It can be difficult for most people to spare time for shopping, and especially preparing meals, given the growing busyness of our lives. This is where pre-made meal services come with the convenient solution for modern people. They offer delicious food in portions that can be consumed immediately, and with options for specific diets.

These services are intended for people who do not have enough time to prepare meals by themselves. Even with this convenience, there is an important question: are the dollars spent on the pre-made meal delivery service worth it? It is time to think about what these services really cost and understand whether they are in your best interest from an economic perspective.

Healthy meal and vegetables on a table

The Convenience of Premade Meal Delivery

The biggest advantage of premade meals is how simple they are to benefit from. Premade meal delivery is good for those people who spend most of their time at work or have a tight schedule during the day. It takes less time and energy to order these meals, thereby minimizing the need to cook, shop for items, or plan the menu. It is very convenient as everything is prepared for you, and it usually means eating a healthy diet. These reasons can be especially helpful to those persons who need to adhere to strict diets and/or often face difficulties with preparing food.

Analyzing the Costs

On the one hand, convenience is great, but on the other hand, it can be quite draining financially. Most meal delivery services tend to be more costly than if you decided to buy the meals’ ingredients and prepare the meals yourself. 

There are also costs that can be less easy to quantify and are as follows. For instance, the environmental effects associated with the packaging and delivery of the meals may be huge. Most of the premade meal delivery service providers use a lot of packaging to enhance the safety and quality of foods during transportation, which leads to a lot of generated trash.

Is it Truly Convenient?

For many people, the convenience often off-sets the higher costs that may be incurred with premade meal deliveries. For business persons, parents, anyone with a busy schedule, or anyone who does not enjoy the process of cooking, the time saved is worth the expense. It is important to bear in mind that some companies providing meal delivery services allow the customers to select their portion size and frequency of delivery, and this way you are sure to avoid wasting the food that you don’t want to consume. 

Conclusion

Premade meal delivery services are extremely convenient but there is a perceived cost factor. Whether they are worth the investment or not depends on your specific needs. If having healthy meals delivered to you is more important to you than sparing some dollars, such services do improve your quality of life and food quality. But, of course, if budget is an issue, or if you enjoy preparing meals and meticulously planning your food ingredient shopping trips, it may not be the most suitable option.