Have you ever tried a home delivery meal kit service? I have several friends and family members who use meal kit delivery services and have always been curious about them. How does it work? How does the food arrive? What is the process of making the meals?
Home Chef reached out to me to see if I wanted to try their meal kit delivery service. They are sponsoring today's video. I had a lot of fun trying out their recipes.
I made brown sugar glazed salmon with ranch mashed potatoes and green beans...
Pretzel-crusted chicken with roasted broccoli and honey mustard cream sauce (my kids' favorite).
Sweet n' Sour pork meatballs with lime slaw and jasmine rice...
and Sirloin steak with porcini mushroom cream sauce and diced potatoes and parsnips.
Here are the pertinent details about Home Chef: they have 18 weekly menu options. Each meal comes to $9.95 per serving (they have lunch options for $7.99). The recipes use whole ingredients and are easy to follow (even for novice cooks). Their meals are calorie-conscious and heart healthy. They also have vegetarian options.
Here's why I liked using Home Chef. I enjoyed making gourmet meals in a short period of time each evening. My children loved all of the dishes. I liked that there was no food waste. When cooking, I find that I throw away a lot of food and that has always bothered me.
I also like that it took out a lot of hassle- no going to the grocery store, and the meals were very easy to prep. It was like I had an assistant helping me cook dinner every night.
Meal kit delivery would also be great for when you are throwing a dinner party and you want to make a home cooked dinner, but lack confidence. These recipes are pretty easy to execute and the results are impressive.
If you have a large family, it would not be affordable to do this everyday, but if Mom and Dad want a break from eating "kid food", or if you're watching what you eat, this would be a wonderful option.
Thank you to Home Chef for sponsoring today's video. They are giving my viewers $30 off with code JENNIFERS30
I would love to know... have you tried a meal kit delivery service before? What was your experience?
Thank you for joining me for today's video. I'll see you on Friday!
*NEW* The Daily Connoisseur merchandise, including tee shirts now available
Visit my Author Website
Shop my favorite things
Facebook facebook.com/JenniferLScottAuthor
Twitter @JL_Scott
Instagram @dailyconnoisseur
Take my eCourse on the Ten-Item Wardrobe
Take my eCourse Chic Financial Principles for Debt-Free Living
Sign up for my Seasonal Author Newsletter
FTC: This post is sponsored by Home Chef. All opinions are my own.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for showing us a home delivery service and how it really works. I actually did sign up for a different delivery service and it worked much the same way, but beforehand, I would have found this video very helpful!
My delivery service experience was also very good. To provide some background, I was raised on very bland, repetitive meals and my mother did not teach me how to cook. I was the last of 4 children and unlike you and Ben, my parents did not want 4 children, so teaching me things was not on their agenda (I was an inconvenience). I used the food service to be able to experience different foods that I normally would not have experienced otherwise (vegetables and different spices) without having to purchase a large amount in the grocery store. In addition, with the step by step instructions and accompanying how-to videos online, I actually taught myself how to cook at the age of 45!
I am single, so I found that I would order 3 meals and then have left overs three times a week - so this would cover lunches at work. Because I was a beginning cook, everything was slower so I found myself taking 1-2 hours to cook the meals from start to cleanup. So I would often cook the meals on the weekend and halve the servings to take to work, so I had 1 dinner (weekend) and 5 lunches each work week. I am still slow - but down to 1 hour. I don't know how working married ladies with children do it!
I quit my job last year and have taken an extended sabbatical this past year, so I stopped the service, however, I kept the recipes that I liked in a binder (with my service, I had to purchase the binder) and I now repeat these. I have even been able to have the confidence to make modifications and experiment.
So for me, the meal kit delivery service really was invaluable!
Lynn
Hi Jennifer, thank you for your video. I have tried Home Chef and I love it! I am a pretty experienced, self-taught cook, and I'm single. One meal is like two for me and the portions are perfect. I served a meal from Home Chef to my nephew when he was in town for the Thanksgiving weekend and he loved it. He is also a good cook. So far I have a a variety of meals and have received 6 all together. I have not been disappointed once. I've had the salmon twice, different recipes. Shrimp, Scallops, Chicken, Risotto. I receive my meals once a month, so they can be very budget friendly.
