If you’re looking for a meal delivery service that supports a weight loss journey or calorie controlled diet, then it’s likely you will have heard of both YouFoodz and Lite n Easy before. They are two of the biggest meal delivery services in Australia (by meals served) and both have a large following of Australian’s who enjoy their meals every week.
I’ve tried both services and collated all the key information you need in this page, helping you identify which service is right for you. I’ve compared everything from the price and delivery areas, all the way through to the food and community/support network of each service.
I also have individual reviews of each service that go into more detail, which you can check out with the Lite n Easy Review or YouFoodz Review.
Contents
Lite n Easy vs YouFoodz: Quick Comparison & Discounts
Clear Weight Loss Meal Plans
Wide Choice and Variety
Flavourful Dishes
Try Lite n Easy TodayDiscover weight loss meals with Lite n Easy
Affordable Dinners
Small, Healthy Portions
Free Delivery Available
Up to $140 In YouFoodz SavingsThis link gets you up to $140 off across your first 4 boxes
Our comparison will look in detail at each service’s offering, food and cost before making a final recommendation for which service is right for you. If you want, you can click here to skip down to our recommendation.
Lite n Easy vs YouFoodz: The Offering
We’ll start by look at the various products and services that each company provides, identifying any differences that are important to consider.
Lite n Easy
Lite n’ Easy position themselves very clearly as the key to unlocking your weight loss journey. Their website is adorned with lots of ‘success stories’ from customers who have seen positive results using Lite n’ Easy. There’s also a cult-like following across social media surrounding the benefits of their quick/simple microwave meals.
Subscription Options: Kicking off Lite n Easy is done through one of their 3 calorie plans – 1800, 1500 or 1200. There’s a handy questionnaire that helps guide you towards the right plan for your goals. This recommends you get on their ‘jump start’ program that comes with 7 dinners, 7 lunches and 5 breakfasts each week. After your ‘jump start’ you can choose to buy as many dinners, lunches and breakfasts as you want each week.
Meal Variety: Lite n Easy have a rotating dinner menu that changes every 3 months, one for each season. Within each menu, you get to choose from 55 different dinners which gives a good amount of variety each week. However, there are every few vegetarian meals which can make Lite n Easy difficult (but not impossible) to use with a plant-based diet. There is less variety on their lunch and breakfast menus that change every 4 weeks where you can only choose from a few different options each day.
Delivery Options: Delivery is available to most addresses in Australia, always on a specific day of the week to each area. If you’re in a metropolitan area, it’s likely your delivery cost will be absolutely free. However, if you live in rural areas there can be a delivery surcharge. One of the best things about Lite n Easy is that you can submit your order at any point up to just 24 hours before your delivery day.
Additional Products / Extras: Aside from the normal breakfasts, lunches and dinners, Lite n Easy also offer a whole range of added extras. This include ‘Easy Bites’ which are perfect for kids meals or snacks, ‘Mini Meals’ if you’re looking for smaller portions and desserts that allow you to enjoy a sweet treat without breaking your diet plans.
Community: Lite n Easy have an impressive 135k+ people that follow their Facebook page, underlining how many people are on the same journey. I joined a fantastic Facebook Group ‘Lite n Easy Support Group’ where members support each other on their weight loss goals. These support groups can be one of the most important factors for success when following a new diet.
YouFoodz
YouFoodz was originally started in 2012 and since then has served over 850,000 Australian customers, delivering over 60 million ready-made meals. That’s a lot of meals! YouFoodz meals can also be found in most major supermarkets including Coles, Woollies, IGA and 7-Eleven. You can even earn Velocity Points through your YouFoodz purchases.
Subscription Options: Each week, you have access to the full YouFoodz catalogue and can choose between 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16 and 18 meals as part of your subscription. There’s no categorisation of meals, giving you complete freedom to choose the meals you like best.
Meal Variety: There are always 60+ different meals available, with your options split between normal ‘Ready Made Meals’ and a separate ‘Large Range’ with bigger portions. Surprisingly, only around 6 meals are suitable for Vegetarians. We found that over 50% of the meals were Chicken-based, which can limit variety.
Delivery Options: YouFoodz offers delivery slots on most days, depending on the area you live. There is a very extensive delivery network, so it’s very likely YouFoodz will deliver to your area.
Additional Products / Extras: YouFoodz offer a wide range of Snacks and Drinks to purchase alongside your main meals. There are plenty of Protein Bars, Crisps, Popcorn and Yoghurts to try, along with different juices and protein powders.
Community: A massive 250k+ people like YouFoodz on Facebook, however this doesn’t translate into a community appeal. There aren’t any large support groups or community aspects on their website, so it can be difficult to connect with others who are using YouFoodz.
Lite n Easy vs YouFoodz Service Comparison
These are the key differences you should consider when choosing which service to purchase:
- Commitment: Lite n Easy is generally seen as a long-term dietary commitment that can flex if your needs change (e.g higher/lower calorie plan). In contrast, YouFoodz makes it easier to fully control which weeks and which meals you receive each week, expecting you to manage your order every time.
- Community: Lite n Easy back up this focus on diet plans, with a strong community group and sense of joint focus on weight loss goals. If you are the kind of dieter who needs a support group, then Lite n Easy is definitely better than YouFoodz.
- Delivery: Whilst both services over free delivery to most of Australia, YouFoodz has a much wider range of delivery days through their bigger delivery network. This can be important if you’re only able to pick up your box on certain days.
