The Good Kitchen Meal Delivery Review

The Good Kitchen Review

For seniors who live at home, meal delivery services can provide a convenient alternative to cooking at home or ordering out. Meal services like The Good Kitchen make it easy to eat healthy, thanks to their balanced nutrition and small portion sizes. Unlike meal delivery kits like Blue Apron and HelloFresh, The Good Kitchen offers pre-cooked meals that only need a few minutes in the microwave to be ready to eat.

History and Popularity

The Good Kitchen, originally called ModPaleo, was founded by Amber Lewis back in 2011. She started the company so that busy people could eat healthy and sustainable food without sacrificing their fast-paced lifestyle. The company originally required that customers pick up their meals from designated locations, but now The Good Kitchen ships anywhere in the U.S.

How to Order

The Good Kitchen makes it simple for customers to order. Their website is clear and easy to navigate. You can choose from three plans, with 10, 14, or 21 meals per week, depending on how many you’re feeding and how often you choose to eat pre-cooked meals. You can also select a “build your own plan,” option which allows you to select your desired number of meals and how often you’d like to receive them. Customers will save money by choosing the larger meal bundles, with the best value being the 21-meal-per-week plan at $11 per meal.

Once you’ve selected your meal plan, you can then choose the specific dishes you’d like for each week. The Good Kitchen features a rotating menu of food, so you’ll have different options to choose from most weeks. On a typical week, there are up to 14 different meals to pick from.

Next, you’ll be able to purchase add-on items, like healthy snacks. After you’ve chosen everything you want, you’ll be asked for your credit card information and shipping address. Once you purchase a plan, you’ll be charged on an ongoing basis until you cancel.

The Good Kitchen offers promotions and discounts, especially for new customers, so make sure to do a quick search for coupons and promo codes before making your purchase. Shipping is free for all plans.

Types of Meals

The Good Kitchen accommodates several dietary needs, including food allergies and vegetarian diets. They also keep their portions small, with meals averaging between 250 and 410 calories. However, the company does not tailor meals for specific health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, like some other meal delivery services.

The Good Kitchen sells only fully pre-cooked meals. None of them will require assembly, cooking, or kitchen tools beyond a microwave.

Customers who enjoy a variety of foods will appreciate The Good Kitchen’s diverse menu. While their menu isn’t quite as extensive as some other companies, it rotates seasonally so that customers will not often have repeat meals. Their meals typically feature traditional dishes with occasional unexpected twists, like barbecue salmon or sage pork sausage meatballs.

The Good Kitchen offers meals for children as well as for adults. The children’s lunches can be eaten at school or at home and may provide a good option for seniors with grandchildren.

The Good Kitchen offers only savory meals meant for lunch and dinner. They do not sell breakfasts or desserts.

Meal Preparation

Meals you receive from The Good Kitchen are easy to prepare. Once you receive your delivery, unpack it and place it in the refrigerator. Meals will stay fresh for up to two weeks. If you are planning to wait longer to enjoy them, you can freeze meals from The Good Kitchen for up to six months.

When you’re ready to eat one of the meals, you heat it up in the microwave. If you plan on using the oven, you’ll have to put the food in an oven safe dish. Fresh meals take three minutes or less, frozen meals take five minutes or less.

Quality

The Good Kitchen is one of the few meal delivery kits that guarantees the quality of all its ingredients. All their ingredients are responsibly sourced and fully organic, which means that customers will know exactly what they’re putting into their bodies. In addition, their beef is grass-fed and their other meats are all pasture-raised.

The Good Kitchen gets consistently good reviews in the taste department. Their meals are flavorful, fresh, and nutritious.

Cost

The Good Kitchen meals cost between $11 and $14 per meal. Your price will vary depending on how many meals you purchase with your plan. Larger bundles will cost the least per meal. This puts the company near the higher end for pricing, but you will save on the free shipping.

Savvy shoppers may find a good deal in The Good Kitchen’s “Keep it Clean” bulk boxes. These boxes are packed with 30 of the company’s extra meals and cost $300, or $10 a meal. Unlike their regular plans, however, the meals in bulk boxes will arrive frozen.

While certainly not cheap, the high-quality ingredients and free shipping make The Good Kitchen a good value for health-conscious seniors.

Delivery

The Good Kitchen ships out every Monday and arrives at doorsteps on Tuesday or Wednesday via FedEx. You can skip deliveries or cancel at any time, but if you’re traveling to be with family – The Good Kitchen will deliver your meals to you there. You can change the address and they will ship it wherever you need it. You’ll just need to change the address back when you return home.

Packaging

Your meals arrive in an insulated box with gel packs to keep the food cool. All the packaging can be recycled, including the gel packs. You will just have to drain them in the sink first.

Subscriptions and Plans

The Good Kitchen offers several options for plans, including 10, 14, or 21 meals per week. Once you sign up for a plan, you’ll continue receiving—and being charged for—the meals until you cancel. If you miss the cut off for selecting your meals, The Good Kitchen will select them for you based on your preferences and ship them out.

You can make changes to your plan at any time and the company makes it quick and easy to do so. Simply go to “My Pantry,” and then “Manage Plan.” There you’ll see options to modify. You’ll also be able to skip or pause your plan.

Canceling your plan

You can cancel your plan at any time without a penalty. As long as you cancel before the Friday before your next order is shipped, you will not be charged.

Summary

If you’re interested in healthy, low-calorie meals made with natural ingredients, The Good Kitchen may be a great option for you. Because they’re pre-cooked, they will save you the time and effort of preparing meals. Although the company doesn’t make meals for specific health concerns, they are a good option for older adults concerned with eating organic and maintaining good general health.