My Honest Yumble Review
Is This Kids' Meal Service Worth It?
Yumble is a kids meal subscription that sends a weekly delivery of fresh (not frozen) meals, made from nutritious ingredients. The dishes included are meant to provide a balanced diet for your child without the time-consuming undertaking of planning, preparing, and cooking the meals yourself. The foods are fun and familiar—perfect for picky eaters—and heat up in about a minute in their microwavable, recyclable trays.
This prepared meal subscription is meant for children ages 12 months to 12 years, but is specifically tailored to kids ages 3-6. My daughter Lorelai is about 20 months old. She’s on the young side of who Yumble is intended for, but she’s a “good eater,” so to speak, so I thought this sub could be a great solution for those afternoons when we’re squeezing lunch in between a walk in the park and a nap. I was especially piqued by the frequent appearance of the word “healthy” all over the Yumble site, as healthful eating is a priority for our family like it is for many others.
Would Yumble change our lives? We delved in to find out, and I documented every step of the adventure.
Updated on 9/1/20 to reflect Yumble's most latest pricing update.
This package was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out our review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Yumble Kids’ Meal Subscription
What ages is it for?: 12 months to 12 years, with an emphasis on children ages 3 to 6 years old.
Cost: Starts at $47.94 per week (6 meals per week at $7.99 per meal). Save $1 per meal when you sign up for 8 per week ($55.92 per week at $6.99 per meal), or $2 per meal when you sign up for 16 meals per week ($95.84 per week at $5.99 per meal).
Ships to: Most of the US East Coast, Texas, California, and parts of the Midwest, but they continue to expand their areas served, so you’re encouraged to check back regularly. Shipping is always free.
Which dietary restrictions do they cater to?: All Yumble foods are free of peanuts & tree nuts, but they are not made in a nut-free kitchen. Some meals are marked as being free of milk, gluten, soy, eggs, or are vegetarian, but the kitchen is not entirely free of these ingredients.
What’s the shelf life?: Meals should be refrigerated upon arrival and enjoyed within 7 days.
Are Yumble shipments impacted by COVID-19? So far, no. While Yumble has reduced their staff for safety precautions, and is conducting daily health screenings on each individual, they have not experienced service delays and don't expect to. Their USDA-inspected facility adheres to anti-microbial and anti-viral USDA standards including face masks, gloves, hairnets, and food-safe air purification and cleaning practices.
Signing Up for Yumble
How It Works
The sign-up process for Yumble is simple and straightforward:
- Enter your email address and zip code. I love that your zip is gathered very first thing, so you’ll know right off the bat if Yumble’s shipping hasn’t expanded to your area yet. There’s something about not wasting people’s time that makes me feel seen as a parent!
- Choose between 6 meals, 8 meals, or 12 meals per week. If you sign up for 8 or 12 meals per week, discounts of 15% or 25%, respectively, are automatically built into their pricing.
- Select your meals from about 21 options. Or let Yumble pre-fill your box with top-rated dishes. Keep an eye out for the little icons that indicate if a meal is vegetarian, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, or egg-free. You can also filter by these dietary restrictions in the upper left-hand corner.
- Select your delivery date during checkout. This info is communicated so clearly. Gold star!
Getting Started
I approached Yumble with utmost curiosity. As I mentioned before, my daughter Lorelai has an average appetite—not huge but she sits down to meals readily for the most part. She also has a pretty adventurous palate. I can’t say this is by design; more because it feels natural and most manageable to feed her the same foods we (her parents) cook and eat. Our family eats a mostly plant-based diet at home, and so far Lorelai has liked just about every vegetable and meal we’ve served her.
One caveat: it is my understanding that as toddlers are exposed to more “exciting” foods in daycare and school, they start to reject the nutritious meals they once enjoyed. We haven’t hit that point yet, as Lorelai’s care thus far has been based in our home. So, while a Yumble meal may have introduced her to her first-ever chicken nugget (spoiler: she was so-so about it), I am aware that this doesn’t necessarily mean she won’t insist on an all-nugget diet down the line.
As I said, the sign-up process is super easy, and for Lorelai’s six meals I selected a mix of top-rated dishes, food combinations that would be new to her, and meals I thought she would particularly like. There are a lot of repeat ingredients across meals (lots of corn & peas, lots of broccoli, and lots of cheesy rice), so I did my best to select a variety of foods for her.
