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Food & Drink
By Jessie Atkinson, Owen Gough and Josephine Binta Judd
We’ve reviewed the best healthy meal delivery services out there, so whether you're looking for easy keto meal plans or frozen meals with gluten-free, dairy-free dietaries, these services promise feel-good food, fuss-free
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Best Overall Healthy Meal Delivery Service
Mindful Chef Subscription
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Best Affordable Healthy Meal Delivery Service
Gousto Subscription
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Best Healthy Ready Meal Delivery Service
Planty Subscription
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Struggling to stick to your New Year's healthy eating plan? Time to stop shouldering so much of the weight: that's what the best healthy meal delivery services are for. Keeping engaged with healthy eating can be a slog (particularly when your housemate insists on ordering Honest Burger for the third night in a row) but thanks to a series of services clamouring to feed you nourishing meals that taste excellent, it's never been easier than now.
From high-protein meat extravaganzas to vegan meal plans in options that you both do and don't need to cook yourself, these healthy meal delivery services cater to all sort of nutritional needs and dietary requirements. Sticking to a keto or paleo regime? Need dairy-free prepared meals for when you've got no time to cook? Want some inspiration on what else to make for your family on a weeknight? There are services for all of these needs, and more.
Whether you like to don an apron and get forensic about your cooking or you simply prefer to eat meals and get out, you’re positively swimming in options, with even monoliths like Hellofresh and Gousto offering impressive calorie-controlled and nutritionally-balanced options.
GQ's best healthy meal delivery services at a glance…
- Best overall healthy meal delivery service: Mindful Chef
- Best affordable healthy meal delivery service: Gousto
- Best vegan meal delivery service: AllPlants
- Best healthy ready meal delivery service: Planty
- Best healthy food delivery service for organic food: Abel & Cole
- Best healthy meal delivery service for fitness: Muscle Food
SKIP TO: The list | Are healthy food delivery services worth it? | What food delivery service is best for weight loss? | How we test healthy food delivery services
Are healthy meal delivery services worth it?
“Yes,” says Annie Winter, BANT registered Nutritional Therapist & Nutritionist, “it is absolutely worth it". While “it depends on the person”, Annie says that “almost everyone I come across in clinic and out has little time to cook — or really hates cooking. For these people, I think food delivery services can be absolute game changers, enabling them to eat in a much more balanced way whilst still maintaining convenience and enjoyment.”
What meal delivery service is best for weight loss?
While there are some services that preach their own weight-managing benefits, all of the following healthy meal delivery services can help you lose weight because they are fundamentally rooted in healthy eating. “Weight loss,” Annie says, “mostly comes down to a calorie deficit across the day/week. But healthy weight loss that is sustainable and enjoyable must also take portion size and number of meals per day into account.”
How we test healthy meal delivery services
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. And so GQ has solemnly determined to eat its way through the healthy food delivery market in order to sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff. How did we do it? With empty stomachs, broad palettes and (for some of us) a newfound familiarity with our kitchens. Of course, taste is paramount when it comes to both the pre-prepared and cook-yourself meals we've tested here, but we've also been sure to consider convenience, complexity and the nutrition of these dishes as well. Ultimately, everything meal plan we've picked out below is about helping you to make healthier choices when it comes to lunch or dinnertime.
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Scroll down to check out GQ’s pick of the best meal delivery services of 2024...
Best Overall Healthy Meal Delivery Service
1/28
Mindful Chef
Subscription
Best for: Those who prefer home cooking over ready meals but don't want to spend forever slicing and dicing, and want food that's genuinely good for them.
What’s the deal? You'll be familiar with the model, but in our estimation, not the quality. As you can read in our full Mindful Chef review, this is a truly exceptional service. Expect a menu of gorgeous, nutritionally-balanced meals that changes week by week and that help you stay on your fitness and weight loss goals without feeling restrictive. Select your dinners and receive them packed in exact quantities alongside a recipe booklet, with an average cook time of 40 minutes. A bonus from Mindful Chef? Its dedication to environmental friendliness, including carbon labelling, a net zero 2030 promise and a donation pledge that gets meals to children in poverty.
Why we love it: The food is gorgeous, even in contrast with comparable meal delivery services we've tried. These recipes are so tasty and filling that it's a little baffling to learn they're completely nutritionally-balanced and great for you. Sustainable and organic, the meals were so good that we didn't even notice there were no refined carbs in our choices — Mexican black bean chilli, paneer katsu curry, tofu tikka masala with kachumber salad, and a wholesome cannellini bean and sweet potato shepherd’s pie.
Combine eating these meals a few days a week with the usual touchstones of a healthy lifestyle — exercise, enough sleep, limited alcohol — and we reckon you'll feel wonderful. We certainly did: full but light, invigorated and clear-headed. All of the high-quality ingredients Mindful Chef uses are fresh and largely organic, with refined carbs avoided completely and full nutritional balance — whether you're vegan or an omnivore — guaranteed.
How much does it cost? From £8.59 per portion for a one-person box, £5.50 per portion for a two-person box and £4.25 per portion for a four-person box. Its new ready meal offering starts at £4.50 per portion, while packs of five frozen smoothies are £12.
