As an entrepreneur my mind is always racing – I’m thinking about that next big pitch, quarterly updates to our shareholders, what our competitors are doing, etc. Not a minute goes by where I’m not inundated with memories the past, or worried about things to come.
A favorite reprieve from the stresses of the day is when I’m preparing a meal. For that time alone in the kitchen I’m only thinking about what I’m about to cook, the vegetables that need to be cut, pre-heating the oven, watching my water rise to a boil, or the sounds of my blender in the background.
But this isn’t stressful at all.
In fact, the scents and sounds that surround me ease me into a zen-like state.
There are a lot of great articles out there as to why cooking can be a great stress release, but for some people the idea of planning a meal (let along following a recipe, or measuring out the right ingredients) can seem a little daunting.
Enter the age of meal kit delivery services. The rise of Blue Apron may mean we’re walking into our apartment buildings and seeing more and more of these decorative boxes. But what are meal kit delivery services? And who are some of those food startups disrupting our cooking at home?
Working with local farmers to deliver what’s fresh
HelloFresh launched their delivery meal-kits in 2012 in the United States. Their CEO, Seth Goldman was always passionate about food. After receiving his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, he started to pursue his passion of ecommerce and disruptive models. The rise of food tech and was at the core of his passion for food and entrepreneurship.
HelloFresh’s methodology is simple. Cook real food at home with loved ones – bringing freshness into your local routine. You select from that week’s recipes, and receive pre-portioned ingredients and the instructions right to your door. They work with local farmers to integrate what’s in season into HelloFresh’s meal plans. They do this by working with vetted partners, farmers and purveyors closest to one of their three distribution areas – Linden, NJ; San Francisco, CA, and Dallas, TX. They deliver nation-wide except Hawaii and Alaska.
But recipe kit deliveries aren’t all about dinners. Along with the growing trend on healthier eating, the juicing age is still going strong in 2015. Juicing is a great way to provide our bodies with the nutrients and minerals needed to keep us healthy when you don’t have time to eat healthily.
Will it blend?
But if you’re anything like me, you’ve taken a handful of kale, added some fruits, and come out with a not-so-delicious concoction. This is why the next best solution is a smoothie recipe kit delivery service.
Jenna Tanenbaum and Amir Cohen decided to start GreenBlender after Jenna’s active and healthy lifestyle started to rub off on Amir. What started as Jenna passing along her unique and delicious smoothie leftovers every morning to Amir, slowly morphed into him requesting full-size smoothies for himself. His “ah ha” moment was when he realized that if they had all the ingredients right there in their kitchen, juicing and being healthier came easily for them….and others.
GreenBlender is a recipe kit for blended seasonal smoothies. Similar to dinner meal services, you receive the recipes and pre-portioned ingredients at your door. They source from a number of farms and purveyors – with a focus on local farms, seasonal ingredients, and organic produce first. They’ve worked with the Brooklyn Grange, Hepworth Farms, Lancaster Farm Fresh Coop, and Foxy Organics to name a few. GreenBlender currently delivers to the Northeast – shipping to most parts of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, and Washington DC.
And depending on how often you’re home, HelloFresh, GreenBlender, and others allow you start and stop your deliveries at any time.
Eating healthier at home just got a whole lot easier!