Nationwide shortage of asthma medication albuterol could worsen in hospitals
You're Temporarily Blocked
You're Temporarily Blocked
The 7 Best Gluten-Free Meal Delivery Services Of 2024
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here's our process.
How we vet brands and productsHealthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.
Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we:Was this helpful?
Green Chef wins our vote for best gluten-free meal delivery. Plus, we review Epicured, Sunbasket, Trifecta, and more.
Anyone who has slipped up in their gluten-free discipline or missed a gluten ingredient buried in a long list of additives knows how painful or uncomfortable the effects of celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity are. A straightforward gluten-free diet can make avoiding the ill effects possible.
Whichever category you're in, if you looking for gluten-free meal delivery, we've got you.
After testing nearly 30 gluten-free meal delivery services, our testers have chosen the seven best for having the greatest variety in delicious, gluten-free prepared meals and meal kits, and for their efforts to reduce gluten exposure in their processes. You can read on to discover one that's right for you.
Disclaimer: The services tested below were tried by Healthline writers or editors, who received the meals for free. All opinions are our own. Pricing information is current as of publication and is subject to change.
Healthline Score: 4.2/5
Why we like it: Green Chef offers high quality, nutritionally balanced organic meal kits and a large rotating menu of simple yet flavorful recipes for gluten-free meals. It's also certified a Gluten-Free Safe Spot business by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
How it works: You can choose Gluten-Free as one of eight meal plan options, and select your box size with the number of meals you want each week. You then select meals from the upcoming week's rotating menu. A box containing pre-measured ingredients for each meal, along with recipe cards, will arrive at your door each week.
Green Chef provides meal kits for:
You can also order add-on items, such as drinks, sides, snacks, and other food items from the Green Market.
In addition to using the service's gluten-free filter for gluten-free recipes, you can add other preferences, such as grain-free, keto, or paleo. You can also select any of the recipes from the full weekly menu when placing your orders, which makes this ideal if you have people in your household who eat different diets.
Read our full Green Chef review.
What our tester says"Green Chef does a really great job of providing nutritionally-balanced meals that are flavorful and enjoyable to eat. Some take a bit more cooking skills than others, though none of the recipes require fancy cooking equipment.
"The meals were bursting with various textures and ingredients. The flavors were really tasty and different than what we typically cook at home."
– Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Healthline nutrition editor
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 5/5Meal variety: 4.5/5Nutrition: 4.5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4/5Ease of preparation: 4.5/5Taste: 5/5Affordability: 2/5
"Green Chef does a really great job of providing nutritionally-balanced meals that are flavorful and enjoyable to eat. Some take a bit more cooking skills than others, though none of the recipes require fancy cooking equipment.
"The meals were bursting with various textures and ingredients. The flavors were really tasty and different than what we typically cook at home."
– Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Healthline nutrition editor
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 5/5Meal variety: 4.5/5Nutrition: 4.5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4/5Ease of preparation: 4.5/5Taste: 5/5Affordability: 2/5
Pros & consHealthline Score: 4.2/5
Why we like it: Trifecta Nutrition's "deep chilled" prepared meals are a popular choice among health-conscious consumers, and for good reason. The nutritionally balanced, made-with-sustainable-ingredient meals are tasty, and there's enough variety in the rotating menu that they don't feel repetitive. Most meals are also gluten-free, and while they aren't prepared in a gluten-free kitchen, Trifecta notes that preparation areas are cleaned thoroughly to prevent cross-contamination.
Trifecta also uses high quality, mostly organic ingredients and sustainably sourced proteins.
How it works: Trifecta Nutrition offers meal plans tailored to several specific diets, including:
It also offers a Classic plan, which allows you to choose your meals to create a custom menu, and a Meal Prep plan, which allows you to order a variety of proteins, carbs, and vegetables.
After choosing your plan, you can order 5, 7, 10, or 14 entrees per week. Boxes containing the upcoming week's meals are typically delivered on Friday. You can skip future deliveries or customize your delivery schedule to receive meals every other week, every 3 weeks, or once a month.
Read our full review of Trifecta.
What our tester says"I found that the meals had enough variety and featured diverse ingredients, which helped ensure that they didn't feel boring or repetitive throughout the week," says Healthline writer Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD. "I [also] found that most ingredients maintained their taste and texture very well even after reheating, which can be a common issue with prepared meals."
