Cooking from the Heart

This Boston-area meal delivery service has been in business since 1989 and has tons of happy families on its list. You can order for the whole month or weekly by submitting your orders by Friday at 5 p.m. for the following week. Check out their weekly menus to see what's on deck and place your order. Family favorites include lasagne florentine, deluxe mac n' cheese and green chile burritos. 

Cost: Meals average $9/serving.

Online: cookingfth.com

Yumble

This meal delivery service is focused on kids. Carefully sourced fruits and veggies, and perfectly balanced—lunches, dinners and snacks from Yumble are nutritionist approved and kid approved, too! Choose your kids meals for the week and they'll be delivered free to your doorstep. The Bowl of Yays Pasta with veggie marinara and the Mighty Meatballs and Veggie Chili are crowd pleasers for sure. Each box comes with new activities for kids, making mealtime a breeze for you and a joy for them.

Cost: $5.99/meal and up

Online: yumblekids.com

Sun Basket

Sun Basket provides meal kit customers with organic produce and clean ingredients with paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian and family menu selections. Consumers can also upgrade to premium meats like grass-fed filet and jumbo shrimp. Broaden your culinary horizons with family-friendly meals like chicken tagine and Taiwanese noodle soup. You can even select "super speedy" meals which can go from box to table in less than 15 minutes or "one pot" meals which keep the dishes to a minimum. Hooray! 

Parents will love how Sun Basket encourages kids to participate in the cooking process (which has been shown to create more adventurous eaters). Each recipe includes a "Kids Can" section with suggestions of how kids can contribute to the meal prep by juicing a lemon, timing the orzo or strip the mint leaves. 

Another great option for healthy eating: Sun Basket launched their Lean & Clean menu with high-in-fiber-and-protein recipes around 550 calories. The meal kit includes kid-friendly games and instructions—an interactive way to get parents and kids cooking dinner together.

Cost: $10.99 per serving

Online: Sunbasket.com

Farmbox

Farmbox offers various size boxes packed with seasonal, farm-fresh fresh fruits and vegetables to your door. You select the shipment size and customize your box, and check your doorstep for easy monthly deliveries.

Cost: starts at $43.95/box

Online: farmbox.com

Gobble

Say goodbye to grocery shopping, meal planning and prep, and all that cleanup! Gobble shops, chops and delivers gourmet three-step recipes for one-pan cooking with zero prep required. How about picky eaters? Try Pan-Seared Sirloin Steak with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes & Béarnaise Sauce or Crispy Chicken Sandwich & Napa Cabbage Slaw with Caraway Vinaigrette. What have you got to lose when it's just a one-pan cleanup?

Cost: Prices start at $11.99/dinner and $5.99/lunch

Online: gobble.com

Blue Apron

Blue Apron has been part of the meal delivery game for a long time and their expertise shows. Choose among two-serving, four-serving and vegetarian menus to pick the options that are right for you. We love that the meals typically take 40 minutes or less and include kid-friendly ingredients like baked chicken and pasta while exposing kids to different flavors like curry and chile-lime. With super easy-to-follow recipes, you can definitely get the kids involved in the cooking process. 

Cost: Meals cost $8.99-9.99/serving with free shipping

Online: blueapron.com

Dinnerly

If your goal is to get a wholesome, easy meal on the table for your family, then Dinnerly is the meal delivery option for you. Each week Dinnerly customers choose from over a dozen options which change each week. The choices are totally kid-friendly with options like sweet and sour Swedish meatballs, turkey burgers and enchiladas. Each meal has only five prep steps and takes less than 30 minutes to get on the table, perfect for rushed weeknight dinners. Not interested in getting your box this week? No problem! You can skip any time. 

Seasonal ingredients, grass-fed ground beef and antibiotic-free chicken are all a part of the Dinnerly meal box. Efforts are made to reduce packaging waste and customers receive their recipe cards via email instead of receiving printed cards in their box. At only $4.49 per serving, Dinnerly makes easy weeknight dining a snap.

Cost: Two-person box containing three meals is $29.94, plus $8.99 shipping. A family box containing three meals that will feed four adults is $59.88, plus $8.99 shipping.

Online: dinnerly.com

Takeout Kit

If you are looking to add some world flavors to your cooking repertoire, look no further than Takeout Kits. These kits offer globally-inspired flavors and brings them to your door in some totally adorable packaging. Ever wondered what went into your favorite pad thai, Japanese Tonkatsu Ramen or Indian butter chicken? Get to know some new, exotic ingredients and learn how to cook these delicious meals for your family. 

