When we first become mothers we imagine feeding our children only fresh, nutritious meals made lovingly from scratch.

Then real life happens and we realize that cooking fresh meals twice a day on top of keeping up with the house cleaning, chores, and maybe work as well, is a challenge.

We often end up cooking for the family when we’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.

If you have a picky eater at home, this can add to the stress of mealtimes.

Fresh kids’ meal delivery services aim to help take this load off of parents, and they have been rising in popularity in recent years.

Nurture Life is one of the best kids’ meal subscription services around.

They deliver pre-portioned kids’ meals to your door every week. Meals are made with fresh, quality ingredients, with a variety of flavors, and always with veggies.

Find out more about them in this review, including my own taste test of their meals that I did together with my son.

What are kids’ meal delivery subscriptions?

Kids’ meal delivery subscriptions send freshly cooked meals for kids straight to your door in pre-portioned trays. 

They can be stored in the fridge or freezer so that they’re ready to serve when you need them.

The ingredients are often organic, high-quality foods and they include at least one portion of vegetables in each meal.

They aim to offer a healthy alternative to making meals from scratch.

Nurture Life

Nurture Life is a fresh meal subscription that has a great reputation for providing balanced, healthy meals for kids which are delivered to you each week.

The table below details what the service offers, so that you can weigh up whether Nurture Life is best for you.

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

Nurture Life: my honest review

I tried five different Nurture Life meal options for my toddler. These were: 

• Chicken Meatballs with Pasta and Vegetables.
• Veggie Ragout Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella.
• BBQ Pulled Pork with Cornbread Muffin and Carrots.
• Pesto and Cheese Ravioli.
• Teriyaki Salmon with Rainbow Veggie Rice.

See more Nurture Life meals: Nurture Life Menus

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

What did my son think of the meals?

My son enjoyed all of the meals. He was a bit hesitant with the Teriyaki Salmon which is a new taste for him.

I was pleasantly surprised to see him go for the food with his fork without me having to encourage him.

While the portions are big (so they are a lot to finish for him), he ate enough to my satisfaction, plus leftovers! The difficulty was who would win those leftovers, mommy, daddy or baby.

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

What I thought of the meals

Being a first-time meal service customer, I tasted it with trepidation. But I have to say I was very impressed with the flavor and texture of Nurture Life’s meals.

The first meal we tried was the pulled pork and I was actually surprised at how delicious it was! I mean I knew it would be good enough, but the pork literally tasted like it would taste at a restaurant.

Thinking we just got lucky with the first dish, we tried the rest but they were all just as delicious.

Is Nurture Life worth it?

Nurture Life is worth it for parents who want the convenience of kids’ meal deliveries without sacrificing on nutrition.

The ingredients are organic where possible and it’s reassuring that they maintain a high standard of nutrition in each meal.

They strive to keep recipes low in sugar and fat while also sourcing proteins that are free from antibiotics and hormones.  

It’s also especially a great option for kids who have nut allergies as the meals are prepared in a nut-free facility. 

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

Who started Nurture Life?

Nurture Life was started by co-founders Steve Minisini and Jennifer Chow who believe that kids’ meals could be better.

After spending many late nights preparing meals for their families, they wanted to offer a more convenient option to other parents without sacrificing on nutrition and taste.

Nurture Life benefits

Nutritionally balanced meals

One of the biggest concerns I have for my son is that he is not getting the proper nutrition he needs which I’ll admit, he doesn’t.

Nurture Life takes care of this for parents with their team of dietitians who design each meal to include a nutritional macronutrient balance.

From your 10-month-old and upward, each stage of development is carefully portioned to provide the proper nutrients.

Includes a variety of ingredients

Nurture Life gives palates the opportunity to explore a variety of organic produce, antibiotic-free proteins and whole grains.

I personally have zero creativity when it comes to feeding my toddler. I might go for a hot dog (I know, horrible) and, fingers crossed, broccoli for lunch and call it a day.

With Nurture Life, picky eaters can be pleasantly surprised with dishes like chicken biryani and mac and cheese with cauliflower.

Tasty veggies in every meal

With veggies being my biggest nemesis with my son, Nurture Life craftily incorporates a variety of them on every plate. Some of their meals have up to nine different veggies in them!

It is comforting to know that Nurture Life operates from these five nutritional standards:

1. Balance and variety at all ages.
2. Veggies on every plate.
3. Nutrient-dense – no empty calories.
4. Clean, clear and understandable ingredients.
5. Variety to help expand kids’ palates.

What’s even more impressive about Nurture Life is that they have recently joined the Partnership for Healthier America, which is championed by Michelle Obama.

It has begun the ‘Shaping Early Palates Initiative’ which has the goal of encouraging more affordable, healthy meal options for kids.

To be part of such a health-focused drive says a lot about Nurture Life’s priorities as a company.

Finger food meals for babies 10 months+

Transitioning from purees to self-feeding can be worrying for parents who aren’t sure whether the food is soft or small enough.