Best Affordable Healthy Meal Delivery Service
2/28
Gousto
Subscription
Best for: Gousto is the meal delivery all-rounder and, with 30 per cent off first orders, well worth a try for anyone looking to give the straightforward convenience of a food box a try.
What’s the deal? With a weekly shift in recipes that offer more choice than any other (or so it claims), Gousto is the meal delivery service for those who want variety. If you're an omnivore with no dietary requirements, you'll have your pick of 75 meals each and every week, though the choices within calorie-controlled and vegetarian categories are more diverse than those you'll find on many other platforms.
Why we love it: We sampled a box for two with four vegetarian recipes enclosed and boy, were we impressed. With every last ingredient measured and packed (except the cooking oil, salt and pepper), there wasn't even need to run out and grab a bag of garlic since a carefully selected pair of cloves came included. From our weighty box of veg and grains, we were able to produce a genuinely addictive goats cheese and nectarine salad, charred cabbage cous cous dish and saag curry without the kind of trouble that comes with this particular writer's kitchen antics. As someone with unusual allergies, it was also a breath of fresh air to be able to sample new foods without worrying about what I was eating. Health-wise, these meals were all packed with veg and protein which kept us feeling full without the sluggishness of less vitamin-rich feasts.
Each of the four meals we cooked made us feel full and energised. Having said that, it's all about what you make it: there's always the option of including a juicy meat-free (or beef) burger and fries in your box. From a quick glance at the Gousto menu, the meat-rich options look equally balanced, with options overwhelmingly favouring fresh ingredients and filling healthiness.
How much does it cost? As with most meal delivery services, the more you order, the better value, which makes a family box (tailored to two adults and two to three children portions) with four recipes works out at £47.85, or £2.99 per serving. With free delivery, that’s not bad going at all for the quality of ingredients you’re getting.
Best Healthy Ready Meal Delivery Service
3/28
Planty
Subscription
Best for: Vegan food lovers who are allergic to cooking.
What’s the deal? Another all-vegan option that offers nutritionally-balanced meals made from only plants, Planty's USP is that it requires no cooking whatsoever. Choose from a diverse selection of dinners, breakfasts, sides and desserts, all of which only require heating up in the oven or microwave. An extra bonus? Planty is carbon neutral and delivered in all-recyclable packaging.
Why we love it: These will be some of the best ready meals you've ever tasted. Like the best vegan options on the market today, you won't even notice there's no real cheese at play in these dishes, while meat replacements are not only nutritionally-sound but genuinely preferable. A balanced but comforting mushroom and spinach lasagne (complete with dairy-free bechamel sauce), a fresh and light banana blossom burrito bowl and a heavenly chocolate dessert pot are some of our favourites, though you can also add the brand's patented roast dinner with cauliflower ‘cheese’ sides for an extra quid.
How much does it cost? This depends on whether you’re opting for a subscription or a one-off box. Prices range from between £7.60 per meal (£45.60) for a one-off box of six to £4.95 per meal (£49.50) for a subscription box of ten. Thankfully, subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.
HelloFresh
4/28
HelloFresh
Subscription
Best for: Time-poor home chefs who lack the inspiration to plan out their Monday-to-Friday meals.
What’s the deal? Perhaps the most notorious of all the healthy recipe box services out there right now, HelloFresh provides a weekly-changing menu of appealing dishes to choose from, then sends out all the ingredients in their exact quantities to every delivery area imaginable. Bringing together value, freshness, taste and a sustainable delivery model, it's arguably the cookie-cutter model from which most brands have copied.
Why we love it: HelloFresh employs a range of recipe developers to make sure the weekly rotating menu is, ahem, fresh. While similar, customer-favourite recipes will pop up from time to time, one of the major appeals of HelloFresh is its vast choice compared to other brands. As with choosing from a Michelin-star restaurant's menu, some dishes pop more than others (we think its Pan Asian and vegetarian cuisine are particularly stand-out), but by and large, every recipe we tried tasted better than anything we'd rustle up of our own accord.
How much does it cost? Value is key to HelloFresh's success, and should you choose to opt for the maximum of five meals per week for two people, you'd be looking at just over £3.15 per serving. More enticing are HelloFresh's generous new customer offers, which often reach half off for first orders, with further discounts on the two deliveries that follow. If you've tried and not returned, there are even incentives to reactivate your plan
Best Vegan Meal Delivery Service
5/28
Allplants
Subscirption
Best for: Anyone looking to seamlessly incorporate more plant-based meals into their diets.
What’s the deal? Entirely plant-based, Allplants aims to ease up the perceived stress of vegan diets with its chef-made frozen meals, which are much more exciting and innovative than what many of us would otherwise cook at home. A proud B Corporation, production is sustainable, packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable and it works with a carbon-neutral delivery partner.
