Meal kit delivery boxes are an amazing way to introduce home cooks of all skill levels to new cuisines and techniques. These services deliver all the ingredients required to create accessible, reusable, and delicious recipes right to your doorstep. But which one is right for you?

By now you've undoubtedly heard of Blue Apron. Founded in 2012 out of a small kitchen in Queens, New York, Blue Apron has grown to become the Kleenex of meal subscription boxes, at one point providing weekly meals to over one million customers.

The other big name in the game, and Blue Apron’s biggest competitor, is HelloFresh. After starting in Germany, HelloFresh has blown up in recent years and is now touting themselves as "America's Most Popular Meal Kit."

To determine which subscription is better, I cooked from both. And, of course, I tried everything (and took excruciatingly detailed notes). Each boxed was judged based on the following:

• Price
• Specialized Diet
• Fun Factor
• Packaging
• Degree of Difficulty
• Taste

To be honest, it was really hard to determine an overall winner. Each box had their merits which you can see outlined in detail below.

With all of these subscription services, the more you order the more you save. Blue Apron and HelloFresh’s cheapest options are the same at $7.50/serving when ordering for a family of four and HelloFresh ($8.99/serving) slightly beats out Blue Apron ($9.99/serving) when cooking for two people. However, many of Blue Apron's options offer free shipping, but with Hello Fresh, it's a $7.99 flat rate. Another thing to consider: You can usually find special promos to save a couple bucks on both boxes.

Winner: Tie

Best For Those With A Specific Diet

Each of these services allow you to pick from a variety of dishes for your weekly menu, but if you have other dietary restrictions or preferences you’re in luck! Blue Apron offers both a Signature and Vegetarian option for their meal kits. HelloFresh, however, excels here offering a plethora of options including Meat and Veg, Vegetarian, Family Friendly and Low-Calorie. They also offer individual menu items each week that are specifically labeled as pescatarian, paleo or gluten-free. I believe HelloFresh has really set itself apart in this category, going above and beyond to ensure that many different diets are accounted for in their weekly menu options.

Winner: HelloFresh

Most Creative And Exciting Recipes

Though meal kits are typically thought of as being for novice cooks, I was so excited that recipes from both boxes were new and inspiring to me, a test kitchen professional whose job it is to cook all day. HelloFresh's recipes are extremely approachable, and the preparation was a bit more straightforward. With Blue Apron, I consistently found new techniques on the recipe cards that excited me. It's clear that Blue Apron intends for their customers to open up their culinary horizons to embrace different techniques and international flavors. I was obsessed with new ideas like topping a Beyond Burger with sautéed poblanos and pickled jalapeño or adding preserved lemon to yogurt to make a bright and citrusy sauce for chicken. For those looking to expand their cooking repertoire we recommend Blue Apron.

Winner: Blue Apron

Best For Minimizing Trash

Though they sometimes get a bad rap for the amount of packaging that comes with these boxes, research has found that meal kit delivery services often have a much lower carbon footprint than the supermarket equivalent. Both Blue Apron and HelloFresh go a long way to ensure they minimize their packaging as much as possible. They each provided instructions on how to properly recycle their cooling packs for keeping the food cold in transit to your house. However, if you want to go the extra mile in minimizing waste, then HelloFresh is the choice for you. Each recipe is placed in its own recyclable brown bag and they ensure that any produce that can be packed safely without its own container, are placed in it. Additionally we found there was far less plastic and total trash produced (less than half the amount!) by the HelloFresh meal kits.

Winner: HelloFresh

The best thing about these boxes are their ability to help educate and excite customers, regardless of how new they are to cooking. Both boxes provide thorough and easy to follow recipe cards that they encourage you to save, reuse and revise to your heart's content.

Blue Apron recipes but often require a little more prep to accomplish. I found that HelloFresh’s recipes provided a bit more detail and were slightly easier to follow. I loved the Vegetable Bibimbap recipe that walked me through how to cook each vegetable to perfection, all while preparing delicious ginger rice without being overwhelmed. They provide full nutritional facts for each dish, as well as a detailed list of all additional equipment of ingredients that a given recipe might require. This sort of information can be vital to beginner home cooks.

Winner: HelloFresh

These boxes could be the most convenient, unique and sustainable weeknight dinner options, but if the food doesn't taste good, no one is going to bother preheating their ovens. And I happily found that Blue Apron and HelloFresh were quite good. But if I had to choose a favorite, the recipes from Blue Apron felt a little more well balanced and composed. For example, Blue Apron's Salmon with Shallot-Date Sauce matched a well-seasoned and slightly smokey salmon fillet with a kale salad filled with savory roast vegetables, all topped with sweet and salty sauce and some crunchy pistachios. That recipe featured almost everything I look for in a recipe: a balance of flavors, a variety of textures and that it factor that keeps us from putting our forks down.

Winner: Blue Apron

Both of these boxes are outstanding. What box you like best will ultimately come down to the type of cook you are. If you're new to cooking, or someone with dietary restrictions, then I recommend HelloFresh. However, if you're a novice home chef looking to expand your horizons and learn some new and unique recipes, BlueApron checks all the boxes.

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When it comes to choosing a meal delivery service, it boils down to how many meals you want, how many people you need to feed, and if you have personal food limitations—and when you factor in all of those things the possibilities are nearly endless. When you’re surfing the web for your perfect service you’ll feel like a kid in the candy store, wanting everything you see but not having the money or the time to try them all.

While there are tons of services available, there are three that really stand out from the crowd as far as quality, quantity, and variety: Blue Apron, Green Chef, and HelloFresh. These are all subscription boxes that come with pre-packaged ingredients to put together for fabulous meals.

When you’re trying to decide which of these three is right for you, it can be overwhelming. So, we’ve made it simple—here are the pros and cons of each meal delivery service.

HelloFresh

HelloFresh was a hit in our house because it allowed us to try so many flavors and foods that we never would’ve thought of! The variety took away the boredom of cooking at home, and started saving us so much money on take-out. I had a hard time eating these meals because they didn’t meet my personal needs, but for people who don’t have limitations, HelloFresh is a great choice.

HelloFresh is also the cheapest option, but it’s really just pennies and dimes because all the meal services are so affordable in the first place. They have three packages: family ($8.74 per meal), vegetarian ($9.99 per meal), and classic ($9.99 per meal). For each of those packages there are different numbers of meals and servings: three, four, and five meal plans for two people, and three recipe plans for four people. One unique thing about them is that the more meals you order per week the cheaper the individual meals are, so even though the cost is higher it’s because of more servings not increased individual pricing.

With HelloFresh, I simply wish they were more food-sensitive friendly. Looking at their menu there’s either wheat, soy, or dairy (sometimes all three) in every single item. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, for health purposes this is a major drawback. Also, if I was a health nut I would want a service that would provide me multiple food options, not just veggie and classic packages.

Blue Apron

Looking for fresh ingredients and unique recipes to serve up for dinner each night? If so, you should definitely look into Blue Apron. Out of all the meal delivery services, Blue Apron guarantees the freshest and most organic products—they even promise that you’ll receive better produce than if you went to the grocery store.

Image via BlueApron

Blue Apron is also unmatched in their effort to reach out to small businesses. This is something that I really like about Blue Apron because I feel like I’m contributing to the success of something so much more important than a big corporation.

One other shocking thing I learned while browsing through their site: Blue Apron never repeats a recipe all year long. Now that’s a lot of recipes, not to mention time, preparation, and the dedicated people who come up with these delicious meals. Each meal is about 500-800 calories per serving, which is nice if you either count calories or are trying to cut back to lose some weight.

Blue Apron has two package options: couple and family. A couple’s plan offers two-person meals three times a week for $9.99 per serving. The family plan has a little more variety when it comes to number of meals; you have the choice between two or four meals per week—feeding a family of four. This package costs $8.75 per serving, so you’ll end up paying more only because there are more people in the plan itself.

The one con about Blue Apron is that isn’t room for customization, especially when you order more than two meals a week. So if you don’t like something that’s on the menu, you can either not pay for that number of meals and end up spending more at the grocery store, or buy the meals and eat something that you don’t like. This service would be practically perfect if they could offer more recipe options to customers—and personally, I’d like a gluten-free meal or two.

Save $30 on your first Blue Apron box using our link!

Green Chef

Personally, I’m a Green Chef fan. This is because I have some major food allergies and when I’ve tried other meal delivery services I’ve had to substitute and take out so many ingredients that it ended up not even being worth the money. So if you have a lactose or gluten intolerance, or even just choose to remove those from your diet, Green Chef is here to accommodate to your personal needs.

They offer six packages: gluten-free, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, and carnivore. With so many options to choose from, it’s extremely hard to find something that doesn’t fit you—this variety also sets Green Chef apart from the competition. They’re a little more expensive, but trust me when I say that it’s worth it. The average of all the plans is about $12.74 per meal (not serving).

As far as number of servings per meal, you have a couple of options; you can choose between two-person, four-person, or six-person meals. With so many different packages and variety within each, it’s hard to know which ones to choose and what’s going to be the best option for you and your pocket box—but isn’t that one of the best problems to have, too many choices?

Green Chef gives you the option to explore different tastes and flavors in their plans. Say you’re not limited to just a gluten-free package, then you can jump from omnivore one week to paleo the next. You can find which diet fits your body, and along the way figure out foods that you just can’t get enough of, and others that you never want to try again (for me, that would curry).

The one drawback of Green Chef is how their ingredients are delivered in the box. Unlike other meal delivery services, they color code their ingredients and basically just throw them all into one package. This can make cooking confusing at times, and can even ruin meals if you accidentally add a product that’s made for one meal into another. If you just pay close attention this shouldn’t be a problem, but if you use this service long enough a mix up is bound to happen.

Which Meal Delivery Service is Right for You?

Each meal delivery service has its own unique set of pros and cons. It’s up to you, and your family, to decide which one works best with your specific wants and needs. It may even take you a few months to test out different services before you find your perfect match, and that’s totally fine. But if you don’t have the patience or the time to do that, here’s a quick run-through of which service is right for certain kinds of people.

HelloFresh is great is you want organic, fresh food delivered right to your door. Not saying that the other services don’t offer quality produce, but HelloFresh just does it a little better. Their meals are always delicious, and the recipes are so easy to follow. No matter what cooking level you’re at (if you’re like me, you’re mediocre at best), you can create beautiful, yummy meals for your family or significant other (or for yourself — who doesn’t love leftovers?).

Blue Apron is perfect for a family that needs quick, easy, delicious, and nutritious meals. I would say this meal service is geared more toward a busy couple wanting to spend less money on take-out or groceries and more time cooking together. Their family plan provides four person meals (although I’m sure because children eat smaller portions you can get more than that out of it) and is perfect for busy school nights or chaotic weekends filled with soccer practice and piano lessons. The price is reasonable for mostly any family, and it might be worth a try to save money on groceries.

Green Chef is geared toward people who either want or have to maintain a special diet. It’s easy to customize and takes away the stress of finding something delicious to cook you and your family that fits everyone’s needs—or scouring through the menu at a restaurant for a meal that’s allergy free (and doesn’t taste like cardboard). I love Green Chef because it’s given me control back over my eating. I can decide what tasty meals I want, and not even have to think twice about whether or not I’m going to have a reaction to something. It helps me rest easy (with a full belly).

You can’t go wrong with any of these meal services. They’ll all provide you with inexpensive, fresh, and, most importantly, delicious meals that you and your loved ones will enjoy. It all comes down to the small personal details and requirements that you’ll have to sit down and plan out. But, once you decide you’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing this your whole life. So get out there and start cooking!

Follow Anna on Instagram: @annamariedepoyster

Sorcha has pushed the boat out in a major way here. She’s having – get this – a Christmas mother and daughter day with her old dear and Honor and she’s gone about it in her usual try-too-hord way.

She’s bought matching jumpers and aprons for all of them – oh, and yeah, no, reindeer antlers. She’s got Bublé on the CD player and she has me making my famous mulled wine. And she keeps reminding everyone, at 60-second intervals, that they’re supposed to be having fun.

“Honor,” she goes, “your turn – favourite Christmas memory. Mom, put your antlers on.”

But her old dear is having none of it. She’s there, “I’ve just got my blow dry done. I’m going carolling tonight with the Glenageary Lawn Tennis Club Christmas Choir.”

“Mom, please! I want to put it up on Instagram and I want it to look like we’re all having amazing, amazing fun!”

“I’m perfectly capable of having amazing fun without putting antlers on my head.”

“Ross,” Sorcha goes, “is the mulled wine nearly ready?” Because she definitely sounds like she could use a drink.

