Prepared Meals Review: Factor Meals vs. Meal Prep Ottawa 

It’s been a while since we did a review on food delivery services so we’re back to review prepared meals this time (compared to meal kits in the past). Compared to delivered meal kits, this is even more convenient as it requires no cooking, only reheating – perfect for those who are too busy to cook during the week. We don’t use it for all our meals, but as a supplement on some busier evenings and for a quick packed lunch. We previously did a post on Red Apron which is also a meal delivery service. In addition to that one, we have been trying two other services available here in Ottawa: Factor Meals and Meal Prep Ottawa.

Ordering

Ordering for both services is very straightforward. Since Factor Meals is acquired by Hello Fresh, it uses the same user interface so it’s visually pleasing and very easy to use. There is also a wide selection of meal options to choose from. Meal Prep Ottawa has a more basic ordering system, where you just pick date, the number of servings and the plan you prefer (varying from keto to vegan). You will then receive whatever is on their rotating menu for that meal plan that week and you don’t need to choose the specific meals.

Cost

For Factor Meals, the cost is $89.94 for 6 meals or $14.99/serving. If you order more meals/week, the per serving price is lower.

For Meal Prep Ottawa, the cost is $71 for 5 meals or $14.20/serving. If you subscribe, then you get 5% off the usual plan price, so $67.45 for 5 meals ($13.49/serving). As with Factor Meals, the per serving price is lower, the more meals you order per week.

Delivery

Delivery is straightforward for both. Both can be delivered to your doorstep with ice packs. Shipping is flat rate $9.99 for Factor and is $3 within Ottawa and $10 outside Ottawa for Meal Prep Ottawa. You also have to option to pick it up in store from Meal Prep Ottawa. The other advantage of Meal Prep Ottawa is that they send you a notification when the food is on the way and when it has arrived.

Nutrition

In terms of nutrition, both services are very transparent about the nutritional content of their meals. Both have attached labels with macro contents of the meals. They both have specific targeted meal preferences you can choose from – e.g. vegan, athlete/protein-plus, keto etc. so you can easily work towards your health goals. Factor Meals goes the extra step and list all their ingredients and nutritional contents (in addition to just macros) so you have the ability to analyze what you are eating in detail. 

Taste

In terms of taste, we believe Factor Meals is the clear winner here. Their meals are definitely more tasty and has more variety. It also helps that we can choose our specific meals so we can choose things that we enjoy compared to Meal Prep Ottawa where there are some meals we are not a fan of but cannot exclude it from our order; although, we were pleasantly surprised how flavourful Meal Prep Ottawa’s vegan meals are and we have been enjoying it more taste-wise compared to their meat versions of the meals.

Packaging

Unfortunately, both services still uses a lot of plastic in its packaging so we don’t feel great about it from a sustainability point of view. Meal Prep Ottawa is slightly better because they use reusable cooler bags and ice packs that we can return with our next order whereas Factor is using thick cardboard and big ice packs we have to throw out. I really hope these services will start using the Friendlier reusable boxes that Red Apron uses. Meal Prep Ottawa are already using it for some meals you can pick up from their store, so if they do that for their delivered meals too, it will make me feel less guilty about using their service.

Allergy-friendliness

We appreciate that both services are relatively allergy-friendly. Meal Prep Ottawa is very flexible in that they can accommodate up to 2 allergies. There are times when they gave us a different meal than the one listed on their weekly menu to accommodate our allergies. Factor Meal lists allergens and ingredients clearly for each meal before you order it so you can choose which ones are appropriate and safe.

Conclusion

Overall, both services are great for those who are busy and where cooking every night is not feasible. At the same time, they are both excellent choices for those who would like a relatively healthier option for prepared meals compared to take-out. In terms of taste Factor Meal takes the win but Meal Prep wins in terms of sustainability and cost. 

Happy meal planning!

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If you want to try Factor Meals: Sign-up with this link and you will get $80 off throughout your first 4 boxes.

For 10% off Meal Prep Ottawa: Sign-up here. (There will be a pop-up for you to enter your email and get your discount.)

Note: I will receive an affiliate credits if you choose to order via the above links.