The day before my first shipment was expected to arrive, I received this really informative email with a reminder of what to do when my box is delivered and more. I loved that they anticipated my needing a refresher on what to do with the meals so that no time would be wasted after I collected the meals from my doorstep.
Packaging and What's in the Box
1 of 6
Such a colorful unboxing experience!
1 of 8
Yumble wins again re: equipping you with all the info you need. Bonus points for how they convey it in an easy-to-consume way. Even though it’s obviously the parents/caretakers who are ordering and managing the subscription, every single thing, including the shipping box itself and the info booklet, are branded to invite kiddos in on the experience. I think that’s a nice touch.
1 of 2
The first four weeks of your Yumble prepared meal delivery come with bonus gifts (offer only stands with orders made on consecutive weeks)! Week 1 should include a non-slip placemat and “table topics” conversation cards. Week 2 includes a toddler utensil set, week 3 includes a matching dinner plate, and week 4 includes a Yumble-exclusive bento box.
1 of 3
The placemat is really nice. Our high chair’s tray has a magnet + coordinating plates/bowls to keep everything in place, but this non-slip mat is handy for when those dishes are dirty. I could also see it improving the setup at a grandparent's house!
1 of 3
We didn’t receive the table conversations set, but that’s okay—Lorelai’s too young for that type of thing anyway. She did, however, love the big, bright stickers she received. Praise for the stickers: they weren’t so sticky that they left residue when she stuck them to our wooden dining room bench, but their stick does boast impressive longevity that has allowed her to rotate them around the bellies of all her stuffed animals. And because of that, she has learned some new words: corn and radish!
Here's everything we got in our first delivery:
- Chick N Casserole
- Snack Poppers
- Say Cheese! Nuggets
- Vegetarian Bean Burrito
- Cheese Ravioli
- Chili Mac
The Preparation
For each meal, you are instructed to pierce the plastic seal and microwave for 60-90 seconds. I microwaved just about every meal (with the exception of the snack poppers, which don’t require heating) for 55-60 seconds because Lorelai is really sensitive to hot food and might lose interest if she has to wait too long for it to cool down. I had to pop two of the meals back in for a bit more time so that some things would soften a little more, but for the most part that initial heating sufficed.
So, how did they taste?
The Yumble Taste Test
We received 5 meals and 1 snack. I'll give our thoughts on them in the order that we tried them.
1 of 5
Chick N Casserole - Chicken and Broccoli Gluten-Free Pasta
Top Rated, Soy-free, Gluten-free
We took our first whirl at Yumble on an evening when Lorelai and I were home alone. I just pulled a salad together for myself that evening, and while she does often express interest in salads, stabbing her fork in our bowl and even enjoying the tomatoes and radishes she fishes out, it's not a realistic meal for a toddler. I was really impressed with this dish: gluten-free pasta and small organic broccoli florets with a cheese sauce, plus three chicken meatballs. The cheese sauce didn't have an artificial flavor to me, the noodles tasted like normal non-gluten-free pasta, and the meatballs were juicy, flavorful, and smooth. I cut them up in quarters for her to eat, she fished most of the broccoli out with her fingers, and I forked a few bites of pasta into her mouth. She probably ate about 3/4 of a meatball, most of the broccoli, and 1/3 of the pasta before she was full. I finished the rest of the meatballs (and they were so amazingly good), then tossed the remaining pasta in a container in the fridge to offer her the next day for lunch.
1 of 4
No-Nut Flax Seed Snack Poppers
Milk-free, Soy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, and Vegetarian
I was drawn to these poppers because they remind me of something I would make—but I didn't have to make them! The ingredients list is nice 'n' short: rolled oats, honey, sunflower seed butter, flax seeds, shredded coconut, and vanilla extract. We were running out the door to meet a friend at the Children's Museum and decided to each enjoy one of these guys to hold us over until dinner afterward. Our only constructive feedback was that they seemed unnecessarily sweet. The honey would've been enough to sweeten them to our tastes, but it looks like there's added sweetener in the sunflower seed butter, so they're pretty saccharine. And that's coming from a family with a serious sweet tooth! Lorelai ate about half of hers—which didn't surprise me, as they're pretty dense—and then of course squeezed the other half tightly in her hand until I pried it out. In the days that followed, she wasn't interested in having another one. I even tried to gently shove one in her mouth once, thinking that once she got a taste she'd realize what it was and want it after all, but she really didn't want it. So her papa and I ate the rest as workout fuel, haha.
