How Do You Feel About Meal Kits? Would You Consider Ordering Them?

It doesn't take much to build salads. Various greens can be used, add-ins like radishes or carrots, chopped ham or hardboiled egg, etc. Much of that can be batch-prepped and kept in the fridge to serve for a couple of days. I detest "dressings" but will usually sprinkle on salt and pepper, maybe some onion or garlic powder, drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar or lemon or lime juice and call it good.

Cottage cheese on the side is always good.

Cook some pasta and add one of my preferred sauces from a jar (I can get at least 4 meals out of a jar), boost that with some tomato paste. Optionally add precooked ground beef, sliced smoked sausage, maybe some chopped mushrooms or green pepper or onions.

Tuna casserole. Chicken Alfredo, a hamburger, roasted potatoes, spinach lasagna, enchiladas, ...

I just don't get the big deal. So many ingredients can be pre-chopped or pre-cooked and used in many things for a few days.
 

Naturally said:
Well you get the idea. There were hundreds of meals. You'd have eaten pretty good at Joe's Cafe here on the corner of Walk 'n Don't Walk ;) :ROFLMAO:

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I'd of eaten at Joe's Cafe and enjoyed, meals look very good ;)
 

I bought a Chicken Pad Thai meal kit at Target. I rarely cook and I thought it was pre-cooked. Little did I know I would even have to cook the peanuts on the stovetop. It was much more work than I expected, since almost all the elements needed to be cooked individually. I burned the peanuts! It was still good, but never again!

I have tremendous respect for people who have the patience and ability to cook from scratch!
 
Retired actor Tom Willett:


The first 5 minutes covers his "cooking" style. The rest is a "conversation" reminiscing on his meal, day, life, and career. No dual-citizenship or flouncing off in a huff to another country.
 
I use some frezer meals for those days I just wanna goof off. I also cook for myself and when I do it's simple but high end and good. Tomorrow night I am grilling a nice steak with 2 sides. I eat a lot of fresh salads, Greek especially and I looooove beets! So I will open a jar of pickled beets tomorrow.
 
This non social media person had no idea what the thread was referring to so did a web search...

So a new post pandemic developed for the sake of convenience, subscription food service that supposedly costs $10 to $12 a meal. Thus this frugal person that does not cook from basic ingredients food, immediately rejected that option as much too needlessly expensive versus buying food in economy supermarkets. Even Marie Callender frozen TV dinners are still half that cost. Suspect the same kinds of people eating at fast food places but want more variety with healthy options are the target audience.
 
David777 said:
This non social media person had no idea what the thread was referring to so did a web search...

So a new post pandemic developed for the sake of convenience, subscription food service that supposedly costs $10 to $12 a meal. Thus this frugal person that does not cook from basic ingredients food, immediately rejected that option as much too needlessly expensive versus buying food in economy supermarkets. Even Marie Callender frozen TV dinners are still half that cost. Suspect the same kinds of people eating at fast food places but want more variety with healthy options are the target audience.
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That was not a post-pandemic phenomena. That type of food service was already in existence. But why such vitriol?
 
David777 said:
Suspect the same kinds of people eating at fast food places but want more variety with healthy options are the target audience.
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You may be correct, who knows. Thing is though if true, I wasn't in that target audience. I hardly ever, maybe less than a half dozen times a year, eat at fast food places. Fast food really is a last resort for me. While expensive, what appealed to me about meal kits was ...

- No meal planning.
- No running around town to possibly multiple places to find necessary ingredients if even possible to meet the requirement of those in the meal kits.
- No buying quantities of ingredients that most of which would be stored, expiration dates watched and meal planning to use up stuff before it expired.
- Convenience and less hassle all round.
- Delivered fresh weekly to my door. Two steps out the front door, right back in and "shopping" done.
- No gas, no vehicle wear and tear, no time shopping involved. Frustration free except for during really hot weather.
- The joy and satisfaction of preparing chef planned meals while learning more about sauces, seasoning and cooking in general.
- Eating much better than I previously had because of cooking inexperience. And knowing what went into each and every meal and who handled it. Don't get that at restaurants or fast food.

