Meal kits have made it easier than ever before for busy people like you to sit down and enjoy a delicious and inspired home-cooked meal. Each week, your delivery shows up, you unpack the ingredients, and in about a half hour, you’re ready to enjoy dinner.
But, if you’ve ever tried a meal kit company before, you probably noticed that you’re doing an awful lot of unpacking for one meal. Each ingredient comes individually packaged. All the ingredients are packed in a box. It’s a lot of packaging and a lot of waste. Thankfully, some companies are serious about tackling this waste problem by providing a green solution.
Today, we’re going to take a look at some of the best options on the market that provide delicious meals with less waste so we can crown the best meal kit with less packaging.
#1 Green Chef
With a name like Green Chef, you’d expect the company to place an emphasis on green initiatives and sustainability, and they certainly do.
From a packaging standpoint, all of Green Chef’s packaging is either recyclable, reusable, or compostable. They also go the extra mile by offsetting 100% of the carbon emissions they generate, including those related to the delivery of your meal kits.
Green Chef’s commitment to a better world doesn’t end at their packaging, either. They were the first meal kit provider to receive USDA Organic certification, and all of their offerings are non-GMO, as well. Their ingredients are sustainably sourced from traceable farms, so you can also be sure that the businesses Green Chef works with are also focused on conservation.
While all of this stuff sounds great, the food itself still needs to be good, right? Thankfully, Green Chef delivers in spades. While there’s something to be said about the food they offer being delicious, there’s, even more, to be said about the level of choice they provide.
Vegan? Gluten-Free? Paleo? Keto? None of it is a problem for Green Chef. They provide menus for a broad variety of different diets, which makes them an ideal choice for anyone with specific nutritional needs.
Regardless of the meal plan, you choose; Green Chef does a great job at catering to your needs while still providing delicious and inventive meals.
#2 Dinnerly
Dinnerly is a meal kit service that offers affordable, tasty, and easy-prep recipes that start at just $4.99 per person. This meal kit brand keeps its meals simple, using only 5-6 high-quality ingredients per recipe.
So, how does Dinnerly keep the price that low? The company takes a more straightforward approach than most other meal services: digital recipe cards and not printed, fewer ingredients per dish, and simple packaging.
The company works closely with different packaging materials suppliers to find innovative ways to use less packaging while ensuring food safety. That means much fewer plastics and bags inside the box – both economical and environmentally friendly!
Other highlights: The service provides a vast menu for broad dietary needs: vegetarian, gluten-free-friendly, low-calorie, dairy-free, low-carb, and more. The menu also features dessert options and a few protein add-on options you can add to your box as needed.
#3 Sunbasket
Rounding out our list of green options is Sunbasket. Like Green Chef, Sun Basket goes the extra mile to provide their customers with green alternatives while using less packaging.
Sun Basket’s packaging is entirely recyclable or compostable. Each delivery includes a cardboard box, insulation, ice packs, and packaging for the individual ingredients. The cardboard and paper items are all part of curbside recycling programs, and any plastic included is recyclable as well.
That said, Sun Basket does seem to use more plastics than Green Chef, which may be important to you if your primary focus is reducing your footprint on the earth.
Sun Basket scores points for sourcing fresh, delicious, and organic ingredients for every meal. At present, over 99% of their produce is organic, and on the rare occasion they cannot source 100% organic produce, they drop a note in your box to let you know.
As for their proteins, all their seafood is wild-caught by fishermen who focus on sustainability, and all their offerings are either the best choice or best alternative per the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program.
Meat and poultry are also ethically raised, and free of antibiotics or hormones. With many recipes, there’s an option to pay a small upcharge for organic meat or poultry.
Like Green Chef, Sun Basket does an incredible job of catering to different diets. So, whether you’re vegan, gluten-free, keto or anything in between, Sun Basket has you covered. They even offer a menu of super-quick meals for those on the go.
Final Word
These days, it’s more important than ever that we do our part to preserve our beautiful earth. Perhaps the area where we’re able to have the greatest impact on the environment is the food we eat.
Each day, the food industry generates an incredible amount of waste in the form of excessive packaging and food waste. Fortunately, companies like Green Chef and Sun Basket are taking a stand.
The two of these meal kit providers offer delicious food, and there’s plenty of choice for everyone, regardless of your dietary requirements. Each brand also does a great job of prioritizing green initiatives with their packaging.
