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The coronavirus pandemic has made it particularly difficult for many senior citizens to get food in a safe way, but thankfully there were plenty of grocery delivery and meal delivery services available to them that did not require them to go to grocery stores themselves. Some services offered restaurant delivery while others brought meal kits to your door so you could prepare your own food at home. A few of the most popular and best meal kit delivery services included Home Chef, Silver Cuisine, Sun Basket, and Blue Apron.
Home Chef:
Home Chef makes meal kit delivery easy and quick with their three step process. You first select recipes for the week ahead of you that fit your food preference and any dietary needs you may have, you then can customize your meals, and then the fresh ingredients are delivered to your door for you to use. Customizing is made easy with different options such as opting for turkey instead of beef in a burger or shrimp instead of steak in a lettuce wrap. Additionally, sometimes the vegetarian meals that Home Chef provides qualify as vegan but that is not always the case. They have different meal types such as salad kits, oven-ready meals, and grill-ready kits. The ingredients vary by week and by meal, with some ingredients being organic and others are not. The oven-ready meals come in oven safe tins while the grill-ready meals are packaged in a grill safe bag for you to quickly prepare a healthy and delicious meal. Not only does Home Chef provide healthy and fresh meals, but their meal kits are reasonably priced with some as cheap as $6.99 a serving with a minimum weekly order of $49.95. They have a plethora of options such as gnocchi with red pepper cream if you want something more filling and Waldorf salad with apples and dried cranberries if you are feeling something lighter. You are able to view the current week and four weeks in advance on the menu tab of their website so you can make yourself aware of what your upcoming options will be. Home Chef is highly recommended thanks to the simplicity of ordering meal kits and the fresh produce that you receive to prepare your meals.
Silver Cuisine:
Silver Cuisine is another meal kit delivery service that pre-cooks your meals, making your job simple! Silver Cuisine gets your ingredients from the grocery store and cooks your meal before delivering it to your doorstep. They use quality ingredients and have meals that can fit your specific dietary restraints, such as dairy free, low sodium, and gluten-free meals. Their low sodium diets, for example, always meet or are less than the maximum recommendation for fat, saturated fat, sodium, and calories as directed by the American Heart Association. An unique option for meals that Silver Cuisine offers are menopause speciality diets that are rich in lean proteins but low in carbohydrates. Since Silver Cuisine is designed specifically for senior citizens, their recipes are prepared and have a healthy ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, and fat for people over the age of 50. They offer 150 healthy meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even dessert options and these options rotate often so you can get a variety of different dishes. One downside is that it is not possible to make individual ingredient substitutions, so if that is something that you foresee yourself wanting then this might not be the right fit for you. Their prices are fair with the cheaper dishes costing as little as $6.00. In addition to the low prices, if you are a first time user you are offered 10% off your first order and free shipping with it. Members of AARP also are provided with special perks and discounts like free shipping on orders of a certain price, which can be helpful since shipping is always a flat rate of $19.95. Unlike Home Chef, Silver Cuisine does not have any minimums for their customers to meet when ordering meal kits. Silver Cuisine is a favorite for customers who do not have the time or even the desire to cook their own meals, and it allows you to have a pre-cooked healthy meal unlike many store bought frozen dishes which have almost 50% more sodium than Silver Cuisine dishes.
Sun Basket:
Sun Basket offers both meal-kits that come with cooking instructions as well as pre-made, oven-ready meals with heating instructions. Just like Silver Cuisine and Home Chef, Sun Basket allows you to customize your meals or pick from their menu that has dietary restricted options. Their meal kits have pre-portioned fresh produce, making it easier for you to prepare your food as well as all the spices you need according to the recipe you are provided with. They strongly believe in using organic material to give you as healthy a meal as possible. They also believe in only using wild caught fish instead of farm-raised and responsibly-raised meat to ensure as fresh a meal as can be. Their website has a detailed list of where they receive their produce such as eggs, turkey, and lamb as well as their goals for the future on how to provide customers with food that was raised in an even more sustainable matter. Whether you opt for meal kits or pre-cooked meals, there are plenty of dietary options and cuisines to choose from such as paleo, gluten-free, and Medditerranean. Their dishes are pre-portioned, whether you get the pre-cooked meal or a meal kit, and are packed with plenty of fiber and protein but are lower in sodium than grocery store frozen alternatives. Sun Basket also offers suggestions as to what you can add to your meal such as unsaturated fats from nuts or olive oil if you need a little more flavor. When it comes to pricing, they also offer exceptional deals for first time customers to make joining more appealing and affordable. Their pre-made dinners start as low as $8.99 per serving when you get four recipes a week, which is a great price for the fresh produce that you will be eating, and shipping is free on your first order. There is a minimum order of two recipes per week and you can choose if you would like it to serve two or four people. For people who find it extremely important to eat organic produce, Sun Basket might be the best choice for you so that you can continue to eat organic and cost-friendly meals and if giving back to the community matters to you since they donate meals to local communities on a weekly basis.
Blue Apron:
Blue Apron is a very well known and respected meal kit delivery service that makes ordering and delivery easy for you. Their meal kits come with cooking instructions that are easy to follow as well as pre-portioned fresh ingredients to help you manage the amount that you eat as well as a way to reduce food waste. Your quality ingredients come in an insulated box with recyclable ice packs to limit the environmental impact that you and the company has on the Earth. They make sure that the animals are not fed any antibiotics or hormones and they require vendors to prove that none of their products are GMO, giving you a healthier and safer meal. The vendors must provide information to Blue Apron about what they feed their animals as well as how they are treated to ensure that the animals are being treated in a humane fashion. Blue Apron has competitive pricing with their meals starting at $7.49 per serving and no commitment to a bulk meal plan, making cancelling easier on you. In addition, shipping is free for the majority of their meal kits such as when you purchase three or four signature recipes per week! The meal kit plans that they do have include vegetarian menus and wellness specific dishes that are carbohydrate conscious and are healthier overall. Some of their meals have a Weight Watchers stamp to show that they are a healthier alternative. Their menu is extensive and contains meals that are slightly more intricate like shawarma dishes but they also have simpler meals like creamy chipotle chicken. Their website has the meals for current and upcoming weeks so you can see what is on tap for you to pick and make. Blue Apron does, however, have a more limited vegetarian menu than other meal-kit services but they still do offer a few options. Unlike Silver Cuisine, Blue Apron does not have a dietician that creates the recipes every week for a specific age group, rather they have a team of people who create well balanced meals. Also unlike other meal delivery services, Blue Apron offers unique wine pairings with bottles that are smaller than the average wine bottle. Overall, Blue Apron is ranked highly and is well respected for their prompt delivery of fresh, healthy, and delicious meals.
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