Here's a further breakdown of our overall score:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 4/5Meal variety: 3.5/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 4/5Affordability: 2/5
"I found that the meals had enough variety and featured diverse ingredients, which helped ensure that they didn't feel boring or repetitive throughout the week," says Healthline writer Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD. "I [also] found that most ingredients maintained their taste and texture very well even after reheating, which can be a common issue with prepared meals."
Here's a further breakdown of our overall score:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 4/5Meal variety: 3.5/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 4/5Affordability: 2/5
Pros & consHealthline Score: 3.4/5
Why we like it: ModifyHealth specializes in organic, gluten-free prepared meals designed to support specific dietary plans, including low FODMAP, diabetes-friendly, heart-friendly, low carb, and Mediterranean. For an added fee, you can join the Gluten-Free FIT Quickstart Program, which includes weekly meals and personalized support from a dietitian.
How it works: After selecting a specific dietary plan, you select a minimum of 6 meals from a weekly menu, which can contain gluten-free recipes if you'd like. You can exclude specific ingredients from your order, such as soy, meat, shellfish, or dairy.
Meals are delivered weekly, vacuum sealed, and shipped in insulated boxes with ice packs, and simply need to be heated in a microwave or oven to enjoy.
What our tester says"As a dietitian, I was impressed by how nutritionally balanced most of the meals were, though some are high in sodium. I also appreciated that the service caters to the low FODMAP diet, which can be tricky to follow on your own.
I found the signup process to be straightforward, though I was a bit disappointed in how few vegetarian options were available. My meals arrived on time and in good condition. They were also easy to stack in the fridge. However, instead of receiving four different entrees, I received doubles of two entrees. I also received a frittata instead of the scrambled egg dish I requested.All of the meals I tried had a watery texture and flavor that I had a hard time getting over. In fact, I wasn't able to finish the frittata. Compared to Epicured, which also offers low FODMAP meals, I came away feeling that ModifyHealth just isn't worth the price tag."
– Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Healthline nutrition editor
Here's how the overall Healthline score for ModifyHealth was determined:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 4/5Meal variety: 3/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 3/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 2/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 2/5Affordability: 3/5
"As a dietitian, I was impressed by how nutritionally balanced most of the meals were, though some are high in sodium. I also appreciated that the service caters to the low FODMAP diet, which can be tricky to follow on your own.
I found the signup process to be straightforward, though I was a bit disappointed in how few vegetarian options were available. My meals arrived on time and in good condition. They were also easy to stack in the fridge. However, instead of receiving four different entrees, I received doubles of two entrees. I also received a frittata instead of the scrambled egg dish I requested.All of the meals I tried had a watery texture and flavor that I had a hard time getting over. In fact, I wasn't able to finish the frittata. Compared to Epicured, which also offers low FODMAP meals, I came away feeling that ModifyHealth just isn't worth the price tag."
– Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, Healthline nutrition editor
Here's how the overall Healthline score for ModifyHealth was determined:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 4/5Meal variety: 3/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 3/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 2/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 2/5Affordability: 3/5
Pros & consHealthline Score: 3.6/5
Why we like it: All Daily Harvest plant-based prepared meals are gluten-free, and they're relatively inexpensive compared with other meal delivery services. We also like that you can order breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options.
How it works: Unlike other meal delivery services, Daily Harvest doesn't have specific menus to choose from. Instead, you select how many items you'd like to receive weekly, and then choose from a full menu of options, including breakfast bowls, smoothies, soups, Harvest bowls, flatbreads, and snacks.
Order boxes are delivered weekly, and all products are frozen and packaged with dry ice. You can reheat items like soups and bowls in the microwave or on the stove. You may want to heat the flatbreads in either a traditional oven or a toaster oven.
It's important to note that although all Daily Harvest meals are gluten-free recipes, they're prepared in a facility that also processes gluten-containing ingredients, cross contamination is possible.
Read our full review of Daily Harvest.
What our tester says"I sampled several entrees, breakfast dishes, snacks, and smoothies from Daily Harvest, all of which I found were tasty, convenient, and easy to prepare," says Healthline writer Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD.
"However, the portion sizes were small and not very filling. Therefore, I would recommend using it alongside other meals or snacks to help round out your diet."
Here's how the overall Healthline score for Daily Harvest was determined:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 3/5Meal variety: 1/5Nutrition: 4.5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 2/5Affordability: 4/5
"I sampled several entrees, breakfast dishes, snacks, and smoothies from Daily Harvest, all of which I found were tasty, convenient, and easy to prepare," says Healthline writer Rachael Ajmera, MS, RD.
