Little Lunches App Review

Little Lunches Basic is the most affordable subscription option coming in at just $4.99 per month. While the basic subscription is good, a premium membership’s overall value is significantly better, especially if you get the annual plan.

The basic version of the app still allows you to browse recipes and quickly checkout with recipe ingredients, but you aren’t able to make a weekly meal plan or a shopping list based on the meal plan.

The basic plan can be customized to some degree when you add your family member details to the account and get recipe recommendations based on that info.

Overall, the basic app is exactly that; basic. It has useful features, but nothing feels “worth it” to pay the monthly subscription fee, even if it is less than $5. There are free apps that perform similar services with no subscription required, so it’s hard to justify the purchase if you’re on a tight budget.

If you’re unsure about purchasing a subscription, you can sign up for a free trial. If you cancel the free trial or stop an active subscription, you will continue to have limited access to a free version of the app. The free version only includes a few recipes per week, but it also gives you continued access to your saved recipes. You can restart a subscription anytime.

Little Lunches premium subscription starts at $7.99 per month. You can save by purchasing an annual subscription for $49.99, which comes out to $4 per month for full access to premium features. 

This subscription includes all the benefits of basic membership plus a whole lot more! One of my favorite parts of the premium app is the customizable weekly meal plans that generate a shopping list to match your plan. The list takes into account everything you’ll need for all the recipes in your plan, then creates an easy-to-follow shopping list based on the meal plan recipes.

You can also broaden the variety of ingredients your family eats with the ingredient library. The library has many healthy foods suitable for all ages, plus information on what makes them good for you. I like to use this feature by choosing a few ingredients I’m interested in trying, then watching sales ads for nearby grocery stores. When something is on sale, that’s the perfect time to purchase and try a new recipe without investing too much in something my child may or may not eat.

The premium subscription makes family meal planning convenient and will shave time off your shopping trips. We’re saving the best for last because the child nutrition tips and valuable guidance from pediatric feeding experts are game changers if you have a picky eater. 

The app is well-designed across the board. It’s aesthetically pleasing, easy to navigate, and functions well while you meal plan or add recipes. Customers who have used the app in 2023 have left positive reviews praising how well the app works and how easy it is to use. The app can be found for free on the Apple and Google Play Store with just a few taps.

If you’re experiencing issues with the app, you can easily communicate with support online. There’s even an automated bot that can answer some basic questions and help you navigate to the right area of the app.

Like most apps, the Little Lunches app went through some trials and errors during the early phases. While these reviews are still visible, in my experience, it isn’t an accurate representation of the app in 2023. 

The healthy food choices offered are very diverse but still picky-eater-friendly. Since you get to choose the nutritious recipes in your meal plan each week, you can select recipes you know your child will be willing to try when meal time comes. There are options that focus on familiar flavors and more adventurous ones with globally inspired flavors, so your family can have as much or as little variety as you want on your meal planning journey. 

Recipes range from quick, healthy lunch box ideas to more intricate dinners and 20-minute recipes for busy weeknights. You can also upload your family’s favorite recipes to your personalized recipe box, and they’ll be added to the suggestions based on your meal plan preferences for the week. 

Another great thing about the recipe selection is how inclusive it is for people with dietary restrictions. Meal plans can be filtered to be vegetarian or free of red meat, nuts, sesame, pork, gluten, eggs, fish, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and shellfish. You can add multiple dietary restrictions or just choose one. 

All recipes are rightsized too. This means the portion sizes are adjusted to match the recommended caloric intake per age. With the rightsized recipes, you make just the right amount thanks to a customized recipe. This allows you to keep grocery costs as low as possible while still ensuring the right nutrient intake.

The cost of a subscription is very reasonable for the value of what you’re getting. The basic membership starts at $4.99 a month, and the premium subscription starts at $7.99 a month or less if you get an annual subscription. 

The meal planning features can help you save big by using ingredients you already have on hand and creating recipes that can feed the entire family. When you consider the pediatric feeding advice available on the app, too, the value of what comes with a subscription is worth far more than what you actually pay.

Even more value comes from the fact that users can add an additional user to the account at no added cost. This is available on all of the plans and allows two parents/caregivers to share the same recipes and meal plan.

This would be a 5-star rating, but they do not offer a free subscription tier without signing up for a trial first. A free subscription tier would allow more people to get some of the benefits of the app, even if it was just pediatric feeding advice or a limited amount of meal planning.

The free trial option that is offered requires you to cancel a free trial to avoid being charged. Once the trial has been canceled, you’ll have ongoing access to the free version of the app, but users don’t always want to sign up for a free trial; they might forget to cancel just to then be charged for a subscription. 

They have a family-friendly format that allows you to meal plan for as little as one child or as many kids and adults are in the home. The ability to increase the serving sizes of healthy recipes to match your family is great, but some of the recipes definitely feel like they were designed for kids first.

This all comes down to personal preference, but for my family, delicious recipes that feel a little more “grown-up” are a welcome addition. This isn’t to say that no recipes appeal to adults and kids equally, but there’s room for improvement.

Overall, the Little Lunches app was a success for my family! The app is super user-friendly, and the recipes were a hit with my 4-year-old, who is always the toughest critic. The healthy recipes used to make a custom meal plan and valuable guidance from pediatric experts make the premium subscription the better bang for your buck.