1 of 4
Say Cheese! Nuggets & Veggies
Soy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free
When I selected my Yumble meals, this was the one meal I chose thinking, "chicken nuggets are pure gold to a child, I'm gonna let Lorelai have at it." She's never had chicken nuggets before simply because she's always been pretty content eating the meals we make to eat as a family. She loves corn and rice, and is reasonably interested in peas, so I figured we couldn't go wrong with this one. And, yep, she liked it! But, as with the first Yumble meal she tried, even though she was really into it, she only ended up eating about a nugget and a half, and a few bites of the sides. Was I too eager for her to like these meals? Was she using her toddler radar to bamboozle my hopes and plans? Ultimately I was OK with her not finishing this meal because it was a sign that she would hopefully spare me of insisting on eating only nuggets from now on. And, while rice, corn, and peas are good, balanced sides, she was expressing greater interest in the homemade lentil stew I was eating, which was also packed with veggies. She had some spoonfuls of that to round out the meal. I gave this meal a try too and I was pleased that the nuggets weren't at all rubbery, and like with the first meal we tried, the cheese sauce had a good, natural flavor.
1 of 3
Vegetarian Bean Burrito with Organic Corn
Egg-free, vegetarian
This is the meal I thought Lorelai would be most into. She's a quesadilla queen, she devours corn, and when I chose this meal I thought avocado was included (in the last image above, you can see the Yumble image for this meal), which she eats almost every day. Now looking back on the site, I see there's no mention of avocado being included, but there's also no mention that it's not included, so that's a little unclear.
As luck would have it, Lorelai happened to not be feeling well the day I served her this burrito, and ended up not eating it. It was actually what first indicated to us that she wasn't feeling well—she was totally turning her nose up at the dinner the rest of the family was eating (a dinner she normally would've liked), so I ran into the kitchen and heated this meal up as a last-ditch effort to entice her. She was just simply not going to take a bite. So, yet again, her dad and I sank our teeth in and shared the burrito between ourselves. Mexican-themed bean-centric dishes are kind of our jam, so we weren't surprised to find we liked it, but it was a little gratuitous with the cheese. On the other hand, it did have some carrots snuck in there. Bottom line is if we were to serve this to our kid as a meal, we would have been stuffing other veggies and things in there first; it was passable but could have been healthier.
Quick note that this meal arrived in my Yumble box without its sleeve thingy, and just had a sticker on top instead, so that's why the images are a little different from the other meals.
1 of 4
Cheese Ravioli and Green Beans
Top Rated, Soy-free, Vegetarian
This meal I chose especially for the green beans, as they're one thing you can put in front of Lorelai and know for sure she's going to inhale. The ravioli is served with a good amount of marinara sauce, which I appreciated because it meant it didn't dry out in the microwave. This "veggie-packed marinara" appears in a whole slew of Yumble meals, and includes organic tomatoes, organic carrots, lentils, organic celery, and butternut squash, among other typical sauce ingredients. I feel confident saying no kid would ever detect any of those veggies in this sauce—to the point that this parent couldn't detect them either! I'm impressed. Lorelai liked this meal well enough. The green beans needed a little extra time in the microwave from the initial 55 seconds I heated the meal for, but I put them back in separately so the ravioli wouldn't be too hot inside. The green beans were a bit bland, but I sprinkled some salt & pepper on and that helped. As with the other meals, she couldn't finish this one, so we saved the rest for the next day.
In retrospect I wish I would've ordered a meat dish like the Chicken Marinara & Alfredo instead, and just made my own green beans to add (they're so easy to steam!), because then Lorelai would've had a little extra protein in her meal. Like I said, we eat mostly plant-based at home, but it's largely due to personal preference on the part of my husband and me, so we always offer Lorelai meat when it's available, even if we ourselves decline.
