Best Family Kit
Winner
Best Organics
If it’s one thing every parent wants, it’s the very best, nutritious foods for their growing children. As your baby transitions to solid foods, and then onto the pickier stages of toddlerhood, healthy eating becomes more of a challenge.
This rings even more true for busy parents that just don’t have the time or energy to devote to creating made from scratch, home-cooked meals for their kids every day. Kids meal delivery services are an option that more parents are turning to. The ability to have fresh, nutritious kids meals delivered to your door in the form of meal kits or prepared meals is making it easier than ever to serve fresh meals without hours of meal planning each week.
Here are a few of the top kids meal delivery services, and how they stack up against each other.
Nurture Life
BEST KIDS MEAL DELIVERY SERVICE
If there’s one challenge with kids meal delivery kits, it’s that they aren’t always designed with consideration to the range of ages and appetites around the family dinner table. The best meal delivery service for one family will look different from the best option for another family. Nurture Life realizes this challenge and offers parents and caregivers a solution with customizable meal plans.
Nurture Life’s menu options are categorized by age, meaning portion sizes and nutritional content are perfect for each child. In addition to menu selections for babies 10 months and older, though teen years, Nurture Life also offers a family menu option. Family menu options can be added to any existing order for a baby, toddler, or child meal delivery plan.
Smoothies and healthy snacks make easy on the go options with balanced nutrition to fuel your kiddo all day long. Meals are prepared fresh once they’re ordered to ensure every delivery arrives at peak freshness for the best flavor, texture, and nutritional value.
Nurture Life makes delicious, balanced finger foods that incorporate more flavors than some other kids meal subscriptions. Chicken and mac, beef taco pockets, chicken dumplings with edamame, & chicken alfredo pasta with broccoli are some of the most popular items on this kid’s meal delivery company’s menu.
Key Benefits
- Appropriately sized portions and menu options for all ages, including family-friendly meals
- Allergen-free meals designed by dieticians
- Heat and eat options that can be on the table in just a few minutes
- Shipping is only free with orders of $59 or more
Little Spoon Plates
BEST ORGANIC
Nutrition is vitally important for babies and small children, yet many parents find themselves a little overwhelmed once it’s time to start their babies on solid foods. What are the best foods to feed babies and toddlers, and are prepackaged foods a safe and nutritious alternative?
The founders of Little Spoon asked these same questions and formed a company to help meet the needs of busy parents who want to nourish their little ones with the healthiest foods. Little Spoon’s nutrition council includes a pediatrician from NYU Langone Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics from Yale University School of Medicine.
Little Spoon is a great alternative for parents who want to stay away from processing and preservatives but who also don’t have the time or energy to prepare special made-from-scratch meals for their little ones. Some of the most popular Little Spoon menu items are their mini turkey kale meatballs, chicken super nuggets, sweet potato carrot poppers, broccoli bites, and turkey rice balls with sweet potato mash.
Little Spoon achieves the perfect balance of nutrition and familiar foods every kid loves, packed with hidden veggies in every bite.
Key Benefits
- A great alternative to prepackaged, processed baby food that’s available in most grocery stores
- Nutritionally balanced meals for your baby with no added sugars
- Economical option that is aligned price-wise with shelf-stable “gourmet” baby foods
- Ingredients are all organic and non-GMO
Tiny Organics
TODDLERS ONLY
Tiny Organics creates toddler meals using only USDA-certified organic, non-GMO ingredients. Each plant-based meal is peanut free with yummy flavors your toddler will love. By serving Tiny Organics, your toddler can learn to love vegetables and even prefer them as they get older. Raise an adventurous eater by serving flavors from around the globe in one healthy package you can feel good about.
All Tiny Organics meals are perfectly portioned for babies and toddlers, with a team of neonatal nutritionists helping chefs create nutritionally rounded meals. The ready-to-eat meals are prepared fresh and then shipped frozen to your doorstep. This is one of the best meal delivery services when you’re at that difficult transition age from baby to kid, also known as toddlerhood.
You can change the number of meals per week, delivery frequency, and food preferences through your online account anytime. The tiny toddler meals make excellent finger foods, or your toddler can practice their skills eating with silverware.
Key Benefits
- Kid-friendly spices enhance the flavor profile of meals without adding heat.
- Vegetable first, low natural sugar menu.
- Meals are never processed or concentrated.
- Introduce flavors from around the globe that even picky eaters will enjoy.
Home Chef
BEST MEAL KIT
Home Chef is a meal kit service that brings flavorful meals for the whole family. Their fresh meal kits have pre-portioned ingredients, simple instructions, and nutritious foods with a new weekly menu every week. While this isn’t strictly a kid’s meal delivery service, most recipes are very kid-friendly.
Customize each shipment to best reflect the dietary preferences of your family and put fresh meals on the table in minutes. The meal prep and cooking required are not always kid-friendly, but some recipes would allow your young chef to get involved.