The cost for sure, and iffy delivery during very hot weather, which is about 3-4months of the year here, caused me to cancel eventually.

Would I recommend a meal kit service? ... no ... but for a time, about 3yrs, it worked for me.
 
I wouldnt buy the home delivery ones - but I can see they work for some people - people who want fresh home prepared food but do not have experience or inclination or time to cook entirely from scratch
People who live alone and might buy ingredients cheaper but not use them all
People who cannot or do not like shopping

As always people to decide what is worth it to them to spend money and/or time on - individual choice, and not getting the derogatory comments towards those who choose to do this just because we don't ourselves
 
Home Chef sends whole raw ingredients. Prep is from scratch. Nothing is prepared or cooked before hand. They also include all the oils, sauces and seasonings in just the right amounts to complete each of the meals. During the 3yrs I used them, the fish and meats were the same but the other ingredients, sauces and seasonings always varied. In those 3yrs, I can count on one hand how many times the EXACT same meal was repeated. A lot of different flavors and textures were enjoyed.
 
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I had meals on wheels delivered for a while. After a couple of weeks, I couldn't stand them anymore.
Went back to my own stews, Spaghetti, Shrimp Alfredo etc. My stuff tastes good.
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When I fix my own meals I hungry when they ready. Thas a positive thought too.
 
dilettante said:
I always chalked these up to another way to exploit the not-so-bright who cannot manage money. Probably something else to take a picture of and share on social media because their lives are so empty and meaningless.

It seems a part of society really has morphed into Eloi.

The Eloi are humanlike creatures who are small, unintelligent, uncurious, weak, and also, importantly, benevolent and happy. They are the evolutionary descendants of the British elite, who exploited the British poor for so long that the poor evolved into a race of humanoids called the Morlocks. While the centuries of exploitation of the Morlocks complicates the picture of the Eloi as essentially good, they are a species characterized by kindness, and the Time Traveler becomes affectionate towards them on his travels. The Eloi face no adversity in their lives except that they are likely being raised for food by the Morlocks, who come to the surface of the earth at night and eat vulnerable Eloi.​

This might be the original source of what has been shortened down to "eat the rich."
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Agreed, also the lazy pretentious, know it all, not smart as they think type.
 
I would never try them and feel they are for suckers. Someone who can cook, can whip up a good healthy meal in an hour or less with very little ingredients, and for less.
 
What do I think of meal kits?
I think they are a great idea for people who canā€™t cook and have the money. A friend of ours gets these and claims that itā€™s just under $8 a meal. To me, thatā€™s expensive. We plan our own meals, even make our own bread and can our own food. We seek out sales on food supplies so we can budget our meals.
Our friend makes a lot of money and isnā€™t yet retired. Maybe when he retires heā€™ll learn to cook and make his own food but until then he goes for this way of eating. At least itā€™s a variety of good food. Better than always eating fast food.
 
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Oldeagle66 said:
I would never try them and feel they are for suckers. Someone who can cook, can whip up a good healthy meal in an hour or less with very little ingredients, and for less.
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and some people cant cook or dont like cooking and/or cant do shopping or dont like shopping or like the idea of ingredients measured for one person without wastage.

Like everything it suits some people and not others.

doesnt make them suckers or any other derogatory thing, just because you are i n the others group

(as am I - but I can understand things suiting other people even when they don't suit me)
 
Flarbalard said:
Wow a company concerned with customer service! Maybe all isn't lost?
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Chewy (pet products) is another company that has excellent customer service. When I call, they answer in three rings tops and I am immediately speaking with a human who can help me. Just recently I had an issue with dent cans...not the entire case of 24, but a few. The rep refunded me for the whole case without me having to request that. Other companies could take a lesson from Chewy. Amazon's customer service is pretty good too.

@Naturally I enjoyed seeing pictures of the meals you prepared with your kits. They look interesting and appetizing. Thank you for posting.
 

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