I’m someone who loves eating - and cooking - healthy meals. I fall asleep listening to podcasts about nutrition, have an Instagram saved folder of recipes I want to try, an overflowing pantry of obscure supplements, and an iHerb account that sees more action than my accountant would care for.

But there are key weeks in my year when I know that, if left to my own devices, my normally tight grip on nutrition slips. Like the first week of January, when I’m desperate to rein in indulgent eating but not quite able to DIY it; a spell in summer when barbecues and picnics crowd the calendar; early fall, when my kids go back to school and work schedules bite; and that stretch in December when parties and deadlines collide in a bleary-eyed battle. At those moments, I plan ahead and book a meal delivery service.

This is not lazy eating—that’s a bowl of cereal at 11 p.m. after forgetting to nourish yourself properly. A meal service is intentional, proactive self-care.

I’m not the only one who values health-optimised efficiency over time-consuming #weeklymealprep. The meal delivery sector—which includes meal kits, where you get the raw ingredients and chop them yourself—is currently worth $20.3 billion, and is forecast to reach nearly $65.5 billion by 2035, according to Future Market Insights. One of the leading players is Brooklyn-based CookUnity, which just announced its annual revenue is more than $500 million—a dramatic 90% year-on-year increase. Trifecta Nutrition, meanwhile, raised $20 million at a series-B funding round in 2021, and Factor was acquired by HelloFresh for $277 million in 2020. Demand is booming, and it’s fuelling fast growth. The reason is simple: we want to be healthy, but increasingly, we need convenience.

Five years ago, the thought of peeling open a convenience meal in the name of health would have been unthinkable. Frozen packages from the store were typically microwavable mac and cheese or chicken pot pie. They’d be packed with salt and inflammatory oils, and laden with calories. Those are anything but a health shortcut.

Now, thanks to mindful millennial food start-ups, ready meals have had a major rebrand. There might be childhood classics on the menu, but you can bet it’s organic pasta, high-welfare dairy cheese, and utilizing organic ingredients; at Thistle, the plant-based company, you’ll also find ingredients like maca, spirulina and moringa to supercharge amino acids, vitamins (B, C, and E) and minerals (calcium, iron and zinc). 

Factor’s heat-and-eat meals are calorie-controlled, protein-forward, and approved by registered dietitians; they’re also eaten by professional athletes such as the American football quarterback Dante Moore and Canadian basketballer Aaliyah Edwards. More than 90 per cent of users say the service makes their lives less stressful, according to the company. Meanwhile, the iHeartMedia radio host Holly O’Connor rates Marley Spoon, a brand which generated $383 million in revenue last year, for helping her “keep my health on track.” She uses it for portion control. “I do cook myself, but I often end up eating way too much, even if it’s healthy,” she says. 

In some ways, the move to convenience feeds into the “lazy girl lifestyle,” popularized online as a rejection of burnout culture. The idea is that you don’t need to do it all. If domestic goddessing isn’t for you, then why not reduce some of your everyday friction? It’s simply delegating the task of meal prep, in a similar way to how one might assign tasks to a junior employee. 

Relying on meal prep is not something to feel guilty about. Brittany Kwong, a former professional ballerina, thinks women should give themselves permission to outsource. “There absolutely is a time and place for a well-chosen meal delivery service,” says Kwong, who is now a registered dietitian (MS, RDN) and founder of Healthnut OC, a holistic coaching programme based in California. “When life feels full and time is limited, whether due to travel, transitions, or a desire for more structure, meal delivery can be a supportive way to stay nourished without adding stress.”

Kwong says most of us know the principles of healthy eating, but for many, “the biggest barrier to healthy eating isn’t knowledge, it’s bandwidth.” Quarterback Moore says his Factor meals help him “stay consistent,” while basketballer Edwards says they’re essential when she’s hotel-hopping.

