It’s not easy figuring out what to eat when there are strict dietary guidelines for a health condition. This is especially true if you’re a caregiver.
I’m a registered dietitian, so I have a lot of experience planning meals, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to help my parents — who are both over age 70, live with me, and have high cholesterol — stick to a meal plan. Yes, I know what they should eat to lower their cholesterol. But I lean toward plant-based meals with a lot of spice, whereas my parents, who grew up on farms in eastern North Carolina, favor meat and potatoes, and like their vegetables with more butter and salt than I do. Because I work full-time and my parents are retired, my mom is our family’s main cook. She’s a fantastic Southern cook. Her gravy and pound cakes are perfect. But she’s less comfortable experimenting with new recipes (like the ones I recommend to her) unless she has a sous chef in the kitchen (aka me).
That’s why I was excited to try out the medically tailored prepared meal delivery service Mom’s Meals to see if it would work for my family. This service's meals are created by registered dietitians and professional chefs, and delivered to older adults and people with disabilities nationwide. Mom’s Meals aims to help improve its users general well-being and chronic health issues with proper nutrition while keeping costs affordable. I decided to see if the service lived up to its promise of better health and high-quality, well-balanced meals that meet my family’s needs. Here’s how it went.
It’s incredibly easy to sign up for Mom’s Meals. I simply entered my name, address, and credit card number, then put together my order.
Each meal is labeled as diabetes-friendly, heart healthy, lower in sodium, gluten-free, renal-friendly, higher protein, or vegetarian, and most are labeled with several of these. There are an additional 16 pureed meals for those with dysphagia, the medical term for difficulty swallowing, which is common in older adults with certain neurological conditions.
While the service doesn’t have a specific plan for each condition, you can filter the meals according to your preferences, then choose what you want. Some meals come with a choice of a side, such as applesauce or juice, but most meals are not customizable.
I chose “general health” to see the widest selection, which made 50-plus meals available to me. I chose not to repeat meals, but I could have ordered multiples of the same meal if I wanted to. There is no restriction on the number of breakfasts versus lunches or dinners in an order, but unlike some meal delivery services, there are no extra grocery items or desserts available. You can make your meal selections up to eight weeks in advance.
The entrées lean toward simple, homestyle dishes. There are several hearty soups, some stir-fres, and quite a few meals of meat with potatoes or pasta. Proteins include beef, pork, and chicken. There is a filter for fish, but no fish meals were available at the time I ordered.
Vegetarian choices were made of starch, vegetables, and often cheese or eggs; they did not feature tofu or other alternative proteins.
My parents and I ordered the following meals:
The cost for most meals at Mom’s Meals is $7.99 each. For renal, pureed, and gluten-free meals, there is an additional $1 charge, bringing the cost to $8.99.
Shipping costs $14.95.
Customers can save 10 percent with a recurring auto-ship order. The price seems fair to me, given that a person can be assured their food is designed to assist them with a chronic health condition, and there is no need to go to the grocery store or spend time reading labels.
It may be possible to receive Mom’s Meals as a benefit on a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Medicaid plan, or through an Area Agency on Aging. To check if you’re eligible, contact Mom’s Meals or your insurance plan administrator.
The weight of the box (containing 10 meals) was considerable. I didn’t have trouble transporting it from my front door to my kitchen, but some older adults with less mobility and strength might.
The cold meals were separated from the nonrefrigerated items, such as granola and a cookie, so nothing was soggy from moisture, which I appreciated.
The Mom’s Meals order was shipped in a cardboard box with a plastic liner. The plastic ice packs are filled with a gel; they can be refrozen or disposed of, but they should not be thawed and the gel rinsed down the sink as this may cause a clog. The Mom’s Meals website does not have a statement about sustainability practices. The meals I received were packaged in plastic trays with numbered recycling symbol stamped on the bottom.
The typical instructions were to:
The barbecue chicken was designated as a “fan favorite” on the website, and I agree; it was the best entrée I tried. I also thought the Southwestern chicken was tasty. Risotto is one of my favorite dishes, but I did not care for the Creamy Risotto With Mushrooms and Vegetables. It was not as creamy as I would have liked, and I felt like it was more of a side dish than an entrée.
Most of our Mom’s Meals contained around 450 calories, which is less than I would typically consume at a meal. Although the protein and starch portions were adequate, they lacked the volume of vegetables I am used to eating. I was hungry shortly after eating Mom’s Meals, but I’m decades younger and likely more active than the older adults these meals are designed to satisfy.
Like other meal delivery services I’ve tried, the portions of protein were adequate overall, but the portions of fruit and vegetables were much smaller than what I would prepare for my family if I were cooking.