Why we love it: Vegan or otherwise, you’ll be hard-pushed to find a frozen meal that tastes quite as nice as these. If you’re simply looking to see how vegan you can be for a given amount of time, it’s a sound solution to fretting over what to cook at lunch or dinner, particularly if you’re pressed for time. Our highlight was the lasagne noci: a ragu made of minced mushrooms, lentils and walnuts poured between layers of lasagne and topped with the creamiest of butternut squash bechamels. A teriyaki udon dish was a close second, but there are dozens of recipes to whet your appetite and show that a plant-based diet needn’t mean existing on chickpeas alone.
Each meal we sampled comprised of two-to-three of our five-a-day, were good sources of protein, rich in iron and vitamin C. And, next to the nutritional information on the back of every box, Allplants reminds you that eating more plants is the single most impactful way to reduce our environmental footprints. Good for you and for the planet
How much does it cost? Six meals for one person will set you back £40.50 per box or £6.75 per serving. A better value option would be to opt for the two-person portion size for £59.88, which brings the cost-per-meal to less than £5.
Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Fitness
6/28
Muscle Food
Subscription
Muscle Food
Best for: Anyone looking to facilitate a rigorous training routine with tangible results in the kitchen.
What’s the deal? Muscle building and losing weight can be a meticulous game of shovelling in protein or cutting calories respectively. Muscle Food’s meal plans aim to facilitate that much-coveted after picture with goal-driven plans to customise the size and daily calorie intake, opt only for lunches or build your own weekly deliveries based on its many standalone healthy choices.
Why we love it: More than anything, Muscle Food is a one-stop-shop to hit your nutrition targets, so convenience is its major selling point. Pack your order with red meat and processed protein snacks and you’re unlikely to feel the same healthy glow as leaner meats or veggie options, but if you’re prone to a calorific dessert after your dins, there’s plenty on offer that could instil some healthier eating habits with which to move forward.
How much does it cost? Really it’s as much as you make it, but there is excellent value to be had. A comprehensive seven-day meal plan could set you back as little as £2.07 per meal and there’s an optional workout video programme to go with if you’re looking for some fitness inspiration between your meals.
Best Healthy Food Delivery Service for Organic Food
7/28
Abel & Cole
Subscription
Abel & Cole
Best for? Those looking to get more inspiration into their day-to-day cooking without compromising on quality.
What’s the deal? Abel & Cole is all about organic food, working with farmers to deliver seasonal boxes on a regular basis to your door. There are fruit and vegetable boxes as well as recipe boxes which come with instructions and weighed out ingredients, in order to avoid waste.
Why we love it: This one is top of the pack with incredibly fresh and well sourced ingredients. Recipes and smoothie boxes change on a weekly basis, catering to different tastes and dietary requirements. The menu we picked over January included parsley and lemon crumbed salmon with chips and also grilled greens with garlic yogurt and couscous — they were all excellent. Whether it’s organic butter straight from the farm, or freshly picked raspberries for your smoothie, the attention to detail and quality of the food is exceptional. A few smoothies and soups down and you’ll be doing Rocky montages up and down the stairs.
How much does it cost? A weekly smoothie box is £15.95 for three different smoothies (they make two glasses each). Prices start from £12 for a meal for two, plus a £1.25 delivery fee.
Best Healthy Meal Delivery Service for Juice Cleanses
8/28
Purearth
Subscription
Best for: The health-conscious and active person who wants an extra boost or someone who needs a detox from time to time to rebalance and boost the system.
What’s the deal? Purearth offers various cleanses for individual needs or juices can be ordered separately. Each cleanse is made fresh to order using the highest quality organic ingredients and sent to your door within 24 hours. You can choose from one to up to 6 days.
Why we love it: The juices are raw, organic, unprocessed and unpasteurised, which sets them apart from many other juicing companies. The juices taste great and to our surprise keep you satisfied without cravings. We tried the Rainbow cleanse, which included a varied and good amount of juices, elixir shots and kefir.
It promises immune-boosting, detoxifying and energy-boosting effects after several days of cleansing. You will feel a difference in your energy levels, plus experience improved sleep and immunity after the third day. I tried the cleanse for three days and felt more energetic, lighter and had better sleep.
How much does it cost? From £52.49 depending on the cleanse
Scoff
9/28
Scoff
Subscription
Best for: The very busy and those wanting to cut down on their Deliveroo outgoings.
What’s the deal? Part of the growing contingency of delivery services that provide ready-made repasts, Scoff’s boxes all contain nutritionally balanced meals from breakfasts to dinners. Choose between mains only, or mix in breakfasts and/or snacks and have a spread of vegan, veggie and meat-based options in the fridge or freezer for when you need something healthy without having to cook.
Why we love it: Nutritional therapist-certified and batch-cooked by chefs, these are ready meals for the very busy who don’t want to scrimp on quality. Everything from tandoori bream to tofu madras and vegan mushroom fusilli have been whipped up from top-of-the-range ingredients in a kitchen. And you can taste that pedigree: each of these meals taste fresh and home-cooked.
While many will connect ready meals with ill health, they’ll soon adjust their view should they subscribe to Scoff. Though nothing feels quite as vital as cooking one’s own meal, home-cooked, nutritionally balanced alternatives made from seasonal ingredients can, Scoff proves, come a close second
How much does it cost? There’s a minimum order of five meals, and that’ll currently cost just over £43, based on a mains-only weight loss plan with a first-week discount.