ReplyDeleteI love your reviews!
This sounds amazing!!! My family is huge though so not sure how economical this would be for us? I looked up the canadian version of this and its quite costly.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm gonna make salmon...looked so yum! Feel free to check out my cooking blog, I think you would enjoy it from one busy mom to another!!
http://cookingwithlittles.blogspot.com
Although my life situation is very different from yours I enjoy your books and videos. Good manners are universal!
ReplyDeleteI've wondered about your product reviews. You often say a company has given you a product to review. I spent my career in media -- news, publishing, lifestyle writing, etc. The rule, actually a written rule in most employers' codes of conduct for employees, was the prohibition of the acceptance of gifts to avoid a conflict of interest or even the appearance of conflict if/when you were reviewing or evaluating a product. You noted that your video post was sponsored by the same company whose product you were reviewing. Is that no longer considered an impediment to providing an objective review?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi ladies, thank you for commenting!
ReplyDeleteLynn, Yes! I think the meal kit service would be so valuable to working people, single people, or couples without children. Thanks for sharing your story about your upbringing. I could also see how meal kits are like a cooking school in that they teach you to cook too. Thank you for commenting!
Unknown- thank you! Yes, it is great. On the night I made the meatballs I was alone and I had the leftovers for lunch the next day. I agree that it makes portion control really easy.
Mom to 9- yes, for big families this is not as feasible. Unless mom and dad want to treat themselves to the meals and the kids eat something else... I will check out your blog. Thank you!
DD- Thanks for commenting and voicing your concerns about the sponsored posts. Perhaps I can address this in an individual post to answer all questions about this but I can also respond here. I have always done sponsored posts and accepted free products for review since the beginning of the blog. Because running this blog and channel is so much work, I consider it a job. It is too much work to consider it a hobby. My sponsors make doing this blog possible. If I wasn't compensated monetarily, I would not be able to do the blog. I might be able to, but the posts would be very sporadic as I would have to find employment in another way and that would take up most of my time. You can always be assured that my reviews are totally honest. I have received products before that I refused to use because they were not up to par. I always tell my sponsors that I will feature their product and give my honest opinion.
Regarding items that I receive for free, I also am in the unique position as a blogger to try out products that I wouldn't otherwise know about through these companies who reach out to me. I like to do these reviews because they benefit the consumer to see how they work and who they would be beneficial for. Just as a magazine is sent items to feature in their monthly spreads, the same thing holds true for this blog. Ben used to own a shoe business and we frequently sent shoes for free to magazines to be featured in their publication.
If a post is sponsored, I always mention it at the beginning of the video and make it clear in the blogpost as well as on social media so if sponsored videos bother you, you can skip those. Although I appreciate all of my viewers who support the sponsored videos too as those videos are the ones that allow me to continue the blog. Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Jennifer, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I'm not "bothered" by sponsored posts. I just wasn't sure how reviews were handled in online venues. I had assumed, rightly it sounds, that we will never see a negative review from you because if you don't like a product you just don't post a review. Thank you so much.
DeleteYes, DD that is generally correct. Although in two weeks you will see a video where I return a sweater coat that did not work out. Although that video is not sponsored :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteAbout doing sponsored reviews; I know GROVE sends you Mrs. Meyers products and sponsors those reviews. So, to join this discussion, I want to say that I remember you recently gave a negative review on a particular Mrs. Meyers autumn scent. So I skipped that and chose to purchased the scent you DID like... and neither my husband nor I liked it! LOL! So, it's all opinions, and negative or positive, it's authentic and I am so glad to get authentic reviews, both the good and the bad. And you do it so graciously if you do it at all. I love that it keeps me trying new things, which is so uplifting to me.
Keep up the good work, Jennifer, I do try to purchase through your links when I can, because I want to support all the hard work you do.
With that being said, I think I'll give Blue Apron a try, it looks wonderful!
Ahhh! I meant HOME CHEF!!! So sorry!
ReplyDeleteDeborah and Lynn- thank you so much. I appreciate your support! Yes, I do give honest reviews as was evidenced by the Mrs. Meyer's pumpkin scent :) See you ladies on the blog tomorrow. Much love, Jennifer
ReplyDelete