Back then, when I was working in a cube and had a two-hour round-trip commute, I spent the last 15 minutes of work scanning the internet for recipes for dinner.
This loose meal planning system worked because I left my job around 3pm and gave me plenty of time to stop by the grocery store to grab the ingredients I needed. We enjoyed making delicious seafood and spicy Mexican dishes and making delicious meals.
Fast forward to the present – I hate cooking and menu planning!
There are many perks to working from home. However, I don’t have a daily commute so I only arrive at the grocery store once a week because I batch my own errands to be more productive. So this means that it has to be very organized with meal plans and grocery lists.
But when Sunday nights roll, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour sitting and planning a meal plan from my busy schedule. The truth is, I hate planning the menu and I hate cooking. At the end of a busy day, I don’t want to take 60 minutes to cook a meal that can be eaten in 10 minutes. Ah, I’m afraid of that.
Over the past few years I have tried a variety of solutions to solve menu planning issues, but have discovered many great options for moms who hate cooking and menu planning.
Budget-friendly meal planning service
1. $5 meal plan
The $5 meal plan is a weekly service (arrived every Friday morning) that includes weekly dinner recipes, one breakfast recipe, one lunch recipe, a random “goodie” recipe (which could be a dessert, snack or drink) and a weekly shopping list.
Food is family friendly and will cost $2 (or less) per person. I haven’t tried this yet, but it has received great reviews online and works to help my family save time and money.
The $5 meal plan offers a free 14-day trial. You can then switch to a monthly plan of $5 per month if necessary.
- Cooking time: 20 minutes or more
- Price: $5 per month (each portion costs $2 per person)
- Specialized diet plan: Regular, Pereo (gluten-free), Slow Cooker, Vegetarian
2. Lauren Cobello
Lauren Cobello is a well-known personal finance blogger who has developed four different Crockpot meal plans that will save you time and money. Each plan comes with 7-12 recipes (4-6 family-friendly) to prepare, dump and freeze for later use.
I haven’t tried this diet system myself yet, but the recipes sound delicious, but most of them are family friendly. The drawback of this plan is that 10 recipes are repeated. So you should consider having the same recipe twice in a month.
- Cooking time: 3 hours for 20 meals
- Price: $9.97 per plan (estimated at $150 for food)
- Specialized diet plan: No
3. Plate Joy
This service will take short quizzes to identify your preferences, restrictions and goals. Platejoy then creates recommendations for your custom meal plan.
You will receive recipes tailored to your needs and needs. Then buy and cook the food yourself (to control costs). Most meals are ready in about 30 minutes.
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: $12.99 per month (or cheaper if you buy for several months)
- Specialized diet plans: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy, pescatarian, old, etc.
Menu planning service
4. Green Chef
Green Chef is the first meal planning subscription box service I have tried.
All the ingredients in these boxes are organic. Subscribers can choose from several diet types and box sizes (Ex: 2, 4, or 6 people with 2, 3, or 4 meals per week, depending on the type of meal. Subscribers can choose from 30 recipes in one weekly box to mix and match diet preferences.
It’s been a while since I used this service. The reason I stopped was because the recipes were not kid-friendly and I wasn’t into them.
If you decide to try this option, the website will offer a discount on the first box (changes regularly).
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: $11.99- $12.99 per meal
- Specialized diet plan: Vegetarian, Keto, Vegan, Mediterranean, Fast Fit, Protein Pack, Gluten Free
5. hellofresh
I tried this service a few years ago and really liked it. The recipe was delicious and easy to make.
Hellofresh sends you fresh farming vegetables and ingredients in advance along with the recipe, allowing you to skip both meal planning and grocery shopping! Choose your diet preferences and customize the size of your plan (2 or 4 people with 2-6 meals a week). Then, choose from over 30 delicious recipes each week and receive everything for your front door.
The company loves working hard to reduce food waste and its carbon footprint. Plus, you can cancel or skip a week if you go on a holiday.
