I have always wanted to stop eating meat, but there were two big reasons why I didn't try it until recently: I'm kind of picky and I can't cook. I figured without cooking my own meals, I wouldn't be able to get enough variety and nutrients by eating only vegetarian food. But that's when I learned about ready-made meal services.
I always assumed that all meal services were like HelloFresh, where you receive everything you need to make the food, but it still involves some cooking. So, when I found out that there were some services that allowed me to just put ready-made meals in the oven or microwave, I was excited. I figured it could be a good way for me to try a variety of vegetarian meals without having to cook.
Of course, there are some ready-made meal services that only have vegetarian or vegan foods, such as Purple Carrot and Mosaic Foods. But those services are newer and don't have a ton of reviews yet, so I wasn't sure what to expect with them. Thus, I chose to try some of the vegetarian selections from the biggest ready-made meal services instead.
When I was researching ready-made meal services for vegetarians, I didn't see a lot of articles about the topic, so that's why I decided to write one myself. (Spoiler alert: I love CookUnity more, so that's why I only have images of CookUnity's packaging and not Factor's)
Factor and CookUnity
I have tried a few weeks of both Factor and CookUnity. They both operate the same while still being very different. I started with Factor because I got a discount code from a Smosh video, but after reading some Reddit posts about ready-made meal services, I found that most people preferred CookUnity over Factor, which is why I decided to try it instead.
Both companies offer a menu of pre-made meals every week, allowing you to choose which ones you want to order. You can choose your meal preferences. For example, I put that I only wanted vegetarian meals. You can choose how many meals you want per week, but the price per meal is cheaper the more meals you get. You can also skip weeks if you'd like.
These companies ship the meals right to your door on a designated date. Then, all you have to do is heat them up and enjoy.
Based on that information alone, Factor and CookUnity probably sound like the same thing. But I'll go into more detail to explain the differences and why I ended up switching from Factor to CookUnity.
Comparing CookUnity and Factor
Below are a few categories I will compare these two meal services on. I feel that all these aspects are important to consider, but some definitely matter more than others.
Variety
The biggest issue I had with Factor was the lack of variety. They only offered about four vegetarian/vegan meals per week. So, if I wanted more than four meals, I had to get multiple of the same meals or get some options with meat. And if I didn't like one of the vegetarian meals offered, I had to skip that week because it didn't seem worth it.
So, one of the main reasons I switched to CookUnity was because they had a much larger weekly menu. They offer about 25 to 30 vegetarian meals per week, so I can browse through them and choose the ones I'm most interested in. I love being able to choose my meals rather than having to stick with the same few meals every week. Plus, CookUnity seems to add new meals to the mix fairly often.
Quality
Factor's quality was fine. It was better than a frozen meal but it didn't seem good enough for the price. Taste-wise the meals were just okay to me too. There weren't any recipes that I loved so much that I would want to eat every week.
Right away, I was amazed by how much better CookUnity's quality was. The first meal I tried was their veggie and quinoa enchiladas, and they're so good that I include them in almost every order. The food feels restaurant-quality and most of the meals have excellent flavors. Plus, there seems to be a wider variety of vegetarian meals while a lot of Factor's meals felt very similar to each other.
Packaging
From what I remember, Factor's packaging was decent. It came in a cardboard box with two large ice packs in it. Since I only ordered a few meals per week, it probably didn't need that much ice, but I never had to worry about the food getting warm. The plastic on the ice packs was recyclable (and so was the cardboard box, of course).
I love CookUnity's packaging. I believe it's different based on where you're located, but for me, the food comes in a reusable, insulated bag. I can return the bag every week for them to reuse rather than having to throw it out or recycle it. I love it when brands have environmentally-friendly packaging. Plus, almost everything else is recyclable, including the plastic on the one large ice pack that comes with my meals.
Shipping
For me, Factor wasn't very good at notifying me about shipping. It always came right away in the morning on the day it was supposed to, but I never got a text or email letting me know that it arrived. So, the first time I ordered Factor, my meal sat outside for a while because I hadn't expected it to come so early.
CookUnity's delivery time varies more greatly, arriving between noon and 7 pm on the day it's supposed to. Even though that's a pretty big range, it doesn't bother me because it's easy to track the delivery on the website, so I can see the estimated time of arrival. Also, CookUnity always texts me when the delivery is on its way and when it arrives.
Website Convenience
I actually prefer Factor's website. It felt like it was really easy to navigate and adjust my weekly meals as needed. With Factor, it automatically chooses your meals for the week based on your preferences, but you can change them as needed. It was also really easy to skip meals.
CookUnity's website functions similarly to Factor's, but when I first started using it, I found it confusing. The button to view the menu isn't obvious, and when I click on the menu, it takes me to the full menu rather than only showing the items that fit my preferences. It's not a huge deal and I've mostly figured it out now, but it takes a few extra clicks than Factor's website did.
Number of Meals
With Factor, you can get 4 to 18 meals per week (for some reason, it doesn't show 4 when you're signing up, but it gave me the option after I made my account). Even though fewer meals is more expensive per meal, I had to only get four per week since that's how many vegetarian meals there were.
Similar to Factor, you can get 4 to 16 meals per week with CookUnity. I have my plan set for a minimum of six meals per week, but sometimes I add an extra meal or two if there are a lot of good options that week. I usually only get meals every other week and then I freeze the ones that I'm not going to eat right away. I usually eat a sandwich for lunch and then I eat out for dinner sometimes, so I don't need a meal for every night. Luckily, the meals taste just as good after they've been frozen.
Price
I don't know the exact pricing, but according to other reviews, it looks like Factor ranges from $11 to $15 per meal while CookUnity ranges from $10 to $13 per meal. The more meals you order at once, the cheaper the price per meal is.
Both are fairly expensive compared to frozen meals or cooking, but for me, the price is worth the convenience. However, I consider Factor's price too high because the quality and variety are nowhere near as good as CookUnity's. Luckily, both companies regularly offer discounts so customers can try them at a more affordable price.
I Recommend CookUnity for Vegetarian Meals
I'm sure Factor is great for some people, but I greatly prefer CookUnity when it comes to vegetarian meals. To me, the meals taste great, they're convenient, and there's plenty of variety. Plus, the food comes in eco-friendly packaging as an added bonus.
This is not a sponsored post or anything, so I don't have a discount code. I just wanted to write a helpful article for any vegetarians considering these meal services. If you're looking for a discount to try one of these companies, I believe they both offer one for new customers. If not, it's pretty easy to find discount codes for them on the internet.
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