Cooking from Meal Kits (Hello Fresh, Purple Carrot, Gousto, and so on)

[ElsieD]

We get the Costco chickens every now snd again.  We get three meals for two people out of one chicken plus I IP the bones and the dribs  and drabs for some pretty nice flavoured stock.  Well, I guess it isn't really stock but I use it as such.  I think we paid $7.99.

[ElsieD]

54 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I am still thinking I will try one of their so-called chef inspired meals which are much more expensive. They start at $19.99 for dinner for two. I do know that this will never be a service for me but my curiosity will not let me just leave it alone!  

 

 Edited to add:

Sorry I didn’t answer your question. I’ve seen nothing that asks specifically for feedback on these.  

 

I thought I had a $10 coupon for one of the chef inspired meals but when I read it carefully it is not for use in store but only on a delivery order from grocery gateway. But I do think their flyer might be offering a deal this week.  I’m sorry to sound so distracted but I am.  

 

 

It sure would be an interesting comparison.

[chromedome]

23 hours ago, Anna N said:

Yes I must rely on others going to Costco to get a chicken from there. But there are many things you can do with it. And if you remove the skin you are probably removing the bulk of the sodium. 

 

I always remove the skin. 

 

 

...to my plate. Sometimes it doesn't all arrive at the destination, though.

 

 

(NB: I don't get a lot of salt from other sources, so an occasional splurge like this isn't a big deal)

[Anna N]

1 minute ago, chromedome said:

I always remove the skin. 

 

 

...to my plate. Sometimes it doesn't all arrive at the destination, though.

 

 

(NB: I don't get a lot of salt from other sources, so an occasional splurge like this isn't a big deal)

 I too love and usually eat the skin but I understand there are those who choose not to for whatever reason.  If I felt a serious need to reduce my salt intake then it would definitely be the skin that would go first. 

[kayb]

I love to take the skin off a roasted or rotissiere chicken, spread it out on a parchment lined baking sheet, top it with another baking sheet, and run the sandwich into the oven for 10 minutes. Chicken skin crackers are sublime!

 

[rotuts]

Blue Apron is putting its Kits in supermarkets 

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/APRN/chart?p=APRN#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

 

guess the subscription method is doomed 

[Anna N]

 

 Out of curiosity I weighed the chicken this time. It weighed 207 g.  

 

 

 Not very many vegetables for two people. 

 

 

Once again I felt that the noodles were out of proportion to the other ingredients.

 

 

 The sauce and the noodle type are really the only things that distinguish the two meals. 

 

 

 Half of the finished dish served up. My sprig of basil. 

 

 Once again it neither satisfied my desire to cook nor my desire to have a ready to eat meal. 

 

 I am just not the demographic for this.  In a way it made me feel as if I was playing house.    The only thing missing was a toy  kitchenette. 

 

 In terms of flavour this was more interesting although perhaps a little heavy on herbs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

I don't quite understand the Herb bin :

 

did you carhop that up and add to the noodles ?

 

how long does it take to make a meal like this ?

 

the factor that matters Id say is it better than TakeOut ?

[Anna N]

 The herbs were in the sauce only the basil sprig was mine.  The claim is this can be made in nine minutes and although I didn’t time it I think that’s probably about right. 

 

 There is so little available in terms of take out here in this particular spot where I live. I can get Chinese and pizza and as far as I know that is all. The Chinese has become only so-so and the pizza is quite disgusting. The advantage to take out is it can be a last minute thing. Pre-prepared meals need to be in the fridge in my case as I have no way of getting to the supermarket on my own. 

[BeeZee]

Well, the largest supermarket in this area, Shop Rite, is showing a new item, 15 minute Chef’s Menu meal kits. Advertised as dinner for 2, they are $11.99-12.99. Those prices are “sale” prices, $2. off the “regular” price. Three chicken dishes, one pork, one beef. When I go shopping today I will see if they are in stock at my local store yet to see what they look like. Shop Rite is solidly “middle market”, unlike Wegmans, so I wouldn’t expect much other than high sodium content.

[Anna N]

At one time I was so excited about this concept.  Not so much anymore. There are probably many reasons for the change of heart and perhaps the most weighted would be that over the past weeks my health has improved to the point where I can do most things In the kitchen if I pace myself. I love cooking, know a fair bit about it and have all the time in the world.  I don’t seem to check any of the boxes that would put me in the demographic likely to buy these. 

 

Nevertheless I found the experience fun and I still would be willing to buy one of the higher end kits that my store has to offer and assess it for my own interest. 

