Food services for picky people

Header photo of salmon dish
Salmon and rice with edamame and crispy noodles by Tovala

Here are prepared food and food delivery services I’ve tried and recommend!

Important notes:

  • I believe these are not available outside the U.S., and even within the U.S. may not be available everywhere.
  • I think my referral links will usually get you the best deal, but definitely compare against, say, a Google Search.
  • And speaking of referral links: I get ‘store credit’ when you sign up with my link for some of the places below 🙂
  • I’m doing my best to keep this page updated, but promos may change frequently, so always doublecheck that you’re getting the promo you think you’re getting!

My favorites!

🍲 CookUnity$40 off your first order
Prepared, gourmet meals you just pop in the regular oven or toaster oven (including, yes, the Tovala oven!). Literally 30 second prep, then 10-20 minutes in the oven, done!
Here’s a sampling of meals offered in just one week! Gluten-free lamb meatballs. Braised pork. Chicken parmesan. Catfish. And plenty of veg options!

  • Super-tasty and incredibly convenient.
  • On top of that, every meal comes with very clear nutrition & ingredient info; I was impressed! 🙂

🍳 HomeChef$35 off your first order
Good-to-great taste & variety…. featuring often-Tovala-friendly meals with your choice of low/no prep, “15-minute prep”, or more elaborate actually-cooking options.
Here’s a sampling of meals offered in just one week! Steak tacos, BBQ chicken. Marinara turkey. Ahi tuna. Shrimp. Tiramisu. And tons more!

  • Lots of very tasty comfort food (including veg, fish, meat!), but also high-end offerings like shrimp, even filet mignon! 😮
  • Ingredients, nutrition info, and prep info are very clearly shown for every meal on their site.
  • Very flexible delivery options… both in terms of meals, and also being able to easily pause your subscription will still requesting one-off deliveries. Great for someone who just wants occasional deliveries with no hassles!

☀️ SunbasketUp to $90 off your first few orders (in total)

  • Very large selection of tasty veg and non-veg items!
  • Also a mini-grocery store where you can optionally add cheeses, fish, meats, yogurts, desserts, and more to your entrees.
  • For the ready-to-heat meals, you can microwave or bake right in the compostable trays! (and the paper cartons are recyclable)

🍱 Bentocart: $15 off your first order [SF Bay Area only]
Pick and choose individual items from an awesome set of curated restaurants! Delivered refrigerated, with super-easy pop-in-microwave prep!

  • Get a naan from here, an onigiri from there, mix and match heaven!
  • I learned firsthand that they charge restaurants substantially less than other restaurant delivery services, which makes me even happier to support them 🙂

🧑‍🍳 Shef$20 off your first order
Home-cooked meals, delivered!

  • Wonderfully diverse choices! Cuisines from Egypt, Mexico, China, and more!
  • Very authentic flavors, spices, ingredients 🙂

🍕 Slice
A more humane sort of pizza delivery!

  • They don’t charge restaurants an arm and a leg!
  • They do have occasional modest specials for eaters 🙂

🥟 Wee$20 off $35 on your first order
A hugely stocked Asian grocery store that delivers fresh and prepared foods!

  • Dimsum! Veggies! Every kind of seafood! Even frozen boba (just pop in microwave, add milk!)


Other ones that are also useful

🍔 Club Feast: $20 off your first order; use code Adam13 at signup BAY AREA ONLY
Restaurant-made prepared meals. Very handy in that you can order day-before at prices that generally beat UberEats and the like.

  • Mexican, Chinese, Mediterranean… so many kinds of delicious dishes!

🥘 Tovala: $200 off the combo of their hybrid oven + 6wk meal plan
Scan a card, stick tray’d food in oven, it actually comes out tasty!

🚪 Doordash: $30 credit! ($10 off your first 3 orders)
Restaurant food, delivered.

🥡 Grubhub: $10 off your first order
Yet more restaurant food, delivered. Frequent specials.

🍔 UberEats: $20 off $25 with your first order (use code XX95)
What do you know… even more restaurant food, delivered. Gotta take advantage of all the promos 😀

🛒 Instacart: $10 off your first order
Groceries delivered, including from Costco & Walmart. And alcohol, too! 🙂


And zomg don’t bother! 😮

🤮 Freshly: Tastes worse than even discount off-brand frozen dinners, and yes, that’s a pretty impressive feat. I’m not even gonna link to them :o.

What do you think?

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