It is no secret that the cost of living is increasing. Amongst the rising energy and petrol prices, our regular supermarket shop has increased dramatically. The cost of fruit and vegetables have increased by 5.9% alone!1 With many of us wondering how to create budget-friendly, quick, easy (and nutritious) meals, the allure of a meal kit service that ticks those boxes sounds almost too good to be true! Enter EveryPlate, the meal kit that is cheaper than the supermarket, starting from only $2.39 per plate.
How does EveryPlate work?
EveryPlate is a flexible, subscription meal kit that offers easy, budget-friendly meals suitable for the whole family. They can provide their meals at a lower price thanks to their ‘no frills’ approach; the recipes are ‘fuss-free’ with only 4 steps, built from a base of quality ingredients without the fancy extras. They also source most of their ingredients within Australia. Each recipe is designed to ensure less prep time, cooking time and clean-up.
EveryPlate offers plans for two to six people with three to six meals per week. There are ‘classic’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘flexitarian’ and ‘family’ plans, catering for nearly everyone, and you can pick from up to 22 new recipes each week. EveryPlate does not currently offer vegan, keto or gluten free plans, all of which are popular dietary choices. These would be great options to see available in the future.
You can customise your meals to swap out protein, vegetables, dairy and carbohydrates, add extra protein or upgrade to a premium protein. This is a great feature for those individuals who are looking to increase their protein and veggie intake. The premium protein options cost up to an additional $5.99 per plate and contain high-quality sources of protein including fish or steak, which are not part of the standard menu. EveryPlate also offers ‘bulk cooking’ meals which serve up to 6 people starting at $24.99. This is a fantastic option for families and for those who batch cook.
You can pause or skip at any time, so it is flexible with your routine.
My Experience
I selected six meals (12 servings) from the vegetarian menu plan, which had a total of seven meals to choose from. Whilst this is a small selection, the meals are rotated weekly, so you never have the same meal twice. All the meals looked delicious! The recipes were listed with tags such as ‘veggie’, ‘most loved’, ‘speedy’ or ‘kid faves’ which made the selection process easy. This is also a great feature for parents when choosing for the whole family!
The cost of my meals, including delivery, was $73.20. I chose:
- Corn and carrot fritters (two servings as these make great lunches!)
- Jerk-spiced bean and coconut pie
- Mexican lentils and corn salsa
- Persian-style pumpkin and couscous
- Sri Lankan coconut haloumi curry
My EveryPlate box arrived on Sunday morning and was filled with the pre-measured, fresh ingredients I needed to create my recipes. I was very excited to plan my meals for the week and start cooking! Most of the vegetables came unpackaged which is great, however some other ingredients such as the pumpkin, were wrapped in plastic. All cold items were packed securely in a freezer bag. The vegetables looked fresh and other packaged ingredients such as the Greek yoghurt and spices were clearly labelled so I knew exactly what everything was.
Unlike other meal kits, the ingredients were not organised by recipe. Whilst this is a win for less packaging, it did mean I had to sort through the items to select what I needed for each recipe. However, the printed recipe cards clearly list all ingredients and as most recipes had less than 10 ingredients, this was very easy to do.
EveryPlate provided all the core ingredients I needed yet they did not provide ‘pantry staples’, for example mayonnaise, eggs, soy sauce and brown sugar. Most of us have these ingredients on hand, however it is worth noting.
The recipes themselves were very clear and simple to follow, only FOUR steps! Along with the list of steps and ingredients, the recipe cards also detail the pantry items required, estimated cooking time and macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates). All allergen information could be accessed from EveryPlate’s website which was clearly stated on the recipe cards. Thanks to the simple four step approach, some meals took me no longer than 20 minutes to make (big tick for convenience!).
Of all the delicious recipes I made, the Sri Lankan coconut haloumi curry was my favourite!
Nutritionist Review
As all my meals were vegetarian, I paid close attention to protein. Each meal contained between 16g and 24g of protein per serving which is an adequate amount. The sources of protein were good wholefood sources such as kidney beans and lentils. Each meal contained a quality source of carbohydrate, for example pumpkin or couscous and a source of fat in the form of dairy products (cheese, Greek yoghurt) which also increased the protein content of each meal.
Each recipe contained at least two types of vegetables; the corn and carrot fritters contained five different vegetables, which is excellent in terms of variety! These vegetables often formed the base of the recipes too, increasing the nutrient density and fibre content of my meals.
The sodium content of meals was high, averaging 1400mg per serving. The current recommendations for sodium intakes are no more than 2000mg per day.2 This may be a consideration for individuals who are limiting their sodium intake. The higher sodium content may be attributed to the prepacked spices and canned goods. My recommendation would be to avoid adding extra salt to the meals.
Each portion size was excellent, leaving me feeling very satisfied. In terms of the macronutrient profile, these meals are nutritionally balanced and get the tick of approval from me!
Final Thoughts
EveryPlate is very easy to use, cost-effective and time efficient. The meals are nutritionally balanced and most importantly, tasty! I would absolutely recommend this service to anyone looking for a budget-friendly meal kit. Get up to $150 off your first five boxes here.
References
- Trading Economics, (2022). Australia Food Inflation. Retrieved from https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/food-inflation
Nutrient Reference Values, (2017). Sodium. Retrieved from https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/sodium
EveryPlate Meal Kit
Summary
EveryPlate is very easy to use, making meal prepping and planning cost-effective and time efficient. The meals are nutritionally balanced and most importantly taste delicious!
EveryPlate FAQs
EveryPlate delivers a lower price meal-kit by cutting the frills. They include fuss-free recipes that only have four simple steps and use less ingredients in each meal. The meals are made with fresh veggies and quality produce – just without the fancy extras. Get up to $150 off your first five boxes here.
EveryPlate is a subscription meal-kit service in Australia. When you sign up you expect a weekly delivery of fresh, quality ingredients and simple recipes. They offer a flexible subscription – skip or cancel at any time.
Yes, it is.
EveryPlate saves you time and money. EveryPlate meal kits are cheaper than the supermarket! Get up to $150 off your first five boxes here.