 

 Certainly I better understand the need for so much packaging. When everything is all lumped together the end result is both unattractive and defeats the purpose of garnishes.   Further, when onion slices are lumped in with baby spinach leaves it’s inevitable that one will be under cooked and the other overcooked. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MelissaH]

@Anna N's comment about a rotisserie chicken brings to mind something we'd done a while ago, mainly for some of the university students who know that we cook and have expressed an interest in learning more but lack both time and resources.

 

Although roasting a chicken certainly isn't difficult, it becomes tricky when you share your kitchen with others and the oven is dubious. So we came up with a list of a bunch of things that you could do for dinner, starting with leftover cooked chicken—which could easily be a rotisserie chicken, as well as boneless skinless breast meat that you cook yourself—or even pork tenderloin, which is often about the same price and taste as boneless skinless chicken breasts. Among the things we came up with: soup (you can actually use the picked rotisserie carcass to make a quick stock, and throw in the skin for the flavoring and salt), salad (green salad with chicken meat added OR cold chicken salad with mayo), gussied-up cheapo ramen, pasta, pizza, as a sandwich mixed with BBQ sauce on a bun, taco/fajita/nacho/quesadilla filling, and more.

 

I wonder when someone commercial will jump on the idea of putting together stuff to go with a rotisserie chicken and selling it as a meal kit.

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, MelissaH said:

I wonder when someone commercial will jump on the idea of putting together stuff to go with a rotisserie chicken and selling it as a meal kit.

You didn’t write a book  

 

 A lot of supermarkets around here offer a choice of sides with the chicken and the rotisserie oven is almost always in the ready-to-eat hot foods area so it’s not difficult to put a kit together as it is. Not sure if this applies to all supermarkets. 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Anna N
To try and fix the link (log)

[MelissaH]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

You didn’t write a book  

 

 A lot of supermarkets around here offer a choice of sides with the chicken and the rotisserie oven is almost always in the ready-to-eat hot foods area so it’s not difficult to put a kit together as it is. Not sure if this applies to all supermarkets. 

 

Wegmans, yes. But the nearest one of those is a 45 minute drive from here. The one supermarket in town, not so much, unless you want something like potato wedges or deli salads.

[FauxPas]

List of meal kit services in US. Some that I had never heard of and a couple that sounded interesting. 

 

https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/every-meal-kit-delivery-service-in-america-article?mbid=nl_nl20180327fig_trendingrecipes&CNDID=34168170

[MetsFan5]

I made this tonight (picture below). It came out well and I would order it again. It’s via Peapod, which is through Stop and Shop here. They apparently partnered for this kit with Wildfire, which is a restaurant in Chicago with various outposts. 

 

  The beef was of good quality and the ingredients were all fresh. The only thing was while they supplied both butter and olive oil, they weren’t measured out. So I had 4 tablespoons of butter and no scale to measure with. Of course I keep butter sticks so that wasn’t an issue and I also used my own olive oil as their had congealed in the fridge. I did marinate the beef for almost 48 hours due to life getting in the way of having made this last night. I added olive oil to the dry rub marinade. 

 

  It was $18.98 — not inexpensive but certainly better than delivery, cost wise. I shy away from red meat so this was an easy way to make it approachable for me and please my red meat loving husband. 

 

[hongda]

Blue apron gift cards now at Costco.   2X$50 Gift cards for $65.....

[kayb]

Looks like Kroger is going to get into the game.

 

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/kroger-buys-home-chef-maker-of-meal-kits-2018-05-23

 

 

[chileheadmike]

The Kroger nearest me has had a display of take home meal kits right at their front door for a couple of months. I assumed it was their store brand or something they put together. I've never even seen anyone stop and look. Kind of surprised that they would move forward with it. 

[kayb]

I've been looking at our Kroger since someone reported that, particularly as we have one of the big, amusement-park-for-food ones. Nothing as of yet. Somewhat odd, as you and I are not all THAT far apart.

 

[rotuts]

Meal kits or " cook at home , as We've done most of the work "

 

is clearly main stream in supermarkets  , if those markets are in a certain economic demographic.

 

as margins are so thin for supermarkets , Im guessing these kits have much larger margins.

 

if they are successful 

[tukicook]

Out of interest just wondering how the perishable proteins etc that need refrigeration are packaged... How long can they be left out of the refrigerator? Do the companies have a disclaimer for goods not refrigerated by a required time? Looking into starting a similar service myself... ✌️

[curls]

Looks like Chef'd is out of the meal delivery business. https://www.supermarketnews.com/deli/chef-d-back-business-not-e-business

[gfweb]

Concept seems past its prime. No ads anymore...groupon offers appear.

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

Concept seems past its prime. No ads anymore...groupon offers appear.

It’s rather too bad because for some of us it seem to have potential. But apparently I guess they haven’t found the right demographic. Or at least not enough of them.