Territory Foods Review: A Prepared Meal Delivery Service with Local Flavor

Territory Foods is a ready meal supply service that does issues slightly otherwise. Not like most operations that produce meals in a single central kitchen or manufacturing house, Territory sources from native cooks and eating places to offer your ready meal subscription some native taste.

The service sports activities a sprawling menu of dozens of rotating meals, typically as many as 50 relying on the place you reside, with each regional and international cuisines represented. Some meals are made by eating places, whereas others come from particular person cooks who work out of Territory Meals’ regional industrial kitchens. 

Territory Meals’ meals are all gluten and dairy-free, however there are meals to accommodate nearly any weight loss plan or diet plan, together with vegan keto or low-carb, free, paleo, Whole30 and even meals that help pre- and postpartum diet wants. In accordance with the web site and in step with the wholesome consuming theme, all meals and menus are created with steering from a group of diet consultants and dieticians.

To see how this service stacked up in opposition to the remainder of the sector, I attempted per week’s value of meals from Territory Meals.

Restricted supply zones and menus are particular to every area 

As a result of the menu is sourced from native eating places, the menu adjustments drastically from area to area. This assessment relies on the menu obtainable in New York as of spring 2022. 

Territory Meals can also be not obtainable all through your complete US. The model at present companies the next areas: New York Metropolis; the Washington, DC space; Richmond and coastal Virginia; Philadelphia; the San Francisco Bay Space; most of Southern California; Dallas/Fort Price; Houston; and components of the New England coastal area.

How Territory Meals works: Signing up and ordering meals

Your meal choices in New York will look a lot totally different from these in Philadelphia or on the west coast. To enroll, you may enter your ZIP code and a menu of meal choices will populate. You’ll be able to select meals (at the very least 4 per week) for the subsequent two weeks of deliveries. Every meal is priced individually. 

The web site permits you to simply filter meals in or out in line with your weight loss plan preferences. Filters are plentiful and embrace vegan, vegetarian, keto-friendly, mixitarian, Whole30-approved, low-fat, low-carb, Mediterranean weight loss plan, pre- and postpartum and others. 

Territory meals are priced à la carte with no meal plan or subscription stage to decide on, however you could select at the very least 4 meals per week. All the components, allergens and dietary info — energy, fats, carbs, protein, sodium — are listed clearly with every meal. 

Containers of meals are delivered recent and never frozen on Sunday or Wednesday, relying on how late within the week you place your order. Some meals might be frozen if you happen to’re not planning to eat them straight away, however others, together with meals with recent salads, sides and slaws, wouldn’t fare effectively within the freezer and are finest consumed inside just a few days of arrival.

Some components of the web site have been slightly complicated to me. For example, earlier than you sign up with an e-mail, there’s an choice to vary every particular person meal’s portion measurement. As soon as I signed in and commenced including meals to my cart, no such choice was obvious to me. I used to be additionally hoping for slightly extra info on the cooks. Every meal is produced by a selected entity reminiscent of “Migrant Kitchen” or “Chef Rachelle” however there’s little or no backstory or info on them.

Territory Meals pricing

Costs fluctuate by meal, however many of the choices in New York have been between $14 and $18 a meal, making it one of many costlier companies we have examined. There are additionally some bulk or family-style gadgets, together with desserts and savory meal-starters reminiscent of 4 parts of grilled salmon or lemon pepper rooster with no sides. These vary in worth from $13 for an order of roasted potatoes or carrot cake muffins all the best way as much as $34 for the salmon.

What I ate and the way I appreciated it

I ordered 5 meals and one dessert, a batch of carrot cake muffins. General, the meals have been good and a few have been nice, with one huge miss. I additionally did not look after the muffins. This is a breakdown.

• Fried rooster katsu over rice with carrot slaw: This dish was glorious and one of many higher ready meals I’ve had from any service. The rooster was coated and fried completely and the candy and umami-packed sauce was balanced and scrumptious. The carrot slaw had a very good crunch.
• Cauliflower curry over rice: This one was additionally superb. The cauliflower wasn’t overcooked. The curry had delicate warmth however was nonetheless lots flavorful.

• Chimichurri steak with roasted potatoes and chimichurri: The steak was cooked effectively and nonetheless pretty tender contemplating it had been ready earlier and elsewhere. The roasted potatoes have been additionally superb. The sautéed kale was a bit plain by itself, however the vibrant chimichurri sauce helped.

• Harissa rooster meatballs: Not as spicy a harissa as I am used to, however the flavors labored nonetheless. The aspect of tabouleh tasted recent.

• Sesame rooster over fried rice with bok choy: This was the most important miss of the bunch. The rooster itself was rubbery and unappetizing. The fried rice was nice however not very thrilling. I did not end this one.

• Carrot cake muffins: These muffin add-ons have been far too candy for my style.

How I ready my meals

Whereas any of those meals can be heated within the microwave, I at all times attempt to keep away from it. For the steak, rooster, meatballs and rice dishes, I merely eliminated the chilly sides — slaws, salads — and tossed the remaining in a nonstick skillet for a couple of minutes, coated over low warmth together with the sauce earlier than serving. Sure, doing it this manner means you may have one pan to rinse, however I promise it is value it. The muffins I heated in a toaster oven till heat.

Who’s Territory Meals good for?

As a result of the entire meals is gluten-free and dairy-free, this can be a good service for anybody avoiding these meals. There are many choices for vegans, paleo dieters and different particular consuming plans, so it is a good decide for anybody with explicit restrictions. Portion sizes have been additionally beneficiant, so huge eaters could like this meal supply service.

Who’s Territory Meals not good for?

The meals are costly, so this isn’t a good selection for anybody attempting to chop prices at mealtime. I would not advocate this service for households for a similar motive — it might be very costly to feed a gaggle of three or 4 with these meals. The meals can also be not notably kid-friendly.

Packaging and environmental friendliness

My six meals arrived in a single field with recyclable insulation and ice packs, all of that are principally recyclable, though the gel from the ice packs have to be disposed of within the trash. The person containers have been packaged in a compostable bamboo and fiber tray. The trays have been encased in paper sleeves, that are additionally recyclable.  

Remaining verdict on Territory Meals

General, the meals I had from Territory Foods have been above common and a few on par with the most effective I’ve had from any service. Among the many nice meals have been some that have been simply good and one which was fairly unhealthy. Whereas I really like the sprawling number of wholesome meals that match into any consuming plan, and that Territory Meals helps native cooks and eating places, together with immigrant cooks and up-and-comers, it is nonetheless relatively costly. 

For me, there is no ready meal service that may beat really freshly ready takeout from my favourite native eating places. At $15 to $17 per meal and with no low cost for subscribing or ordering extra, I’d in all probability go for that over these meals. That stated, if the takeout choices in your neighborhood are slim, Territory Meals will open up a spread of choices from regional eating places and cooks that will not function in your Uber Eats or Grubhub supply zone.  

On this worth vary, I’d nonetheless advocate Fresh n’ Lean, which is just a few {dollars} cheaper per meal and had an especially excessive hit fee of scrumptious meals. One other service that sources meals and recipes from cooks across the nation identical to Territory Meals is CookUnity. It is also cheaper — between $11 and $14 a meal — and all of the meals I attempted was glorious. 

Extra on meal supply 

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.