"However, the portion sizes were small and not very filling. Therefore, I would recommend using it alongside other meals or snacks to help round out your diet."
Here's how the overall Healthline score for Daily Harvest was determined:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 3/5Meal variety: 1/5Nutrition: 4.5/5Sustainability: 5/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 2/5Affordability: 4/5
Pros & consHealthline Score: 4.6/5
Why we like it: Sunbasket is an organic meal delivery service that offers a broad assortment of flavorful and easy-to-prepare gluten-free meal kits packed with fresh ingredients. You can also order from the service's prepared meals menu.
How it works: Order two or more 2- or 4-serving meals per week (a minimum order is 4 servings) from a specific menu, such as gluten-free, or mix and match for a selection from all the available menus. You can also choose a mix of meal kits and prepared meals for your order.
Order boxes are shipped weekly, and contain pre-measured ingredients for meal kits, along with a recipe booklet. While most items are included in the kit, you'll want to have things like olive oil, salt and pepper, and basic pans and utensils to prepare the meals.
Prepared meals can be stored in the refrigerator until ready to eat, or then frozen.
It's important to note that Sunbasket's gluten-free menu items are packaged in a facility that processes food allergens, including gluten, so are unsuitable for those with severe gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease.
Read our full review of Sunbasket.
What our tester says"Thanks to seasonal ingredients and house-made spice blends and sauces, each of the meals I tried tasted fresh and flavorful," says Healthline Nutrition Editor Kelli McGrane, MS, RD. "The kits arrived on-time and in good condition. In fact, I thought the packaging and quality of the meat and seafood was the best out of all of the meal kits I've tried.
"Overall, I found Sunbasket to offer the most consistently delicious flavors and exciting ingredient combinations. I also appreciated that the meals I tried were bursting with vegetables, which isn't always the case with meal kits.
"While it isn't cheap, I think Sunbasket is worth the cost if you value organic ingredients and exciting new flavor and ingredient combinations."
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 5/5Meal variety: 5/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 4/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 5/5Affordability: 3/5
"Thanks to seasonal ingredients and house-made spice blends and sauces, each of the meals I tried tasted fresh and flavorful," says Healthline Nutrition Editor Kelli McGrane, MS, RD. "The kits arrived on-time and in good condition. In fact, I thought the packaging and quality of the meat and seafood was the best out of all of the meal kits I've tried.
"Overall, I found Sunbasket to offer the most consistently delicious flavors and exciting ingredient combinations. I also appreciated that the meals I tried were bursting with vegetables, which isn't always the case with meal kits.
"While it isn't cheap, I think Sunbasket is worth the cost if you value organic ingredients and exciting new flavor and ingredient combinations."
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 5/5Meal variety: 5/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 4/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 5/5Affordability: 3/5
Pros & consHealthline Score: 4.1/5
Why we like it: All items on Epicured's extensive menu of prepared entrees, salads, soups, and more are gluten-free recipes and low FODMAP. The meals also receive high marks from our tester for variety and freshness.
How it works: First you either select a subscription with Epicured, for a reduced price, or choose to do a one-time order. You then filter for different dietary preferences, such as vegetarian or vegan, low-sodium, dairy-free, among others, and choose from the large selection of entrees, sandwiches, soups, salads, snacks, smoothies, desserts and sides presented.
Each week you receive your box of "chilled" meals that should be stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Some items, labeled Freezer Friendly, can stored in the freezer until ready to eat. Each item includes a "best by" date.
For subscriptions, the service automatically regenerates your previous order. However, you can easily make changes to your menu selections, and pause or cancel your subscription.
What our tester says"I sampled several items from the main menu, including entrees, wraps, and salads. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of cuisines, proteins, and types of vegetables offered and liked that there were many types of meals available," says Healthline Nutrition Editor Kelli McGrane, MS, RD.
"All of my meals arrived fresh and in good condition and I was particularly impressed by how fresh all of the vegetables tasted."
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 3.5/5Meal variety: 4/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 4/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4.5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 4.5/5Affordability: 2/5
"I sampled several items from the main menu, including entrees, wraps, and salads. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of cuisines, proteins, and types of vegetables offered and liked that there were many types of meals available," says Healthline Nutrition Editor Kelli McGrane, MS, RD.
"All of my meals arrived fresh and in good condition and I was particularly impressed by how fresh all of the vegetables tasted."
