But though I love food, free time is not something I have much of. With 2 kiddos, a husband, a full-time job, friends that are so pretty I want to see them all the time, and a 5 day a week exercise routine, I feel like I’ve got about 17 minutes a day to myself. This is one of the MANY reasons why I am categorically obsessed with HomeChef.
As per their website, they are on a mission is to make cooking fresh food at home as easy as possible. “Our chefs shop for you and plan your meals, allowing you to choose from a new menu every week. We offer a meal delivery service that includes all of the fresh ingredients and instructions needed to cook restaurant quality meals for 2, 4 or 6 people in the comfort of your own kitchen. We eliminate recipe and food hunting by sending you a flavor packed kit along with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, turning you into a top chef.”
Top Chef? Where's Tom Colicchio? I'd love to meet him ;-)
Anyway, I first dabbled in the meal delivery service industry after seeing Blue Apron promoted on a few blogs I follow. A sweet friend of mine sent me a referral link, and we tried it for 2 weeks. I thought the food was good, but my husband is a bit of a picky eater. (A bit being an understatement, but let’s not throw shade at the father of my children). One complaint that he had, which I did agree with, was that Blue Apron’s ingredients were just too exotic. He’s open to trying new foods, but every ingredient seemed to be new to him, and the food just wasn’t appealing.
However, I LOVED the premise of meal delivery. I didn’t have to think about what I was making for dinner 3x a week, and most importantly I didn’t have to go through every aisle at Kroger to get what I needed. So I set out on a mission to find a happy medium. The meal delivery service at a reasonable cost, but foods that were “normal” enough that Jon would like them yet were different than the same old foods that are on our typical monthly rotation.
AND THEN I FOUND HOMECHEF. (Thank you Google). I just cannot stress my love and affection for this company (they did not pay me to say that, I swear). The meals are soooo good. They taste like restaurant-quality meals, but without the price tag, and as a bonus unlike at restaurants I can wear sweatpants and I don’t have to tip.
Check out a few of my meals from this past week. These are meals I wouldn't have thought up on my own, but were so good I nearly shed tears. Actually I may have.
Pan-Seared Chicken Bruschetta
Sherry Wine Demi-Glace Flat-Iron Steak
They also provide the calorie count and suggested wine pairings on each recipe card, and I can confirm that their wine suggestions are on point ;-)
I feel like HomeChef and other meal delivery services are perfect for working professionals and parents because it takes the guesswork out of meal planning. 3 nights a week, I know we’ll get to have a healthy home cooked meal, but it still leaves a few nights for wiggle room (like if Jon has a late night meeting, we had big lunches so don't need a big dinner, we go out to eat with friends, or I just need to slam a box of Mac and Cheese).So if any of that sounds appealing, try it. Just try it! The nice thing is you can cancel at any time without a cancellation fee, you can skip as many weeks as you want, and you get to choose from 11 delicious options every week so there’s always enough options for everyone in the house. If you’re nervous about the $9.95 per serving price tag, a) Keep in mind that often by the time you buy every ingredient for a dinner dish, it’s usually way more than that and b) Follow this link and you’ll get $30 off your first order, so you’re only looking at $5.00 per serving, which is even better.
If you DO try it, which you should, come back and let me know what you think! You won't regret it! :)