A boom in services means there’s plenty of meal types to choose from, depending on your goals. Trifecta Nutrition, which featured on Netflix’s “You Are What You Eat,” offers chef-crafted plans, like herb-grilled chicken and brown rice, turkey meatballs with zoodles, or vegan power bowls. It costs around $11 to $15 per meal. For those following a plant-based diet, or who are looking for a gut-boost, Sakara’s Signature Nutrition Program includes more than 75 whole-food plant ingredients in its chef-cooked dishes, such as Thai burger and bean chipotle chilli.

Kwong advises choosing “services that prioritize whole ingredients and thoughtful sourcing.” Meals from high-quality services are more satisfying and less processed; she says this makes “a noticeable difference in how people feel.” The Good Kitchen, founded by Amber Lewis, is a good example of this. Founded as a neighbourhood meal-prep service in Charlotte, N.C., the company uses seasonal vegetables alongside its grass-fed beef, pastured pork, and poultry which is free from antibiotics and hormones. It’s since expanded across the U.S., and as it relies on hyperlocal sourcing, prices vary by region. Thistle is another that prides itself on using locally sourced goods from local farms.

Things to pay attention to when shopping around: be sure to check sodium levels alongside calories and macro counts, as well as how the meals are cooked. CookUnity, for instance, can tailor its meals to specific diets, from keto-friendly to “Protein Boost”. Each is prepared in small batches in kitchens around the country, so you know you’re getting thoughtfully made dinners, not mass-made dishes.

Dietary resets can often feel miserable, and healthy eating can feel like a chore. I, like many women, have attempted a juice cleanse as a short-term fix; it lasted only two days, but I immediately realized that all my nutrition needs to be enjoyable. 

One uniting factor of these new-age meal prep services is that flavour is non-negotiable—even when catering to specific diet plans like paleo or Whole30. CookUnity leans into pleasure as much as practicality. Its chef-designed dishes are targeted at urban millennials who want restaurant-worthy dinners, while avoiding take out. It works: coconut curry or short rib doesn’t read as “diet food,” but the nutrition label quietly assures you you’re on plan. Similarly, who’d have thought you could eat cake for breakfast on a health kick? Sakara’s chocolate breakfast ‘love muffin’ is packed with cauliflower, almond butter, and chickpeas—it fits the bill, and the macros. Snacks and sweet treats aren’t eradicated, either. I’ve tried a very memorable millionaire shortbread from Calo in London; it was so delicious, I still think about it. “Meals should be flavorful, and reflective of someone’s background and preferences, not just nutritionally sound,” says Kwong. 

Territory Foods offers dishes such as Asian-style rice noodle salad with grilled chicken. At around $10 to $14 per meal, each is made by local chefs. While Mom’s Meals, with its headquarters in Ankeny, I.A., specializes in medically-tailored diets. Food is medicine, according to the company, and its meal plans are designed to help: customers can optimize around diabetes and cholesterol (for heart health), costing $7 to $10 per meal. No matter how specific your diet is, there’s a company that can help: Trifecta Nutrition can support those on ‘Ketoflex 12/3’, the plant-rich, mildly ketogenic eating plan. 

One thing to know: You may need to progressively overload your meals with greens. From the delivery services I’ve tried, they often don't have enough vegetables. I bulk out mine with easily prepared sides.

Kwong advocates for this approach. “I often encourage clients to think of prepped meals as a foundation, then enhance and personalize with extra vegetables, a protein boost, healthy fats, or fresh herbs,” she says. “This adds volume and nutrient density, and can even stretch the meal to create leftovers.” This can be especially handy for deskside lunches at work. Packaging can be a concern, though much of it is recyclable, compostable, or at least reusable. 

These services are also expensive, sometimes triple the cost of a home-cooked meal. However, wasted ingredients that never make it to the stove are also costly. “Once clients experience that structure, many naturally move toward preparing their own meals,” says Kwong, whether through simple meal prep or freezer cooking. A short burst of delivery meals, she finds, can act as a “bridge rather than a long-term dependency.”

For me, it’s a fun break from daily norms. It gives me headspace, delicious food, and makes me feel like I’m a celebrity (hello, private chef!). But it also fires me up to recreate some of the meals I try on my own. I’m already looking forward to my next bulging cool bag landing on my doorstep.