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LifeChef Review 2023

LifeChef delivers pre-made, health-conscious meals directly to customers’ doors. Our favorite aspect of LifeChef is menu customization. In addition to tailored-made menu recommendations by LifeChef nutritionists, LifeChef customers can mix and match proteins, sides, and extras of each meal to make every entree unique. Based in the East Coast, LifeChef is available in seven select U.S. states as well as Washington, D.C.

If you care about convenience and customizability, LifeChef is the meal delivery kit for you.

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Highlights

  • 100% pre-made meals, ready to heat and eat in 2 minutes
  • Mix and match meal components to create 100+ unique meals
  • All ingredients are non-GMO and preservative-free
  • Multiple diet options: keto, vegan, gluten-free, and many more

Where is LifeChef Available?

LifeChef available is in the following U.S. states and territories:

  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Washington D.C.

About LifeChef

LifeChef’s philosophy is simple: everyone deserves delicious, convenient, health-focused meals delivered right to their door. By uniting chefs, nutritionists, and doctors, the LifeChef team developed a rotating menu that is based on the tastes people are looking for.

No matter your diet preferences and ingredient restrictions, LifeChef offers restaurant-quality, fully-customizable meals delivered right to your door.

How LifeChef Works

New customers start by selecting the number of ready-to-eat meals they’d like for their upcoming shipment. You can choose between four and eighteen meals to receive per shipment.

After selecting the number of meals, new customers take a short, dietitian-designed nutrition questionnaire. You’ll be asked to describe the kinds of foods you like and don’t like, mark down any diets you follow, and list any dietary restrictions you may have.

LifeChef nutritionists and chefs then use your responses to build a customized menu for your first delivery. As you build out your order, you have the option to ignore these recommendations and select any meals that you like.

Although all meal delivery companies allow you to customize your shipment based on your dietary needs and preferences, LifeChef takes it a step further by designing their meals around a “component” system. Components are the proteins, sides, and extras that form your meals.

LifeChef encourages customers to swap these components to build unique meals. If you order the beef stroganoff, roasted carrots, and spaghetti squash meal, you can swap any of these core components to a different option; maybe you’d prefer to swap beef for salmon, or squash for broccoli. The choice is always up to you!

After confirming your meal choices, you simply add your shipping information and pay.

Pricing

Meal prices vary by the menu item. On average, a six-meal delivery will cost about $75 before shipping. Shipping costs an additional $8.99 on average.

For each new weekly shipment, customers can add or subtract the total number of meals they’d like delivered, can customize their meal selections, and can skip ordering for the week altogether.

Packaging

LifeChef deliveries arrive directly to your door chilled and insulated, meaning the meals inside will stay fresh for a few hours after arriving. Meals should be transferred to the refrigerator on the day of delivery.

LifeChef meals last up to seven days in the refrigerator.

Final Thoughts

We recommend LifeChef meals to anyone looking for a convenient, customizable solution to meal times. LifeChef’s component customization makes every meal uniquely delicious. Plus, LifeChef’s pre-made model is hard to beat: to make dinner, all you have to do is microwave your meal for two minutes and you’re ready to chow.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

There are a lot of great new meal delivery options available in the market, with each meal service putting their unique twist on an otherwise tried and true model. If you are looking to maximize convenience, you should consider prepared meal plans such as Freshly or Fresh and Easy, with meals ready to eat in just 3 minutes. If you enjoy cooking but are tired of food waste and grocery shopping, you should consider meal kits such as Home Chef or Hello Fresh, where you can cook recipes from carefully packed, fresh ingredients within 30 minutes. Most services are accommodating, but meal delivery services aren't made equal when it comes to dietary restrictions. Sun Basket, Purple Carrot and Green Chef stand out with the widest range of keto, vegan, and organic options. Every meal from Freshly is 100% certified gluten-free. Other factors you will want to consider include cost per serving, delivery fees, cancellation policy, and menu size and flexibility.
There is a tremendous amount of customization you can make to the meal plans available in the market, which creates an almost endless number of options to choose from. The first decision you will need to make is whether you prefer a meal kit plan, where you cook with fresh ingredients, or a prepared meal plan, where your meal prep starts with a partially or fully cooked meal. The next factor you will want to consider is the diet type, with common options including meat, seafood, vegetarian, keto, gluten-free, and more. After you have chosen your meal plan and diet, your plan will be customized based on the number of mouths to feed, the number of meals you want per week, shipping dates, and more.
Prepared meals come in pre-packaged, individual servings that can be popped into the oven or microwave for a quick meal. Meal kits come with pre-measured ingredients and recipe instructions that are simple to follow. In both cases, your meals will be shipped in a well packaged box with an ice pack to keep ingredients fresh until they make it into your fridge.
Meal kits will provide you with pre-measured ingredients that you can quickly cook into a fresh meal. Ingredients will come in individually packaged bags or containers and a recipe card with detailed cooking instructions. Most meal kit recipes can be cooked from start to finish in 30 minutes. On the other hand, prepared meal delivery services will have done some, or all, of the prep work for you to make your cooking as efficient as possible. Some prepared meals can be cooked in the microwave and some will require a few minutes in the oven or stove. In any case, prepared meals are generally ready to eat in less than 5 minutes. Whether you choose a meal kit or a prepared meal, you can expect chef-inspired dishes made with fresh ingredients.