One of my missions as a dietitian is to simplify food decisions and to reduce shame around not always wanting to cook. Most of my clients live busy, robust lives with many obligations and hobbies, and time or desire to cook can become deprioritized.
Instead of beating yourself up or relying on expensive takeout, it can be helpful to use other tools at your disposal, like meal delivery services. While they are more expensive than cooking, compared to frequent takeout, you can save money in the long run.
Here are a few meal delivery services I recommend to my clients* and some highlights of each. All involve prepared meals ready to heat, serve, and deliver to Chicago.
Territory Foods’s registered dietitians work with local chefs and restaurants to craft healthy meals within your dietary restrictions. All meals are dairy and gluten-free and contain no refined sugars, nitrates, chemical preservatives, or artificial colors.
Balanced meals that include all food groups. Creative, colorful meals with variety. Entrees (mostly lunch and dinner) and individual meal components – e.g., “family style” grilled chicken breast, roasted broccoli, or roasted sweet potatoes.
All meals are dairy and gluten-free; some vegetarian/vegan options.
MyoMeals is based out of Chicago and only delivers to the Chicagoland area. They offer healthy, affordable meals featuring ingredients mainly sourced from local Chicago vendors. They believe meals created with macronutrients in mind lead to more nutritious meals and provide this information on each meal. MyoMeals also incorporates an assorted menu with international dishes.
Balanced meals that include all food groups at a reasonable price point. Both classic and more unique options are available.
-Entrees (including breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
MyoMeals doesn’t mention meals for dietary intolerances or restrictions. Limited vegetarian options; no information on allergens or intolerances exists, but ingredients are listed.
Chef-owned Chicago-based meal delivery company offering ”delicious, mindfully-prepared meals throughout the Chicagoland area.”. KitchFix’s chefs and nutritionists create a rotating variety of healthy, unique meals for various diets. KitchFix partners, donates, and volunteers with many local charity organizations.
Fun fact! During graduate school, I worked at their storefront in the Gold Coast (which has since closed – they now operate 100% online). I can vouch for how delicious their meals are!
Balanced meals that include all food groups. Unique, colorful meals with variety. Entrees include (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and individual meal components – e.g., grilled chicken breast, sweet potato wedges, or herbed salmon, and dessert options (e.g., brownie bites).
Kitchfix Caters to dietary intolerances or preferences: all meals are dairy and gluten-free, although only a few vegan/vegetarian options are available. Meals are non-GMO, gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, and refined sugar-free.
Veestro Meals is the best option for vegetarians and vegans, as all meals are plant-based. They create meals using fresh ingredients and are chef-prepared. Meal options list all ingredients and nutritional information.
All plant-based (vegetarian or vegan) meals. A variety of delicious and creative options. Regular entrees (mostly lunch and dinner) are available, and individual meal components – e.g., roasted broccoli, potato wedges, buffalo cauliflower- and dessert options (e.g., fudgy brownies and chocolate chip cookies).
Veestro Meals offers plant-based (vegetarian or vegan) meals. The website doesn’t mention other dietary restrictions or allergies.
If you’re looking for a culinary-focused meal delivery service, CookUnity is an outstanding option. It boasts a roster of over seventy chefs, including Food Network alums and James Beard award winners. They use modified atmosphere packaging technology, allowing fresh meals to last longer in the fridge. CookUnity is sustainability-focused and launched a returnable packaging program in NY and LA to reduce waste.
Balanced, tasty-looking meals made by local chefs. Each meal has a rating (out of 5 stars), so you can see which meals other customers have preferred—regular entrees (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with many options.
Able to filter by vegetarian, gluten-free, etc., or specific ingredients needing avoidance.
If you are recovering from disordered eating, please note that most of these websites and meals contain calorie and macro information, and if this is triggering for you, please consider avoiding it.
Article by Adrienne Dink, MS, RD, LDN