Mealogic vs. Groceries: How Prepared Meals Compare
As the cost of everything continues to rise, Americans are becoming even more price conscious when purchasing the essentials. The average American household spends over $1,000 each month on groceries alone, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, with that number growing to over $1,300 in households that have kids. While ordering prepared meals online may seem like a hefty price tag, we broke down the cost and time of one of our meals compared to ordering the equivalent on Doordash or cooking the meal yourself.
We looked at one of our fan favorites - Lemon Dill Chicken with Garlic Spinach and Cauliflower Mash from Evermade Foods. This consists of chicken seasoned with garlic and allspice, served with curried mashed cauliflower, sauteed spinach, and a tangy lemon dill sauce. Pre-portioned and ready to eat in 3 minutes, this comes to $15.49.
So, what if I wanted to make this meal from home? Assuming someone has all the spices, condiments, and cooking oils at home, the ingredients that would need to be purchased are: antibiotic-free chicken breast, cauliflower, coconut milk, spinach, lemon, lime. The total for this from a Stop and Shop in Brooklyn is $24.76. This would make approximately 3 portions, so we’ll say $8.25 per serving.
After this comes the cooking. With prep, cooking, and cleaning taken into account, you’re probably spending 45-60 minutes of your day preparing this meal. The average professional cook in the US makes around $20/hour, so for 3 servings it would come to $6.67 per serving. (Of course, people value their time differently, but the point is you should consider some 'cost' for the time spent in the kitchen.) All together, we put the price tag for one serving of this homemade chicken dish at around $14.92.
Next up, let’s look at Doordash as a way to preserve our precious time. While obviously I can’t get the exact dish on Doordash, I opted for Dig Inn, allowing myself to choose a protein and two sides. I chose the herb roasted chicken, charred broccoli with lemon, and cheesy cauliflower, with a garlic aioli to match the lemon dill sauce in the Mealogic version. This totaled to $16.37 - for just the food. Let’s not forget, in this case we also have no idea about the sourcing standards, ingredient breakdown, and nutritional information of what we’re consuming, and it still takes 30-45 minutes to show up at our door.
So we have our three options:
Mealogic’ Lemon Dill Chicken
Antibiotic-free chicken
Pre-portioned
Ready in 3 minutes
$15.49
Home-cooked Lemon Dill Chicken
$25 and 30 minutes spent shopping
45-60 minutes of cooking and cleaning
Portioning required
Extra ingredients (spices, oils) required
$14.92
DoorDash Chicken and Sides
Unknown sourcing and ingredients
Fees and tips on top of meal price
Still 30-45 minutes of wait time
$16.37
When taking your valuable time into account, Mealogic is the clear cost winner, and we think it's the most delicious option, too! Check out this meal and more on our menu.
