Meals create moments for connection and cooking is truly a love language. But when jumbled with the daily demands of being a full-time working parent and spouse, ease can go AWOL.

Instead of waving the white flag, I called in for backup — subscribing to a prepared meal delivery service for about a week. Many meal delivery options have popped up over the years, often with opportunities to tailor the service to your household needs, including frequency, dietary restrictions and even the best time of day to deliver.

I used CookUnity, a New York-based company that works with chefs and restaurateurs for its dishes and has received high marks from publications such as Bon Appétit and Food & Wine. My husband and I aren’t picky eaters and our son, who recently turned 1, is adopting the willingness to try new things, so he’s included in dinner decisions. I ordered eight dinnertime meals, including a chicken shawarma rice bowl, a Japanese-style ribeye curry, and chicken and salmon pastas. Each can be heated in the oven or microwave and ready to eat in 11 to 15 minutes.

Meal delivery services can help frazzled parents and professionals have one less thing to worry about, but it can also be a lifesaver for those unable to make their meals temporarily or long-term. The DoorDash gift card I received as a baby shower gift was probably one of best gifts I could have received.

I do like unplugging and cooking a meal for my family, but sometimes the workday can suck the life out of me. So the luxury of prepared meals provides peace of mind. After a long day of reporting, picking up the little one from child care and feeding my two corgis, cooking didn’t have to be another brain-tugging chore.

I found myself curious about how other households navigated using a meal delivery service.

Tonya Abari, who lives in Tennessee, started using a meal subscription service after her second child was born in 2020. She experienced postpartum complications that required her to frequent the hospital.

“I had to put my pride aside and ask for help from my community,” said Abari, a Baltimore City College graduate.

Someone at her husband’s job at the time gave them a Splendid Spoon certificate, she said, which provided three months’ worth of meals. It was a “blessing we didn’t know we needed,” Abari said, adding that the support helped lessen anxiety and stress.

They were also signed up for Lasagna Love, a nonprofit that delivers home-cooked meals, while neighbors brought fruit and vegetables from their garden.

Abari and her husband are trying to be cognizant of expenses these days, so they make their own prepped meals, including overnight oats, smoothies, casseroles and stews.

“If you have something to give, I think meal prep services are something that any person would appreciate,” Abari said.

Convenience isn’t a line item on a receipt for a meal delivery service, but it’s certainly paid for.

Research suggests that time-saving purchases like housecleaning or meal delivery can affect relationship satisfaction, especially for individuals who are prone to stress, according to a study from Harvard Business School.

Terri Huggins Hart had her own playbook to make the most out of meals brought to her home.

A mother of two who lives in New Jersey, Huggins Hart started using meal subscription services religiously during the COVID-19 pandemic. She’d been disinfecting her grocery bags and cooking everything from scratch, and her meal routine became exhausting with four mouths to feed.

Meal prep services saved her time but not money, and as she became reliant on prepared meals she started to lose her skill of finessing a meal with minimal ingredients. Remembering her own original recipes also became a struggle. She did, however, expand her “palate in a sense to eat more vegetables,” Huggins Hart said.

I’d say that’s a fair exchange.

Nakeya Samuels, 41, has tried several meal subscription services, including HelloFresh, which sends ingredients and recipe cards instead of prepared meals. Because of the cost, she now uses the cards from her packages to shop and make meals for her family on her own budget.

I also started thinking about how much I could make for the cost of the delivered dinners. The first week’s meals from CookUnity were 50% off and I found myself calculating what I could have made and spread out during the week.

The CookUnity meals were portioned for a single serving, which was great for my husband, who had to work night shifts that week. But overall, as someone who grew up enjoying leftovers, the portions were a bit of a deal-breaker for me; I find comfort knowing I have a future meal or two accounted for.

I appreciated the week off from dinnertime prep, but instead of convincing me to sign up for a meal delivery service consistently, it inspired me to plan out my own meals.

For breakfast, my husband and I prepared burritos with well-seasoned chorizo, scrambled eggs, black beans and tater tots. The latter is starting to be a favorite for my son, who often shares a high-pitched “oh” when they’re presented to him.

I don’t have every meal planned or down pat, but feeding and spending time with my family will always be a daily battle worth fighting for.