Home Chef

One thing I despise, no, let me rephrase, HATE, is going to the supermarket. I love to cook, but I hate to shop for the supplies I need. I always seem to forget something, even when I have a list. I'm on an app called Nextdoor and someone was advertising Home Chef, a meal delivery service. I was super excited to try this out! Some of my friends at work buy their meals through a meal delivery service and they seem to enjoy it. Now, let me warn you, it is a bit pricey.  

I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't do a ton of research before picking this company to try. Originally I scheduled four meals to be delivered, for the two of us (the hubbers and me). The price was $9.99 a meal. My first set of meals ended up being $49.60 for 8. I was given a $30 discount for my first purchase. Not too shabby. My next set of meals cost $59.70. 

The food is delivered straight to my front door, every Tuesday, in a large box with lots of ice packs. So much ice, in fact, that by the time I got home, the bottom of the box was broken. Could this be because of the moisture? The box I got was very heavy. I had a heck of a time trying to carry it upstairs to my kitchen.

When you register for an account, you fill out a profile page of things you like and things you dislike. For example, I don't eat beef or pork, so I can plan my meals around chicken and fish only. You can also request for meals low in carbs and calories. 

WHAT I LEARNED

I realized that four full meals was too much for the week. I ended up cutting it down to three. There are other dinners I still like to make on my own. 

I have to be careful and only select meals that are easy. It takes me a while to navigate the kitchen. I really do love to cook, but I still have to follow a recipe card. I don't have the cooking styles of Monica Geller, but I'm no Rachel Green either. I know that a traditional Trifle does't have meat, peas and carrots (Friends reference). I thought that the food was going to come to me precooked and all I would have to do was heat them up. NOPE. I have to actually cut the potatoes into cubes, core tomatoes and mince the garlic myself. The prep is what takes me forever. The recipe cards have a suggested time that it takes to make the meal from starting prep to finish. What takes a normal person 45-50 minutes, takes me an hour and fifteen 

I don't have nonstick pans and most recipes call for them. I'm not a fan of the nonstick variety. I think they cause cancer, and while don't know if this is scientifically proven, I want to stay as natural as possible without having to build a fire out of wood with my hunters and gatherers. So, how do I use my "non" nonstick pans without having my food stick? Someone please tell me. 

Each meal card gives a recommended cook time. The fish products say to cook within three days, while the chicken says five. This is all fine and dandy, but why did my fresh basil wilt before the recommended three day cooking period. My tomatoes did the same thing. The plantain that arrived in my box was already black. I don't know much about plantains or how they're supposed to look, but aren't they a banana? 

THINGS I LOVE

So far what I've made/eaten has been very tasty and healthy.  I love that they sent me a recipe folder to hold my recipe cards.  I love that my ingredients are delivered straight to my door and I love that the time spent trying to figure out what to make for dinner has been cut. I love trying new recipes and I love to cook the food. 

As of this post I made three of my four meals for the week, a Dover Sole Piccata, Shrimp Pomodoro and Jerk Chicken with Brown Sugar Plantains. 

The Jerk Chicken didn't stick on my stainless steal pan. This made me very happy!!

I really do love to cook. It's very relaxing. 

I love buying organic food, but  I'm not sure if this is organic or not. The meals, however, are very healthy and the ingredients are fresh.

The packaging can be recycled and the ice pack are reusable (according to the Home Chef website). 

I love the recipe cards. They give you step by step instructions and all of the nutritional information for the entire meal. This is something that is very important to me. 

THINGS I HATE

I hate that it still takes me forever to cook my food!!! How does Rachel Ray make it look so easy? I hate that my "non" nonstick pans make my food stick. 

I had the toughest time cooking the Dover Sole Piccata. The fish stuck on my stainless steal pan and eventually turned to mush. The only fish I'm comfortable cooking is Salmon. 

I don't like the fact that some of my greens wilted before their recommended cook time.   

FINAL OUTCOME

I am only going to keep this service for a couple of weeks. I like that all of the ingredients are healthy and fresh. I like the ease of having the food delivered to my home. I like the recipe cards. The meals are pricey but, I would absolutely recommend this service only if you can manage it in your budget. If you are interested in this type of service, here is a link to the registration page.  Home Chef