I Tried 3 Food Subscriptions & Here’s What Happened

Food-subscription services are like DIY Seamless: dinner on demand, but made by you. Maybe some of you have tried a few of them, or perhaps you swear by one company in particular. I had yet to try a single one of these trendy services, until recently. And admittedly, I knew little to absolutely nothing about how they work or even how much they cost.

But that all changed when I volunteered to give three of the most popular companies — Hello Fresh, Plated, and Blue Apron — a try. Thus began my solo kitchen saga of nine dinners in one day — making them all in such a short time period was the easiest, most efficient way for me to test them out and compare them. There were no sous chefs, production assistants, or cheerleaders of any kind; it was just me against the kitchen. (Full disclosure: All three services provided my meals for free.)

What did I learn, aside from mistaking a cucumber for a zucchini in a chopping-versus-grating incident, stabbing my thumb with a fork while attempting to shred chicken, and saying "fuck it" to freshly chopped garlic on meal seven (I just threw in garlic powder)?

Keep reading to find out.