire to.

But if you’re not that person - if you fall victim to being tired, bored, impulsive and short on time a meal delivery service may be worth a shot. You can always cancel your subscription if it doesn’t make your life easier, but if it does - that’s one less thing on your plate.

Are Meal Kit Delivery Services Worth It? 8 Things to Consider

1.Do you want to cook at home More Often?

2. Do you feel limited by your abilities?