Besides all of that, I spent hours watching YouTube unboxing videos, reading reviews by bloggers and publications like Money, PCMag, and Forbes, and digging deep into the FAQ sections of every meal kit under consideration. We looked to both bloggers for advice on using meal kits, rather than for specific brand recommendations). (Note: Thomson received a complimentary box from each service, but no other compensation Lauer purchased boxes from all of the kits we covered, but receives free boxes from HelloFresh and Every Plate through their referral programs. I also interviewed Liz Thomson, who has tried the vegetarian offerings from five different meal kits for her blog I Heart Vegetables, and Laurie Lauer, who has used meal kits regularly since December 2016 and covered them on her YouTube Channel, Jazzy Cat Reviews & More.

In researching this guide, I spoke to the 25 or so people on staff at Wirecutter who use or have tried meal kits, to get their opinion on the pros and cons and the best and the worst of the different services.

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