Nurture Life’s finger foods for 10+ month babies help with this process as they’re created to be soft enough to be mashed by little gums and are easy to pick up. 

Each meal comes with 2-3 different ingredients to expose your bub to new textures and flavors. Examples include beef meatloaf with squash and broccoli. All you need to do is heat and serve!

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

Nurture Life customer reviews

Nurture Life has an average of 4.9 stars from 618 reviews across 2 sites. Many parents described it as “a luxury” and “healthy and delicious.”

Nurture Life pros:

• High-quality ingredients.
• Fresh meals. Meals felt equivalent to home-cooked dinners.
• Great ways of including vegetables. Vegetables (often several kinds) were cooked into the recipes in ways that kids enjoyed them.
• Kid-approved. Kids loved the foods and ate the meals including veggies.
• Picky eaters enjoyed meals. Picky eaters have even enjoyed a variety of meals.
• Offers meal variety. Meal variety helped broaden their children’s palate.
• Convenient option. Busy parents or pregnant mamas loved the convenience of having fresh meals ready to go.

Nurture Life cons:

• A handful of reviews had delivery issues where the food was a little too warm, but this can happen with any delivery-based service.

Here’s what a few parents had to say:

Nurture Life ordering process?

You begin by entering your email and Zip code, then choosing the meals that you would like for the week.

You can either choose these yourself or you can fill in a quick questionnaire and allow Nurture Life to select the meals for you.

Meals for every week can be adjusted by you or chosen by Nurture Life according to the requirements you entered, whichever you prefer.

Meals start from $6.99 each and they ask for a minimum order of 6 meals a week ($44.94 in total) plus an $8 shipping flat fee. 

They also have some tiered discounts:

Order 9 meals = $7.99 per meal + free shipping. 

Order 12 meals = $7.16 per meal + free shipping.

Order 15 meals = $6.99 per meal + free shipping.

Nurture Life offers a flexible subscription allowing you to skip weeks, pause or cancel at any time.

Packaging & serving

Nurture Life meals are shipped in insulated packaging designed to keep meals cold at refrigerated temperatures, but not frozen.

Everything from the food trays to the insulated box can be recycled, with the exception of the gel packs.

Meal storage

All meals can be stored in the freezer for 3 months or in the fridge for 7 days.

The meal trays themselves are BPA-free and made from quality food-grade plastics. They can all be microwaved except for the baby finger food jars which cannot be heated.

Are Nurture Life meals allergen-free?

Yes, Nurture Life meals are allergen-free, and it’s one of the few kids’ meal providers to offer a nut-free facility.

This means that all food is guaranteed to be peanut and tree-nut-free with the exception of coconuts. Some recipes contain coconuts but you can filter these out when choosing your meals.

In total, you can filter the meals for 8 different ‘free from’ options such as milk, gluten, soy or pork. They offer a range of vegetarian meals as well for each age group.

50% off your first week: Nurture Life

Would I recommend Nurture Life?

Nurture Life offers balanced and nutritious kids’ meals conveniently delivered to families, and I found that Nurture Life has a slightly better taste and ingredient quality than its competitors. 

I would also recommend Nurture Life to parents who want a service that caters to a slightly wider age group. They have meals for 10-month-old babies (finger foods). 

It’s also good for kids with nut allergies — they operate a nut-free kitchen facility. 

Nurture Life takes a big daily stress away from parents by providing freshly cooked meals for children.

This is especially useful for parents who work and who want to get home and enjoy some time with their kids, rather than spending an hour cooking for them.

The meals themselves have been checked by nutritionists to ensure that they are well-balanced and provide the right nutritional content for young children.

My son enjoyed all the meals I tested. I even thought the food tasted like restaurant-standard food, which surprised me.

It also offers some additional options which could be helpful to some families. For example they have many ‘free from’ filters when choosing meals. Their meals can also be frozen for up to 3 months which gives parents more flexibility.

Nurture Life offers your family a healthy alternative to making dinners from scratch, with balanced meals ready to serve; so that you can enjoy more quality time together instead of preparing their meals.

Nurture Life FAQs

How long do Nurture Life meals last?

The meals can last for a week in the fridge. 

How do I cancel Nurture Life?

Simply head to the settings section of your online Nurture Life account to cancel your subscription.

Looking for adult portion meal subscription services instead?

Check out our best meal subscription boxes review here where we reveal the top 8 options. 

For a more in-depth look at some of our favorite brands, see our Freshly vs. Hello Fresh review here. 

Freshly does pre-cooked meals for those who want the most convenience. Hello Fresh is one of the biggest names in meal kit subscriptions where the ingredients (not cooked meals) are delivered for pre-selected recipes.  

If you’re looking for vegan options, look at our Hungryroot vs. Purple Carrot review.

*Offers are subject to availability and to the supplier’s terms and conditions at time of ordering. Please check supplier’s website for full details.