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Low carb diets limit the number of carbohydrates a person eats. Low carb meal delivery services are a convenient option for people following a diet low in carbs.
These services design each dish so that it contains low numbers of carbohydrates, or carbs, to help a person achieve their health and weight loss goals.
Some low carb diets replace carbs with healthy fats, whereas others simply reduce the number of carbs or remove them altogether.
This article explains the health benefits and risks of a low carb diet and lists several of the low carb meal delivery options currently available.
A person looking for a low carb meal delivery service may wish to consider the following factors when making their decision.
Fresh ingredients appropriate for a low carb diet are an important part of a low carb meal delivery service.
People who are trying to follow a low carb diet consistently will need to ensure that every dish on the menu they choose is low in carbohydrate.
The dishes should also contain a good amount of fruit and vegetables and low amounts of additives and preservatives so that they contribute to a nutritious, well-balanced diet.
Following a restrictive diet, such as a low carb diet, can be challenging, so many people may want a meal delivery service that offers a wide range of varied meals to make the diet feel fulfilling.
Another challenge for people on a specific diet can be finding the time to make dishes that meet their particular dietary requirements.
Meal delivery services ensure that a person always has a low carb meal option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They also keep preparation and cooking times down, which makes it easier for a person to stick to a low carb diet.
Alternative diets can be expensive to follow, and meal delivery services may vary in their weekly cost.
Being aware of the cost per meal and any additional shipping costs will help a person confirm that a meal delivery service is suitable for their budget.
As an individual’s financial or personal situation could change at any time, it is important to check whether there is an option to skip weeks or cancel a plan at no additional cost.
The following companies will deliver low carb meals to a person’s door.
We explore each of the meal delivery service below, including the costs and menu options.
Please note that the writer of this article has not tried these products. All information is research-based.
Home Chef delivers meal kits with preportioned ingredients and recipe cards to make cooking each meal easy.
One benefit of the Home Chef meal delivery service is that it provides the option to customize certain dishes to upgrade, swap, or double up on proteins.
Home Chef meals start at $6.99 per meal, with variable shipping costs dependent on the meal plan.
The company says it delivers to 98% of the U.S.
A person can cancel their subscription at any time, and they can skip or postpone weekly meals for as long as necessary.
Home Chef low carb meals include:
Diet-to-Go offers four different meal delivery plans: Balance, Balance-Diabetes, Keto-Carb30, and Vegetarian.
The Keto-Carb30 option restricts carbs to 30 net carbs per day, which means that it is suitable for people following a ketogenic diet. A drawback of this option is that the company does not recommend adding fruit, bread, sugar, or carbohydrates to the diet if weight loss is the goal.
Diet-to-Go works with a 5-week meal rotation, with a range of different meals available each week.
Example meals from the Keto-Carb30 plan include:
The company can make deliveries to the contiguous United States, and a person can skip or pause a delivery in advance as long as they do so before the cut-off date in their account settings.
A 7-day plan includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sides for a week and costs $204.59, or $9.47 per meal. However, there is a shipping fee of approximately $20 on top of the cost of the meals, which increases the cost per week.
Therefore, Diet-to-Go may not be suitable for people looking for a budget low carb meal delivery option.
Balance by BistroMD offers specialty diet meal delivery services, including options for low carb diets.
Balance neither requires a membership nor offers a rolling, weekly delivery service. Instead, it gives people complete freedom and the choice to order as and when they need a delivery service.
The dishes range from $5.49 to $19.99 each.
The service does not require a minimum spend for delivery, which makes it a very flexible and affordable option. The company can ship meals to anywhere in the continental United States.
Example dishes include:
Purple Carrot offers vegan low carb meals. Customers can pick different meals every week and also choose snacks for between meals.
A benefit of the Purple Carrot service is that every meal is plant-based, which means that each dish is suitable for people following a vegan diet. A drawback of the service is that the low carb dinner options are limited.
Low carb dishes include:
A person can also choose from a wide range of snacks, such as:
The company’s plans include three to four dinners per week, with the option of two or four servings per meal.
It costs $71.94 per week to get three dinners with two servings each. Four dinners with four servings cost $119.88 per week.
There is also the option to add breakfast, lunch, and snacks to the delivery and to skip deliveries if necessary. The company delivers meals to the contiguous U.S. states only.
The Fresh n’ Lean vegan low carb plan offers standard vegan lunches with low carb dinners.
Fresh n’ Lean offers nutritionally balanced, portion-controlled, and dietitian-approved meals on a weekly rotation. However, not every meal in the vegan plan is low in carbs.
A plan including breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 7 days costs $202.23 per week, with each meal costing $9.63.
Customers have the option to scale down which meals they want, making it easy to arrange any combination of breakfast, lunch, and dinner and reduce the cost per week.
Some meal options include:
Customers receive a weekly bill for subscriptions, and they must cancel or pause the subscription before the Saturday of the next delivery if they want to stop receiving the meals. The company delivers meals to anywhere in the U.S.
Freshly offers ready-prepared meals, so a person can cook them in about 3 minutes in the microwave.
The plans include:
The low carb options include dishes such as:
A person can set their dietary preferences and change which meals they receive each week, as well as skip weeks when they desire. Anyone in the 48 continental states can receive the meals.
The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get 45–65% of their daily calories from carbohydrates. That means that a person who consumes 1,800 calories per day would get half of these calories from carbs.
In contrast, a low carb diet may permit only a much smaller proportion of calories from carbs per day, possibly requiring a person to exclude large groups of foods. This restriction can make following a low carb diet difficult to sustain in the long term.
The benefits of a low carb diet may include improved control over blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes,
However, a low carb diet may not be suitable for people with kidney disease.
Another factor to consider is that if a person follows a low carb diet, it is still possible for them to eat nonnutritious, processed foods.
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Some low carb diets may also include red meat. Research has produced mixed results on the health benefits and risks of eating red meat. However,
Some people may not wish to include red meat in their diet due to personal preferences, health reasons, or the advice of their doctor.
A person may also experience side effects when they first begin the diet. These can include:
Scientists have not extensively studied the long-term effects of a low carb diet. They need to do more research into the effects of a low carb diet on humans to understand the potential risks and benefits.
Alternatives to a low carb diet include a low fat diet. Research has shown that this more traditional type of diet has
Studies have also found that the Mediterranean diet is as
Although low carb diets can be hard to follow, low carb meal delivery services can make it easier for a person to stick to their diet so that they can achieve their health or weight loss goals.
People can choose from a wide range of delivery services that offer interesting, nutritious, and easy-to-prepare meals. These services may help make following a low carb diet both enjoyable and achievable.
Last medically reviewed on July 22, 2021
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