Home Meal Reviews: Week 9 - GreenChef

Meals:

Meal 1 - Monday: Steak & Beat Panzanella

I am constantly surprised by these companies' ability to make Kale edible.

Meal 2 - Wednesday: Pumpkin Stuffed Shells

This looks a little burnt, there was not enough to fill the pan so the edges
burnt but it was rather tasty.

Convenience

Green Chef basically only delivers on a Friday (at least in my area) and requires in excess of a week's notice. I think that once you are committed, this is probably not the worst, although the Friday delivery is simply terrible in every way. I am likely out on a Friday (and I suspect I am not alone judging by parking anywhere near any restaurant in the Bay Area) - this means that the food will be sat outside my apartment several hours before it get's unpacked. One good thing is that this company is available in almost all of the contiguous US with delivery dates seemingly dependent on location. There is no packaging return process, which having been doing these for a while, I am starting to see as really pretty necessary. Quitting this service, while not as bad as some of the previous, is still a hassle that cannot be done purely online.

Preparation

These meals come with a similar level of preparation requirement to HelloFresh or BlueApron, about 30-45min. They are actually less on the chopping side and have a few different things going on. There are a lot of components that come pre minced / diced or pureed for convenience which is nice. the recipes are also pretty good in showing what to do and when, so that everything comes out warm and together. The one thing I would warn is - STAY ON TOP OF TIMINGS! If you mess it up, you will end up needing to do two or three things at the same time.

Ingredients

Green Chef is very loudly organic, the recipes have a healthy bent and a lot of information on them on their site which is always nice. The ingredients come in lots and lots of little pots and bags but unlike every other service, they are not bundled so you end up rummaging through the fridge for ten minutes trying to find the last little jar of horseradish creme fraiche that has inexplicably ended up somehow embedded in the middle of the Sherry Trifle your Aunt brought over last month and you never quite threw out.

Taste

This was another set of solid meals, the portions are actually 2 decent dinners unlike most of the others that will generally give you left overs. The food managed to be both healthy and tasty.

Conclusion

Green Chef is great if you are not in the Bay Area, also the menu options are pretty good. There are offerings for Paleo / Carnivore / Veggie even Gluten-Free which makes it very inclusive, however I am not sure if this will really work that well for couples where only one of them has these restrictive diets (it makes me think of this line in Pulp Fiction *Warning not family friendly*). Not my favourite option but the good recipes and tasty meals make it a decent option.

Still to come:

We are rapidly coming to the end of this experiment as I run out of places to try out and after all this eating I will have to go on a major diet! But before that day we will still be covering:
Eat Mise
Magic Kitchen
Good Eggs
Sun Basket
Luke's Local
FarmHill

Home Meal Reviews: Week 8 - Munchery

Meals:

Munchery is a bit of a different proposition from anything else I have looked at so far. It is a same day food delivery service offering both instant ready meals and prepare yourself dinner kits. The options are diverse and change every day which is great. This allows you to choose exactly what you want, for the nights you want. - Lazy? get a ready meal, Adventurous? pick the components for a 3 course dinner!

Convenience

You can schedule the services for any day and even pick a time window... of course this comes at a cost but it is very convenient - you can have delivery once a week or the days you want - you can even order same day! (before 2pm)

Preparation

For the ready meals - 10 minutes in the oven may is Freshly speeds but the results are easily as good as Table Runner. Both the Lemon and Herb Chicken and the Chicken Parmigiana were delicious, simple to prepare and packed in bio-degradable containers.

The 'Cooking Kits' are a little more involved although I would say they are a lot closer to Gobble than Blue Apron or HelloFresh. There is no chopping, most of the sauces and even the pasta are pre-prepped so you basically 'heat and assemble' maybe with some flair. I have to say that the Short Rib Ravioli is probably the best meal I have had in this entire adventure. It had such a rich flavour it made me nostalgic for my mother's beef and pearl barley stew.

Ingredients

The ingredients are fresh and seemingly never frozen, there is some great nutritional info on the site and most everything comes in compostable containers which is a nice bonus. The windowed delivery also means there is none of the excessive ice packs that I am already drowning in because it seems so wasteful to toss them!

Taste

The ready meals are much the same as TableRunner, tasty but not stellar (limited by the nature of reheating). The Cooking Kits though are another matter. The Short Rib Ravioli was divine (my mouth is literally watering at the memory of them), and the pecan tarts were almost as good.

Conclusion

If money were no object, I think I would be inclined to go with this service. Sadly I am not that well off. The meals are competitively priced but the delivery is extra and it hurts... especially if you are wanting to delivery daily. The extras which are also available (and delicious) are also a little pricy. As it is, I think if I were single and tending not to eat fancy food, this may be a good option for occasional date nights (especially if you can take credit for the food!). Or if you are loaded and want delicious, hassle free food.

This was just amazing.

Home Meal Reviews: Week 7 - Plated

Happy New Year! The Holiday season that seemed never ending are over and it's back to work... and for me that means more eating! This week, a slightly delayed review of Plated:

Meals:

Meal 1 - Monday: Cheesy Enchiladas

WOW, this dish was amazing... and huge, there were 4 portions here.

Meal 2 - Wednesday: Braised Chicken with Beans and Kale

I have said before that I don't like kale, I am not big on beans either...
THIS was DELICIOUS.

Meal 3 - Thursday: Meatloaf with mashed potato and onion gravy

Worst of the 3 meals, still delicious.

Convenience

The Plated site is simple to navigate and has a relatively painless application process. The food arrived on a Tuesday (MONDAY PEOPLE MONDAY!!! We want the option of eating at home on week nights...) but it came packed nicely in some eco friendly looking hemp packaging with typical freezer packs to keep the food chill. They don't offer the return service of some of the other companies but it's not as excessive as some.

Preparation

These meals come with a similar level of preparation requirement to HelloFresh or BlueApron, about 45min although a bit less chopping. The big difference is the awesome recipes that are easy to follow and have all components of the dish, ready and hot at the same time. I am not sure why this is so hard for some of the other services but it makes a world of difference.

Ingredients

The food here was all a little over packaged but good quality, several of the meals were delayed to almost two weeks but the ingredients were still good and delicious. The meat seemed fresh and tasted very good. Some reliance on kitchen supplies but only really salt, pepper and oil. All dairy ingredients (including milk) were provided.

Taste

Delicious, all delicious. I think the only downer for me was the mashed potato but the way I would make it to be tastier would be a LOT less healthy.

Conclusion

Plated was a pleasant surprise. The food prep times are not long but not as quick as Gobble however the menus are delicious and produce results I would choose to eat. This is my current favourite for people really wanting to learn to cook. I should point out however the price point is higher even than Gobble at $72/week for 3 meals for 2 people.

Next week: Due to the delays in this post, and all the holiday shenanigans, I will be delaying the next review until the 18th with Munchery - a bit of a different option here, I will order meals for a couple of nights using this service.

Week After:
Green Chef

There are a couple of services I had planned to cover but discovered that I am not going to be able to do them:
Sprig - I am not in a location covered by this service.
Be Your Max - Only operates wholesale.