When our lives are hectic, it’s easy to reach for the phone to order a takeaway. But, afterwards we feel regretful and promise ourselves we’ll start a healthy-eating regime over tomorrow. Imagine having someone prepare your food for you. Your life would become so much easier, and with the best meal planning services offering options which are vegan-free and cater to different allergies, there’s never been a better time to take advantage.

For an agreed price, subscribers pay monthly to have ingredients and recipes delivered to their home. They simplify your life and encourage you to eat a balanced, healthy diet for more energy and better health. As inspirational as Pinterest’s food boards can be, when you roll home at 7pm after a long day, the last thing you aspire to do is reach for the chopping board and begin slicing vegetables. The best meal planning services take your weight, height, health conditions and goals into consideration. Using this information, they tailor a diet which is suitable to you.

What immediately jumps into our head is how much they simplify your life. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen, or even think about what to eat. The hard work is done for you, leaving you with more time and energy. Not only that, but they provide expert knowledge on what foods you should be eating. Some may be eating what they consider to be a nutritious meal, when in actual fact, it’s the complete opposite.

Meal-kit delivery services arrive to your door, with simple recipes you can create in minutes. The best meal planning services are effortless to prepare, so they tend to be aimed at those who are busy. Particularly, mothers, career-minded people and those who simply don’t have time to visit the supermarket.

On the other hand, you might have all the time in the world to shop and prepare food, but despise being in the kitchen. That, or you’re notoriously bad at making anything taste good. They’re also aimed at people who are clueless about what foods they should be eating. And if you’re trying to lose weight, they are ideal for a calorie-control diet without you having to track everything you’re eating. Simply prepare and eat, and that’s it.

A great meal service can add more time to your day, improve your health and even save you money (from all the leftover ingredients you’d usually throw away). They’re more popular than ever, so we’ve found the best in the market for you to choose from.

Monthly price: $16
Great for: Those who enjoy cooking, just don’t know what to prepare.

Once a Month Meals offers a fully customized menu to help you stock the freezer with seasonal and healthy meals. Unlike some other best meal planning services, your meals are already ready and prepared so you simply microwave or oven them at meal times.

They’ll advise you on leaving a healthy, balanced life and you’ll know where all of your food comes from. Don’t scramble for dinner ideas any more, simply open the freezer and reach for your next meal. Save money. Stress less. Make time.

As a member, you’ll get access to over 600 pre-made and curated menu and meal plans, including step-by-step instructions.

Three-month price: $21.75
Great for: Those who are looking for great-tasting food.

Relish's philosophy is to help busy families put wonderful meals on the table every night. If you are looking for delicious food which is stress-free, then Relish can deliver that to you. If you need to become more organized and want to enjoy eating dinner with your family, then this is one of the best meal planning services.

Each week, their menus change, so you’ll never be eating the same food consistently. Even Weight Watchers Points Plus members can use them as they provide a full listing of nutritional value to help you continue your goals.

They want you to have some input in what you eat, so you simply type in your craving, and they’ll provide recipes and menus to suit your needs.

Monthly price: $8
Great for: Those who care about what’s really in their food.

Deliciously Organic include meal plans for different dietary needs. They provide meals with organic meats, vegetables, organic diary, and good healthy fats and oils. They only use unprocessed sweeteners, so you can feel assured that you’re only consuming healthy food.

Each weekly meal plan features a complete shopping list with five full dinner menus, one-two desserts per week and one snack each week. They’ll also provide helpful tips for getting dinner prepared quickly.

Deliciously Organic also provides ‘kid-approved’ recipes for those fussy eaters, and each week, you’ll receive access to two weeks of menus. The recipes vary and serve at least four people, so they’re great for leftovers or to host a party.

Monthly price: $8
Great for: Those who wish to lose weight.

