As someone obsessed with finding the perfect meal delivery service for years, I‘ve tested everything from Blue Apron to Freshly to Splendid Spoon. So needless to say, I was eager to give Everytable‘s ready-to-heat subscription a try when they expanded to my area.
After months of weekly deliveries, I’m ready to break down exactly what you can expect from Everytable‘s meal subscription model…
My credentials? I‘m a work-from-home mom of two and part-time food blogger in LA. Cooking is my passion, but between my kids‘ schedules and reviewing products for brands, takeout has become a necessary evil.
Over the past 3 years I’ve tried dozens of meal kits, pre-made food delivery options, grocery delivery services – you name it. I’ve developed a pretty good eye for distinguishing the convenience foods actually worth their price tag.
Everytable initially caught my attention through friends living in lower-income areas of LA. They raved these grab-and-go shops offered nutrition-focused meals at almost fast food prices. I was skeptical such quality could translate to a meal delivery subscription consistently, but I had to find out…
Everytable Meal Subscription Overview
Everytable is a LA-based company founded in 2015 aiming to make nutritious, chef-crafted meals accessible at a wide range of price points via storefronts and delivery. Their grab-and-go shops scale cost based on the average local income levels to ensure affordability.
For delivery, they offer a weekly subscription where you choose 2-5 pre-made entrees/sides/smoothies from a rotating menu of 30+ items. Everything arrives pre-portioned and labeled for reheating within 3-4 days.
You can skip/pause weeks or cancel anytime by emailing their customer experience team. It ships free within LA or Orange County, and select zip codes around San Diego, Bakersfield, and Fresno areas.
Subscriptions auto-renew with the same weekly order unless you login to change preferences before the weekly cutoff.
Everytable‘s key differentiation comes from pricing meals radically cheaper than competitors like Freshly while upholding nutrition standards and taste expectations. And their social impact focus earned respect from investors on Shark Tank.
But breaking past the mission and hype, how does Everytable actually perform when tested every week for months straight?
Below I unpack everything potential subscribers should know – from cost breakdowns to menu analysis to where they cut corners. Let‘s dive in!
Cost Breakdown: How Much Does Everytable Really Cost?
Pricing was the big question that led me to finally try Everytable…
Could they really offer entrees priced similarly to McDonald‘s that were actually nutritious?
My assumption was the $4-$6 menu items would arrive looking and tasting like diet TV dinners. I envisioned limp salads and bland grilled chicken plates stretched out with rice to seem filling.
But wow was I wrong!
Here’s an overview of Everytable’s actual pricing structure:
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Entrees range from $4 on the low end to $11 on the high end. The average falls around $7-9 per entree.
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Sides usually run between $3-5 depending on portion size.
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Smoothies and snacks land around $4-6 as well typically.
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A flat $5 Delivery Fee applies per order.
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The minimum order value is $15. This equals 2-3 entrees for most people.
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There are no recurring subscription fees and no maximum order size cap.
To put costs into perspective, I placed three sample orders of increasing sizes:
Order 1
- 3 Entrees
- 1 Smoothies
- 1 Side
- Delivery
Total: $33
This smaller order broke down to $8 per meal approx.
Order 2
- 5 Entrees
- 3 Sides
- 1 Smoothie
- 1 Snack
- Delivery
*Total: $61**
Sizing up at 5 meals plus sides/snacks worked out to $9 per meal
Order 3
- 10 Entrees
- 3 Sides
- 3 Smoothies
- Delivery
Total: $102
And my largest sample order – mimicking a family-sized meal plan – landed at $8 per meal thanks to discounts on delivery.
As you can see, costs stay impressively low even when feeding more people.
Let‘s compare Everytable‘s pricing to some competitor meal subscriptions:
| Company | Average Price Per Meal |
|---|---|
| Everytable | $7-$9 |
| Freshly | $8-$12 |
| Factor | $11-$14 |
| Splendid Spoon | $8-$15 |
Yup…I was shocked too!
You pay a premium for the convenience of not having to cook with Freshly and Splendid Spoon. And those brands still can‘t match the quality of Evertable‘s ingredients and nutrition in my experience.
when it comes to cost and transparency around sourcing, ingredients quality, and nutrition standards, Everytable is in a league of their own.