Simmer
10/28
Simmer
Subscription
Best for: Anyone with a busy and hectic schedule.
What’s the deal? Vibrant, simple effective branding reflects what's on the inside of these ready meals, which have found fans in Molly Mae and Chunkz – as well as plenty of your chronically busy buddies. A budding healthy meal monolith that has recently absorbed competitor Tastily, Simmer ships out three-minute meals that you can heat up for dinner or take in for lunches at work. With more than 50 different food options every month and global cuisines serving as inspiration, it’s one of the most varied ready meal delivery services to shop from and just as healthy as its competitors.
Why we love it: Even this self-confessed chef braggart with a Deliveroo habit found the jerk chicken meal a juicy and boneless delight. The plantain that came with it wasn't as tender and sweet as you may be used to, but this is, after all, a healthy alternative to a jerk takeout. Michelin cooking in a microwave box this is not: but if you went to your friend's for dinner and they served you something comparable, you'd be happy.
Despite how small the meals may look at first glance, they kept us surprisingly full and satisfied — even after a heavy leg session and a day in the office. Considering everything is healthy and trackable — with even the smaller meals packing at least 35g of protein (and up to 65g in larger options) — Simmer is an ideal option for the busy and the buff.
How much does it cost? If you opt for ten meals or more, a standard meal will cost you £5.24 each with 24 per cent off your first order. After that you’ll get 10 per cent off six further orders, and after that you can expect to pay just under £70 for ten meals.
Prep Kitchen
11/28
Prep Kitchen
Subscription
Best for: Fitness buffs who want to know the nutritional value of everything they’re feeding themselves.
What’s the deal? Designed around the two most popular of dietary goals — weight loss and muscle gain — Prep Kitchen’s meals work on the premise of batch cooking for healthier living…the only difference is that you don’t need to be the one to make them. Made by chefs and forensically labelled with every macro in the book, this is “cooking” for the seriously dedicated.
Why we love it: As good as you’d be able to make yourself with fresh ingredients and a cookbook…only even better, considering Prep Kitchen’s chefs work to optimal nutritional recipes. If you stick with it and combine it with a fitness regime (as most people who subscribe to Prep Kitchen do), you’ll feel in tip-top condition.
How much does it cost? As with anything, the more you buy, the better value you’ll see, but on face value: lower calorie meals cost £6.25 each, while lower carb options costing a little more at £7 each. Muscle building plans, meanwhile, cost £7.50 per meal, or £8.25 for the higher protein option.
Chefly
12/28
Chefly
Subscription
Best for: Anyone looking for quick, healthy meals without any compromise to taste. While the microwavable aspect is particularly well suited to the culinarily challenged, they also make for excellent al-desko lunches (just save the fish dishes for home).
What’s the deal? Chefly is all about convenience, offering chef-prepared, single-serving meals delivered to your door, all of which can be reheated in two to three minutes, kept in the fridge for ten days and arrive in 100 per cent recyclable cardboard.
Why we love it: Microwave meals tend to get a bad rap, but Chefly does a wildly good job at shaking that. Ready in less than three minutes, every meal we tried tasted as good as if the chef had prepared it right there in front of us. Every meal mixes meat or fish with a complex carbohydrate and ample greens, with particular stand-outs from our selection coming in the form of a grilled bavette steak served with roasted red and purple carrots, beetroot and sweet potato and a grilled chicken breast with black dahl and tangled cabbage.
Each meal Chefly prepares comprises carefully balanced grains, greens and protein, completely free from processed ingredients and refined carbohydrates. That’s more than you can say of anything you’ll find down the refrigerated aisle of your local supermarket. Meals average approximately 500 calories and the full nutritionals of Chefly’s regularly changing menu are available on its website.
How much does it cost? Meal plans are available with the options of between four to 12 meals each week, starting at £6.99 per meal for the highest-volume order.
Pow Food
13/28
Pow Food
Subscription
Best for: Those who spend a fortune on unhealthy office lunches.
What’s the deal? Catering for offices, parties or community events, Pow curates and delivers exceptional menus of health-focused, delicious meals intended for larger teams.
Why we love it: Removing the headache of dreaming up the next team lunch, Pow delivers award-winning, nutritious meals that won't stink out the office microwave. Tailoring your menu based on your specific function requirements, be that sustainably-focused ingredients, vegan options or dishes that centre on promoting gut health and productivity – no cheese-heavy pizzas here.
Pow proudly states it won't compromise on the approach it takes to sustainability and the impact its business has on the environment, meaning all ingredients are ethically sourced. Because of this commitment, your conscious is clear regardless of the nutritional value on offer, which is as good as we've seen from many other options available on this list, supporting a healthy, happy gut and a guilt-free mind as you munch.
How much does it cost? Office catering can vary based on how many you need to feed, but you can simply shop individual meals to treat yourself or a small team on a job well done. Individually frozen meals cost from £6.25 per portion, or you can jump onto a subscription package to save 10 per cent.
Lions Prep
14/28
Lions Prep
Subscription
Best for: Either the elite tier of gym rats or someone who simply wants a few healthy meals in the fridge to enjoy at short notice.
