Recipe boxes and meal kits have certainly seen an increase in popularity in recent years, offering an easy answer to 'what's for dinner?' without having to head to the shops. With these boxes delivering ingredients right to your home, it's easy to see why anyone with a busy schedule may opt for these services.

Over the years, I've tried three of these subscription services, HelloFresh, Mindful Chef, and Gousto - all of which have given me delicious dinners. However, there's one that has just blown the others away, though they all certainly have their pros and cons. Whichever you pick, it's certain that you'll have a scrumptious meal in no time - all without leaving your home to pop to the shop.

While these boxes can be something of a mixed bag-whether you just don't like the dish, or the company sends incorrect ingredients, or, on rare occasions, food that is not-so-fresh-they are an affordable and mostly stress-free way to get food on the table each night.

Two people/two meals: Approx £7.00-£7.99 per serving.
Two people/five Meals: Approx £4.20 - £4.80 per serving.

Despite being perhaps the most well-known of the recipe subscription boxes, HelloFresh was actually my least favourite of the three. Now, don't get me wrong, the meals were delicious, but on more than one occasion, I was sent the wrong ingredients for the meals I'd picked - and seeing as I'd ordered the vegetarian box, I was somewhat put out to open it to discover beef.

I've also heard horror stories of people receiving mouldy ingredients, although this never happened to me. On the whole, I did receive the correct ingredients, and these did usually make for a tasty dinner, and I still often find myself daydreaming about the chermoula halloumi I had from them once.

Two person Box: Around £6.75 - £7 per portion.

Mindful Chef is not your typical meal box; it's one that puts health first and foremost, and you'll be unlikely to receive any refined carbs in your recipes. This makes Mindful Chef a great choice for those looking for healthier options.

Like HelloFresh, Mindful Chef also offers a ton of tasty and healthy choices, though since cancelling my subscription, I have switched back to white rice after only brown and wild rice during my time using the service. Mindful Chef often offers collaborations with other food companies, with LEON regularly appearing on their menus. This was part of the subscription I particularly enjoyed, and it was always a bit of fun picking my recipes for the week.

Perhaps the biggest downside (other than no white rice - yes I know it's not the healthiest choice) was the portion size, with the healthier options leading to smaller portions that could sometimes leave me still a bit peckish.

Two people/two meals: Approximately £7.00 per serving
Two person/five meals: Approximately £4.65 per serving

Gousto has proved to be my favourite of the three boxes, and I've recently resubscribed following a break over the busy Christmas and New Year period. One of the pros of Gousto is that it typically offers more options each week, and even as a vegetarian, I still find myself spoilt for choice.

I'm also yet to receive any wrong ingredients, and everything has been quite fresh so far. And again, much like HelloFresh and Midful Chef, the recipe guides are super easy to follow, keeping kitchen stress low.

I've also found the dishes at Gousto to just be a cut above the other two boxes, with one of my favourites being a truffle cacio e pepe sauce with raviolo that took just ten minutes to cook!