It's an age-old story but finding time to cook in between working a thousand hours and trying to see friends is quite a dilemma that most people have to deal with. Luckily, if you're living in the US (especially New York) there are lots of delivery options, but which ones are healthy and good?
I will admit, I'm no master chef. In fact, I don't REALLY like cooking that much unless it involves a good chat and maybe a glass of wine to go with it.
So when it comes to preparing the evening meal, I was finding myself going out or getting (a lot of) Seamless (or one of the 700 variants of Seamless).
To fix this I went on the lookout for some options and found that there's two groups of people. There's the group of people who have a little bit of time on their hands but don't want to have to think. Then there's those who don't want to cook a thing but are sick of getting take out.
I've done the heavy lifting and found some solutions for both below!
I want to make sure you know: I'm not NEARLY cool enough to get free stuff from these companies for promoting their products. I just like them and I get a kickback if you signup for them though through the links below.
A little time to cook but want some help
So first up there's Blue Apron.
I heard about it on podcasts. And on the train. And written in the sky. AND FREAKING EVERYWHERE, so we gave it a shot and I can actually say that I feel like it's exceeded my expectations. We've been using it almost every week (2-3 meals for 2 of us) since (scrolling down) December 10, 2018 where we made Pimento Cheeseburgers and Korean-style Popcorn Chicken (both delicious).
The food takes genuinely 30 minutes or less to make, and it's diverse and tasty every week. You pick 2+ dishes from about 10 dishes every week and ingredients are delivered to your door on a day you request. They're easy to assemble even with a limited range of skill and things in the kitchen (they try to keep it to one maybe 2 pans) and come together like the pictures!
We do Sunday nights so we can cook Sunday, Monday and then a third day depending on how busy we are (today I actually had one of the three for lunch because I'm away the rest of the week).
Blue Apron – $30 Off Your First Delivery Box
Don't want to do any cooking?
So you're too busy to even do that much, great! The other option is Freshly for those of you who don't want to do any cooking!
Instead of them sending ingredients to your door, they send fully-formed meals that are fresh cooked and just need to be heated and eaten.
You do have the option of freezing them if you're not ready for them too!
Full disclosure, I haven't tried Freshly yet, but a group of friends have and they love it! They take their meals to work so if they work late they can simply crack something open, heat it up, and avoid paying too much for takeout that makes them feel bad anyway.
America Josh readers get a discount too! 30% off your first week.
Freshly – Get 30% Off Your First Week
