Meal Kits: do you use them?

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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I gifted my bff and her husband a two week subscription to Gobble not long after she had her baby- her parents were staying with them and her mother can’t cook for shit (think plain baked chicken breasts and a salad kit for dinner). It worked out fantastic because her mother was able to follow the rather simple recipes. I recall they did seem to add a salad or bread to most of the meals.

My parents have used Sun Basket a bit, it’s just the two of them and mom cooked dinner for us as a family basically every night for two decades by the time my sister went to college and as she says she is “very very over it”. They like the variety, something different from their simple go to meals (often dad grills something and she makes the veg to have with it) and they don’t have to deal with odd leftover ingredients l. Sun bakset seemed to have a more responsible amount of packaging and most was compostable or recycled

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22

I would still wind up doctoring up the ingredients and I have time to grocery shop so for me its a no but I can see the usefulness for others.

How’s consistent is the quality?

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23

I don’t think so, but I will mention it. Most of the time when she mentions “cooking” it seems to involve Whole Foods. We do not have a Whole Codes here in the place she grew up, but it seems to work for her. She has Amazon prime, so hopefully it no longer means “Whole Paycheck”.

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I don’t have any desire to purchase meal kits for me and DH - but we did purchase a package of meals for my parents at the holidays. My mom was scheduled to shoulder surgery and would be off her feet for a bit and then unable to lift or do anything with her right arms for weeks. We thought it would be good for them as they could each pick out meals that suited them (one eats fish the other not etc.) and selected delivery dates they wanted. The report back was that everything was really good, easy to do, and helped out a lot.

So, sometimes when we need good nutritious meals for recovery, but the body is not able to cook/shop blah blah blah, I can now see a meal kit delivery being helpful.

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25

We were gifted a Blue Apron dinner that my friend had already cooked; it was while our new kitchen was being built. It was some sort of white fish, probably cod and a veg or side of some sort or both. It was tasty, looked good and was very much appreciated.

It’s not for us as we both cook and shop, and I’d rather spend the money going out. Very convenient for some people in certain situations. Truth be told it might be sparking a desire to cook for the younger generation.

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There is at a minimum an entire generation out there that doesn’t cook, eats out or from Whole Foods’ prepared food bar. A family member worked for a company with an extraordinary corporate kitchen, a really good chef, great produce and delicious product. There was no limit on usage, and often dinner at home was sourced at the workplace. Later at home, Whole Foods became the surrogate. Kids were brilliantly if expensively fed fresh produce and lean protein from these prepared food bars. Blue Apron has been an avenue for her to gain the confidence to cook for the family. I don’t care HOW one learns to cook or from what stimulus. I will never forget the text I got with a pic of one of her first successes. YES! That’s what it’s all about. And you did it!

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Quick question for you: I’m a week away from moving from FL to NI, and have been searching for new sources of reasonably priced produce, now considering signing up for the misfits market thing. I cook only for myself, but as a very produce heavy vegetarian/mostly vegan, I BLOW through fresh vegetables like crazy. Have your experiences with the misfits market been good so far? Also, as a quick aside: As a looongtime lurker here, and in The Other Place, I wanted to let you all know how much I enjoy seeing what everyone is cooking and/or eating. The inspiration and education has been awesome.

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He sneaks out for burgers after.

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As it happens, there’s a discussion thread on this :slight_smile:

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I was going to post the discussion thread but ChristinaM beat me to it! There did seem to be some regional variation so you might want to ask on the NJ board for their experiences.

Glad to have you cross over from the lurker to to become a poster! Welcome and hope your relocation goes smoothly. I imagine most of the northerners here are thinking “why not just wait and move in the spring since winter is coming…” :blush:

31

I’m trying out HelloFresh this week, as WFD folks already know.

I was having trouble with inspiration after a long summer of eating out and traveling and very little cooking overall. A friend had sent me a trial box that I had never been inspired to use, so the time seemed right.

Packaging was surprising - I didn’t realize all 4 meals for the week are delivered together on Monday. Organized packaging - there were 4 labeled brown paper bags each with all the ingredients for one meal, except the proteins, which were underneath with ice packs. So easy. I froze two proteins (these are 2 meals each, I’m 1…) for next week (the ones with less fragile veg accompaniments).

Downside - I basically got no choice for the trial. They picked my meals, which were all middle of the road crowd-pleasers, meat+potato/carb+green veg (except one with no green veg).

I’ve tried 2 meals so far - breaded chicken, which was meh, and bibimbap with ground beef bulgogi, which was tasty but a good deal of prep for the veg. Neither was new to me, but both were simplified versions compared to what I would have made, and that was a helpful insight. Flavors needed boosting for my palate. But it was very convenient not to have to think too much and just do - then eat.

I stopped by WF tonight, and while browsing discovered some frozen meal kits I have not seen before - picked up a wild salmon one that comes with a Cajun shrimp topping, easy enough for me to add veg to that. The same company also makes a cod kit with a bacon potato topping, and a rockfish kit with a chipotle lime topping.

I opened up the kit to remove the fish so I can put it into the freezer - there’s a little sheet of instructions and pictures, and foil included for cooking. I appreciated the extra attention to including how to prepare only one portion at a time (wish they had packed the two fillets separately, though - wouldn’t have taken much more).

I should add that these kits are on sale for half price at the moment, and the fish is wild, so even without their toppings the pricing is better for me than buying the plain fillets.

Cooking from a kit this week definitely helped me get back to a rhythm - the reason I was at WF was to pick up chard for the Zuni panade, and fish for Dorie’s brandade or a chowder. So I’m grateful for the kick in the pants / encouragement HelloFresh provided.

As an aside, I also spent some time browsing Blue Apron recipes (which are publicly available) - I could see myself looking there for easy inspiration the next time I hit a wall (I already have most of the “exotic” ingredients they’d be sending a tbsp here and there of, as I’m sure most of you do!)

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Wait…what’s that? i do have a Zuni cookbook, so maybe i should look.

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Funny! I was thinking big lunch. He works near the best deli!

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Nice research and reporting!

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I had one box that was definitely on the skimpy side, but mostly am happy. I am in MA so it takes two days to get here from NJ. Did you mean NJ or NH? In the hottest weather, the greens can be sad but mine have perked up after a cold water bath. I complained once about an heirloom tomato that was about two seconds from hemorrhaging, and felt it had to have been far gone before packing. But they gave me a partial credit, and seem responsive in general. They only started last March, I believe, and are growing fast. They are trying to work out the logisr of allowing subscribers to choose the produce they want. I will PM you with a link for a discount on your first box, in case you decide to give it a try.

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Yes!

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Fantastic! Thank you so much for the detailed info! I can deal with a little iffy produce occasionally, especially if the customer service is good. I will definitely give them a shot in a few weeks. I’ll be in NJ (Wall area)- had to double check to make sure they ship there, since they’re not yet available in FL. Looking forward to checking out the thread, and ordering myself some vegetables!

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38

I was looking through recipe indices of some recommended cookbooks, and this was one of a few (easy) recipes that appealed.

Reminded me of moist croutons I was making last year under smoked paprika roast chicken - the croutons soaked up the chicken juices and crisped up at the end… heaven :heart_eyes:

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I think meal kits are a valuable tool for someone that works a lot of hours and can’t fit a trip to the grocery in to their schedule and for the new cook who is looking for guidance. But then fly little bird…learn how to plan meals and shop. It’s not rocket science and as long as a grocery store trip is not daunting then go for it

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40

So… I’ve had 4 bowls of bibimbap from that 2-serving kit… so far.

1.5 portions left (but this is becoming fried rice, I’m officially bibimbap’d out :joy:)

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