My Experience Trying Green Chef
You know what I love about meal kit delivery services?
The convenience — and the ability to make food that’s usually really delicious in a pretty minimal amount of time with zero grocery store shopping.
You know what I don’t love about most meal kit delivery services?
The waste. OMG, from the plastic to the styrofoam — it’s just something I can’t ignore.
So when I got the chance to try Green Chef for a week, I jumped at it.
Besides getting recipes and ingredients for healthy meals (and ones that can be gluten-free, Paleo, vegan, omnivore, and more), the majority of the packaging is recyclable. Plus, because Green Chef is a USDA-certified organic company, it works directly with farmers to source sustainable and delicious ingredients for all of its meals, which is another environmental perk.
Nutritious food that tastes good and is better for the planet? Yeah, I dig that. And clearly I wasn’t the only one interested in our box …
I ended up choosing a week of Paleo meals (three recipes with ingredients). It arrived on my doorstep, and I got to cooking. And eating.
Italian-Seasoned Meatloaves
I ended up making this recipe first because it sounded the best to me — and when you’re pregnant with twins in the first trimester and all food is weird, you go with what sounds good. And, dude, I choose a really great recipe to start with. It was so tasty!
The recipe instructions and prompts were easy to follow — and unlike other times when I cook and tend to go with a more “rustic” chop, it gave me the direction (and motivation) to slow down a bit and actually chop things to a more uniform size.
The sauces and mixes were awesome, too — they really took it to a next-level flavor that, quite honestly, I never would have taken the time to do on my own. Take, for example, the Cashew “Parmesan” that you sprinkled over the carrot fries. So, so, so good (and hard to believe there was no actual dairy in there!).
The meat portion was hearty, too. I could have used more carrots for fries, but, overall, it was an amazing meal. My husband and I both cleaned our plates!
Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry
Another favorite was the Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry. Now, we make a lot of stir-frys at home, so I expected this one to be pretty on par with what we usually make — but I was wrong, very wrong. It was WAY better.
Seeing that stir-fry usually requires lots of chopping, it was nice to have so many of the veggies and ingredients pretty much ready to go.
The recipe only took me 20 minutes to make, and it really tasted better than take-out (which I rarely can get since I’m gluten-free). The portion was large and filling — and the recipe overall busted a stir-fry rut for us. This recipe also introduced me to the wonderful world of dried shiitake mushrooms — simply soak them in water. They add such depth and complexity to a dish.
Overall Thoughts on Green Chef
Here are the top things I loved about it:
- The green packaging — you can even recycle the plastic bags if you remove the stickers
- Good diversity of ingredients and veggies and proteins
- Strong, bold flavors (but you choose how much salt and pepper goes in)
- Actually teaches you how cook
- Ease of pre-made sauces and some ingredients are pre-chopped (but you still chop a nice amount so you feel like you’re cooking)
- Good price point ($11.99 to $14.99 a serving, plus a discount on your first order)
Signing up for Green Chef is easy — you can actually pick your recipes so you never end up with a protein or veggie you dislike. Although, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and try something new.
Now if only Green Chef did the dishes … –Jenn