Let‘s examine why…
Ingredient & Nutrition Quality
Evertable‘s biggest advantage comes through an uncompromising focus on nutrition…
Most prepared meal delivery brands cut corners somewhere. Whether lower quality proteins, not-so-healthy sauces and dressings, or sneaking in MSG, excessive oils and preservatives.
But Everytable manages to formulate affordable dishes using:
- Responsibly raised meats & sustainable seafood
- Organic produce whenever possible
- Clean, recognizable ingredients with no hidden junk
- Balanced macros better than typical takeout
And they publish full nutrition facts for every dish rather than hiding behind proprietary formulas like many competitors.
As just one example, let‘s compare their Chipotle Lime Chicken Bowl side-by-side with a comparable meal from Factor and Freshly:
| Meal | Cals | Fat | Carbs | Protein | Sugar | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everytable Chicken Bowl | 370 | 12g | 33g | 30g | 2g | 480mg |
| Freshly Sesame Chicken Bowl | 490 | 19g | 45g | 23g | 7g | 730mg |
| Factor Chinese Chicken Bowl | 640 | 32g | 48g | 20g | 12g | 1140mg |
The difference is stark – Those extra calories, fat, sodium quickly compound when eating multiple delivery meals daily.
And the tightly controlled sodium levels become especially key for those monitoring blood pressure. Rising obesity correlated to poor diets makes heart issues progressively more urgent for younger groups too nowadays.
Yet Everytable manages to preserve flavor packed with far healthier levels than typical alternatives. Now that‘s impressive formulation!
They attribute much credit to Sam Polk, Everytable‘s CEO…
Sam struggled first-hand with addictive eating habits earlier in life and seemingly unlimited food access working as a Wall Street trader. After moving to LA and teaching low-income students, he grew alarmed witnessing how poor nutrition disproportionately impacted certain communities.
He launched Everytable on a mission to upend that imbalance. And having conquered his own health demons, Sam refuses to provide meals exacerbating dietary issues plaguing much of society today, regardless of one‘s income level.
And that ethos permeates throughout their supply chain relationships and menu design.
Now let‘s examine the keys to that menu and how it delivers for subscribers week to week.
Menu Variety & Customization
A common meal delivery subscription pitfall is the menu growing repetitive quickly. Pre-portioning dishes for consistent sizing and cooking leaves little room for rotating in creative, seasonal dishes like the best home cooks.
But Everytable‘s rotating menu keeps things fresher than expected…
Their culinary team introduces 1-2 new meals monthly while still ensuring availability of tried-and-true favorites. With 30+ entrees and ever-growing sides/smoothies/snacks selections, you probably won‘t tire of options anytime soon.
Describing the flavor profiles is tough because they vary so widely week to week. You may discover an Indonesian style salmon bowl, chorizo & kale soup, jackfruit carnitas tacos, shrimp pad thai and more adventurous dishes alongside their tasty burrito bowls and chicken parmesans.
I consider myself a fairly competent home chef, but struggle to replicate some of their more globally inspired meals!
In terms of dietary preferences, they explicitly tag:
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Dairy-Free
- Low-Carb
Helpful when accommodating family members or friends with varying needs.
And while dishes aren‘t customized to say "low-calorie" or "keto" diets, the lower carb/higher proteinbowls like their Chipotle Lime Chicken make it easy to identify better options for many eating plans.
Or when cravings strike or my kids beg for comfort foods, swapping out my Korean Bibimbap bowl for Mac & Cheese feels good knowing Everytable sneaks in cauliflower and whole grain pasta to boost nutrition. No judgment from them on occasional indulgences!
Which brings me to one of my favorite aspects…
The Customization Factor
Too many competitors like Splendid Spoon and HungryRoot lock you into pre-chosen groupings of meals. Sure you can list allergy preferences during signup, but after that enjoy little control over what arrives at your doorstep.
Everytable lets me adjust preferences meal-to-meal. I simply log into my account by Sunday night, browse that week‘s selections, and swap my previous choices for anything new catching my eye.
Some weeks I‘ll adjust 2-3 meals, other weeks I‘ll order the same dishes again. Depends if my family finished certain leftovers faster or if I‘m craving a change.
I arrange meals into breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and sides across the week depending on needs and schedules. Then Everytable delivers my customized mix on Wednesday evening.
