If you’ve heard the saying “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail,” you know it applies to most things in life -- including your eating habits. One way I make sure I always have healthy options in my fridge is by grocery shopping based on sales. I like to meal prep with affordable foods that can be mixed and matched with other dishes I prepare throughout the week. For example, I try to keep cooked carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and potatoes, a cooked protein and salad kits or vegetables in microwave-safe bags, readily available for meals that pair easily. Shortcuts like this take the guesswork and headache out of figuring out what to eat each day.
I recently tried some popular healthy food subscriptionsto see how they supported my dietary needs and if they took the stress out of deciding what to eat daily. I also considered the cost, since most of us are on a budget and food prices are continually rising. For this experiment, I tried out Factor 75, Wildgrain, Wild Alaskan Company and Force of Nature Meats. Each of these food services offers different food selections and styles, so you’re bound to find something you like.
If you’re looking for prepared food: Factor 75
Factor 75, also commonly known as Factor, is a meal prep service that offers healthy meals for the week. You can choose from eight meal preferences (calorie smart, high protein, keto, GLP-1, low carb, flexitarian, chef’s choice and fiber-filled) along with any dietary restrictions you may have.
Unlike the other options on this list, the meals come cooked and portioned into microwave-safe trays that should be refrigerated. When you’re ready to eat, you pierce the plastic film and follow the heating directions on the packaging. Because these meals are refrigerated, you'll need to eat them within seven days, since they don’t last as long as the frozen options on this list.
According to Factor’s website, the meals are dietitian-approved and chef-crafted, and you can see the macronutrient breakdown for each meal on the label. If you’re someone who tracks macros and is trying to reach certain fitness goals, this can be helpful because you don’t have to measure your food yourself.
The meal that stood out the most to me from the ones I selected was the butternut squash and sage chicken macaroni. This dish was full of flavor and the portion size kept me full.
The butternut squash and sage chicken macaroni Factor meal.
One of my favorite options (at an additional cost) offered by Factor is a bundle of its protein shakes and bars. I loved these plant-based protein shakes enough that I wish they were sold in stores, especially the cinnamon horchata flavor. These shakes consist of 18 grams of protein per 12-ounce bottle. The protein bars were honey nut crunch and chocolate cookie crunch, both with 13 grams of protein and equally delicious.
Factor's protein shakes and protein bars -- ideal for a quick pick-me-up.
Those who enjoy cooking, don’t like to sacrifice flavor or want heftier portions may find some of these prepped meals lacking. In some cases, I had to add my own sauces and seasoning to improve the flavor; in others, the portions seemed smaller than expected. If you want a reliable meal that helps you hit your calorie or macro goals while keeping you on track, this could be a good option. I’d also recommend this to someone who doesn’t have time to cook or doesn’t have a whole family to feed. The subscription is more expensive when you include more than one serving.
Another factor to consider is the price. Six meals start at $90, eight at $112 and 10 at $135. You can go up to 36 meals, depending on your budget and needs. Factor also offers discount codes and promotions throughout the year.
If you want high-quality bread: Wildgrain
The Wildgrain protein box came with waffles, bread rolls, rigatoni pasta and crème brûlées.
Wildgrain is a frozen bread company that connects you to small independent bakers across the country. This subscription box offers a variety of plans that include breads, pastas, pizza and pastries to fit your dietary needs. There are gluten-free, protein, vegan and other options available that can be shipped to your home.
I tried the protein plan, which includes pasta, bread rolls, pasta sauce, crème brûlée cups and maple waffles. With each plan, you can choose whether you want four, eight or 12 items in your box. The price will vary depending on the box you select, with six items being the most popular at $60 a box, and gluten-free, $70.
A lentil soup I prepared paired with a Wildgrain bread roll.