What’s the deal? Lions Prep prides itself on its status as the UK’s highest-rated meal plan service on Trustpilot, promising fresh meals that you can wolf down after three minutes in the microwave. With 30 meals to choose from – as well as a range of breakfasts and snacks – there’s plenty in the way of variety for would-be subscribers, including an ample array of dishes for vegans. Good news for those eco-minded folks who’d rather not spend unending mealtimes chewing on tofu.
Why we love it: We’ve tried several healthy meal services and Lions Prep is the only one that saw our partner steal several dishes for herself. Although there’s plenty in the way of meat and fish for carnivores, we majored in vegetarian dishes which proved to be both flavoursome and filling without simply loading up on spice as a substitute for genuine taste. The sweet potato and chickpea their red curry and Turkish vegan kofte balls were especially wholesome.
The best mark of these meal's healthiness is that we didn’t feel the need to supplement our lunch with a stray handful of crisps or chunks of crusty bread. They’re quick to cook and eat, so you can get on with your life afterwards. Whether that means dashing onto a Zoom or sneaking in a quick post-lunch workout.
How much does it cost? It’s estimated you can purchase breakfast/snack, lunch and dinner for under £100 a week, but chances are you’ll be spending less.
Grubby
15/28
Grubby
Subscription
Best for? Eco-minded individuals who want more adventure when it comes to a plant-based diet.
What’s the deal? Grubby is an all-plant-based recipe kit that’s mindful of its carbon footprint. Using British produce from Kent, Essex and Bedfordshire, the food box also comes in 100 per cent recyclable packaging. Better still, if you live in London, deliveries are made using bikes.
Why we love it: It’s delicious, hearty produce that is healthy and satisfying. Each recipe card is easy to follow and comes with fresh, measured-out ingredients. There’s also a designed Spotify playlist to accompany each of its many recipes…
How much does it cost? Two recipe boxes cost £26 (£6.50 per meal); three recipe boxes total £34 (£5.75 per meal).
Field & Flower
16/28
Field & Flower
Subscription
Best for: Anyone who still wants to incorporate meat into their diet but wants to pay closer attention to where it’s sourced and whether or not it’s good quality.
What’s the deal? The smart thing about Field & Flower isn’t so much about changing what you eat, but looking at where the ingredients come from. Designed to focus on meat, everything that comes in the Low Impact Box makes use of the cuts that you don’t normally find in the supermarket, helping you to consume in a more mindful way. It’s all about free-range, meeting the highest welfare standards, focusing on local farmers over food that’s travelled a long way, and ultimately making sure you get the best quality of meat that you can.
Why we love it: This is some of the best-quality meat we’ve had in a good while. There’s a huge difference in how it cooks, leaving you feeling healthier afterwards. Field & Flower truly does put the work in to make sure it’s all of the highest standard, 'cos everything tastes better when it’s good for your conscience too.
Of course, consuming meat isn’t always the healthiest option, but if you’re trying to get in more protein to meet the demands of some rigorous gym sessions, it’s all part of the process. You should be devouring better quality meat from experimenting with this box and we were left feeling much better for it.
How much does it cost? £41.30 per box, incorporating 13.5 portions.
Green Chef
17/28
Green Chef
Subscription
Best for: Busy people with specific dietary requirements who want to feel healthier without having to navigate cook books.
What’s the deal? Much like the other top-of-the-line delivery services in the crowded market, Green Chef delivers exact ingredients — from meat portions and fresh vegetables down to the correct amount of garlic cloves and sprinkling seeds — and easy-to-follow recipe cards for a series of meals that change week by week. The USP here is a heavy emphasis on diet type, with six different options available: vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian, pescatarian, lower carb and keto. We opted for the veggie route and found several options despite some particularly difficult allergies to navigate. The jewel in the crown? A honey halloumi taco kit which was simple to make and absolutely gorgeous.
Why we love it: Our delivery featured unfailingly fresh groceries, with everything down to the avocados for our halloumi taco side at an ideal level of freshness. Veggies and vegans can expect a rich choice between bean and vegetable proteins and imitation meat options (This is one of its preferred brands) with cuisines as diverse as Thai (ginger and peanut sweet potato curry) and Mexican (Bean loaded sweet potatoes with smashed avocado and vegan cheese) to choose from.
As with any meal delivery service, it’s the pre-portioning of these dinners that help us to feel healthy: there’s enough to make you feel full but no opportunity to head back to the pan for more. All the meals are nutritionally balanced (or keto, depending on your preferred diet) and fresh, so the overall experience is one of health and zen.
How much does it cost? From £37.50 for two people eating three meals.
Natural Fitness Food
18/28
Natural Fitness Food
Subscription
Best for: Natural Fitness Food gets healthy meal delivery spot on, whether you’re time-poor, goal-driven or lacking inspiration to whip up your own workout fuel.
What’s the deal? Once the reserve of prestigious boutique gyms such as London’s The Third Space, offering optimal goal-led nutrition in the immediate pre- and post-workout period, Natural Fitness Food has finally launched its doorstep delivery service along with an eight-week personalised nutrition programme designed for lasting change.
