Meal Delivery Services - Green Chef

The “What to eat tonight” question is always an issue in our house. I like good food, and I’m growing to appreciate healthy food, but I’m getting tired of trying to figure it out and cooking the same old things. So, we decided to try a meal subscription service. I plan to try six different services and see what I like the best. I started with Green Chef, partly because they claim to be the  “#1 Meal Kit for Eating Well” and were the first service I received an introductory discount after deciding to do it. 

Online

First, you select a meal plan. Green Chef has 20 different preferences, including Vegan, Keto, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, and Meat. (I chose Meat.) Next, you select the number of people being fed, in my case two, then the number of meals per week you want from them (I picked four). It is also easy to skip a week.

BBQ Pork Meatloaf & Cabbage Apple Slaw
Photo courtesy Green Chef
Variety

Based upon your meal plan, they provide “preselected” meals. Typically, the meat meals include chicken, beef, pork, and a turkey dinner. You can easily remove one item from the meals and add another one. They also have a couple of “Chef Select” meals with an additional cost, for example, “Beef Tenderloin in Coconut Aminos with shiitake mushrooms, green beans, and ginger-lime aioli.”

Receipt

All of the orders I’ve received have arrived on time by FedEx. They were packaged nicely with frozen blocks to keep the items cool. 

Quality

The quality has been excellent. In 10 meals, we’ve needed to throw away one green been. In our 12th meal, we had a slimy red pepper.

Preparation

Each meal comes with a menu card. On the front of the card is a photo of the dish, a list of allergens, and a list of “What You’ll Need.” They don’t provide salt, pepper, cooking oil, or olive oil. Also on the list are pots, pans, strainers, mixing bowls, and other items they expect you to have.
The back of the card includes step-by-step directions and photos of things in various stages of completion. The ingredients are bolded, which makes it less likely you’ll miss something.
One of the steps in the directions is “prep.” That is great for us, as my wife typically does the prep (chopping, slicing, dicing), and I do the cooking.
Another nice thing is they provide exactly what is necessary for the meal. If a meal needs one scallion, there is one scallion to be cut up. Because of the perfect portioning, there is almost no food waste.   

Taste

I’m pleased with the taste. Some meals include items I’d never have thought to use. For example, currants in a turkey meatball or dates in cauliflower “rice.”  I’ve found I do like couscous when apricots and feta cheese are added. I’ve also learned I don’t care much about barley or kale. 

Portions

I was initially concerned about portions, but I’ve found that besides being tasty, there is enough food. I’ve not left the table hungry. Once there was a meal with too much cavatappi pasta, but that was the only meal (one of 11) with leftovers. 

Sustainability

As I mentioned, there is virtually no waste. The meals come with exactly the needed quantity of ingredients. They claim to use local, sustainable, and organic suppliers. The packaging is, for the most part, recyclable. The frozen blocks that keep items cold are sink safe, and the bag can be recycled with grocery store returnable bags. Likewise, the insulation is recyclable with the cardboard box, and the box has at least 40% recycled content. 

Price

After an introductory period, the meal prices go to $103.92 for eight servings plus $9.99 for shipping. That’s $14.23 per meal. A bit pricy, but considering the nearly gourmet menu, the simplicity of ordering and cooking, the organic foods, and the lack of waste, it is understandable. 

Rating: 4.2

  • Ordering Process: 5
  • Cooking Process: 5
  • Food Taste:         5
  • Price:                 2
  • Cleanup:                 4

Conclusion:

I really liked them. I feel Green Chef has high-quality, simple recipes to follow, but is fairly expensive compared to other meal delivery services. I’ll know more after I try some of the other services. I’d definitely recommend giving them a try. Find them on the web at: https://www.greenchef.com

My reviews are my honest opinion. After I write the review, I may see if I can provide a link. If I gain some benefit or commission by your use of the link, it is just my bonus and not considered during my review.


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