For busy families who can’t spare time to cook, there are fully prepared meals available too. Prepared meals feature nutritious food that are easily heated in the oven, stovetop, or microwave. Home Chef meals may not be designed with specific kids’ ages in mind, but it encourages your family to engage in healthier food choices together at every age.
Key Benefits
- Choose from a variety of easy-to-prepare meals for the whole family each week.
- Meals are easy to customize to best meet the needs of your family
- All ingredients are fresh and pre-portioned to prevent food waste
- Meals are clearly labeled for common allergens like eggs, milk, and soy
Dinnerly
BEST VALUE MEAL KIT
Dinnerly is an economical meal delivery option when you’ve got a family to feed and want the option of kid-friendly selections that seem to be missing from other meal delivery services. The corn caramel chicken, quinoa veggie stir fry,
Unlike the other kids meal kit options on this list, Dinnerly is more of a traditional type of service that makes a point of offering meal options your entire family will enjoy. The downside to Dinnerly is that the reviews give the impression that they’re lacking in the customer service department.
This is one of the most affordable meal kits on the market, though. Families that have a tight budget and can’t afford other services can still benefit from Dinnerly, thanks to their low prices. While it would be great to get low prices and good customer service, it’s no surprise that you have to compromise somewhere.
Key Benefits
- Digital recipes cards save on packaging and costs, but some find this inconvenient.
- An economical option for families
- Meal options include tags such as kid-friendly, 30 minutes or less, and one-pot meals
- According to reviews, customer service and quality are sometimes a concern
Buying Guide
Each family is different, which makes choosing the best kids’ meal delivery service even more of a challenge. Word of mouth and reviews are helpful, but here are a few things you’ll want to consider when choosing the best option for your family. Don’t be afraid to try a shipment from more than one company to find the best fit for your child and the entire family.
Kid Friendliness
Very few kids openly embrace every new food. They like familiar foods, foods they can eat with their fingers, foods with the right textures, and that go easy on the spices. Miss any of these points, and there’s a good chance the meal is going to get a thumbs down from your youngest dinner companions.
Keep this in mind when choosing a kid’s meal delivery service. Do they offer options that make the list of your kid’s favorites? Do they take familiar ingredients and present them in new ways to add diversity to their dishes? Are foods sized appropriately for little fingers and those just learning how to use utensils?
Another consideration when it comes to kid-friendliness is the packaging. Kids are drawn to vibrant packaging, which Nurture Life does exceptionally well. Packaging that can be washed and reused or recycled is always a bonus too.
Quality Ingredients
Of course, quality is key. The last thing you want is to excitedly open your box only to find inferior-looking ingredients. It’s important to choose a company with a strong reputation for freshness and quality. Lacking food quality will impact the appearance, texture, and flavor of the meals.
Along with this is the integrity of the ingredients. Most of the services listed here focus on organic ingredients that are ethically and sustainably sourced. If a company isn’t open about how their ingredients are sourced you can take that as a warning sign they likely aren’t the best quality.
Fast, Easy Meal Prep
One of the main benefits of choosing kids’ meal delivery services is the time saved. If a company doesn’t offer fast, easy meal prep, then they aren’t a valid option.
Meal delivery services tend to fall into two categories, pre-prepped and ready to cook or heat and eat. Consider which option you prefer when choosing a service. If you opt for a service that sends ingredients for you to cook, consider the average length of time it takes to prepare a recipe from start to finish.
Allergens and Special Diets
For families with special diets and allergen concerns, it can be hard to trust anyone else when it comes to serving meals. An awareness of allergens and special diets ranks as a top priority when choosing the winners on this list.
And, just because one child is gluten-free doesn’t mean the rest of the family has to eat gluten-free with these meals. Most sites will list whether they’re allergen-free or offer special diet options. If you’re concerned, don’t hesitate to call and ask.
Meal delivery services that are comfortable dealing with common food allergies will know how to avoid things like cross-contamination in the kitchen. If allergens and dietary info aren’t clearly labeled on every menu item, you should consider a different meal delivery service to better fit your needs.
Cost
Kids’ meal delivery services typically cost more than going to the store and preparing food yourself, but there’s a time benefit that’s worth it for many families. That said, it’s still important to keep budget and cost in mind when choosing a company, especially if you have a picky eater who might not like all the new foods you’re offering.
Key Takeaways
Subscribing to a kid’s meal service is a great option for busy, health-conscious families. Nurture Life, the overall winner, wins high marks with parents in every category. If your little one is just starting with solids, Little Spoon is a meal delivery service that will grow with them. Up-and-coming little chefs will love getting involved with One Potato.
There’s an option for every family.
Mealtime and nourishing your family should be enjoyable and satisfying. The right kids’ meal delivery service can make this possible and enable you to spend more time enjoying those moments with your family.