SAN ANTONIO – It's dinner delivered at your doorstep.
A growing number of companies deliver meal kits to your home. They advertise freshness, tasty dinners and convenience.
So how well do they deliver? Consumer Reports checked out a few, including Blue Apron, HelloFresh and Plated, all of which deliver in Texas.
With a meal kit, a pre-packed chilled box arrives at your door with every ingredient you need, except for staples like salt and pepper.
Online, you can pick your meals or sometimes just have the company pick for you.
They are convenient, but what about freshness, nutrition and cost?
Testers said the ingredients typically arrived fresh and unblemished.
"We prepared and tasted a week's worth of dinners from each service and found that 24 of 27 meals were very good to excellent," Consumer Reports dietitian Amy Keating said.
HelloFresh was the standout with dishes like blackened tilapia with blistered vegetables. Of all the meals tested, HelloFresh averaged the lowest in fat, calories and sodium.
They found Plated meals were the tastiest, but said nutrition left a little to be desired. They said Blue Apron was tasty with more ethnic dishes, but was just not as impressive. Blue Apron costs the least, as well.
Overall, costs ranged from about $10 to $12 a portion, roughly twice what you pay if you shopped yourself .
However, the majority of meal kit users surveyed said the dinners are a great value.
"Americans throw away 28 percent of the produce they buy. Meal kits come with exactly what you need for the recipe, so there's no waste," Keating said.
The kits also save people time on meal planning and shopping. They take about 30 to 45 minutes to prepare, so you do spend some time in the kitchen as chef.