The kits contain non-perishable ingredients that can wait in your pantry to be cooked for up to two months (pro tip: bring a kit along on your next camping trip!). This makes such a huge difference for busy lifestyles to always have a tasty meal ready to cook when you come back from vacation or can't make it to the grocery store. Some examples of the Takeout Kit proteins include: dry cured Spanish chorizo, canned premium Japanese snow crab, 100% natural pouched chicken and many vegetarian proteins like lentils, teff flour, freekeh and tetra-packed tofu. If you'd like to add your own protein, select the "add your own protein" option. 

This local, Bay Area company ships all over the U.S. so order a meal to ship to your far away family. Better yet, opt for one of the sampler kits to try a few at a discount and add on a drink kit to pair with your meal. 

Cost: Kits range from $29.99-34.99 and serve four adults. No subscription is required. 

Online: takeoutkit.com

Marley Spoon

This cook-at-home food delivery service partnered with Martha Stewart to help harried families discover their inner Martha. The partnership gives Marley Spoon access to Martha's archive of over 18,000 tried-and-true recipes to feature in their meal kits. They promise quality purveyors offering grass-fed beef, Berkshire pork, American-caught shrimp and artisanal cheeses. The menu features 22 choices every week and the website tags meals as family-friendly, under-30 minutes, gluten-free and other categories.

Favorites include: chicken fajita bowl, bacon-wrapped skillet meatloaf and lemon-brown butter salmon. The website provides big, colorful step-by-step photos for careless cooks and kids who want to help. Also, the blog offers great tips and ideas, like what to do with lentils, immune-boosting foods and Martha’s easy Oscar party snacks. The family kit feeds four adults, so will easily feed two adults and two kids.

Cost: Families can choose two meals a week ($76), three meals a week ($106.80) or four meals a week ($131.20). Delivery is free.

Online: marleyspoon.com

Freshly

This one’s a subscription-based food company providing fully-prepared meals that can be microwaved and ready to eat in only three minutes. Freshly features high protein, low carb, vegetarian, gluten free and paleo options. The flexible plan lets you order 4, 6, 9 or 12 meals per week so you can tailor it for which family members will be expected at the dinner table. This winter, some of the customer favorites include steak peppercorn, sausage baked penne, chicken teriyaki and Sicilian-style chicken parm. 

Cost: From $8.99 to $12.50 per serving depending on the number of meals you choose each week.

Online: Freshly.com

HelloFresh

With a newly-expanded menu and new Family Plan, HelloFresh is better than ever these days. Their goal is to bring the fun of cooking back into people’s lives by doing all the planning, portioning and shopping for in-season, sustainably-sourced, healthy and flavorful ingredients. HelloFresh prides itself on its delicious recipes with quick cook times; all your chopping, zesting and sautéeing will take less than 30 minutes. Meal plans available are meat and vegetables, vegetables, family-friendly and low calorie. 

With the debut of HelloFresh Wine and their online marketplace that sells curated kitchenware, their portal is a one-stop shop for even more of your shopping needs (or wants). 

Cost: Meals $8.99/serving. Delivery is free for all orders.

Online: hellofresh.com

Veestro

How about 100% plant-based, organic, non-GMO, chef-prepared entrees, soups, and juices that just show up at your front door whenever you want them to? Then look no further than this healthy bunch (bonus: they deliver nationally, too).

There are no, zero, zilch animal products of any kind, here, ever! Chick'n Nuggets with chipotle dipping sauce complete with veganaise will do the trick every time for your kiddos and no one will miss the meat. Veestro food is available a la carte, in full-on Meal Packs, and they also carry a surprisingly delicious weight loss menu plan. As with most vegetarian cuisine: most meals have nuts in them so be careful with a nut allergy, but all meals are completely dairy-free and don't contain other allergens.

If gluten is your family offender, they carry a special pack called The Gluten-Free Feast which comes swiftly to your home via a chilled FedEx box and includes an assortment of gluten-free breakfasts, lunches, dinners and two desserts: gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and "cheezcake"!

Cost: $35 minimum food order, packages start at $99; free shipping for orders totaling $199

Online: veestro.com

Instacart

If you can score a delivery slot and you don't mind the added fees, Instacart is the next best thing to going to the grocery store yourself. It sends a personal shopper to gather your groceries at stores including Whole Foods, Costco and Smart & Final. The good news is that Instacart is available all over the country; the bad news is that it's also one of the most popular grocery delivery services—which means getting a shopper to do your bidding takes patience. While you may place your order today, the next available delivery slot may not be until a few days from now (if any slots are available at all). Our tip? Try placing your order late at night; it seems to up your chances.

Cost: $7.99 for one-hour delivery slots/$5.99 for two-hour delivery slots. Tip strongly encouraged. 

Online: instacart.com