It‘s wonderful having dinner taken care already when arriving home stressed from shuttling kids around after school. Popping a Salmon Bowl into the microwave and slicing up fruit for three balanced meals on a crazy weeknight becomes lifesaving.
For those busier nights, grab a side or two so no need to even steam broccoli or whip up rice on the stove afterwards!
Bottom line – the flexibility to completely rethink and customize orders weekly makes meal planning on autopilot simplicity itself.
Now let‘s get into where they could do even better…
Needed Improvements
While an Everytable devotee overall, I try to critically evaluate all brands I review. A few common critiques I still have are:
1. Excess Packaging
Each meal arrives in recyclable plastic tubs with film sealants plus every box stuffed with thick insulation sheets. Truly cringe-worthy upon first glance.
But speaking with their Customer Experience team, Everytable hopes to introduce compostable containers in 2024. And they partner with local centers to give packaging second lives when possible. So not perfect but they acknowledge and work on the issue.
2. Inconsistent Portions
Maybe bad luck, but a few dishes arrived noticeably skimpier than prior weeks or compared to nutrition labels. A digital scale confirmed 30-50 fewer grams on some entrees.
When mentioned to CS, they did credit back the entire meal each time. But needing to report issues repeatedly still proved annoying.
3. Polarizing Flavors
I‘d estimate 1 in every 8-10 meals has an undeniably strange aftertaste. Usually this manifests in an odd sweetness or acidity unbalancing savory dishes for me.
My leading theory is that in avoiding preservatives, oils and sodium, some dishes require finessing with spices, vinegar or citrus that don‘t fully land with my palate.
Regardless, another quick message to CS always results in credits when a meal is clearly off.
4. Delayed Orders
During severe weather or around the holidays, deliveries arrived 1-2 days later than my usual Wednesday slot. Understandable to an extent but still inconvenient having to scrape pantry meals together.
Everytable does warn customers in advance of weather delays and provides credits for late orders. So hard to complain too loudly but worth considering.
The Bottom Line…
The pros decisively outweigh these negatives for me. And from what I gather asking around, most subscribers share my sentiment.
No meal delivery service will perfectly nail taste and convenience every time out. That’s an unrealistic bar for any home chef to clear either!
But Evertable comes admirably close to defying expectations around balancing nutrition, affordability and quality.
To wrap up this review, I‘ll leave with recommendations on what types of customers make poor matches for Everytable…
1. Extremely Picky Eaters
If you compare every new meal to your mom‘s signature dishes or primarily crave ultra-hearty comfort foods, you may feel consistently underwhelmed. At least embracing some culinary adventure helps here.
2. Anti-Microwave Militants
While pan searing Everytable meals heightens flavors and textures, most subscribers nuke dishes to save effort. So if you refuse on principle to ever microwave food, consider warnings heard!
3. Non-Leftover Loyalists
These servings provide 2+ meals for me alone, 3+ for lighter eaters. So no enjoying full portions multiple nights unless you combine with extra veggie sides. Leftovers become inevitable.
4. Organic Or Bust Crowd
Sure you‘ll find organic produce integrated thoughtfully throughout, but likely not meeting levels demanded by staunch organic maximalists. Everytable transparently uses responsibly grown conventional produce to help costs stay affordable for more communities. Expect to see common non-organic items like carrots, onions and celery for instance.
5. Anti-Plastic Zealots
I won‘t pretend overpackaging doesn‘t remain an area needing work. If the mere sight of plastic tubs and insulation sheets induces outrage, fast forward past Everytable for now and check back in 6 months!
Hopefully this exhaustive review provided visibility into what an Everytable subscription looks, feels and tastes like week to week!
I aim to paint an authentic picture of their pros AND cons to set proper expectations around the offering.
Because while not flawless, Evertable delivers shockingly high value across my key criteria:
- Nutrition & Ingredients
- Taste & Enjoyment
- Convenience & Customization
- Affordability
Finding a meal delivery subscription checking every box remains elusive for me after years of trials. But for the combination of nutrition quality, transparency around sourcing, consistently delicious flavors, and budget-conscious pricing…
Everytable comes the closest of any brand I’ve tried to date!
No wonder customers and investors alike gravitated to their mission in crowds.
So if you live within their delivery radius in California and share my wish for balancing wellness with busy lifestyles and tight budgets, I can’t recommend Everytable enough!