Why we love it: A cut above any of the health-conscious gruel you’ll be used to prepping for yourself, all of NFF’s food is hand-prepared daily, right down to the hand-baked “Oreos” used in its shakes, and that freshness really comes through in the flavour. Meals are amplified with delicious sauces and nothing need be the subject of a microwave blitz, meaning those high-quality, natural ingredients will retain their taste, texture and, crucially, nutrients.
With options to suit all dietary requirements and goals, Natural Fitness Food is up there with the best on the healthy meal delivery landscape. The best thing about it is that the meals don’t feel like a chore to eat, even without an inkling of processing and barely a sprinkle of sugar to be seen in its ingredient lists. Even the indulgences – the likes of almond Snickers protein bars, Oreo shakes and chocolate waffles – satiate the sweet-toothed without derailing you from your goals, so you’re not left wanting more after three meticulously balanced meals.
How much does it cost? Building your own delivery begins at £20 with two meals and two snacks or shakes, while a set plan costs the same and is weighted towards a set fitness goal (Fuel, Lean & Clean) and preferred diet. Especially appealing is the fact that you won’t be tied into any lengthy subscriptions, though there are price-slashing incentives for buying more credits for your meals. If you’re serious about an all-out change to your diet, the eight-week plan is bolstered by one-to-one coaching from NFF’s registered nutritionist with in-depth fortnightly consultations and ongoing support to boot.
Tyme
19/28
Tyme
Subscription
Best for: Busy vegans who want stunning, colourful and filling lunches that actually see them through until dinnertime.
What’s the deal? Tyme is offering you a trade: from 30 of your English pounds in exchange for a bunch of the tastiest, most nutritious lunches you’ve ever had in your life. A poster child for genuinely balanced and filling vegan food that operates on a sustainable model, here, you’ll be able to choose ready-to-eat, pouch-packed meals and beverages at your leisure. There’s an app to switch/cancel and modify your deliveries if you’re on a Flexi-box, or else pick and choose the lunches, breakfast juices and snacks you fancy on an ad-hoc basis. The only rule? Order for the following week by 1pm each Thursday.
Why we love it: This is nutrition done exceedingly well: every lunch bowl is entirely plant-based, making sure that there’s a spread of protein, vitamins, fats and fibre in each of its dishes. Recipes change and swap in depending on the season, but current options include a Miso Brunch of garlic braised spinach, chilli lime sweet potato, dressed lentils and almonds or a Tangy Thai inclusive of sprouted mung bean and coriander slaw, ginger carrots, raw courgette and yellow peppers with noodles. The best part? Many dishes are ready to eat cold with no heating required.
How much does it cost? You’ll have to spend at least £30 with each order, though otherwise Tyme is extremely flexible, and orders over £40 include free delivery. Those on the flexi-box programme can download the app in order to toggle deliveries on and off, or else change delivery days. As an example of individual pricing, each lunch costs between £7 and £8, while Tyme’s turmeric and ginger shot costs £2.50.
The Good Prep
20/28
The Good Prep
Subscription
Best for: Anyone embarking on a health and fitness kick who wants to do away with the faffing and meticulous meal prep that may come with.
What’s the deal? Choose from five different meal plans tailored to your diet or healthy-eating goals and Balance will send you three meals of your choosing a day plus a healthy snack, over two delivery slots across the week. Trim & Slim, for example, is portion controlled with low-carb, high-fat meals, while Grow & Gain is higher in protein and carbs, up to 2,600 calories a day. The pre-made food is easily reheated, with packaging detailing options to microwave, oven cook or pan-fry.
Why we love it: Lunches and dinners are a tasty mix of macros, with highlights including a shredded fish curry with Bombay potatoes, butternut steak and tofu-fried rice. Some meals reheat better than others, while others taste delicious cold.
Prominently detailing the calories and macronutrients on the packaging of every meal and snack, Balance provides an easy way to log your dietary intake throughout the day. While some meals (teriyaki salmon and glass noodles, smashed avocado and poached eggs) are objectively healthy, others such as chocolate-chip overnight oats and rigatoni bolognese provide a bit more of an indulgent feel without derailing your goals.
How much does it cost? Plans range from £99 for Balance’s signature plan, which works out at just under £20 for a day’s worth of meals for one person, up to £150 for the more calorie-dense Grow & Gain, which is geared toward supporting an active lifestyle. You can also try a two-day taster if you don’t want to commit to a week of meals for £49.
Field Doctor
21/28
Field Doctor
Subscription
Best for: People who want to tailor their meal plan to exact specifications, and potentially find out some new things about their gut health while they’re at it.
What’s the deal? Like many new competitors, Field Doctor’s speciality is readymade meals designed by nutritionists and cooked by chefs. The difference here is that you’ll be able to choose your next slate of meals based on your personal dietary requirements and health goals. Among the targets you can tailor your Field Doctor meal plan to: maintaining good vision, eating less sugar, reducing tiredness and even supporting psychological function.
