Pros
- Affordable
- Majority of the meals were tasty
- Most of the meals were freezer-friendly
- Websites are easy to navigate
- Overall healthy options
Cons
- Some of the sides didn’t heat up the best
- Limited vegan options
Over the past year, I’ve been on a fun, albeit sometimes stressful, journey to become a better home cook. I want to be known for a few signature recipes and pass them along to my family, instead of just restaurant recommendations
I’m getting there. I’ve learned to cook steak in my favorite toaster oven, invented a homemade ice cream recipe and while testing an array of meal kits, I’ve cooked delicious salmon, chicken, vegetarian and more photo-worthy dishes.
While I’ve made big strides in my culinary journey, sometimes a break is needed. Enter: prepared meal services. These allow you to still eat home-cooked meals, just ones that you don’t have to prepare yourself. The most recent ones I tried were Eat Clean (not to be confused with Eat Clean Bro) and Forkful.
Both services are owned and operated by the same parent company and offer many of the same selections. For that reason, I’ve lumped them into one review.
Over the course of several days, we ate our way through a dozen meals and I relied heavily on them when my cooking motivation was low. Some were restaurant-quality, while others reminded me why cooking at home is still necessary to get exactly what you want.
Here’s everything to know about the two services and how they stacked up against others we’ve tested.
How Eat Clean and Forkful work
As of now, both services function in the same way and have websites that mirror each other. You will choose how many meals you want to receive each week (6, 8, 10, 12, 14 or 20) and you also have the option to choose a specific diet. The options include traditional, plant-based, paleo, keto, GLP-1, low carb, high protein or gluten-free.
The Eat Clean website is extremely easy to navigate.
After you make your selection, you will register and pay, input any allergies you have and select your meals. There are more than 50 meals to choose among each week. Eat Clean and Forkful deliver on Monday, so make sure you get your orders in by Thursday if you want to have a say over your meals.
Pricing
Like most meal plans, the more you buy, the cheaper it becomes. Purchasing 14 or 20 meals with Eat Clean or Forkful are the best options if you want to save the most money. Although it is recommended you eat the meals shortly after receiving them, I did freeze a handful of them and they still heated up nicely and it didn’t seem to affect the flavor.
Eat Clean and Forkful pricing
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| Meals per week | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per meal | $12.58 | $12 | $11 | $10.33 | $9.60 | $8.60 |
| Total price | $75.48 | $98 | $109 | $123.96 | $134.40 | $172 |
Shipping is an additional $10 per box.
What we ate and how we liked it
Rosemary asiago chicken ragu with pappardelle pasta: Let’s start with some of my favorites. This one was very close to restaurant quality, and it heated nicely on the stove and took about 7 minutes for it to fully warm up. The noodles and chicken were tender but not mushy and had a great flavor. I’d happily have this one again.
I could have eaten two servings of this tasty pasta.
Texas pork chili with Jasmine rice: In addition to pasta dishes, these services shine with chili. Both the pork version and the Plant-based 3-bean chili with homemade corn bread were delicious and heated up easily. I’m not sure if this is mainly because chili is a great candidate for reheating food or if Eat Clean and Forkful really nailed the recipes, but either way, I don’t have any complaints.. Plus, the cornbread was quite tasty and it helped me stay full for longer.
The plant-based 3-bean chili and cornbread was one of my personal favorites.
Low-carb beef lasagna with cheesy broccoli: This was another tasty one, but there was possibly zucchini in the lasagna, which wasn’t on the ingredient list. However, it could have been pieces of broccoli stems (and broccoli florets are on the ingredient list) but I can’t be 100% sure.
The meals are quite healthy.
Chickn nuggets with dairy free mac & cheese: Although they were vegan, the noodles reminded me of butter noodles and the “chickn nuggets” were tasty. As someone who loves the Morning Star veggie nuggets, I’d happily have this vegan dish again.
The portion size for the veggies in this one was pretty weak but overall the meal was still filling.
General Tso’s chicken with basmati rice: For this meal, I enlisted CNET Senior Editor Mike Sorrentino to help taste test. “This meal was delicious, but needs to be renamed to something more like ‘Sesame Chicken Breast with Basmati Rice,'” he told me. “Ignoring my feelings about the meal’s marketing though, I quite liked how filling the chicken breast bites felt, coated in a light sauce that was filled with tiny bits of carrot.
I chose to layer the meal to allow the sauce to be absorbed by the rice effectively. I would eat it again, but perhaps I would mix in some additional vegetables to give it a less protein and rice feel.”
Grilled orange chicken with jasmine rice and mixed veggies: This meal was tasty and a decent portion, but the “mixed veggies” were just green beans, which wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been. I would have preferred broccoli instead, but overall, the chicken was tender and the meal did have a decent flavor. It was just lacking a bit in the veg department.
Sauteed mushroom lasagna with broccoli: My colleague Meara Isenberg ate this one for lunch and was impressed with it, calling it “tasty and filling.”
“It made for an above-average microwaved lunch,” she added.
This meal was frozen, then thawed out before eating and it was still tasty.
12-Hour Mojo Pulled Pork with Sweet Plantains: CNET Producer Carly Marsh was less impressed with her meal, though, stating that although the pork and plantains were tender, the flavors were a bit bland and the zucchini was watery. “Not bad for a free meal, but I wouldn’t spend my money on it,” she said.
Chimichurri palomilla steak with baked sweet plantain: The steak was tender but the plantains didn’t heat up as well in the microwave. I probably wouldn’t order this one again because the side wasn’t my favorite and I was still a bit hungry afterward.
Barbacoa bowl with white rice and black beans: Another terrific one that delivered great flavor, heated up perfectly in the microwave and made for a hearty lunch.
Brisket and cheesy cauliflower: Similar to the one above, this one was delicious. I really loved the flavors in the meat but because I ate this one for dinner one night, I did find it a bit less filling than other meals. However, it is a great choice for someone who eats gluten-free.
This was also a good portion, but without carbs, I was still a bit hungry afterward.
Who is Eat Clean and Forkful good for?
Because these meals are quite healthful, according to their nutrition labels, I think they are ideal for anyone who wants to eat healthier throughout the week but doesn’t have the time or desire to meal prep all the time.
Although the Eat Clean and Forkful packagings had different branding, everything else was the same.
They are more ideal for lunches than dinners, in my opinion, but having a prepared meal delivery service to help get you through the week can save you plenty of time and effort. They are also a great choice for families, as there are many options to choose from each week.
Final verdict on Eat Clean and Forkful
Although there were a handful of duds in the bunch while I was taste-testing the meals, I was still quite impressed with the variety and quality of the meals that Eat Clean and Forkful offered. Given the large menu, there also seems to be something for everyone, but vegans will have just a couple of options each week, so keep that in mind if you only eat 100% plant-based.
I did not try any of the add-on options, but a few did pique my interest, such as the s’more cookie, vegan brownies and matcha dreamer donuts, and I would happily toss a few in my box each week to round out my lunches.
This meal kit reminded me a bit of Factor Meals, given its emphasis on healthy eating, but it comes in cheaper, making it great for those who are budget-minded, too. If budget isn’t a deciding factor for you, though, I highly recommend MealPro as another exceptional prepared meal delivery service.
