The Best Prepared Meal Service 2023

Please prepare yourself for the Prepared Meals preparation paragraph. My ‘P’ key just broke off my keyboard…

Time. That’s our most precious asset as busy adults and this year Megan and I are actively doing things to give us more time…time that we can spend with our kids. What takes up time in our day-to-day lives? Well, cooking dinner and cleaning dishes can easily take about 2 hours daily, so this seemed like a good place to start.

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    All we had to do was type in “prepared meals” in a google, and we were then bombarded with meal service ads on Facebook and Instagram for the next few weeks. We ended up trying three services and we wanted to compare them side-by-side to see which one was the best. Factor_, Flexpro meals, and CookUnity. 

    What are the Benefits of a Prepared Meal Service?

    1. Convenience: One of the most significant benefits of a prepared meal service like the three we are testing is the convenience it provides. Many people (especially families with young kids) lead busy lives and may not have both the time/energy to prepare meals from scratch every day or the time to do the dishes afterwards. A prepared meal service can help by delivering healthy, ready-to-go meals to your doorstep that are ready to eat in minutes. This can save you time and reduce stress, making it easier to maintain a healthy diet even when you’re busy.

    2. Nutritious Options: Another benefit of prepared meal services is that they often offer a wide variety of nutritious options. Many services focus on using fresh, whole ingredients and avoid processed foods, which can be a major source of unhealthy ingredients like added sugars and trans fats. This means you can feel confident that you’re eating a well-balanced meal that is good for your health and wellbeing.  This review is not focused on the nutritional aspect of each service, but it’s important to note that many people will choose a service based on the nutritional value it provides. 

    3. Customizable: Many prepared meal services allow you to customize your meals to fit your specific dietary needs and preferences. This means you can choose meals that are gluten-free, keto, vegetarian, or low-carb, for example. This level of customization can be especially helpful for people with dietary restrictions or allergies who may struggle to find suitable options when eating out or cooking at home.

    Overall, a prepared meal service like Factor, FlexPro, and CookUnity can provide a convenient, nutritious, and customizable option for people who want to eat healthy but may not have the time or energy to cook meals from scratch.

    Factor vs. FlexPro Meals vs. CookUnity

    Now before we get into the nitty-gritty, we want to discuss how we would be critiquing these services. We created a chart with a rating system and each service was rated on a 1-5 scale ( 5 being the best). There are also Yes/No factors where each Yes is equivalent to one point. The winner is the service with the most points. Ok, let’s tackle each one by one!

    Factor_

    Tagline: Just heat, eat, and enjoy! Our prepared meal delivery services provide fully cooked, healthy meals made by real chefs that are ready to eat in minutes.

    Website: https://www.factor75.com/

    Promotion: Get up to $150 off your first meal – click here!

    PROS

    CONS

    FlexPro

    Tagline: Choose from 35 delicious macro-balanced meals. High protein, low carb, keto and gluten free meals available! Delivered next-day, fresh and ready to eat.

    Website: https://www.flexpromeals.com/

    PROS

    CONS

    CookUnity

    Tagline: CookUnity offers flexible and convenient meal delivery plans that match your needs and taste. Find out more and start eating healthy every day, today.

    Website: https://www.cookunity.com/

    Promotion: Get $50 Off By Clicking Here

    PROS

    CONS

    Point-Based Comparison

    So how do these three services compare head to head? We created a chart with several key factors – some are ratings (1-5 with 5 being the best) and some are simple yes/no factors. 

    Description Factor_ FlexPro Cookunity
    Website ease of use 5 5 5
    Order process 4 2 5
    Text message notifications Yes Yes Yes
    Communication 4 3 5
    Meal packaging 4 3 5
    Box packaging 5 4 5
    Correct meals included 3 3 5
    Selection/variety of Food 3 3 5
    Picture quality of food on website 3 3 5
    Ratings for meals? No No Yes
    Food quality 4 1 5
    Coupon/promotion for new customers? Yes No Yes
    On-time delivery? 5 5 5
    TOTAL 42 33 53

    And The Winner Is...

    CookUnity! They had a perfect score in all categories, and it’s the service we have been using for weeks now with NO ISSUES! The only downside is the portion sizes – if they offered a “large” portion size to their menu offerings, my late night snacking would probably come to a screeching halt. Overall, we highly recommend CookUnity and are enjoying the time savings that prepared meal services offer.  

     

    Try Cookunity for you and/or your family and get $50 Off your first box – click here!

    Don't Commit Unless You Have This...

    A toaster oven/air fryer! It is not a must have but it is by far our preferred way of heating these meals up and makes a world of difference compared to a microwave.  We tried both ways of heating, and while the microwave is faster (only a few minutes for each meal), our Air Fryer made the food taste much fresher and gourmet.  Yes, a conventional oven could also work, but the Breville Air Fryer we have only takes about 5 minutes to heat to 350, which is awesome (more time savings).  Each meal takes about 10-12 minutes to cook in the air fryer, so all-in-all, it takes about 15 minutes to warm the meals. Not bad!

    About The Authors

    About The Authors

    John and Megan are the founders of Arched Manor, which is a passion-project turned business featuring home design, renovations, DIY tutorials, décor, e-Design, and 3-D rendering services. This married couple lives in Leesburg, Virginia, and is currently renovating The Arched Manor, a brick colonial house built in 2000.

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    Meet Megan & John

    Hi there! We’re a married couple with a passion for DIY, decor, and home improvement! We’re currently renovating The Arched Manor in Leesburg, VA.