This website offers different discounts over time to try out the service.
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: $8.99 per meal – $12.49
- Specialized diet plan: Classic (Omnivore), Vegetarian, Family-friendly, Fit and healthy, Quick and easy, and Pescatarian
6. Blue Apron
A friend introduced me to a blue apron and I loved their recipes! In fact, I probably used this popular service for about six months.
Like other subscription boxes, you can choose your dietary preferences and customize your plans to take into account dietary restrictions (2 or 4 meals a week).
Blue Apron understands life changes so you can skip, suspend or cancel your subscription at any time.
I loved their recipes with this option, but it took me forever to cook each meal. So, although we ultimately stopped ordering, there are now faster and easier menu options that should be faster than classic recipes.
If you decide to try this option, the website offers several different discount options to save money on your first order.
- Cooking time: 45-60 minutes
- Price: $7.99 per meal – $11.99
- Specialized Diet Plan: Chef’s Favorite, Wellness, Family Friendly, Fast and Easy, Vegetarian
7. One potato
One potato is a relatively new subscription box service. Unlike other people (which offer family options), their boxes are aimed at people with children.
Each box contains organic pre-prepped ingredients for meals, sides, seasonings and dressings. Choose a family-friendly meal number regardless of week (2 or 3).
And this is the fun part. Each box comes with organic slices and baked cookie dough to complete your meal. Plus, there are other breakfast and snack add-ons that can be included, such as smoothies.
After researching this post I actually signed up for this option. Sadly, they are not available in my area yet, but you can sign up for alerts.
- Cooking time: 30-60 minutes
- Price: $11.77- $20.26 per meal
- Special diet plan: omnivorous, vegetarian, gluten-free
8. Home Chef
If you like homemade meals (but don’t want to prepare meals), this meal delivery service may be the perfect option for you. Our home chef will provide pre-produced produce and step-by-step instructions to your door every week. Each recipe takes about 30 minutes.
The weekly menu offers 30 meals and 18 meals to choose from. You can exchange the suggested recipes for new recipes before your order is complete. You can also find nutritional information (including calories per serving) on ​​the website and recipe cards that arrive with the food.
Cooking times and prices are comparable to other options, and many of the meals are child-friendly, but very meaty.
You can usually find home chef coupons by searching “Home Chef Coupons” on Google.
- Cooking time: 30 minutes
- Price: Over $8.99 per meal
- Specialized diet plan: No
9. Cook unity
If you really want a meal that has a home cooking atmosphere, cooking unity may be the best option. The service offers chef-prepared meals using fresh farm-to-table whole food made in small batches.
Choose your plan (4-16 meals a week) and fresh (unfrozen) prepared meals arrive at your doorstep. They even insist on adjusting your diet to your diet preferences and restrictions.
I haven’t tried this service myself as it doesn’t look family friendly. But the food looks delicious!
Like many meal planning and delivery services, this website offers discounts to new subscribers (discounts vary).
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: I’m not sure
- Specialized diet plan: omnivore, gluten-free, dairy products, keto, pereo, vegan
10. Eat the right good stuff
Do you eat mostly for running? If so, you need a simple meal that is ready in a flash. Check out Eat Eat Proper Good. This provides a nutritious, ready-to-eat meal that is ready in 90 seconds (no need to refrigerate).
Currently they only serve soups, chili, curry, rice and oatmeal. But they have some delicious options, and if you want something heartbreaking (but still fast), you can easily add them with baked potatoes, rice, or burritos.
- Cooking time: 90 seconds
- Price: $3.49+
- Special diet plan: omnivorous, gluten-free, dairy, keto, and low sodium
11. Farmers Fridge
This is a different approach to eating service. Instead of delivering meals directly to the door, farmers deliver fresh, ready-to-eat meals to the “fridge” (cooling vending machines).
Typically, these machines can be found in universities, hospitals, office buildings, and airports. They are for those who are out (not at home) but want to eat healthy.
