With the arrival of the new year comes a raft of fresh promises – to drink less, exercise more, eat better. That final one, at least, is easier than ever to stick to thanks to a new wave of healthy food delivery services popping up all over the capital. From Mindful Chef’s recipe boxes developed by nutritionists to SimpleFoods’ flash-frozen goodness, there’s a range of options out there that will take you from breakfast to dinner with balanced, nutritious meals – and the odd guilt-free snack thrown in. Whether you’re getting on board with Veganuary this month or simply looking to start 2022 with a more wholesome approach, we’ve rounded up the best healthy food delivery services in London.
Spring Green
The motto at this London-based delivery service – founded by chef Bonnie Stowell, who trained under Michelin-starred Matthew Tomkinson – is ‘eat beautifully’, an ethos that extends as much to their exquisite presentation as their delicious meals. Fans including Laura Bailey and Alex Eagle love the service for its flavour-filled yet healthy approach to dining, with meals packed with nutrients and free from processed sugars, dairy and wheat. Start the day with a morning beauty tonic of hibiscus with berries and lime before a breakfast of smoky tofu scramble with avocado. Lunch is chicken rainbow nori rolls or carrot, turmeric and squash soup, while the stand-out dinner dish is haddock with green grains and yellow courgetti. Snacks like energy coconut bars and zingy raw juices keep you topped up during the day, so you never feel hungry – just pleasantly full of goodness.Â
Menus from £36 per day, with a 100% plant-based menu on offer and many gluten-free options available, though note that meals are not prepared in a gluten-free kitchen.
springgreelondon.com
Potage
Do you ever wish you had a stash of delicious home-cooked meals in your freezer, ready to take out and cook whenever you need them? Sign up to Potage and that’s exactly what you’ll get. Their seasonal boxes come with a range of nutritionally-balanced meals, all handmade in small batches in their London kitchen just behind Covent Garden Market, and created using local, ethically sourced ingredients – think squash, cavolo nero and ricotta cannelloni, fiery chipotle black bean and quinoa chilli and warming chicken laksa with rice noodles. With a zero-waste approach and packaging that is either recyclable, reusable or compostable, they’re environmentally friendly too, and as of the end of last year at least 50% of their menu was vegetarian or vegan.Â
From £54 for eight meals for one – they don’t currently offer vegetarian or vegan boxes, but many of their meals are suitable for both vegans and those on flexi diets, as well as there being a range of gluten-free dishes available.
potage.co.uk
Mindful Chef
Mindful Chef’s recipe boxes are in the same vein as a lot of other popular do-it-yourself offerings, but are by the far the healthiest (as well as being the highest rated in the UK) of all their counterparts. All of their nutritionist-designed recipes are gluten and dairy-free, with plenty of vegan options on offer, and never include refined carbs like pasta, bread and white rice. They only use the highest-quality ingredients, including grass-fed Yorkshire beef, free-range chicken and sustainably caught fish, and their fool proof instructions can turn anyone into a seasoned chef overnight. What’s more, they’re the only recipe box to be a registered B-Corp company, thanks to their innovative approach to waste (the company is carbon neutral and they recently added carbon labelling to their recipes) and the fact that every meal bought donates one to a child in poverty.Â
From £25 for a box for two people, with vegan recipe boxes available and all dishes being gluten-free.
mindfulchef.com
Kurami
Specialising in meal plans that are good for your gut, Kurami was founded by Anthropology of Food graduate Camilla Pigozzi Garofalo and takes a holistic approach to wellbeing with its fresh, nutrient-rich dishes. Their nutritionist-designed mealpaths take you from morning to night, with breakfasts including dishes like Ancient Grain porridge with pear compote and golden smoothie bowls, lunches of zesty salads made with courgette and butterbean, and dinners of rainbow falafels and trout with greens and peperonata. In between there are snacks like nut boost yoghurt or parsley hummus with dippers, and a range of drinks including white iced tea with hibiscus and golden chai moon mylk. Their newest offering is their January Self-Love and Sustainable Habit box, which comes with everything you need to kick-start your New Year wellness journey.
£39.40 per day – all of their dishes are gluten-free and while they don’t offer a dedicated vegetarian or vegan menu, their mealpaths can be adjusted s for different dietary requirements.
kurami.co.uk
SimpleFoods
All the dishes in this new chef-made frozen meal delivery service are free from refined carbs and refined sugars (yes, even their tasty desserts and mid-afternoon treats), so you can rest assured there are no hidden nasties in them. Their mix and match approach means you can create your ideal meal rather than having them choose for you, with a selection of proteins (like salmon fishcakes and sesame-crusted chicken breast) and super grains (think wholegrain couscous with pesto and chimichurri wild rice) on offer, as well as vegetables brought to life with tahini, tamari and ginger. On top of that there are superfood-packed porridge and acai bowls for breakfast and super smoothies and tasty energy balls to snack on. Â
Servings range from £2.95 – £5.50 and boxes come with nine, 15 or 24 items – dishes can be filtered to include only vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options, with a wide range of offerings available to suit all dietary requirements.
eatsimplefoods.co.uk
