I found out about Mom’s Meals through my mom, funnily enough. She had a hospital stay, and when she was discharged, they sent her these meals for a few months. I got to try a few, and honestly, they were pretty good.

In her case, insurance covered the meals. I checked with Aetna to see if I had the same benefit, but no luck. However, if you order on your own, the meals run about $7.99 each. With a weekly subscription, you save even more—I get 10 meals a week for $70.

This is by far the most affordable meal prep service I’ve found. I used to spend over $200 a week eating out. Even when I tried meal prepping, between meats and everything else, I’d still spend around $90 a week. Mom’s Meals is a great value.

You pick your meals from a list of options, most of which are geared toward healthy living since they’re often provided to people recovering from hospital stays. They have heart-friendly, renal-friendly, and other specialized meals. Each meal comes with sides like bread, pudding, Jello, cheese sticks, or oranges.

Now, a few things to watch out for. Some meals have very small protein portions, smaller than I expected. Calling those a “protein dish” might be a stretch. For example, one had about a quarter of a burger patty’s worth of ground-up meat.

To make this worth your while, you’ll need to be selective. Right now, I stick to the Salisbury steak, meatloaf, and pepper steak since those are the only ones with a reasonable amount of protein. They also have plenty of vegetarian options if that’s your preference. Personally, I aim to include meat and protein in my meals because I’m trying to build muscle.

Another issue I’ve encountered is packaging and delivery. I’ve received damaged meal packages multiple times. I contacted them, and they made it right by giving me free meals. Once, I received seven free meals due to damage. A recent batch had some bent plastic, but nothing broken or leaking, so it seems like they’ve improved their packing after my complaints.

There have also been some mistakes, like pasta dishes arriving without sauce or a meal missing the actual pepper steak. That one was surprising considering it’s the main ingredient of the dish.

That said, these issues aren’t deal breakers for me, especially since they fix mistakes by replacing the meals. If you’re looking to eat clean on a budget and don’t have the time or interest to cook or meal prep, this service is solid. The food tastes pretty good, and for the price, it’s definitely worth trying. If you’re considering something like this, give Mom’s Meals a shot.