Saving Freak

Learn to Save, Make, Invest, and Protect Your Money

PlateJoy Review

Last Updated: By

Advertiser Disclosure ▼
SavingFreak.com has an advertising relationship with some of the offers included on this page. However, the rankings and listings of our reviews, tools and all other content are based on objective analysis. For more information, please check out our full disclaimer. SavingFreak.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products are presented without warranty.

PlateJoy is a unique service that frequently gets compared to other meal kit services.

While services like Hello Fresh and Home Chef have become very popular, PlateJoy takes a very different tactic in helping you save time and eat meals that match your preferred diet.

How Does PlateJoy Work?

platejoy reviewPlateJoy is not just another regular meal kit service but is a meal service that customizes the plan according to your diet or health goal. PlateJoy offers meal plans and recipes that are personalized according to your requirements and lifestyle.

Signing up for the PlateJoy service includes filling out the “advanced lifestyle quiz”. This allows PlateJoy to understand your preferences, tastes, and health goals.

Some of the questions you need to answer are who you are cooking for, what you like to eat, what your food preferences are, where you shop, how much you want to cook, etc.

Once you finish answering the quiz, you will get a Meal Queue of all the meals in the upcoming PlateJoy menus, which you can review, remove any dishes you do not want and then approve the queue. This is done only the first time when you sign up, but you can update this any time you want.

PlateJoy then gives you a week’s menu on basis of how many meals you need and offers the best combination for you that eliminates any food waste to reduce the cost.

They also allow you to customize further by replacing meals or deleting them. When the queue is running low of meal suggestions, PlateJoy will add recommendations.

Once you finalize your menu, PlateJoy sends you the recipes and shopping list. You can access everything online or via your phone, through the link that PlateJoy sends as a text. The lists are organized and easy to use while you’re shopping in the store.

PlateJoy also asks what pantry ingredients you already have and if you don’t need them, they will not appear on your shopping list. You also have the option of adding other items you require to the shopping list. PlateJoy also offers you the option of having the ingredients required for your recipes delivered to you when you send the shopping list to the Instacart. The groceries are delivered the same day across 25 metros.

PlateJoy offers you recipes that are curated carefully to meet your health objectives. You can also get personal advice from the in-house nutrition coach about how you can achieve your goals. PlateJoy makes use of over 50 data points that can be customized to your specific needs, goals and lifestyle.

PlateJoy offers both an Android and iOS app for use on smart devices. But, to access the app, you need a PlateJoy account.

Pricing

PlateJoy Meal Planning

PlateJoy Meal Planning is available in 2 packages:

  • 6-Month Plan – $69
  • 12-Month Plan – $99

PlateJoy Weight Loss

The PlateJoy Weight Loss packages are available in 3-month and 6-month packages:

  • 3-Month Plan – $89
  • 6-Month Plan – $119

Both packages do not include the cost of food.

PlateJoy offers a free trial for 10 days free of cost. You will not be charged until after the free trial period and if you are not satisfied with the service, you can cancel your subscription on your account page.

You can pause your subscription or cancel it anytime. You can ask for a full refund of your money within 10 days of signing up or renewal. If the time period is more than 10 days, then PlateJoy does not give pro-rated refunds.

Types of Meals/Products Available

PlateJoy offers a wide range of meal options according to your diet, lifestyle and health goals, including the following diet and cooking-focused options:

  • Vegan
  • Paleo
  • Low carb
  • Gluten-free
  • Vegetarian
  • Peanut-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Diabetic friendly
  • Weight loss
  • Kid friendly
  • Batch cooking
  • Clean eating
  • Slow cooker

Company History

PlateJoy belongs to PlateJoy Inc. The company was started in 2012 by Christina Bognet and is located in San Francisco, California.

Alternatives

If you want a meal service that delivers, there are several options that can meet your needs. They include:

  • Purple Carrot – Known as the top option for Vegans, Purple Carrot has a 100% vegan menu.
  • Blue Apron – One of the heavy hitters, Blue Apron has a large portion of the meal kit market.
  • Freshly – One of the few options that cook the food before shipping, Freshly delivers food that is ready in less that 10 minutes.

Pros

  • PlateJoy meals are simple and easy to put together.
  • Customized meal planning
  • Flexibility to change your personalization profile anytime and create a new menu
  • System is extremely simple.
  • “Batch Cooking” option help you prepare your meals before or freezer meals that help you save a lot of time and money.

Cons

  • Meals and ingredients are often repeated, making meals potentially boring
  • Set up process takes quite a long time due to the detailed questionnaire.
  • Some of the recipes may not be detailed enough in terms of the cooking techniques, making it difficult for beginners.
  • Not enough pictures of the cooking process.
  • Some of the recipes do not have the picture of the finished product, which doesn’t give you a clear picture of what to expect.

PlateJoy Company Information

First Published

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *