Image via Marley & Spoon.
Mealtime: the most stressful time of the day. If your kids are anything like mine, eating is a literal battle on a daily basis (do they REALLY need to eat 3x a day!?). Our house is in a constant rotation of pizza, chicken tenders, spaghetti, and the odd man out - 8 hour home-cooked ribs (cue the exhausted eye-roll).
I've literally racked my brain and spent hours online trying to find recipes and ideas for easy meals that my kids will actually eat. What I've found are hundreds of blog posts with supposedly kid-approved recipes... and no chance of my kids eating them. The moment I see picky kid-approved and broccoli in the same sentence, is the same moment I hit that little red x in the top left corner of my screen. I mean do these people even have kids!? Every parent with an actual picky eater knows that if there is anything green on the plate, their mouths close as tight as a pit bull with lockjaw. It's exhausting, and after a long day pretty much the last thing you want to deal with.
In my seemingly endless search, I decided to try and kill two birds with one stone. I wanted to find not only meals that my picky kids would actually eat, but ones that were also easy to make and would take as much stress out of mealtime as possible. Thankfully, I came across a few different meal subscriptions boxes that fulfilled those lofty aspirations of mine.
These are the best meal subscription boxes I've found that work for my family and two picky eaters. However, I know that picky eaters are like fingerprints: no two are exactly alike! What one kid eats and loves, might look like food torture for another. And don't forget those lovely moments when a tried and true favorite suddenly turns into the worst tasting dish of all time. Yep. Been there, done that. Multiple times. If you have kids who are the same, let me first just say, I'm so sorry. I totally feel your frustration level, its downright nuclear at times in our house. But, I've got your back and will continually try and do my best to find food that will hopefully make mealtimes enjoyable again for all of us!
So, tired of the mealtime arguments and bribery? Check out these three suggestions and enjoy dinner again with meal subscription that picky kids will actually eat!
Want to see what's on the meal subscription kit menu for next week? We've got you covered there too.
1. Martha & Marley Spoon
Image via Marley & Spoon.
Martha Stewart is known for her impeccable taste, seemingly endless creativity, and stunning home-cooked meals. In 2016, the business mogul partnered with Marley Spoon, a start-up food delivery service, and dived into the fast-growing meal subscription service. Knowing that pretty much everything she does is picture perfect, I figured her meal subscription boxes would at least be pretty high quality. But, would my extremely picky eaters agree?
Why its good for picky eaters: Variety. Plain and simple. Marley Spoon offers 29 weekly recipes to choose from which is the most I could find out of any meal subscription service. Looking through the offerings, I could find multiple meals that I thought my kids would eat on a weekly basis. From the chicken schnitzel to the oven-fried pulled pork flautas, I really could find something for everyone. My kids also enjoyed that the meals weren't necessarily trying to be healthy. They were just good wholesome meals that didn't try and sneak in veggies when they weren't expecting them. Which for us never works anyways- my kids can spot a piece of a diced onion from a mile away.
What the parents love: Marley Spoon offers fresh and seasonal produce and meats in their boxes from vetted suppliers. They also are very transparent as far as where their food comes from and disclose whether or not the food has MSG, antibiotics, etc. I appreciate a company who actually thinks about what we are putting into our bodies, and more importantly my kids bodies.
I also love that their boxes and packaging are totally recyclable and they tell you exactly what type of plastic and materials are used. With two kids, we really rack up the trash in our house and I like to know that I won't be adding anything additional to the landfill with these boxes.
Price: Dependent on how many meals per week and if you order for 2 or 4 people. Average price ranges approximately $8.99 per portion, with an additional $8.99 for shipping.
ACTIVE DEAL: $100 Off For Your First 4 Boxes (40/20/20/20). No coupon needed - just use this link.
Check out our Marley & Spoon details and reviews to learn more!
2. Dinnerly
Image via Dinnerly.
Dinnerly is an affordable option for families that are always on the go. Between soccer practices, dance lessons, homework, and just being kids, I know there isn't much time left in the day for families to just hang out with each other. This is one of the reasons Dinnerly made my list. It's simple, yet effective in getting the nourishment my kids need without being overly fancy. In fact, according to Dinnerly, their minimalistic approach is how they keep their prices lower than their competitors.
Why its good for picky eaters: It's just good, basic food. There are not an overwhelming amount of ingredients in their meals, which for picky eaters would mean possible exotic flavors that they won't eat. Of course, they have those options that are a little spicier or more diverse if yours are a bit braver than mine, but on the whole, they are familiar flavors that even the youngest kids should be able to get on board with. Looking through their weekly menus actually brings back a little bit of nostalgia, reminding me of the type of food I grew up with. Good food doesn't have to be fancy food; it really can just be a burger and fries or chicken and potato casserole.
What the parents love: The ease of cooking with the ingredients sent. There are only 5 steps for each recipe, and they are designed so that even a first time cook can get by making the meals. This really takes the pressure off when trying to cook with kids who are in the background yelling at each other!
Price: Dinnerly is the cheapest subscription box currently available starting at $4.69 per portion with $8.99 in shipping. Of course this is if you order 6 meals a week, but even ordering 3 a week the price only jumps to $5.59 per portion for a family of 4.
ACTIVE DEAL: Use code PBYYGREZ to get 57.5% off first box and 20% off the next 3 orders
CODE: PBYYGREZ
Check out our Dinnerly details and reviews to learn more!
3. Home Chef
Home Chef really seems to understand that every single family is different. They have pre-portioned boxes, oven-ready meals, and fast and fresh meals. Which means there is a meal waiting for your family at Home Chef. I'll admit that I'm actually not a fan of cooking. I took 4 hours everyday of cooking in high school and realized I actually kind of hated it. My favorite part of that class was the weekly Friday field trips out to restaurants to eat. Still to this day, I love food...but not if I'm cooking it. Which is why the oven-ready meals and fast and fresh meals really grabbed my attention. At least if my kids turned their noses up at it, I didn't spend a ton of time making it!
Why it's good for picky eaters: It's super customizable. Burger on the menu, but your kids don't like beef? Try it with turkey or pork! Have one kid who likes everything plain? (yea, me too.) Order a piece of protein a la carte and just keep theirs separate from the rest of the ingredients and sauces. The customizable options gives the kids a little bit of control over their mealtimes and they like when I ask what they would prefer.
What the parents love: It's super customizable. This really is our favorite part of the meal subscription service as well. So many times, I've cooked a meal and afterwards been annoyed that I didn't use chicken because I know my kids would have most likely ate the chicken. I'm a recipe follower though, what can I say? If a recipe calls for beef...I use beef! I love that Home Chef gives you multiple options for protein (or no protein at all!) and then the recipe on how to use it. It really makes choosing which meals to order much easier!
Price: Prices start at $6.99 per portion and go up from there. Shipping is also not included and dependent on your location.
Check out our Home Chef details and reviews to learn more!
Do you know of any other great meal subscriptions for picky eaters? Let us know in the comments below! (Seriously, please do...I could use all the help I can get with my kids!)
Curious about other meal subscriptions? Check out all our meal kit reviews!
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