Our overall score is based on the average of the following key criteria:
Sign-up, delivery, and cancellation processes: 3.5/5Meal variety: 4/5Nutrition: 5/5Sustainability: 4/5Ingredient quality and freshness: 4.5/5Ease of preparation: 5/5Taste: 4.5/5Affordability: 2/5
Pros & consWhy we like it: Home Chef is a great option for multi-person households and individuals alike who are following a gluten-free diet. The company's Gluten-Smart meals are made with gluten-free ingredients.
While standard menu items come in 2–8 servings, Home Chef has a Family Plan, where you have the option of selecting 4, 8, or 12 servings for each meal. This includes easy-to-make meals with family-friendly flavors. It's a great option if you're looking for easy gluten-free dinners for the whole family.
For busy households, there's also Fast & Fresh Family and Oven-Ready Family meals that have microwave- and oven-ready meals.
How it works: Home Chef recommends meals based on your taste preferences. You can also take a DIY approach and select your own gluten-free meal kits based on filters.
To choose gluten-free meal kits, simply add a gluten-free filter or include this in your preferences.
You can also filter meal kits based on allergens and preferred animal products. For example, you can choose gluten-free plus nut-free or pork-free meals.
Meals are selected each week, with more than 20 recipes to choose from. This is helpful if your household has gluten-free plus other dietary preferences.
Pros & conskit = meal kits, prep = prepared
We've tested nearly 30 of the most popular meal delivery services on the market.
Testers select a week's worth of meals from multiple menus to get a well-rounded view of the types of flavors and ingredients offered.
During testing, we consider several factors, including the ease of the signup and meal selection process, the variety and nutritional composition of the meals offered, ingredient quality and freshness, how easy the meals are to cook, and, of course, the taste.
There are many factors to keep in mind when selecting a meal delivery service, especially if you follow a gluten-free diet:
Yes, there are some terrific meals kits offering gluten-free options.
Sunbasket wins our vote, offering a broad selection of gluten-free, organic meals that you make at home. It also has prepared meals.
It's important to note, however, that Sunbasket's gluten-free menu items are packaged in a facility that processes food allergens, including gluten, so are unsuitable for those with severe gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease.
Green Chef has meal kits and prepared meals that are gluten-free. These options are prepared in facilities certified as a Gluten-Free Safe Spot business by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
Yes, there are some terrific meals kits offering gluten-free options.
Sunbasket wins our vote, offering a broad selection of gluten-free, organic meals that you make at home. It also has prepared meals.
It's important to note, however, that Sunbasket's gluten-free menu items are packaged in a facility that processes food allergens, including gluten, so are unsuitable for those with severe gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease.
Green Chef has meal kits and prepared meals that are gluten-free. These options are prepared in facilities certified as a Gluten-Free Safe Spot business by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
Does HelloFresh have a gluten-free option?Though HelloFresh doesn't have any specific gluten-free menus or meal plans, it offers some recipes that can fit into a gluten-free diet.
However, its meal kits are not prepared in a gluten-free facility, meaning that cross contamination is possible.
Though HelloFresh doesn't have any specific gluten-free menus or meal plans, it offers some recipes that can fit into a gluten-free diet.
However, its meal kits are not prepared in a gluten-free facility, meaning that cross contamination is possible.
Is Green Chef really gluten-free?Some of it is. You need to choose Green Chef's Gluten-Free meal plan in order to filter to the gluten-free options for entrees, soups, salads, and breakfast items.
The preparation of these meals also meet criteria marking Green Chef as a Gluten-Free Safe Spot business by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
Some of it is. You need to choose Green Chef's Gluten-Free meal plan in order to filter to the gluten-free options for entrees, soups, salads, and breakfast items.
The preparation of these meals also meet criteria marking Green Chef as a Gluten-Free Safe Spot business by the Gluten Intolerance Group.
If you have a gluten-related disorder, or simply prefer to avoid gluten, gluten-free meal kit delivery services make it easy to enjoy healthy meals delivered straight to your door.
When selecting a service, you may want to consider factors such as whether meals are certified gluten-free or produced in a gluten-free facility, as well as:
Wheat Intolerance: The Facts
by NAOMI COLEMAN, femail.Co.Uk
An increasing number of Britons claim they are intolerant to wheat.
But far from being one condition, health problems involving wheat actually fall into three main groups.
Here is a guide to the main health conditions involving wheat in the diet, their symptoms, methods of diagnosis and treatments.
What is gluten intolerance?