There’s a secret Christmas pudding recipe that’s been in Sorcha’s family for, like, more than 150 years

I’m stirring the pot and I’m like, “Yeah, no, just adding the last of the secret ingredients, Sorcha.”

“Oh my God, Mom, you have to try Ross’s famous mulled wine! It has to be tasted to be believed!”

Her old dear’s there, “I can’t drink, dorling, I’m driving.”

“You’re not going for hours. You can have one glass.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. I just don’t know what this is all about.”

“Oh, pordon me for wanting to spend some time with my mother and my daughter. I thought if the last two years have taught us anything, it’s the importance of family.”

Honor goes, “When am I getting my €500?”

Sorcha’s old dear is like, “I beg your pordon?”

“Mom promised me €500 to do this.”

Sorcha’s old dear takes off her apron and goes, “I am leaving right now unless you tell me what I’m doing here.”

“Fine!” Sorcha suddenly goes. “I want your Christmas pudding recipe!”

“I knew it! I said it to your father! ‘This will be about the pudding again – you’ll see!’”

I probably should fill you in on the backstory here. There’s a secret Christmas pudding recipe that’s been in Sorcha’s family for, like, more than 150 years. It’s been passed down through the generations from mother to daughter. Apparently, it’s incredible – although I’ll have to take everyone else’s word for it, not being a fan of Christmas pudding. For me, it’s like colcannon on Halloween – if you have to hide a cash incentive inside a food, it’s almost certainly not worth eating.

“Mom,” Sorcha goes in her serious voice, “I’d like to make the pudding this year”.

But her old dear is like, “I shall be making the pudding this year – just like I make it every year.”

“I’m just saying that maybe it’s time you handed the job over to me.”

“Sorcha, I told you I will give you the recipe when the time comes.”

“And when will that be?”

“When I’m no longer capable of making it myself.”

“But what if something happens to you?”

“I beg your pordon!”

“I’m not being morbid, Mom, but if we’ve learned one thing over the last two years. . .”

“Stop telling me what we’ve learned over the last two years!”

“You told me you’ve never written the recipe down. If something awful happened to you, the secret of your great-great-great-grandmother’s Christmas pudding would be lost forever.”

Sorcha’s old dear goes, “Like I said to you last year, and the year before, and the year before that, I am not giving you the recipe,” and she’s definitely storting to lose it with her.

Sorcha refuses to take no for an answer, though. She opens the cupboard and whips out her mixing bowl.

“Okay,” she goes, “I know there’s definitely cinnamon in it?”

Yeah, no, Sorcha’s been trying to, like, replicate the recipe for years. Except she can never get it right. There’s always, like, something missing.

“You definitely do something with the fruit,” Sorcha goes. “Do you soak it overnight in, like, rum?”

“Sorcha, I’m not telling you,” her old dear goes – and she’s, like, red in the face now.

“I’m storting to think the secret is actually in the ratios,” Sorcha goes.

And that’s when her old dear suddenly loses it. She goes, “For God’s sake, Sorcha – I buy the pudding every year in Dunnes Stores!”

Oh, it’s a definite conversation stopper.

Sorcha’s like, “what?”, the colour draining from her face.

Even Honor goes, “Oh! My God!”

Sorcha goes, 'I definitely need a drink. Although I’ll probably find out next that Ross’s famous mulled wine comes from one of those awful Schwartz sachets that you just throw in the pot'

Sorcha’s old dear bursts into tears then. “I buy a Dunnes Stores own-brand pudding every year,” she goes. “I tip it on to a plate and I put it in the microwave. I wrap a euro coin in greaseproof paper and I push it inside. Then I pour brandy over it and I set it on fire.”

“But the story – about how your great-great-great-grandmother got it from Queen Victoria’s husband.”

“I made it up.”

Honor’s like, “Hill! Air!”

Sorcha’s there, “Mom, please tell me this isn’t true!”, and she says it like it’s some, I don’t know, massive, massive betrayal.

“It storted the year your father and I got married,” her old dear goes. “We had his parents for Christmas dinner. And you know that nothing I ever did pleased them. But his father complimented me on the pudding. The nicest Christmas pudding he ever tasted, he said. I was too proud to say it was shop-bought.”

“Oh my God!” Sorcha goes. “Oh my literally God?”

