Surprising Facts – How Much Does it Cost to Meal Prep for a Week?
How much does it cost to meal prep for a week? This is the prime question that Americans have when juggling work and home commitments. If your busy schedule leaves you no time for shopping and cooking, know that you can choose instead to order ready meals at a food delivery service near you. Opt for healthy, home-cooked food that is tasty and economical.
According to Fox Business, from the years 2015 to 2016, Americans spent $54.857 billion in bars, restaurants, and takeout as compared to the $52.503 billion they spent on buying fresh food and groceries. These statistics point to the fact that more people are eating out as against cooking at home. And, the reason behind this is simple. The American lifestyle is becoming busier than ever, and in-between juggling work and home responsibilities, people have less time to cook meals at home.
But, how much does it cost to meal prep for a week? Is it more economical than eating out or ordering meals at a food delivery near you?
Ordering Meals at a Food Delivery Service is an Economical Option
Given a choice between ordering takeout or looking for a healthy food delivery near me, you might want to choose the latter. You’ll find that signing up for a food delivery service is not only more economical, but it’s also more healthy. Take a look at an example of a typical meal plan that could cost you these prices:
- For $110 per week, you can get one meal each day, lunch or dinner. In addition, you get 10 healthy snacks for 5 days of the work week.
- For $170 per week, you can order lunch and dinner that works out to two meals a day along with 2 healthy snacks for each of the 5 days of the work week.
- If you would prefer to order all three meals, namely, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you can expect to pay $210. The meal delivery company also throws in 10 healthy snacks, 2 for each day of the work week.
- As a bodybuilding athlete, you might feel that breakfast is an essential meal of the day. Accordingly, you can choose breakfast along with either lunch or dinner and 2 healthy snacks for each day of the work week. This meal plan is likely to cost you $150.
In case you’ve been wondering how much does it cost to meal prep for a week, here’s your answer. Remember, you can always save some of the snacks for eating over the weekend. Or, combine some of the items like say, fruit with breakfast. All you need to do is order the dishes you like and have them as and when you want all through the week when you can’t cook.
As your fitness dietitian will advise, eating your favorite foods over the weekend is perfectly acceptable if you’ve been careful about your diet all through the week.
Order Healthy Food Delivery Near Me for Nutritious Meals
As the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports, the food you buy in restaurants has more sodium, cholesterol, calories, and fats as compared to the meals you can cook at home. For this reason, the next time you’re thinking, “What is the best restaurant delivery service for ordering meals?” consider looking for a food delivery near you instead.
The meals by mail services are almost as economical as the meals you’d cook at home. Further, you’ll find that they’re fresh, healthy, and just like you would make them by yourself. Try making a comparison of how much does it cost to meal prep for a week at home as compared to ordering meals at a food delivery service near me. You’ll find that the difference is well worth the time and effort you’ll save searching for recipes, shopping for groceries, and cooking the meals.
Food Delivery Services Can Cut Back on the Cost of Operations
Prepared meal delivery services use several strategies to economize on the meals they cook and provide their clients. Here’s how:
- Food delivery companies source ingredients for their meals from farmers’ markets and have partnerships with local producers. As a result, they can get fresh supplies that they use without the need for packaging and processing.
- By cutting back on the cost of logistics from distant factories that provide branded ingredients, the food delivery services can provide more economical food to their customers.
- Ready meal delivery services take orders from clients within a particular radius that is close to their kitchens. In this way, they can ensure not just fresh food but also incur cheaper transportation expenses.
- They save on the cost of renting space and maintaining the ambiance of a restaurant.
So, How Much Does it Cost to Meal Prep for a Week at Home?
Let’s take a look at the prices of some of the typical food items you might buy at a discount food store. These numbers will give you a fair view of how much does it cost to meal prep for a week by yourself.
- $8 to $10 can buy you 5 to 7 pounds of vegetables
- $8 to $12 can buy you 5 to 7 pounds of fruits
- $4 to $12 can buy you 3 pounds of meat
- $12 can buy 2.5 pounds of cream, cheese, and yogurt
- $4 can buy dips
For $30, you can buy grains, sodas, snacks, beans, and meals for the weekend.
The total food bill for a week should not be more than a maximum of $80.
And, for a just a small additional charge per week, you can receive the meals you need, cooked and ready to eat in perfectly measured portion sizes. Each meal and snack is packed in portable containers that you can bring to work.
Doesn’t this sound like an awesome idea? It is!
Would you like more information about the prices of the ready meals available at a food delivery service near you? You only need to contact us and we’ll help you with all the details you need.
Have you ordered meals from a prepared meal service before? How were your experiences? Did you find the meals economical, tasty, and healthy? Please let us know your thoughts using the comment box below.
References:
Here’s What the Average American Spends on Restaurants and Takeout
How Meal Prepping Can Save You Time & Money (And How To Get Started)
5 tricks I use to spend less than an hour prepping lunch for the whole week