This is the ideal subscription box to sign up for if you enjoy having high-quality breads and pastries readily available at home. I like that you can freeze the items and aren’t expected to eat them within a certain window to avoid them from getting stale. In this case, you can defrost the portions you want when you’re craving them without worrying about the rest of the batch spoiling. The pasta sauce and pasta provided in the kit saved me one night when I had nothing planned. On another occasion, I also baked bread rolls to pair with a lentil soup I made. I’d recommend Wildgrain to anyone who loves bread and wants to keep it fresh in the freezer.
If you want fresh cuts of meat: Force of Nature
Force of Nature's subscription box comes with meatballs, venison, beef, chicken and other types of meat.
Having meat delivered to your home makes a difference if you don’t like the quality of meat at your local supermarket or if you’re looking for higher-quality meat and ethical options. Force of Nature offers a variety of meats and practices regenerative farming, a technique that restores degraded soil and is supposed to be more environmentally friendly. You have options including beef, bison, venison, chicken, elk and wild boar.
You can purchase individual packages starting at $13 or bundles tailored to your culinary preferences. I received the Ancestral Blends box (16 items for $218), which includes: grass-fed beef, grass-fed bison, grass-fed, pasture-raised venison, organic-fed chicken, grass-fed meatballs and grass-fed sausage.
An example of the Ancestral Blends box and all the meat that comes in it.
I was impressed by the amount of meat sent in one box. It’s enough meat to last for a while in the freezer. I haven’t even gone through all of it yet, but I’ve been able to whip up meat sauces, meatloaf, soups, taco fillings and more. The meat, when cooked, tastes high-quality and retains seasoning and marinade flavors well. I appreciated being able to keep these meats in the freezer so I could use them on days when I needed a quick source of protein.
If you’re focusing on a high-protein diet or are picky about the quality of the protein you eat, this box is the ideal subscription box for you.
If you want fresh fish: Wild Alaskan Company
Wild Alaskan Company's Wild Combo subscription box comes with different types of fish.
Fresh fish can be challenging to find, especially if you have concerns about mercury intake or want more sustainably harvested options. Wild Alaskan Company, CNET’s favorite salmon subscription, sells wild-caught seafood in a subscription box that lets you pick from three selections: wild salmon, wild combo and wild white fish. Next, choose your preferred size: a 12-pack for $155 or a 24-pack for $280.
I received the Wild Combo box, which came with fish filets weighing about 6 to 8 ounces each and suitable for freezing. The box I received included coho salmon, Pacific cod, Pacific halibut, sockeye salmon and wild Alaska pollock.
These fish options were ideal when I was home alone and needed to whip up a quick meal. Since they were in fillet form, defrosting them didn’t take long, and they only took about 10 minutes to cook. I used the provided salmon to make the viral baked salmon-and-rice bowl. Since I don’t eat fish regularly, the fillets have lasted me quite a while.
The Baked salmon-and-rice bowl recipe I prepared using the salmon in the Wild Alaskan Company box.
The Wild Alaskan Company subscription box is right for you if you’re a fish-lover and don’t mind spending extra on wild-caught options. If you aren’t the biggest fan of fish or don’t cook it often enough, it’s a steep price to justify. However, you can choose how often you receive a shipment, such as every month, every month and a half or every two months.
How these subscription boxes help me stick to my goals
As a mom to a toddler who also works full-time, sometimes figuring out what to cook for dinner is the last thing on my mind. These food subscription boxes offer plenty of options and are easy to mix and match with each other or with other items I have in my fridge. It made my life easier knowing that I had a variety of fish, different cuts of meat and a protein-forward grain box for those days when I didn’t know what to make. Because the meats and fish weren’t in large packages, it was easier to avoid waste, and leftovers from dinner were part of lunches.
The Factor samples gave me inspiration for recipes I could try and replicate, and made me more attuned to what certain servings looked like. Another thing I liked about having these subscription boxes is that I was able to experiment with a variety of recipes with meat and fish I wasn’t particularly familiar with. Trying out new healthy recipes helps me stay on track because I know I’m preparing a flavorful meal that’s good for my family and me.