“And then it just became this thing. My pudding. So I just carried on buying the same one for years. When they stopped making it, I switched to the Dunnes Stores one. And none of you noticed. You all just kept asking, ‘How does she do it?’ and ‘What’s her secret?’”

I’m like, “Mulled wine anyone?”, tipping the contents of the pot into the sangria jug we bought in Quinta two summers ago.

Sorcha goes, “I definitely need a drink. Although I’ll probably find out next that Ross’s famous mulled wine comes from one of those awful Schwartz sachets that you just throw in the pot.”

I’m there, “Drink up, ladies,” unable to even look her in the eye.

And Sorcha’s like, “Ross?”

Hungryroot (from $8 per serving) is essentially an online grocery store. You'll take a quiz about what you like to eat, and the service ships groceries to your door, along with recipes based on whatever is in the week's box. For example, one of my boxes contained chickpea pasta shells and a superfood tomato sauce, but I was free to dress it up with whatever I wanted or use the ingredients separately. It's a fantastic way to supplement your pantry. You can opt to pick out groceries yourself, or Hungryroot will do it for you based on your food profile. Allergen and diet filters abound. There are plans for one person, two people, or three or more people. You can view the available groceries here to get an idea of the offerings.

Imperfect Foods (prices vary) is one of the most well-known “ugly food” grocery boxes. Misshapen produce, nonperishables that are perfectly fine but past their “best by” date, dented boxes … none of these things make food dangerous, but they do make them hard to sell. Imperfect Foods is anything but traditional. After signup, you'll get to share your dietary preferences and see your assigned delivery day. Fill your box each week from the rotating selection. You can opt for weekly or bi-weekly deliveries. Ingredient prices vary and shipping ranges from $6 to $9. 

Sun Basket (from $11 per serving) offers a plethora of meal plans with an emphasis on fresh and organic ingredients. There's a wide variety offered in each weekly menu, so there's something for everyone. Some of the other meal subscriptions I tried had wilted produce or subpar flavor—Sun Basket had neither. Its dinners were full of ingredients similar to the ones I'd pick out at the store, including unblemished in-season fruits and vegetables. Aside from nutritious dinners, you can also add on things like coconut yogurt, seed butter, sous vide egg bites, soups, and snacks such as chocolate nuts and crickets. (If you're wondering, yes, the crickets were awesome.) Dietary filters allow for options such as Mediterranean and pescatarian, plus allergens. You can also add things like jerky, dips, sauces, and sweets to your weekly shipment. For meals and groceries combined into one service, Sun Basket is a safe bet. 

Crowd Cow (prices vary) is a grocery box that's all about the meats. (You can also order sides and desserts, but I didn't try those.) From ground beef ranging all the way up to Waygu steaks, to fish selections like lobster tails and salmon, to staples like chicken and deli meat, Crowd Cow offers it all. You can even get bison, duck, or other hard-to-find animal proteins. Packaging is 100 percent compostable and recyclable, and shipping is carbon-neutral. The company also strives to make its meat as sustainable as possible. Boxes are available a la carte, or you can opt for recurring deliveries to save 5 percent and get free shipping. Prices vary, but Crowd Cow can be a good option for landlocked seafood lovers like myself (or anyone that wants to view the supply chain of their meat.) 

Farmbox Direct (from $41) offers only produce boxes. There are a few varieties to choose from, but all of them contain solely fruits and/or vegetables. You'll pick the size you want, but the content customizations are limited. You can make up to five substitutions per week based on the rotating menu. I was able to use the majority of my mixed fruits and veggies, but I did have a few stragglers that went unused (like a giant bunch of kale that wilted before I could get to it). This service may not be for everyone, but if you're a produce enthusiast, or an avid juicer, then it could be worth a shot. Bonus: delivery is free.

Splendid Spoon (from $65) offers a plethora of smoothies, soups, noodle bowls, grain bowls, and shots. Every item I tried tasted very natural—so yeah, those lemon juice shots will go down exactly as you'd expect. One very tart experience aside, I liked everything I tried, and especially loved the brand's smoothies. The ingredients are clearly listed, too, so the Lemon Fiasco could have been avoided. All meals are plant-based and free of both gluten and GMOs. Plans include combinations of many different offerings, and deliveries can be scheduled as infrequently as once per month. Just make sure to have some space in your fridge—the products are a bit bulky.

