You can get anything delivered to your door these days, and one of the current hot trends involves services that make cooking a simpler process, whether it's sending you menus with pre-portioned ingredients or just helping you plan your meals for the week to cut down on waste. With so many subscription cooking and grocery services popping up, how do you know what's right for you? Epicurious editor Matt Duckor gives us the dish. Watch the video and check out Epicurious for more info on these services.
Service: PlatedSample menu item: Beef and Pork Ragout over Pappardelle
Who is it for? Plated has meal kits for adventurous eaters — people who love eating out at restaurants, trying new things, and want to bring some of that into their home cooking, but need help saving time.
Cost: Each plate is $12. The minimum order is four plates of one recipe or two servings of two recipes, which comes to $48 a week.
Service: PeachDishSample menu item: Oven-Fried Catfish with Sorghum Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Collard Greens
Who is it for? PeachDish is great for the Southerner wanting to indulge in their roots, or someone who's just fallen in love with the food from the area. You can choose from four Southern-inspired recipes and receive a box of the (Southern-sourced, naturally) ingredients needed to make them.
Cost: $12.50 a serving, $50 a week for four servings
Service: HelloFreshSample menu item: Soba noodle stir fry
Who is it for? The food lover who is also concerned about nutrition. HelloFresh has an in-house nutritionist putting together these meals.
Cost: $69 week for three meals for two people
Service: Cook SmartsSample menu: Jerk Chicken Thighs with Coconut Rice and Beans
Who is it for? This is a menu planning service, you buy the ingredients yourself but Cook Smarts takes the guess work out of what you'll cook for the week. You get a new menu every Friday with four dinners. One big advantage to letting someone else plan your shopping is that the dinners often have overlapping ingredients — which helps save money and cut waste.
Cost: $6-$8/month for four recipes a week
This story was originally published on March 14 at 10:04 a.m.