Photo courtesy of Green Chef

A New Way to Plan and Prepare Meals

“I am so sick of cooking for myself” my friend Martha announced as we walked to our cars after exercise class.  The sun had finally broken through the coastal overcast and the late afternoon warmth felt good on my neck.  I had just been thinking about taking Kismet for a walk along the coast when Martha spoke.

I turned to look at her.  “That’s right, you live alone too, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, but even when Jim was alive I was getting bored cooking for just the two of us.  “There are only so many things you can do with chicken.”

I’ve heard this from a lot of grandparents and empty nesters, and I suppose it’s true for other people as well.  For anyone who has spent a lifetime cooking for a growing family, preparing meals for one or two people isn’t very challenging.  I pique my enthusiasm by visiting farmer’s markets and buying beautiful seasonal vegetables and then going online to find new recipes, but I, too, get bored cooking for myself day after day.

But I have recently found a partial solution — a trick to kick-start my enjoyment of cooking again.  Several days a week I look forward to preparing my dinner, even if I will be eating alone.  My solution comes in a large box, delivered to my front porch.  It’s filled with pre-washed, pre-measured, and often pre-chopped or sliced ingredients, beautiful recipe cards with clear instructions and photographs of the major steps involved in preparation, all wrapped in recyclable freezer packs and insulation to keep the three meals I have selected cold for several hours.

Pre-Prepped Meals Delivered to Your Door

Photo courtesy of Blue Apron

I began my education about pre-prepped and delivered meals one night at my daughter’s house.  She revealed that she had been ordering dinners from a company called Blue Apron for several weeks; she had received a free coupon from a friend and then kept on getting the meals.  In 30 minutes she put together a meal for four: Cremini & Shiitake Mushroom Pasta with green beans & crispy shallot rings.  It was very tasty and I was impressed at how quickly it went together.

The next day I received an email from my sister-in-law; she had heard I was interested and would I like this free coupon?  Ah, so that’s how it worked.  Good marketing, to have satisfied customers providing coupons to their family and friends.

And so, two weeks later, I received a box containing three meals for two people, meals I had selected from the Blue Apron web site, and which contained all the ingredients I would need, color coded by meal.   Fresh, thoughtfully and individually packaged, and quite cold.  That first week I made Korean Tteok (steamed rice cakes) and spicy pork “Ragu,” Buffalo Chicken sandwiches with endive and blue cheese salad, and Seared Salmon and Salsa Verde with orange, spinach and farro salad.

Each dish was tasty; each dish made two very generous servings, and the prep and cook time in all cases was under 45 minutes.  The recipes came on large colorful cards with very clear instructions, and the end product looked pretty much like the pictures.

However, while most of these meals would be great for growing children or younger adults, for my personal taste they were too heavy in simple carbohydrates – white rice, farro, pasta, breadcrumbs, polenta.  I don’t think I am alone here — many people over 50 fight weight gain, and one way to do that is to eat smaller portions, and to limit our starches to complex carbohydrates.

So I looked elsewhere.  There are lots – and lots – of choices online.

This isn’t a review column, so I will spare you the details of how I tested each one, but I ended up with Green Chef, and so far I’m quite happy with my choice.  Each of the companies offer a range of prices, a range of menus, and flexible delivery times.  However, in addition to the fact that there is a gluten-free option, here are the reasons I prefer Green Chef:

I love knowing that I am eating organically grown food, and I enjoy supporting organic growers.  I began by ordering a box every week.  A meal for two actually makes enough food for four portions if I add a salad or fruit to accompany it.   At first I invited a friend to share a meal with me one night a week, and the other nights I put three portions in the fridge or freezer for later.  But that’s still a lot of food for one person, so I began ordering every other week, and that works better.

I look forward to the nights that I will be cooking these special meals, and I’ve learned several new food preparation techniques, because there are ingredients in these dishes that I don’t usually buy or prepare.  That adds to my interest.  I know that learning something new is good for my brain; it also keeps me alert and engaged.

Photo courtesy of Green Chef

The price you pay each week is governed by by how much meat is included in your meals, and the gluten free option is not the cheapest.  However, I buy much less food now from the grocery store, so for me it balances out.

Choosing a Vendor

I did most of my research online, and I only actually cooked meals from Blue Apron and Fresh Chef, but here are some very detailed reviews written by other people that might help you decide if pre-prepped meals are for you:

Hello Fresh by Kelli Foster

Four Reviews from The Observer

Green Chef by Katie Hart Morse

Selecting a company to ship your meals is a very personal decision, and it seems to me that there are several good choices.  You do need to balance your priorities regarding food, price, portion sizes, delivery convenience, etc.  Most companies allow you to buy meals every week, every other week, once a month, or to skip deliveries randomly.  For some people this is an every-week luxury; other people save their deliveries for special occasions or when they know they will have a particularly busy week.

That day that we talked about how boring it is to cook for one person, I invited Martha over to my house to cook with me.  We made sweet potato fritters with warm beet, apple & kale salad and black quinoa.  Most of the ingredients were new to Martha, who declared that the meal “tasted great anyway.”  After she left, I sent her an online coupon for 3 Green Chef dinners for two.  Might as well pass the word!

Have you tried one of these companies?  I would love you to post your comments below.

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