Meal subscription boxes

[NThomas]

Has anymore tried of those meal subscription boxes , they send you all the ingredients to cook meal along with recipe cards. It this something you would like to try ore is it a waste of money?

 

[Mara]

My cousin uses them and she likes them, but often the portions are quite small. I think they are good for single people or couples who don't have time to shop,but for a family it's not good value. The pack makes enough for two adults and maybe a child with some extra ingredients.

I think for someone who wants a healthy diet it can be a good idea, but it's costly. It's fine for people who are busy and don't have time to plan meals, but long term I don't think it's viable, but is better than microwave tv dinnders.

 

[Tina Nord]

I have never heard of those before. My guess is that they are full of processed stuff though, kind of like a Hamburger Helper. I always hate how small the portion sizes are in prepared meal boxes, and even the snack sampler boxes for that matter. I ordered a couple of the Graze boxes in which they send you healthy snacks, and the serving sizes were like a teaspoon!

 

[Trellum]

Never heard of those before, I guess they're great if you are a really busy mom who is struggling with dinner recipes. Sometimes I have a hard time with that as well. But not sure I'd like to resort to something like that... those save time, but cost a bit more than it'd cost you to find your own recipes online and buy your own ingredients.

 

[cupcakechef]

I've heard of them...but I can't say that I've used them myself. I definitely think they have some benefit, particularly for inspiration if you're not sure what to make for a meal. But I think they seem super overpriced for what it is. I actually enjoy the process of grocery shopping, and even quite enjoy meal planning. I'm also someone who is quite budget conscious and I think grocery shopping when done with some planning is one of the biggest ways we save money in our household. I don't think I would ever subscribe to one of those services based on those factors alone.

 

[barkingsquirrel]

I saw an ad on television for one of those services recently .... I believe it was on CNN. I've never used this type of service, but in today's busy world with the need for convenience, I think this type of business can work.

There is a business in my area where you go in once a week and choose from a menu that has 14 dinner-type meal choices. From the menu, you choose 7 meals that come with corresponding recipe cards. From there, you go through the recipe card and down the line of ingredients where you assemble the meal ingredients into one large gallon bag or separate containers for each meal or however they do it. You pay according to which meals you chose and those meals are pre-sized for 4 servings, I believe.

I think this kind of service has its pros and cons - Pros: these are not prepackaged and boxed meals; all ingredients are fresh when you assemble the meal. Convenient for people who are always on the go and can't take the time to do meal prep at home. Cons: by midweek, some of the ingredients have been sitting in the fridge for a few days. I'm not sure how meat holds up by day 5 or 6? The other drawback is that it's definitely more expensive than doing meals the traditional way.

 

[Tina Nord]

I have heard of those meal prep places too, I think the one in my area is called Dream Dinners or something like that. It would be nice to go in and make all of my dinners for a week all at once, but I too would be concerned about how the end of the week meals would hold up.