For some time now I have wanted to do a story on Meal Kits (as in cook a meal, not heat ‘n serve). An impediment was the need to subscribe to a service - or more than one if I wanted to do a comparison. I only knew one food blogger mom who used them for her family of four, but now I know a young bachelor using them and I’ve gone down the rabbit hole learning about this trend.
Prior to the pandemic, there were signs that this trend was floundering, but now I'm betting that not a week goes by when you have not received a promo "gift card" offering you some free food if you subscribe to one of the many services. The first time I came across a meal kit service was via ads for Blue Apron - still mainly in the USA. In Canada, the big names seem to be Hello Fresh, Chef's Plate and Good Food.
The original marketing pitch seemed to focus on saving time. Save time shopping for ingredients, prepping ingredients and cooking a meal after work. “What will I make for dinner?” has always been the albatross around the neck of most working mothers.
But a new market has emerged - one-person households.
“In the US, the share of adults who live alone nearly doubled over the last 50 years. This is not only happening in the US: single-person households have become increasingly common in many countries across the world, from Angola to Japan… the trend of rising single-person households extends across all world regions. There are large differences between countries – from more than 40% in northern European countries to 1% in low-income Asian countries.” [Source]
And in Canada “The number of persons living alone in Canada more than doubled over the last 35 years, from 1.7 million in 1981 to 4.0 million in 2016… Single-person households are now the most common household type in Canada – the first time in recorded Canadian history this has been the case. Previously, from 1867 to the time of the 2016 census, Canada’s most common household type had been one filled with a family.” [Source]
One-person households fit into various profiles - and include seniors - but you can also layer on young urban professionals, potentially living in “cozy” condos with mini appliances, minimal storage and no big freezer in the basement.
For them, meal kits may have some advantages. Let’s take a closer look.
The young urban professional (male or female) may have spent time in kitchens and next to people cooking, but may not have ever made an entire meal from scratch. Even if you give them recipes for one (or two) they may be lacking certain basic pantry items (or the storage space for them). So how does a meal kit help?
Ingredients. These are provided in the exact quantity required for a meal/recipe.
Cost and Storage. Meal kit subscription costs vary and will be detailed shortly, but imagine a recipe that calls for hoisin, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce. I have each of those in my normal-sized fridge as I write. If you didn’t have them you’d have to buy all three and you’d have three (mostly full) bottles to store in your compact fridge. If you are trying to socially isolate just now you’d have to go out to purchase these - although you could use an online grocer. My own spice collection would also take up a chunk of valuable cupboard space in a small apartment - not to mention the cost of purchasing them.
Waste. Yes, another topic that is complex, but as far as food and supplies there is no/minimal waste. The recipe calls for parsley? The kit provides exactly what you need and you won’t have to toss out leftover wilted parsley weeks later. Food waste can put my stomach into knots - mainly because I waste a bit more than I’d like to. I know there are ways of storing that parsley in my fridge - or even chopping it and freezing it in cubes. Do I do this all the time? (red face - no.) At least I’m not alone - or maybe that’s precisely the problem. The latest UN Food Waste Report was just released.
“63% of the food Canadians throw away could have been eaten. For the average Canadian household that amounts to 140 kilograms of wasted food per year – at a cost of more than $1,100 per year! For Canada as a whole, that amounts to almost 2.2 million tonnes of edible food wasted each year, costing Canadians in excess of $17 billion! All types of food are wasted, but in Canada the most prominently wasted foods by weight are: Vegetables: 30%, Fruit: 15%, Leftovers: 13%, Bread and Bakery: 9%, Dairy and Eggs: 7%.” {Source]
Waste/Packaging. There is no denying that by the time every ingredient of the food kit is laid out in a nice mise en place there’s packaging left over. Meal kit services are using recyclable boxes and embracing biodegradable packaging and reusable containers and ice packs. Mind you, so much of what we buy even for a family comes in packaging - it’s a problem. (Add on to that the Amazon boxes from everyone’s COVID purchases. Crikey…)
Convinced that a meal kit service may be just what they need, the urban single has to sort through the options - and there are moments when it feels like one needs a graduate degree to figure it all out. Here are some basics.