- Dinners: YouFoodz has a stronger focus on providing a wider variety of dinners, without the same variety of breakfasts or lunches. If you want a meal delivery service that provides every meal in the day, then Lite n Easy is a better option.
Lite n Easy vs YouFoodz : The Food
Knowing the difference in the options provided by these two meal delivery services, it’s important to talk about how good their actual food is! This definitely comes down to a lot of personal preference, but hopefully I can give you a good idea about what you’ll receive.
Lite n Easy Meals
Packaging: Lite n Easy meals come in soft cardboard packaging that’s microwave-safe. To cook the meal, you just need to lift up the paper lid slightly and microwave for a couple of minutes (longer if from frozen). I found it very easy to cook and eat from the packaging, however you may find it a bit more ‘normal’ to transfer the cooked food to a plate. Most meals can also be safely reheated in the oven or on the hob, by transferring them to suitable container.
Flavour: In general, I was impressed by the taste of most Lite n Easy dishes. They have some surprisingly flavourful dishes, utilising their ingredients particularly well. I also found them surprisingly filling because they really are just ‘normal’ meals at the right portion size. However, I would advise caution with any food that doesn’t normally microwave particularly well (steak or potato mash for example).
Texture: In most of the dishes, the meat remained tender and enjoyable to eat, with the vegetables retaining some crunch and texture. However, sometimes they just don’t get it right and it might take a while for you to find the dinners to avoid. For example, I tried the chargrilled steak andfound it really tough and chewy.
My favourite Lite n Easy meals were the Honey Soy Chicken, Spaghetti Bolognese and the Tasmanian Salmon & Fettucine.
YouFoodz Meals
Packaging: YouFoodz meals come in clear plastic packaging that’s fully recyclable. These are quite shallow, so they’re very easy to stack in your fridge. You need to peel off the corner of the plastic (let’s the steam escape) before placing the meal in the microwave. Each meal takes just 2 minutes to cook, although I often found myself putting them in for an extra 30 seconds to get the piping hot.
Flavour: I found YouFoodz meals to be very hit & miss overall, which I talk about extensively in my detailed YouFoodz review. They use simple, healthy ingredients that often lead to quite simple flavours in each dish. In contrast, I have always found their Snacks and Drinks to be absolutely delicious! Though maybe that’s the sweet tooth talking (protein cookie – yum!).
Texture: This was easily the most disappointing part of the whole YouFoodz experience. I have often found their beef quite tough/chewy, or the chicken quite dry, which really takes away from enjoying your meal. In particular, I ate a fried chicken dish that wasn’t crispy in any way, shape or form. Reading online reviews, people recommend cooking those types of meal in the oven but that really takes away from the speed/convenience for me.
My favourite YouFoodz meals were the Chicken & Potato Salad, Fish Curry and the Slow Cooked BBQ Beef & Mash.
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Before I compare the cost of each service, it’s worth considering the discounts you can get with each service. Taking advantage of a discount when you subscribe will make your first box incredibly good value, allowing you to make your own decision about the food. Simply click one of our unique discount links to get access to your money off.
Up to $140 In YouFoodz SavingsThis link gets you up to $140 off across your first 4 boxes
Lite n Easy vs YouFoodz : The Cost
Now we’ve compared these two services on both the subscription offering and the food experience, it’s important to consider the impact on your bank balance. For this analysis, I wanted to compare apples to apples, so have focussed on a ‘dinner’ only subscription.
You might be interested to find my industry analysis of the cheapest meal delivery service, allowing you to compare Lite n Easy and YouFoodz against all the other prepared meal services.
Price of a weekly subscription
| Meals | Lite n Easy | YouFoodz |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | $88.95 | $86.92 |
| 10 | $119.95 | $116.00 (est.) |
| 15 | $164.00 | $153.00 (est.) |
| 18 | N/A | $162.81 |
| 21 | $226.95 | N/A |
YouFoodz comes in at a cheaper price across all the comparable order amounts. On average, this price difference is between 5 – 10%, so you’re not paying significantly more for Lite n Easy.
Delivery Costs
| Lite n Easy | YouFoodz |
|---|---|
| FREE (small charge in regional areas) | $7.50 or FREE (orders over $89) |
Both services offer free delivery to a vast majority of customers. I highly advise people to check the delivery costs to their specific area as both services can occasionally add a regional delivery charge.
Should I buy Lite n Easy or YouFoodz?
Choosing between Lite n Easy and Youfoodz definitely depends on what’s most important to you
I would recommend Lite n Easy for anyone who really wants to jump into a weight loss journey. Lite n Easy have a fantastic program that covers your entire diet and brings a community feel that helps you stick to the program. Their meals are genuinely tasty and it doesn’t feel like too much of a chore to eat their meals every day. Want to know more about Lite n Easy? Check out my full review of Lite n Easy.
In contrast, I think YouFoodz is better for people who want the convenience of having simple and healthy meals ready at home without having to cook, without relying on them every single day. YouFoodz is incredibly cheap for a meal delivery service, which makes them perfect if you’re living on a tight budget. Want to know more about YouFoodz? Check out my full review of YouFoodz.
These aren’t the only services available in Australia, so it’s worth checking out my reviews of other meal delivery services.
Try Lite n Easy TodayDiscover weight loss meals with Lite n Easy
Up to $140 In YouFoodz SavingsThis link gets you up to $140 off across your first 4 boxes