PlateJoy creates personalized meal plans and fast recipes designed to fit your lifestyle. They are one of the best meal planning services that takes into consideration what you want to take away from their service. By offering an advanced lifestyle quiz, they learn about your tastes, preferences and health goals. With that information in mind, they send you custom meal plans to delight your taste buds and simplify your life.

Their weight-loss plan is ideal for anyone who wants to shed pounds, but currently isn’t seeing results. For an additional $11 per month, you’ll also receive a virtual health coach to keep you on track and support you when you need it. PlateJoy also send their weight-loss members video lessons with informative and fun information to guide you.

Every member of the family can join in, as the recipes are perfectly scaled to everyone’s health goals. Make eating healthy fun.

Monthly price: $14
Great for: Those who don’t have time to cook.

The Fresh 20 is a meal planning service aimed at busy families and singletons who want to eat fresh, healthy meals without spending hours in the kitchen. They’re committed to their customers and now offer vegetarian, kosher, gluten free meals for one.

They provide detailed guides to meal preparation and original recipes even the busiest of people will have time to create. Their ease and creativity helps everyone to stay on track for healthy, balanced eating – even during those mid-week blunders. Their meal plans are healthy and simple and deliver delicious homemade lunches and dinner using just 20 ingredients per week.

Whether you opt for their vegetarian, classic, gluten free or paleo options, they’ll make your life easier, tastier and healthier.

Monthly price: $4.95
Great for: Those who are organised in the store and kitchen.

Plan To Eat is a meal planner anyone can follow. Their ethos is that planning meals will help you to save money by reducing the amount of ingredients you buy and leave you feeling satisfied, therefore making you less likely to eat out.

If you dislike grocery shopping, Plan To Eat promise to streamline your shopping experience by organising how you approach it. By providing you with an easy-to-follow list, you can get in and out as quickly as possible and still have everything you need.

They want you to have an inkling into what your next meal will look like, by providing reviews, tips and pictures of the meals online. Customise and arrange your recipes to your preferences and filter recipes by ingredients and goals. Scale and tweak the recipes according to the size of your family, and tastes. It’s so simple.

Monthly price: $5
Great for: Those who struggle to eat healthily.

Eat This Much puts a huge emphasis on eating healthy without having to overthink about your diet. They provide weekly meal plans, grocery lists and more to suit every goal. If you are on a budget, have a dietary requirement, want to lose weight or simply eat better, they can help you.

Eat This Much want to encourage everyone to reach their nutritional goals and milestones without it being time-consuming. Take the anxiety out of planning meals and counting calories with their automatic grocery lists. Create your own schedule and tell them how many calories you wish to eat daily, and they’ll find something to suit.

If you’re tired of tricks, hacks and tips that aren’t working for you, they will handle the stress of creating a grocery list and cooking instructions for you. Simply print off their tailored recipes, and you’re good to go.

Monthly price: None. Pay for the meals as you go.
Great for: Those who don’t even want to go grocery shopping.

Chef’d helps to revolutionise your dinner routine without you even having to leave the house. This is one of the best meal planning services which delivers the ingredients right to your house to help you cook like a pro with little work involved.

Choose from hundreds of meals crafted by renowned chefs and top brands. Chef’d ships fresh, pre-portioned ingredients to your door to help you cook masterpiece meals which are healthy and delicious. Make a gourmet meal every night of the week with minimal effort.

If you’re tired of planning meals, they’ll handle all the tricky and boring stuff for you to enable you with more time for the things you really enjoy. Tell them what foods you like and what you want to achieve, and they’ll handle everything. There’s no subscription either, so you can cancel if life throws an unexpected turn on you.

Everyone aspires to have more time without sacrificing their career or moments with their family. Reduce how long you spend in the kitchen, and allow an established brand to do the work for you. Meal planning services reduce waste, increase energy levels, and carry an array of health benefits including lowering diabetes, reducing stress and maintaining a balanced blood sugar.

What are some of the best meal planning services that are missing above? Let us know in the comments if you’re a fan of this new way of living.

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