After a long day at work, chauffeuring kids, and just maybe finding time to make it to spin class, there’s usually one final hurdle: dinner. But don’t order another pizza just yet.
We’ve rounded up Boston-area meal kit services that deliver ingredients or fully prepared meals straight to your door. Our picks are health focused, environmentally friendly, and source their ingredients from New England farmers. So, you can serve your family great-tasting and guilt-free meals without the panicked dinnertime scramble.
If you’re really not about that cooking life, as in you couldn’t tell a spatula from a slotted spoon, and don’t want to, The Foodery might be your answer. This service delivers fully cooked meals to your door; all you need to do is heat them up. They source as many ingredients as possible from local vendors, and the meals, like caraway-crusted salmon and a chicken shawarma power bowl, are designed to be as healthy as they are delicious.
You peruse a weekly menu and select which meals you want to receive. Meals are cooked in a commercial kitchen in Malden and then delivered to your home on Wednesdays and Sundays. Dishes, which range from 500–700 calories, are offered in two- or four-serving sizes, and you can purchase multiple if needed. The convenient thing about this package is that you’re not locked into a subscription. You can order (or not) whenever you want, but there’s a $49 minimum.
If you’ve got the cooking basics down but are staunchly against fighting crowds at Whole Foods, Just Add Cooking is a great option. The service provides locally sourced ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. It’s like the national meal kit service Blue Apron, but with fresh finds from New England farmers and delivered in eco-friendly packaging.
Just Add Cooking takes local sourcing to new heights, as even the pastas come from a homegrown spot: Maria’s Gourmet Pasta in Malden. All ingredients are preportioned for you, including the spices. Frozen water bottles replace gel ice packs and plastic is kept to a minimum. Every week you check out the online menu and select which meals you’d like to receive. The recipes are rated by difficulty, calories, and cook time so you can find the perfect fit for your lifestyle and schedule. You’re not locked into a subscription, but you are required to order at least three meals per week.
If you have dietary restrictions, MamaSezz has you covered. Founder Meg Donahue was inspired to go back to school at Cornell University to study nutrition because her parents suffered from long-term, diet-related medical issues. With MamaSezz, she puts that knowledge to good use. The service offers a wide range of single- and multiple-serving meals and bundles for different diets, including plant based, heart healthy, soy free, kid friendly, and senior. The meals arrive premade so there is no cooking required.
Ingredients for the MamaSezz meals are sourced from New Hampshire and Vermont farms and prepped in a Keene, New Hampshire, commercial kitchen. Everything is made without oil and all meals are gluten free.
Order your meals from an online menu by 8 pm on Sunday, and an eco-friendly cooler arrives on Thursday or Friday. Even better, you can mail the cooler and all the packaging back to MamaSezz, and they’ll recycle everything for you. A prepaid return label is included in every box, and you can call FedEx to arrange a free pickup. If you’ve tried and liked individual meals, you can subscribe to receive your favorite bundle on a regular basis.
Once you decide which meal delivery service is right for you, prepare to wash your hands of dinnertime drama. You’re on your own with getting people to put down their phones…