Why we love it: Meals in all sub-categories have been carefully selected for their tastiness as well as their nutritional value, meaning that those on the weight loss plan (chicken tagine, sweet potato and spinach korma) can enjoy their food just as much as those on, say, the Mediterranean diet (risotto, moussaka).
Even those opting for the lower priced tiers of Field Doctor can expect excellent nutritionally-balanced meals, but those who go for higher tiers can feel the benefit even more. Book in with a dietician — an IBS check-in call or a detailed dietary assessment — before you go ahead with your selections, and complete the tailor made health quiz to make the most out of Field Doctor’s services.
How much does it cost? There’s a minimum spend of £42.50 at Field Doctor, and a minimum of 6 items purchased. What will that get you? Considering a single serve costs £6.99 (and a double serve £11.39), you’ll be able to get around six meals for that minimum spend, or just short of four double serves. Free delivery comes for those orders totalling over £55, and if you’re booking in with a dietitian, pay £59 for a 30-minute consultation with an IBS expert or £99 for an hour with a gut specialist. You can save 20 per cent on your first two weeks too.
Fresh Fitness Food
22/28
Fresh Fitness Food
Subscription
Best for: The kind of person who really wants to monitor their intake. Great if you have a fitness target to reach.
What’s the deal? This food delivery service is second to none in the fitness game. Fresh Fitness Food delivers daily meal bags to your door, either to work or home, making it a breeze. Prepared by expert chefs, start by picking your personal goal, then talk to the nutritionist, sort your plan, and sit (or go to the gym) and wait.
Why we love it: Fresh Fitness Food offers four package options and a specialised nutritionist consultation meaning you can tailor your food to the nth degree. If you don’t like something in your package, you can tweak it as you go. It’s as close as you can get to cooking your own dishes, without actually having to cook. Each package has its own aims, from lean gains to fat loss and muscle gain – the list goes on.
I used the service for three months and it completely changed my view on what my body actually needs. Fresh Fitness Food, combined with daily exercise, can make a huge change to your lifestyle.
How much does it cost? From £23 per day.
The Detox Kitchen
23/28
The Detox Kitchen
Subscription
Best for: Instagram-versed healthy living converts with a bit of cash to dedicate to eating well.
What’s the deal? Wheat, dairy and refined sugar free meals and snacks sent in packages with all the sustenance you need to get through the day. Choose from five different packages to tailor the day to your dietary needs, or be spontaneous and pop along to one of their delis to pick up individual meals.
Why we love it: These aren’t wimpy, airy salads, but properly filled (and filling) boxes of goodness. Super fresh, well-handled ingredients with an emphasis on taste first. This is less of a diet, and more of a healthy lifestyle readjustment kick up the bum. The Detox Kitchen gets you thinking about eating well as a given, not as a panic mode after the pounds go on. The Active Protein package (the most generous of the diet choices, with 1,800 calories) is wholly manageable if you’re a hungry sort. They’ve thought about all the extras too – each package comes with a bag of Pukka three mint tea, a wheatgrass shot and a biocare supplement.
How much does it cost? Packages start from £31.45 per day for the Vegan and go up to a starting price of £39.10 for the Active Protein packages. The minimum order is three packages.
Après Food Co.
24/28
Après Food Co.
Subscription
Best for: Those looking to elevate their ready meal habit to tastier and healthier restaurant-quality dinners without opting for the flavour-deprived out-and-out “healthy” option.
What’s the deal? This delicious and nutritious alternative to sad supermarket ready meals from award-winning London restaurant Après Food Co ventured has appealing and sustainably packaged sealed-tray meals without a processed or unnecessarily refined ingredient in sight. Recipes have been created by founder and accredited nutritional therapist Catherine Sharman and if you're not sure where to start, there are even one-to-one nutritional consultations to help you build your delivery.
Why we love it: Not all that surprising, given accreditations such as Best Healthy Restaurant and Best Gluten-Free Restaurant in London, the food is top-notch. Currently, Après Food Co offers brunch dishes, mains, desserts and snacks, with highlights coming in the form of a Cornish fish stew (pictured), slow-cooked Sri Lankan lamb curry and beetroot and apple fritters. Portion sizes are generous and don't leave you craving more, while healthier takes on dessert dishes such as Dorset apple cake and sticky toffee pudding nicely satisfy any sweet tooth that follows.
If you're looking for low-calorie options that fit into your defecit, you've come to the wrong place. But that's not to say Après Food Co is unhealthy. Far from it: each meal is crammed with nutrients without ever compromising on meals you'd actually want to order in a restaurant. With recipes that are free of gluten and refined sugar, made from scratch using coconut oil and pink Himalayan salt, the healthiest aspect of it all is a sustainable relationship with food.
How much does it cost? Mains priced at £8 each position Après Food Co as an elevated lunch or dinner for much less than eat-out prices, a reasonable valuation for the hearty and tasty food provided. Bolting on snacks and deserts starts from £5 each, so if you're looking to set yourself up for a week of Monday-to-Friday lunches, you're looking in the region of £50 or more.
Kurami
25/28
Kurami
Subscription
Best for: Anyone looking to steer their diet into new realms of healthy eating.
