You all know that I speak of working long hours and eating out but half the battle in eating well is having a little creativity in the kitchen. Being raised in the South, I know how to cook a cadre of really good tasting but not good for your rump size food.
So when I’m stumped for what to do for dinner when we are staying at home, it’s a bit challenging for me to come up with something beyond grilled meat and a salad. I blogged about Gigi’s Throw Together Salad and let me tell you even that was a chore to put together that recipe because I seriously throw it together without thinking, pretty much whatever is in the refrigerator on some days.
My husband is retired and he never really cooked that much before. So same thing….low creativity in the kitchen with high calorie outputs. Enter Home Chef….
We love Home Chef! This has been life changing for us. First, we don’t have to go to the store. I hate going to the store and there are so many temptations on all those end caps that it is like a gambling addict walking through a room full of screaming slot machines. Second, Home Chef taught my husband how to cook. BONUS!! Third, we don’t waste any food, EVER.
They have many choices and you are never stuck with a meal you don’t like. I frequently get online and plan my meals weeks in advance. They deliver the meal to your door weekly. Everything is in portion sizes so it is cost effective and there is no waste. The recipe cards have nice pictures and are easy to follow. Meals usually take 25-30 minutes to prepare with 45 minutes pretty much the max time. You can choose low carb, low calorie, gluten free, and vegan options. You can also order lunches, smoothies, and fruit baskets. The price is amazing with meals starting at $7.99 a piece. When was the last time you had a meal in a restaurant that was tasty and healthy and only cost $8!
When I do make myself go to the grocery store (or in most cases order online) and I have a meal in mind, it frequently costs $40-50 to purchase all of the ingredients which you always have too much of and then it sits in the pantry or the refrigerator and goes bad. Not the case with Home Chef!
The good thing about these meal services is that it does expand your ideas and gets your creative juices going. One night, I remembered that my husband had made a really good fish taco with coleslaw so I pulled out the recipe card and did a spin off version of that with some food we had in the refrigerator; chicken breast instead of fish, chili infused olive oil, slaw mix, Sriracha, lime juice, avocado slices, and wheat tortillas.
There are other services out there such as Blue Apron, Sun Basket, and others. I’m sure they are all comparable. We actually started out on Blue Apron but there were some strange things on the menu that I couldn’t wrap my brain around. Home Chef has been a perfect fit for us.
For Weight Watchers followers, I simply add the recipe online and the serving size (in our case 2) to calculate what the points per dish are. There are some higher point dishes so I am careful on those days to make sure I eat lighter at breakfast and lunch. Tonight: Crispy Onion Chicken with Creamy Mushrooms and Green Beans. Mr. Shaw gets all the mushrooms, not my thing. I calculated this meal out to be 9 points.
I did add the Bourbon Peach Basil Smash from be MIXED that I spoke about on my blog be MIXED.
Four points for that lil darling and 13 points out the door for dinner and the drink!
Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” So be happy and just try it!