Before medical school started, I went on a mission to clean up my diet and help others to do so as well. I became religious with my meal planning and prepping. This process taught me so much, and I highly recommend this sort of meal planning/prep for anyone who wants to lose weight, stay healthy and save money. As you can imagine, eating out eats up your money… literally. I saved hundreds of dollars through meal prepping, and as a student with a minimal budget this was so valuable to me. Fast forward to medical school. I had to change my lifestyle immensely, and I’m not talking about just my study habits. One of the things I was most reluctant to change was my meal planning habits. Ultimately I wanted to have more time for my enjoyment, and while meal prepping is wonderful, it also takes tons of time. This is when I started playing around with meal delivery services. While many meal delivery services are convenient, they are often expensive. I have found a few that I think are affordable and time saving. My favorites are listed below. I have included various discount codes if you are interested in giving them a try. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the person who hates waiting in line: Shipt About this service: Delivery groceries to your door. Cost: $99/year for unlimited deliveries.
Shipt has been a staple in my medical school life. I have used this service for over three years. I love it for several reasons:
1. It allows me to do the traditional meal planning, nay forces me to do the planning.
2. I avoid impulse buys. You know what I mean.. when you go to the grocery store and hear the dreaded grumble in your stomach and then you leave 45 minutes later with two pints of ice cream, Doritos and something else you never intended to buy.
3. Time savings. I have saved hours and hours by not having to go to the grocery store, wait in line, touch dirty carts and did I say I hate waiting in lines?
4. Saving money. I have saved tons by being able to easily shop all sale items in one place. In fact, I plan my meals around the “for sale” tab by picking meats, veggies and fruits that were on sale and then filling in the extras ensuring I got the best deal. Its like modern coupon clipping… but cool… right? Saving money is definitely cool.
To try Shipt click here and save $10 on your subscription. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the plant based person who is busy AF: Splendid Spoon About this service: Smoothies, bowls and soups ready made and delivered to your door. Cost: Plans vary, but you can get breakfast and lunch for the week as low as $90. Splendid Spoon is one of my favorite delivery services and I have been using them for a year. This one is a no brainer, literally. I don't have to plan or worry about anything. Splendid spoon also has the best ingredients, is affordable and has breakfast, lunch and dinner options. All of their dishes are plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and made with GMO-free ingredients. Plus they have amazing wellness shots!
To try Splendid Spoon click here. This link gives you $25 off! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the organic guru who wants to cook QUICK recipes (we are not talking Green Chef “quick”): Hungry Root About this service: Hungry Root is a meal kit service that delivers you pre-prepped ingredients to use in Hungryroot-supplied recipes or… however you’d like! Cost: As low as $69 for a week of meals. Hungry root is by far the most versatile service. They basically deliver you groceries. But imagine if your groceries were already prepared for you so all you had to do was throw them together. Imagine if your groceries were all organic with options for pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, dairy free, nut free etc diets. This service is entirely customizable, but you can also mindlessly pick a recipe and everything will be taken care of for you. For those who like choice and personalization coupled with convenience, this service is highly recommended.
To try Hungry Root click here. For 20% off two boxes use code: 25OFF2OOHSONATURAL --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the person who always skips breakfast: Revive Superfoods About this service: Delivers ready-to-blend superfood smoothies. Cost: starting at $5.49 per cup I love smoothies to start my days. My past roomies can attest that the sound of a blender in the morning is the most soothing thing to wake up to. This service sends pre-pre-prepped delicious that are packed with superfoods. Using this service made it super easy to add fruits and veggies to my diet and start my day supercharged with healthy ingredients.
To try Revive Superfoods click here. All first-time orders are currently 60% off with code OOHSONATURAL60 or 60OFF! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would love to hear about your experiences trying any of these services. I definitely tried a TON of boxes and these ones really stand out to because of ease and cost, both of which have been priorities for me during school.