What’s the deal? If you’re into sampling healthy dishes you don’t often come by on restaurant menus, Kurami’s got you. One of the more premium offerings in our edit, this pre-made meal delivery service has a unique focus on gut health. It was founded by Anthropology Of Food graduate Camilla Pigozzi Garofalo and is designed for a holistic approach to overall wellbeing. Menus are eclectic, to say the least, and chef-prepped meals tend to come in the form of fibrous spins on far-flung delicacies, such as laksas and tagines, based around ancient ingredients and all developed with nutritionist approval.
Why we love it: Kurami’s meals are exceptionally fresh and of the health food variety that kind of makes you feel like you’re walking around with a halo hovering over your head. Much of what we sampled was plant-based and highlights included a breakfast of “Ancient Grain Porridge” with pear compote and dinners of trout with a side of greens and peperonata. Especially good about Kurami is the snacks and drinks, with house green teas acting as a refreshing pick-me-up to wash down lunches and indulgent-tasting healthy takes on chocolate truffles to set off our sweet tooth.
Although the weekly menu of Kurami’s signature meal path is set in stone and adjusted slightly for several different dietary requirements, the balance of quality, locally sourced produce, nutritional know-how and exceptional taste is second to none here.
How much does it cost? Prices vary based on the length of your meal plan and the contents, with two meals a day starting at £22.80 per day as a one-off. If you were to go all in on a seven-day weekly subscription, you’d be looking at £39.40 per day for three meals, a drink and a snack.
No1 Food Prep
26/28
No1 Food Prep
Subscription
Best for: Anyone who wants to a) manage calorie intake, b) eat clean but tastily so, or c) simply wants a tasty, nutritious meal minus the faff or fuss.
What’s the deal? No1 Food Prep was born after ten years of working in the fitness industry, running residential camps specialising in weight management and fat loss. Serving clients dishes, drinks and snacks designed for maximum nutrition, optimum health and ultimate taste, No1’s focus is quality and control – delivering calorie-controlled Lite, Balanced or Max meals (starring meat, fish or plants) to allow you to take charge over your nutrition. No1 Food Prep is all about wholesome, organic, high-quality product (its meat comes from the Royal Family's personal butchers, after all) that strikes the perfect balance between quality and quantity.
Why we love it: No1 works with local fresh, seasonal produce, as well as suppliers with trusted and sustainable sources, so rest assured taste matches up to merits. Particular highlights include the orange and lemon pancakes with honeycomb yoghurt for breakfast and the BBQ brisket, sweet potato wedges and sweetcorn for dinner.
With meals designed to be as clean as possible (ie, no sugars, refined carbohydrates or any hidden nasties), let’s just say that you will feel like a beacon of wellness with every mouthful (or at least we did), with the energy to prove it on your next run.
How much does it cost? Meal subscriptions start from £56.
Wolf And Lamb
27/28
Wolf And Lamb
Subscription
Best for: Anyone looking to treat themselves to a weekend of excellent produce or to impress at a dinner party.
What’s the deal? Offering carefully curated grocery bundles, high-quality meat and dairy, charcuterie and dedicated meal kits for barbecues and roast dinners, Wolf And Lamb is a particularly strong option should you have a small soirée on the agenda or are packing for a remote Airbnb staycation where a simple supermarket haul won't cut it.
Why we love it: The produce is top-notch and about as gourmet as a home delivery grocery shop gets. We ordered a veg bundle that consisted of a perfectly ripe smorgasbord of vine Roma tomatoes, heritage carrots, several types of mushrooms, potatoes and leafy greens, plus a selection from the butchery including lean and tender dry-aged sirloin, apple-wood smoked bacon and Cumberland sausages made by Wolf And Lamb's in-house master butcher.
How much does it cost? Bundles start at £20 and will keep one person stocked with essentials such as fruit, veg or pasta for the best part of a week. Add some choice items from the deli, pantry, butchery or dairy sections and you can expect prices in line with your local fancy farm shop.
Radiance Cleanse
28/28
Radiance Cleanse
Subscription
Best for: The already health conscious looking for a feel-good boost.
What’s the deal? A seriously no-nonsense detox. Radiance Cleanse delivers juice cleanse plans to your door – yep, you’re consuming nothing but juice for either one, three or five days.
Why we love it: The juices are as good as they get. Cold pressed for minimum bad stuff, Radiance Cleanse juices deliver an unfathomable vitamin hit. Choose from one of the company’s recommended five or six juice daily plans or build your own – “Vibrant Veg” (carrots, celery, red peppers, apples and lemons) is like cold pressing the Mediterranean and the “Root Boost” (carrots, apples, lemons, beetroot, spinach) feels earthy and wholesome. Sweet tooth, or craving carb? The Cacao Cashew Milk (cashews, dates, raw cacao powder, coconut butter and Himalayan pink salt) is like the frothy chocolate milkshake of your organic dreams.
Although admittedly sceptical at first, we found ourselves to feel genuinely more energised, less bloated, a little bit tauter all over after three days – and not even craving a burger.
How much does it cost? Gird your loins, it isn’t cheap. A three-day, six-juice cleanse is £199.
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