Only recently did I realize that Annie Mann has spent more time literally standing beside me than any other friend outside of my husband, David.

This insight happened as we washed and dried dishes at the sink, side-by-side, when she said something under her breath through the din of both of our families mingling in the kitchen after dinner.

“You need to slow down, girl. You seem a little bit stressed,” was all she said without even looking over.

Until she said it, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m wired to be busy and on the go!

But because she said it, I looked into it.

We also stand together to cheer on our sons from the sidelines of wrestling meets — first when they wrestled on the Erie Middle School team and now as they wrestle on the Erie High School team.

In the summer, we stand together at park picnic tables in the great outdoors laying out lunch fixings for our hungry teenagers.

But come December we’re back in the kitchen standing together ready at the stove with our candy thermometers, whisks, and oven mitts to launch our late night tiny candy kitchen event.

This operation stretches over a couple of nights, at least, and it runs late because busy moms can find time more easily then and because amateur candymakers and bakers like us need lots of extra time to make trays full of anise, Russian tea cakes, peanut brittle, white chocolate peppermint bark, and more.

To us, it’s worth burning some midnight oil in order to create special holiday treat trays for our neighbors, co-workers, teachers, school bus drivers, family, and friends.

But before we open our 2021 late night tiny candy kitchen next weekend I wanted to pair the trivial downsides of our foray into holiday candy making and baking with some practical upsides.

Noting both just seemed like a great way to extend what Annie and I have learned and laughed about working together in this holiday bubble with all its melodramatic successes and failures. And just maybe there is a metaphor that you can apply to one of your bubbles after considering the snippets below from ours of bad news aprons, off timing, and needlessly wasted ingredients.

Here’s the first, but not the worst, downside upon review. My holiday print apron is bad news because I look six months pregnant when I wear it. The padded Santa face and hat on the bib make it feel and look like a smothering ugly sweater.

But instead of taking the time to cut off the hefty bib and stitch a clean seam at the waistline, I just roll the bib down and tuck it under the apron strings I tighten from the back.

The note: When you’re on a worthy mission, tackle the core work and override fixing the superficial stuff that can wait indefinitely.

The next downside relates to discovering that precise timing is everything to making heavenly divinity.

Our window to pull this chewy old fashioned candy from the stand mixer is maybe five seconds. When the mixer groans into a slower churn, it’s go time.

If you scoop the piping hot goo too soon, it will spread out like snow white-slime on the parchment paper — like a weird pancake versus a lovely dollop.

If you scoop it too late, it won’t pile up as you twirl your spoon above. Furthermore, over churned divinity loses its luster. Instead of reflecting a satin white finish, it will take on a matte finish that looks flecked with burlap bits and is as rough as coral reef.

The note: If you spend the time to make something — anything, really — commit to giving it your close attention as needed from start to finish.

The final downside I could mention relates to the cost of overcoming the candy making learning curve. Botched batches of divinity due to missing the window for dolloping should not be served, as this ruined candy will crack teeth.

But other epic fails come to mind — like when we tried to double a great fudge recipe. It never thickened.

The note: To avoid wasting the ingredients in a failed product, investigate if the failure is really a success under a different name. Looking back, Annie and I wish we would have jarred the double batch of fudge that never firmed up and just called it chocolate syrup.

Happy holidays!

Pam Mellskog can be reached at [email protected] or 303-746-0942. For more stories and photos, please visit https://www.timescall.com/tag/mommy-musings/.

Meal kit delivery boxes are an amazing way to introduce home cooks of all skill levels to new cuisines and techniques. These services deliver all the ingredients required to create accessible, reusable, and delicious recipes right to your doorstep. But which one is right for you?

By now you've undoubtedly heard of Blue Apron. Founded in 2012 out of a small kitchen in Queens, New York, Blue Apron has grown to become the Kleenex of meal subscription boxes, at one point providing weekly meals to over one million customers.

The other big name in the game, and Blue Apron’s biggest competitor, is HelloFresh. After starting in Germany, HelloFresh has blown up in recent years and is now touting themselves as "America's Most Popular Meal Kit."

To determine which subscription is better, I cooked from both. And, of course, I tried everything (and took excruciatingly detailed notes). Each boxed was judged based on the following:

• Price
• Specialized Diet
• Fun Factor
• Packaging
• Degree of Difficulty
• Taste

To be honest, it was really hard to determine an overall winner. Each box had their merits which you can see outlined in detail below.