1 of 4
Chili Mac
Gluten-free, Vegetarian
Confession: I ordered this meal because I thought it looked good. I mean, is mac 'n' cheese not everyone's guilty pleasure? Add a bean-filled veggie chili on top and you're speakin' my language. By the time we got to this meal it was Day 9 (it's suggested to consume the meals within 7 days of arrival, but I wasn't concerned about safety; we tend to take expiration dates as a loose suggestion around these parts) due to a few factors: we had leftovers from 2 of the meals, so some meals were eaten over 2 days, and because Lorelai usually eats what we eat, so we found that 6 extra meals is just a little too much for our current lifestyle. So by this last meal, I just went into it expecting to share it with Lorelai, letting her eat her fill and then finishing the rest myself. When I heated it, stirred it, and tasted it for temperature control, the pasta was a little hard, but 15 more seconds in the microwave softened it to a good consistency. I'd say we book-ended our Yumble week with the two best meals! The Chick 'N Casserole and this Chili Mac were my ties for first. If Lorelai could speak in complete sentences, I would be overjoyed to tell you her thoughts, but based on observation I'd say her top votes align with mine.
How to Cancel Yumble
There are definitely more meals on Yumble's weekly menu that I'm curious about, like the Meatballs and Vegetable Chili and the Baked Taco Pocket, but from our first week I learned that Lorelai's current appetite and tastes aren't a great match for this prepared meal subscription. If I were to order another week of Yumble I would probably freeze half the meals to save them for one-off needs down the line. To be clear, Yumble does not recommend freezing their meals—they say they taste better fresh, which is probably true!
I'm always happy when cancelling a subscription is easy, and in this case, it is! You can do it from the Subscription page of your account, email them at [email protected], or send them a text at 917-746-5376. I canceled from my Yumble account, and was asked for feedback, then got the above confirmation email. I appreciated that the email included the date of my final delivery.
Is Yumble Worth It?
Yumble gets an A+ for convenience, quality, and overall experience.
Here are some more thoughts on that:
- This subscription makes it possible to get food on the table, fast! Nobody needs a whining kid tugging at their pant leg while they're trying to cook dinner, right?
- The quality was 100% there. No artificial-tasting cheese sauces, the meat was juicy and not rubbery, and the hidden veggies were very well-hidden.
- In each part of the process, next steps were communicated clearly & I felt well-informed. As a parent I really appreciated not being sent on a wild goose chase for the info I needed!
All that said, this subscription wasn’t just-right for us. Here’s why:
- It was hard for us to get through 6 meals within 7 days. The portions were too big for my 20-month-old, which meant we were either stretching them out over 2 days or I was finishing them so they wouldn’t go to waste. Which brings me to my next point...
- However very delicious these meals were, it’s just not the type of food I like to eat regularly. This begs the question: if it feels like a less-than-optimal choice for me, why would I feed it to my kid? The meals may be balanced, but I didn’t find them to be quite as healthy as marketed.
- Finally, I found it to be a bit expensive at the 6-meal tier, which is the volume that made the most sense for us. The pricing is similar to what you’d pay for a child’s meal at a restaurant, but without the perks of the change of scenery or the benefit of us parents also having a meal cooked for us! I think if you have the need for more meals per week or more children to feed, and therefore can subscribe to a higher volume plan, the pricing begins to feel more right.
Yumble might be good for you if
- You have a kid who refuses to eat. If Yumble meals are enticing to your kiddo, I 100% believe they are better than a lot of alternatives.
- You have a child in the 3-6+ age range whose appetite is a good match for the portion sizes.
- You have multiple kids or a busy schedule, and don’t have time to grocery shop for healthy ingredients and prepare kid-friendly meals.
What do you think about Yumble? Have you tried this kids' prepared meal service yet? Tell us in the comments!
Learn more about this subscription by reading our previous Yumble reviews.
Looking to explore more kid-friendly subscriptions? Here are some articles that might interest you:
- 15 Best Meal Kits for Kids & Families
- The 15 Best Art Subscription Boxes for Kids
- 4 Kids Learning Apps You Can Try for Free
- Best Subscription Boxes for Kids Clothing – 2020 Readers’ Choice
- The Best Subscription Boxes for Kids – 2020 Readers’ Choice
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.