Prepared Meal Subscription Comparisons & Discussions

bargainsteve on 11/04/2021 - 11:37

I realised I'm paying a lot for takeaway deliveries like UberEat, Deliveroo, etc. This is definitely not what a true OzBargainer would do… So I'm exploring alternative options. I know there are meal kit subscriptions around that you have to cook yourself, but I am not looking at those. I am looking at the prepared meal subscriptions instead.

So far here are the ones I gathered in Australia:
1. Youfoodz
2. My Muscle Chef
3. Thr1ve
4. Soulara
5. Nourish'd
6. Lite n' Easy

Anyone used these before? How do you rate them compared to takeaway deliveries? Takeaways are fantastic, but doing it daily is not sustainable cost-wise.

Poll Options

  • 6
    Youfoodz
  • 3
    My Muscle Chef
  • 1
    Thr1ve
  • 1
    Soulara
  • 0
    Nourish'd
  • 6
    Lite n' Easy
  • 3
    Others
  • 21
    Never used any
Food & Grocery

Comments

  • bloom on 11/04/2021 - 11:43

    Youfoodz gave me gastro
    Lite n Easy is like food flying economy
    Haven’t tried the others

    • bargainsteve on 11/04/2021 - 12:03

      food flying economy

      What's that? You mean tastes like meals from airlines?

      • thatonethere on 11/04/2021 - 12:35

        Lite n Easy is generally used for weight reduction so probably why

      • jjjaar on 11/04/2021 - 13:52

        Yes many of them do taste like airline food. You also can’t tell if you opened the chicken or the fish half the time…

        I have some friends who have been on lite n easy for about 6 months and they pretty much just have the same 4 meals on rotation because they were the only ones they liked and they rarely add new options.

        My biggest issue with it though is that the meal plans are for losing weight and 1200 calories is less than a toddler should eat in a day, so unless you’re supplementing it with your own snacks, you will be hungry.

  • try2bhelpful on 11/04/2021 - 11:52
    +10

    Just do batch cooking on the weekends and use them during the week. Things like Bolognaise sauce, stews, curries etc freeze well and you can thaw them and then cook some rice, pasta, mash, steamed vegetables etc. Also some of the kits like Spice Tailors are pretty good for quick meals.

  • kipps on 11/04/2021 - 11:54
    +6

    Why aren’t you cooking your own meals? This packaged stuff is garbage.

  • bargain huntress on 11/04/2021 - 12:03

    i've been wondering about this too.

    i found this
    https://www.finder.com.au/meal-delivery

    there are also the ones at the supermarkets. apparently they are not that different and you can also get them delivered.

    also wondering about the meal kits - i think it might be healthier, and at least then you learn to cook at the same time, so it would be a better investment.

  • Quantumcat on 11/04/2021 - 12:09
    +2

    Lite n easy is nice but it is expensive. And there aren't any instructions for what goes with what meal (there's a slip of paper but it just tells you what to get from the freezer and what for the fridge for the popular or alternative meals, not telling you what you chose or what they are). So you end up with dozens of random small slices of bread or cake or little frozen puddings in your freezer. And tbh that gets really annoying. Especially if it is a main food item which you didn't know to take with you and it ruins your lunch.

    • bargainsteve on 11/04/2021 - 12:27

      Lite n easy is nice but it is expensive.

      I was browsing the plans and for the cheapest 1200 CALS 7 days breakfast, lunch and dinner, it's $155. Assuming breakfast is half a meal, 7 * 2.5 = 17.5 meals a week. That's $8.85/meal. I usually just have a toast or some breakfast biscuits, so if I get the lunch and dinner package, it'll come out to about $9.36/meal.

      I guess at close to $10 a meal, it's getting up there. It's still quite a bit cheaper than getting takeaways though.

      How's the freshness however? Do you put these in freezer for a week, no worries?

      • skid on 11/04/2021 - 12:54
        +2

        It's fresh, but they get you on the quantity. Ok, so it's $8.85/meal, but you're getting $3/meal worth of food. Quantity-wise, takeaway is better value for money.

        • Quantumcat on 11/04/2021 - 13:03
          +1

          It's fresh, but they get you on the quantity

          Very true. And the higher calorie meals cost more but you don't get a larger serving size, you just get extra annoying snacks that fill up your fridge and freezer

      • Quantumcat on 11/04/2021 - 12:55
        +1

        Yeah the freshness is fine, as long as you eat the salads first. Lunches are mainly part fresh part frozen (eg a wrap with lettuce tomato and sauce will have some frozen chicken you need to microwave and the wrap needs microwaving to loosen it). Dinners mainly frozen but you can get fresh ones (large salads or fresh schnitzel and veggies that needs microwaving). Have never had a single issue with anything going bad with the items unless I forget to eat one of the fresh items for a while

    • coin saver on 11/04/2021 - 15:40

      I looked at Lite n easy and a couple of the others for my elderly mother as she can get 70% off but none of them seem to cater for vegetarians.