Although the location is still limited, the company is actively expanding them. Check their website and search for fridge locations for more information.
- Cooking time: No preparation or cooking required
- Price: Prices are not listed on the website and may vary depending on the location
- Specialized diet plan: No
12. HungryRoot
I’ve turned off HungryRoot for a long time. The food is great and the chickpea cookie dough is very tasty! But I often had problems with their services. Slow delivery, broken food containers, incorrect items, and alternatives that were not comparable to what I ordered – I no longer use them.
The experience of ordering from HungryRoot starts with taking a short quiz to reveal your dietary needs, the number of people you will feed, the goals and preferences.
From there, the service offers groceries and recipes. Edit your choices so that you receive exactly what you want. Next, once you try out the food, you will rate the service as “teach” and improve the recommendations with every order.
As a bonus, you’ll get a free gift (vegetable, protein, or chickpea cookie dough) with every delivery.
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: Plans start at $65
- Specialized diet plan: omnivorous, gluten-free, dairy, egg-free, soy-free, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, nut-free, shellfish-free
13. Front pouch pantry
This menu planning service offers customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas a generous meal of already prepared meals. The front porch pantry creates delicious classics that the whole family loves. For example, choose pot roast, lasagna, or chicken pot pie.
This service saves time by offering already made meals that you simply need to reheat and serve. There is no time to prepare meals!
- Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
- Price: Over $5.95 per meal
- Special Diet Plan: Hearty Tasteer Box, High Protein Box, Low Carb Lifestyle Box Options
14. All plates
This meal kit subscription service will provide you with ingredients and recipes to your door every week. All plates focus on keeping costs down while allowing you to choose from 21 week recipe options.
The service works to keep costs down, so it does not offer specific meal plans such as Paleo, Keto, etc.
- Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
- Price: $4.99 per meal
- Specialized Diet Plan: Meat, Vegetarian, Family-Friendly, Quick and Easy
15. Purple carrot
This is a service that offers both meal kits and prepared meals so you can get exactly what you need with the menu planning service! Purple carrots focus on plant-based diets, but you don’t have to be vegetarian or vegan to appreciate their deliciousness. Kale has never been this tasty!
- Cooking Time: 5 minutes for the prepared meal.
- Price: $11.00-per $13.25
- Specialized Diet Plan: Vegetarians and Vegans
Custom Meal Plan
16. Home Personal Chef
Now I only skipped this option once – but I loved it! I met a local chef, came to my house and cooked four restaurant quality freezer meals. I chose the recipe and she made four meals (4 servings each) with sides and dessert, accompanied by all the pots, pans, tools and ingredients.
She was at my house for about 3 hours and the food was amazing! Costs were $200 (back in 2014) for three chicken appetizers and one ground beef recipe, plus a total of 20%. If you really disassemble it ($15 per serving), it’s not much more than the other options above.
- Cooking time: Reheat
- Price: Over $200
- Special diet plan: Yes
Grocery Delivery Service
Well, if you don’t like going to the grocery store, there are many options to deliver groceries and spices. For a fee, companies like Fave, Amazon Fresh, Shipt, and Instacart shop and deliver groceries to your doorstep.
I’ve been using Instacart for the past few years and I love it! It saves me a lot of time, but it has one downside: it is an expensive service.
Elegantly simple and other companies like RawSpiceBar can send spices, mixes and recipes to get you out of the funk of what to make for dinner. I tried both and I enjoyed them. Unfortunately, they didn’t solve my problem of not loving food.
Best meal planning service
So, what is the best menu planning system for moms who hate cooking? That’s for you to decide!
There are no solutions for all sizes when it comes to choosing a meal planning option, but I think each of these is a viable option for a variety of reasons.
Now I’ve shared my views on the best meal planning options, so I’d like to know what you think!
Leave a comment and let me know: What are your favorite menu planning system, subscription services, or meal delivery options?
Originally published on November 15th, 2016. The content was updated in March 2023.