Pys blog – Meal Prep vs. Meal Services: Benefits and How to Make the Most of Both
Meal services like Factor and Hello Fresh have become extremely popular lately with ads constantly popping up. People are busy and between DoorDash and the cost of groceries, everyone is looking for the best method amongst the options. There are different meal service types as well. From pre-made meal prep kits to ready to heat meals. How to make the most of meal prep & meal services? What are the benefits of each?
You don’t have to choose one or the other, you can and probably will, make use of both. Let’s cover the benefits and understand how to maximize your routine if you are interested in either one.
The Benefits of Meal Prep
- Cost: In general, nothing is more cost effective than cooking at home. Certainly when meal prepping and cooking in bulk. This will save you the most money even if groceries are expensive, fast food and meal services will always cost more.
- Customization: Meal services require some planning. While some may be more flexible than others, meal services lock you into a routine. Meal prep can as well but there is more opportunity to adjust on the fly without feeling like you wasted your meal service delivery.
- Nutrition: Meal services tend to be healthier than your average restaurant meal but meal prep allows for far more granular decision making. The amount of oil you use, the type of vegetables and cooking method. Meal services are always going to be more general and include more sodium. They’ll lose customers otherwise.
- Efficiency: Meal prep in bulk and see how many meals you can make at once. With the right recipes you can make a week’s worth of lunches in just an hour. Nothing beats the efficiency of home cooking when it’s done right.
- Portioning: Not everyone eats the same amount. Meal services will be closer to an average amount. Your caloric needs may be significantly different depending on your size or workout routine. If you’re looking for substantially higher calorie meals, meal prep may be a better choice for you.
The Benefits of Meal Services
- Convenience: Coming home to a meal that’s essentially already decided for you or even pre-assembled can be a massive weight off of your mind. No grocery store to contend with, no decision-making. This convenience is a major reason people tend to lean on fast food after a long day. You also don’t have to worry about missing ingredients.
- Prevents unhealthy eating: For many, a single night after an exhausting day of work can be enough to break a diet. Too tired to cook, fast food is a quick and easy option. Meal services not only make it easier on you but they also create a small obligation that keeps you from straying. “If you’ve already paid for it, you should eat it.” This thought can be enough to prevent derailing weeks or months of healthy eating.
- Portion sizing: While meal prep allows for more control over portioning, some people may not know what a healthy portion size looks like. It’s often quite a bit smaller than we are used to. Meal services can help curb overeating by teaching proper portioning.
- Variety: Meal prep offers infinite variety but most people tend to cook the same few recipes. It’s safe and easy. Meal services give people the freedom to step slightly outside of their bubble and the convenience also helps give people confidence. They don’t have to shop for obscure spices or ingredients when the perfect amount of each is already done for you.
- Pre-planned: Deciding on what to eat is probably the most common conversation anyone ever has with themselves or their significant other. The decision-making process alone can cause a lot of stress. Meal services narrow the range of options just enough to make the decision so much easier. You can also make the decision much further in advance so the day of is already planned for you.
Maximize Meal Prep & Meal Services
- Mix & match: Most people don’t use a meal service for every single meal. Some level of traditional home cooking mixed in with meal services is how most people live their lives. Consider just meal prepping lunches for the week or if you’re a Sunday meal prepper try only making meals for the first few days of the week and then finishing off the week with meal services. That way by the time you become too tired from the week, your meals are delivered and you don’t have to worry about choosing recipes that will be stored till later in the week. This can open up a ton more recipes as options.
- Plan your week: No matter what mix of meal prep and meal services you choose, your life will be far better with an ounce of planning. Fast food and snacks are convenient but if you want to break bad habits, you need to plan ahead and have healthy food ready for you at home. Don’t forget to pause meal services if you find yourself getting behind. Don’t let them stack up in the fridge.
- Build on your new skills: Meal prep kit services are a great way to explore new cooking techniques and expand your own cooking interests. Use these meal services to learn new skills and then take those skills into your own meal prep cooking. This is a fun and easy way to learn to cook without risking as much on a whole week’s meal prep.
- Prep flexible ingredients: Consider the groceries you’re buying outside of the meal service plan. Try to buy ingredients that are shelf stable or are versatile. You never know when you’ll need the ingredients since meal services provide everything you need typically so extra groceries can go bad before you get to them. Only buy what you need is another option.
- Prepare versatile foods: Not only should you buy versatile ingredients but you should choose versatile recipes. Make sides instead of whole meals. These can easily be paired with a protein that you cook that night or the sides can be used to add a little bit more to a meal service dinner. This can also provide a little bit of a safety net for when you try more adventurous meal service recipes. A side you know you already like can help you through a meal you end up not loving.
There are a lot of pros and cons to meal prep & meal services but the best path may be somewhere in the middle. Consider how your meal prep could benefit from meal services. Start with some of our newest recipes!