  • Hardlyworkin on 11/04/2021 - 12:22
    +1

    Learn to adult.

  • dmbminaret on 11/04/2021 - 12:22
    +2

    Youfoodz is great if you get it on a coupon - 9 for $59 or there abouts.

    Coles kitchen ones are excellent. I only buy marked down though.

    Muscle chef are very good but more expensive.

    Core powerfoods are ok but not great. The meatball ones and american meat are good but chicken ones a bit tough.

    These are nice but have to buy a few to get postage:
    https://www.queyou.com.au/collections/meal-packs

    Thr1ve is nice but small.

    I work away 9 days a fortnight and stay onsite, so this is my best option for meals.

  • SF3 on 11/04/2021 - 12:28
    -3

    Learn to cook, it’s part of being human.

  • theHMASfriendship on 11/04/2021 - 12:35

    Muscle chef is pretty good.

  • hasher22 on 11/04/2021 - 12:57
    +3

    My Muscle Chef is good, good size portions, depending on the diet you pick, its 400g to 500g. Food taste great too.

    Youfoodz buying when they had deals on, but after the whole racism thing, I don't buy from them anymore. $10 for a meal that's roughly 250g - 300g is NOT worth it

    Thr1ve: Ordered once, food was ok. Won't buy again

    the thing is, you want to go from delivery restaurant food to frozen ready made meals. Expect the quality difference. Getting a nice pad Thai freshly made and delivered is not the same as a reheated pad Thai from X ready made meal company.

  • livindeaddoll on 11/04/2021 - 13:27
    +1

    Look into Dineamic. Just placed my order for the third week in a row and must say their meals are afforable (most meals are ~$10 with a couple at $16) and very tasty. Portions are relatively small though at ~350g but works for me. Definitely find them better than Youfoodz.

  • jjjaar on 11/04/2021 - 13:57
    +2

    Check on airtasker/similar for someone who does meal prep for people. A few caterers pivoted that way during last year, so may still do it. You would be able to pay someone to batch make you a few meals every month so you’ve got a bunch in your freezer.

    Can’t hurt to get a quote.

  • dasher86 on 11/04/2021 - 17:23

    If Ubereats is not what an Ozbargainer would do, neither is prepared meals…
    As other people said make your own food.
    It's usually the cheapest way.

  • vikvance on 11/04/2021 - 21:05

    For lunch and/or dinner, I usually buy the Core Powerfoods frozen meals from Coles.

    I stock up when they go on special at $7, and stack them with Flybuys offers, and 2% cash-back on my HSBC debit card or sometimes discounted Coles gift cards.

  • tdth99 on 12/04/2021 - 11:42
    +3

    I have a disability and when working full-time definitely have too much pain at the end of the day or weekend to cook, so have tried them all.
    I partly disagree with the 'just cook yourself' as the only option for a time-poor single person. You end up eating the same thing several days in a row, or have to freeze, then run out of freezer space and have to eat same thing again. And unless you cook regularly, adding up the cost of condiments, spices etc also has to be taken into account when prepping meals.
    If I make a biryani I'm buying rice, yoghurt, tumeric, garam marsala, salt, garlic, and chicken at the very least. And unless I'm using that tumeric or garam marsala regularly, it's gonna go stale.

    I reckon of convenience, health and price, you get to pick two, regardless of how you do it.

    If you wait for sales on things like Youfoodz, they're great value. Dineamic is also good, and I really like their packaging. Search locally as well, there's a lot of small companies that have pivot to added home meals to their repertoire that can be almost as good as restaurant made.

    • bargainsteve on 12/04/2021 - 19:35
      +1

      I partly disagree with the 'just cook yourself' as the only option

      I like your attitude, a lot of people generalise without knowing the full context and then just spat out nasty comments right off the bat.

      there's a lot of small companies that have pivot to added home meals to their repertoire

      Can you name some examples if you know any on top of your head?

      • tdth99 on 12/04/2021 - 20:34

        Here even in Canberra we have places like pialligo estate, GMDCanberra, Canberra dinner rush and Dinners ready all local, and doing ready made or minimal prep meals at cheaper than takeaway.
        All better quality than the national options too, though a little pricier (say $11-14), but good to change it up a little.

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