Gluten intolerance - otherwise known as coeliac disease - is an inflammatory condition of the digestive tract, caused by gluten - a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats. It is not a contagious illness but is often genetic.
Coeliac disease affects one person in every thousand. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 45. Classic symptoms include lethargy, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The condition causes Gluten to damage the lining of the small intestine which greatly reduces the ability of the gut to absorb adequate nutrients from food. In the worst cases, this can lead to severe malnutrition.
Coeliac disease can be diagnosed by a gastroenterologist (stomach consultant) who will carry out an intestinal biopsy - a sample of tissue taken from the intestine.
This involves a flexible endoscope or telescope being passed through the mouth into the stomach and upper intestine so that the lining can be inspected and a biopsy taken.
The only treatment available to sufferers of Coeliac disease is a gluten-free diet.
What is a wheat allergy?
A sensitivity or allergy to wheat can produce a variety of symptoms in the body such as sneezing itching, rashes, watery eyes, runny nose, coughing, hay fever, headaches, nausea, digestive problems, swollen limbs or general aches and pains.
When someone is allergic to a certain food, their immune system reacts as if the food were an invader and produces antibodies.
Food allergies affect 1.5 per cent of the population. Wheat allergies affect less than one per cent.
Food allergies are often difficult to identify because our reactions can be delayed from anything from two hours to many days after taking the offending foods.
Common chronic illnesses and conditions such as asthma, eczema, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and arthritis are often associated with wheat allergies.
Unlike classic allergies, if you are allergic to wheat you will usually be allergic to more than one food. On average, sufferers react to four or five different foods.
Sufferers are advised to eliminate wheat from their diet altogether and replace with rice, corn, millet, buckwheat or potatoes.
A wheat allergy can be diagnosed by skin-prick testing available at a NHS allergy clinic. This involves the allergen (wheat) being placed on the skin after it has been pricked. If the skin flares up 15 minutes later you have a wheat allergy.
A second method of diagnosis is a RAST blood test, which involves taking a blood sample and testing for the wheat allergen.
What is wheat intolerance?
Wheat intolerance does not involve an immune response. The reasons why people suffer from wheat intolerance are not entirely understood. Some experts believe it occurs when some people are short of the enzymes necessary for the proper digestion of wheat.
Symptoms of wheat intolerance can include bloating, headaches and joint pains.
However, Isabel Skypala, head of dietetics at London's Royal Brompton Hospital, believes getting a diagnosis for wheat intolerance is difficult.
'Some people find foods such as pasta and bread hard to digest. This is because pasta absorbs water, so it swells in the body and causes discomfort. Also it is fashionable to blame intolerance on wheat. People forget that other foods such as dairy which are spread on bread or sprinkled on pasta could be the offending culprit.'
The only proper diagnosis for wheat intolerance is a test called a food challenge, carried out in a hospital. The patient is blindfolded and tested for wheat under controlled conditions.
The patient is then monitored over three days to see if they develop any symptoms. Depending on which foods they react to, a food elimination programme is carried out under strict supervision.
Pros And Cons Of Going Gluten-free
There's always a new trend when it comes to eating healthier and losing weight. Many toy around with the idea of ditching gluten. For some, the absence of gluten is necessary because of health reasons.
According to Very Well Health, about 20 million people have a gluten sensitivity and could experience hives and rashes, stuffy and runny nose, sneezing, headaches, asthma, and stomach issues like cramps, indigestion, vomiting and more.
If you're part of the population that doesn't have a gluten intolerance, experts say there's no reason to fully ax its presence in your diet. In fact, you could be doing more harm than good.
Explore5 tips for combating belly bloating"Gluten-free packaged products tend to have lower nutritional quality than their gluten-containing counterparts," Vanessa Weisbrod, chief education and community engagement officer for the Celiac Disease Foundation, told HuffPost. "So if you don't need to be gluten-free, these products are not any healthier and perhaps have a lower nutritional value."
Before diving into this new lifestyle, here are a few pros and cons to living a gluten-free life, according to Very Well Fit.
The purpose of a nutritious diet is to give your body what it needs to function properly. If you want to explore the world of a gluten-free life, consider replacements for iron, calcium, folate, fiber, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin, which are often left out of the diet.
If you expand the diet to products, then you might want to consider ditching the following, considering they often contain gluten:
Preparing to become gluten-free should be done in steps to avoid bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
It's important to talk to your doctor and a nutritionist to create a plan to help encourage a healthy lifestyle that could include a meal plan, vitamins and more.
Comments
Post a Comment