Meal in a box delivery services put to the test

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- On Tuesday we introduced you to three meal in a box services that claim to come to your rescue when it comes to food shopping and meal planning. Now it's time to see if they really deliver.

Since ordering from three of the most popular services, Dana Tenuto has been busy in the kitchen.

She ordered meals in a box from Hello Fresh, Plated, and Blue Apron.

Tenuto tells us the ingredients for all three services come well-packaged and on ice, so you have 24 hours to unpack. And they all come with big, beautiful recipe cards.

"Everything was very fresh, all organic meats," she said.

Tenuto ordered three meals for two people per week from each service, but the prices vary.

"Plated being the most expensive. And then hello Fresh second. And then Blue Apron being the least expensive," she said.

For a total of six meals, Plated is $72 a week, Hello Fresh is $69 per week and Blue Apron is $59.94 weekly.

One important thing to remember is that while all the ingredients come perfectly proportioned, they do not come prepped.

"The garlic isn't already minced. Or the carrots aren't already peeled," said Tenuto.

So the time you have to actively spend to make the meals is a lot.

"Thirty-five to forty-five minutes solid - From preparing to plating the meal in the end," said Tenuto.

As far as degree of difficulty, Tenuto found the Blue Apron and Hello Fresh receipes quicker to make than Plated.

But Tenuto liked the challenge of Plated and says its directions are in layman's language for the non-chef and easy to follow, albeit more time-consuming.

And what about the factor of each service?

"Everything tasted wonderful," she said.

Tenuto also says all three services produced gourmet meals big enough to feed herself and her husband and their 4-year-old daughter, Roma.

So would she use a Meal in a Box service again?

"I absolutely would," she said. "I would use this service again and I would recommend it to anyone."

Tenuto tells Action News she really likes all the services she tested, but her personal favorite is Plated.

She says it's the most user-friendly in terms of the directions and has the prettiest website.