With all of these subscription services, the more you order the more you save. Blue Apron and HelloFresh’s cheapest options are the same at $7.50/serving when ordering for a family of four and HelloFresh ($8.99/serving) slightly beats out Blue Apron ($9.99/serving) when cooking for two people. However, many of Blue Apron's options offer free shipping, but with Hello Fresh, it's a $7.99 flat rate. Another thing to consider: You can usually find special promos to save a couple bucks on both boxes.

Winner: Tie

Best For Those With A Specific Diet

Each of these wells fargo order cashiers check online allow you to pick from a variety of dishes for your weekly menu, but if you have other dietary restrictions or preferences you’re in luck! Blue Apron offers both a Signature and Vegetarian option for their meal kits. HelloFresh, however, excels here offering a plethora of options including Meat and Veg, Vegetarian, Family Friendly and Low-Calorie. They also offer individual menu items each week that are specifically labeled as pescatarian, paleo or gluten-free. I believe HelloFresh has really set itself apart in this category, going above and beyond to ensure that many different diets are accounted for in their weekly menu options.

Winner: HelloFresh

Most Creative And Exciting Recipes

Though meal kits are typically thought of as being for novice cooks, I was so excited that recipes from both boxes were new and inspiring to me, a test kitchen professional whose job it is to cook all day. HelloFresh's recipes are extremely approachable, and the preparation was a bit more straightforward. With Blue Apron, I consistently found new techniques on the recipe cards that excited me. It's clear that Blue Apron intends for their customers to open up their culinary horizons to embrace different techniques and international flavors. I was obsessed with new ideas like topping a Beyond Burger with sautéed poblanos and pickled jalapeño or adding preserved lemon to yogurt to make a bright and citrusy sauce for chicken. For those looking to expand their cooking repertoire we recommend Blue Apron.

Winner: Blue Apron

Best For Minimizing Trash

Though they sometimes get a bad rap for the amount of packaging that comes with these boxes, research has found that meal kit delivery services often have a much lower carbon footprint than the supermarket equivalent. Both Blue Apron and HelloFresh go a long way to ensure they minimize their packaging as much as possible. They each provided instructions on how to properly recycle their cooling packs for keeping the food cold in transit to your house. However, if you want to go the extra mile in minimizing waste, then HelloFresh is the choice for you. Each recipe is placed in its own recyclable brown bag and they ensure that any produce that can be packed safely without its own container, are placed in it. Additionally we found there was far less plastic and total trash produced (less than half the amount!) by the HelloFresh meal kits.

Winner: HelloFresh

The best thing about these boxes are their ability to help educate and excite customers, regardless of how new they are to cooking. Both boxes provide thorough and easy to follow recipe cards that they encourage you to save, reuse and revise to your heart's content.

Blue Apron recipes but often require a little more prep to accomplish. I found that HelloFresh’s recipes provided a bit more detail and were slightly easier to follow. I loved the Vegetable Bibimbap recipe that walked me through how to cook each vegetable to perfection, all while preparing delicious ginger rice without being overwhelmed. They provide full nutritional facts for each dish, as well as a detailed list of all additional equipment of ingredients that a given recipe might require. This sort of information can be vital to beginner home cooks.

Winner: HelloFresh

These boxes could be the most convenient, unique and sustainable weeknight dinner options, but if the food doesn't taste good, no one is going to bother preheating their ovens. And I happily found that Blue Apron and HelloFresh were quite good. But if I had to choose a favorite, the recipes from Blue Apron felt a little more well balanced and composed. For example, Blue Apron's Salmon with Shallot-Date Sauce matched a well-seasoned and slightly smokey salmon fillet with a kale salad filled with savory roast vegetables, all topped with sweet and salty sauce and some crunchy pistachios. That recipe featured almost everything I look for in a recipe: a balance of flavors, a variety of textures and that it factor that keeps us from putting our forks down.

Winner: Blue Apron

Both of these boxes are outstanding. What box you like best will ultimately come down to the type of cook you are. If you're new to cooking, or someone with dietary restrictions, then I recommend HelloFresh. However, if you're a novice home chef looking to expand your horizons and learn some new and unique recipes, BlueApron checks all the boxes.

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