Subscription. For the big-name services you don’t get to order one meal for tomorrow - then thank you very much. You must subscribe - but check the flexibility. Some let you skip a week or more, and quit with no hassle. Did you use that enticing “free” start-up card? $100 free? Turns out that is usually pro-rated over a period of weeks so you don’t get to eat $100 worth of free food and then quit.
Subscription choices. For many services, “meals for two” is the smallest unit (no meals for one) and you usually have to order 3 meals per week at a minimum. (What you order is typically delivered only once per week.) So if you are single, you cook three times a week - and with leftovers eat the same meal twice. Subscribers are advised to have basic staples on hand such as oil, butter, salt, pepper.
Quality and Taste and Nutrients. Hunt around for reviews on the quality of ingredients and the taste of the food. Most services get good ratings on quality. “Taste” will be determined by the quality of the recipes. Nutrients are not always listed, but typical meals will include protein, a carb and a vegetable.
Variety and Creativity. Faced with choices when making meal selections, it’s ideal if there is some variety - not only weekly but over time. Are there ever options for BBQ or one-pot, or sheet-pan meals? Do options cover a range of world cuisines? Over a year, seasonal and special event meals may be offered. Whereas one service began to make breakfast smoothies available, on the whole, meal options do not include classic breakfast foods.
"Hello Fresh has some of the best menu options when it comes to variety and flexibility. Their dishes are inspired by cuisines around the world, such as Greek, Korean, Russian, Cuban, African, American, and much more. Plus, they have the highest number of meal options per week… Hello Fresh is currently the only meal kit company in Canada that offers Beyond Meat products for their veggie meals, like the bibimbap rice bowl and spicy sesame sauce with Beyond Meat, zucchini, and carrots." [Source]
Chinese Style Beef Bowl
Dietary Preferences. When it comes to dietary preferences, vegetarian is usually available. Some services will also indicate when options comply with other specialty diets/preferences - low carb, gluten-free, dairy-free, keto, paleo, halal, and kosher.
Serving sizes. Unless a service specifies that portions are generous this may be hard to judge until experienced.
Time and Complexity. Most services assume that the consumer is not an experienced cook. Illustrated instructions are provided by all and recipes usually indicate the level of difficulty/complexity as well as time (ranging from 15-20 minutes up to 30-45). I’ve stumbled across some reviews that grumble about the number of dishes used and clean-up - mind you that’s what I call normal unless one is doing a one-pot or sheet-pan meal.
Cost. Ah yes, the cost. Some websites - even review websites - seem to prefer listing the cost per serving, but what you really want to know is the weekly cost. When a promo discount is applied to the first month the weekly cost is obscured. For one person ordering 3 two-person meals per week, the cost per week may range from $60-70. A hidden fee may be a delivery charge. This may still be less than a single urbanite would spend buying fast food or takeouts from local restaurants - and the food may be more healthy.
Meal kits reduce the stress of meal planning and shopping and introduce people to bliss in the kitchen.
Kid appeal. As a postscript, it’s noteworthy that kids often find these kits appealing. My blogger friend says that on a typical day she cannot entice her kids away from their screens into the kitchen. But when the meal kit arrives it’s as if it’s Xmas and they join in, unpacking the box, setting up the ingredients and even helping with the cooking. Go figure!
Another postscript. Especially since and because of COVID many local restaurants now offer meal kits - no subscription. The most exciting one I encountered recently is Nannaa Foods. For each recipe, they even made easy-to-follow instructional videos. Their Pantry Boosters are also exciting. You can purchase many of the wonderful ingredients they use – cardamom tea leaves, barberries and sumac to mention only a few – and you know you want some Nannaa spice mix. I can’t wait to try making Tachin.