When you select your meals, you can view the full nutrition facts label of each meal on the Mom’s Meals website, which is a nice feature for people who need to pay close attention to their nutritional needs. In general, the nutritional content of Mom’s Meals met my expectations as a registered dietitian.
The calorie content of the meals I sampled ranged from 400 to 500, although some meals on the menu are closer to 700. Those with smaller appetites and caloric needs would do well on 400 to 500 calorie meals, and larger, more active people would benefit from the meals in the 600 to 700 calorie range.
As for sugar content, some of the diabetes-friendly meals had as much as 65 g of carbohydrates and 31 g of sugar. This amount of carbohydrates can be fine for some larger, more active people who live with diabetes, but it may be too much for smaller, less active people who are working to keep their blood sugar levels in check. (Small, older women require only about 30 g of carbohydrates per meal; but this is highly individualized and should be decided with the help of a registered dietitian.)
Mom’s Meals contain preservatives (sodium bisulfite, sodium benzoate) and thickeners (xantham gum, guar gum). This is not unexpected in a product designed to be shipped and refrigerated for a week or more, but Mom’s Meals is not the right service for someone who prides themselves on eating all-natural, organic, or non-GMO foods.
When I searched Mom’s Meals for a choice that was heart-friendly, lower in sodium, diabetes-friendly, and renal-friendly, I got 43 entrées. One of them was the Southwestern-Style Chicken, Vegetable Hash, and Rice, for which the nutrition facts lists these details:
The question is: Does this meal qualify for the Mom's Meals labels based on the nutrition facts? At 480 mg of sodium, Southwestern-Style Chicken, Vegetable Hash, and Rice is appropriately classified as lower in sodium, and because of its low saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium content, it qualifies as heart healthy as well.
It’s clear that Mom’s Meals understands older adults’ nutritional and financial needs, and the company fills a gap for older adults and disabled people who want food that supports their health concerns at a lower price point, and who don’t want to or can’t prepare their own meals.
The cost per meal is less than other services such as Factor and Trifecta, which cost closer to the $13 to $15 range, and slightly higher than frozen meals from a supermarket.
Mom’s Meals is not competing for shoppers who want organic produce or even those interested in a traditional meal kit delivery service. It is filling a specific medical and mobility need for certain groups. Here’s how the service compares to other medically tailored meal delivery services.
General wellness, diabetes-friendly, gluten-free, heart-friendly, lower sodium, higher protein, pureed, renal-friendly, vegetarian
$12.95 ($7.75 pureed); free shipping on $160 or more, $25 shipping otherwise
Mom’s Meals is a great service for older adults or disabled people who no longer have the interest or ability to cook, and want quick, nutritious food at home. The prices are reasonable, the ordering process is quick and easy, and there is no ongoing commitment so you won’t be charged unless you actively place an order.
The service will go a long way to ease the burden of shopping, meal prep, cooking, and cleanup for either an adult who needs the meals or a busy caregiver who is taking care of a loved one who lives across town or even in another city. Especially if the loved one is like my dad: thrilled to pull something out of the fridge that someone else has already planned and prepared, an expert has approved as heart healthy, and will be ready to eat in under three minutes!
Not sure if Mom’s Meals is the right meal delivery service for you? Check out our Expert Guide to the Best Meal Kit Delivery Services in 2024.
Yes, Mom’s Meals may be paid for by health insurance in some situations. To qualify, a person typically needs to meet these criteria:
To find out more, call your Medicaid or Medicare Advantage plan, or your local Area Agency on Aging.
Everyday Health is finding the best meal delivery kits by testing over 50 services. First, we research and vet the company and its business practices. Next, we consult registered dieticians to find out what to look for in meal delivery kits, what to avoid, and about overall nutrition. Finally, we assign professional journalists or RDs to try out the service.
I tested Mom’s Meals by ordering 10 meals directly from the company website and eating them over the course of a week. I also asked my parents, who are in their seventies, to taste the entrées and give me their opinion on the flavors. As a registered dietitian and a certified diabetes educator, I’m interested in helping people find convenient meal delivery solutions that work for their lifestyle and contribute to improved health.
Julie Cunningham has been a registered dietitian for more than 25 years. She is a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) and an international board-certified lactation consultant. She has served as the president of the Foothills Chapter of the North Carolina Dietetics Association (NCDA) and has been a member of the executive board of the NCDA.
Ms. Cunningham received a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University in North Carolina. She subsequently completed a master's degree in public health nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ms. Cunningham has worked in women's and children's health, cardiology, and diabetes. She is the author of 30 Days to Tame Type 2 Diabetes, and she has also written for Abbott Nutrition News, Edgepark Medical Health Insights, diaTribe, Babylist, and others.
A resident of beautiful western North Carolina, Cunningham is an avid reader who enjoys yoga, travel, and all things chocolate.
Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.
She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.
Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
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