An honest review of the 80Fresh meal delivery service, how it compares to Blue Apron, and which is better for your lifestyle. There is a 80Fresh promo code for 20% off your first order at the bottom of the post, so don’t miss that!

Meal delivery services like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh and Plated have been around for a while, but I was recently introduced to a different kind of meal delivery service called 80Fresh. To be honest, I didn’t have a great experience with Blue Apron so I was a bit hesitant when 80Fresh reached out and offered to let me try a few meals. But after my first experience, I quickly realized that 80Fresh is very different than Blue Apron (which is the only other meal delivery service I had tried previously), and for what I’m looking for, 80Fresh is a much better fit.

So, what is 80Fresh?

 

80Fresh is a meal-delivery service with meals that are more health-focused and easier to prep at home. All the meals take 20 minutes or less to prepare and don’t require a lot of prep or attention. You get to choose what meals you order from a menu that changes each week. You can learn more about their service here. The menu rotates each week, but some recipes are regularly in rotation. This way you can try new meals without getting bored, but you can get your favorites again too.

How is 80Fresh different than Blue Apron?

 

Blue Apron sends you all the ingredients and you have to chop, dice, sauté, etc. to prepare the meal. Most of the Blue Apron meals I’ve made have taken 40 minutes to an hour. 80Fresh comes to you with almost all of the prep work complete. Veggies are chopped. Sauces are made. Meat is seasoned. You just have to assemble and do a little cooking. And they are ready in 20 minutes or less.

Why I didn’t like Blue Apron:

• If I want to spend more time cooking, I want to choose my recipes. I have so many other recipes I want to try if I’m spending serious time in the kitchen!
• Blue Apron wasn’t a good fit for me with my dietary restrictions.

Why I like 80Fresh:

• I can order gluten-free meals. Blue Apron doesn’t have that option, so I often had to sub in my own ingredients and it felt like a waste of money.
• It’s fast. While I LOVE cooking, I rarely have time to spend more than 30 minutes on a meal unless it’s the weekend.
• It’s healthy. The meals didn’t leave me feeling icky or heavy.

Who is 80Fresh good for?

• Someone with dietary restrictions. They label and organize meals by the type of diet they support, including gluten-free, high fiber, high protein, low calorie, low carb, low fat, paleo and vegetarian
• Someone trying to be healthier. Their meals are developed with a chef and nutrition to create well-balanced, healthy meals.
• Someone who doesn’t have the time or desire to prep a meal. There isn’t much hands on time since you don’t have to chop veggies (which is surprisingly time consuming) or make any sauces, seasonings, etc. It’s mostly reheating items (like pre-made risotto).
• Someone who is at home for lunch. I think 80Fresh meals are awesome options for lunch since they come together so quickly. I live close enough to the office that I can often run home to eat (which is healthier and cheaper) than dining out.

Who is 80 Fresh NOT good for?

• If you want to learn to cook or really enjoy the cooking process, 80Fresh isn’t for you.
• If you want fancy, gourmet food, 80Fresh isn’t for you. Don’t get me wrong – the food is really good — but it’s not fancy.
• If you want leftovers. I often had leftovers with Blue Apron, but 80Fresh is definitely single serving unless you eat like a bird. I do not.

A few notes about my experience:

• Tommy tried the 80Fresh meals and he felt they were a bit too small for dinner, but he agreed that they’d be great for lunch. I thought the portion sizes were fine for dinner, but I’m also a much smaller person than Tommy. So, if you want these for dinner and have a larger appetite, order 2 servings per person. They are also looking to add larger portion sizes as an ordering option too!
• I tried the maple glazed salmon with pumpkin spice goat cheese risotto and the coconut curry shrimp. I would order both again!
  • The salmon meal was AMAZING. Everything about it. I pan-seared the salmon instead of baking it because my oven takes FOREVER to heat up, and then I drizzled the maple glaze on top and popped it under the broiler for a minute. And I wanted to lick the container clean that the pumpkin goat cheese risotto came in. DEFINITELY put this one at the top of your to-try list!

• The coconut curry shrimp had amazing flavor, but I wanted a little more texture, so I sautéed some extra veggies to go along with the peppers (eggplant, onion and zucchini).

If you want to try out 80Fresh, use promo code FOODIE for 20% off your first order!

This post was sponsored by 80Fresh, but per usual, all opinions are 100% my own and I shared my honest feedback. Thanks for supporting the brands that help me keep this blog going!