Now that Quinn and I are both working from home, we're finding it difficult to separate work from life.
I finally said we've got to set some boundaries. We need time together, that's ours. Quinn suggested we sit down and eat a real home-cooked dinner at the end of the working day.
But we're such horrible cooks, we'd end up eating mac-n-cheese, or ordering takeout 4 times a week. Such a waste of money!
I'd heard a lot about meal kits because they're everywhere these days. So I decided to do a bit of digging and discovered Chefs Plate - a meal kit delivery service that sends everything you need to cook a delicious meal right to your doorstep.
I always assumed meal kits would be kind of pricey and only have a couple of options to choose from, but I was surprised to learn this wasn't the case as I kept scrolling on Chefs Plate's website.
Here's everything you need to know:
What makes Chefs Plate better than grocery shopping and cooking?
Convenience and variety. You don't have to think about what's for dinner. Each week you choose from 13 different mouthwatering seasonal recipes from Chefs Plate's Personalized Meal Plans. Select as few as 2 recipes or as many as 4 recipes a week - they're that flexible!
Chefs Plate lets you take back all the time you used to spend planning meals, shopping, and prepping.
Everything you need to make delicious meals - pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipe cards - are sent directly to your door. Specially insulated boxes and ice packs keep the food farm-fresh.
What kind of recipes do they have?
Chefs Plate has something for everyone with their Classic, 15-minute, and Vegetarian Meal Plans. New menus are created weekly by their team of culinary experts. Seasonal and local ingredients add another splash of fresh and healthy variety to what's for dinner.
There's always lots of mouth-watering cuisines to choose from, like Mexican, Italian, Thai, American Style Burgers, and more.
Their recipe developers create meals that accommodate both the begi nning cook and the experienced culinary artist. There's something for every skill level.
Are the recipes complicated and time-consuming?
Quality doesn't have to be complicated and Chefs Plate makes it easy. Assembling pre-portioned ingredients according to step-by-step recipe cards means you'll be eating in 30 minutes or less.
And if you need some serious time savers, each week they feature several 15-minute recipes that come with pre-made sauces and pre-chopped produce. Their Steak & Balsamic Onion Sandwiches are to die for!
Is it affordable?
Chefs Plate meals start from only $8.99 per serving- way less than takeout. And the savings add up in other ways, too. Because Chefs Plate sends you the exact amount of ingredients required for each recipe, there's no food waste.
You won't be left stuck with an entire 12oz tub of sesame paste you needed for one recipe one time and will never touch again! No food waste means no money wasted. Even better, there's no commitment, you can change, skip a week, or cancel your plan as needed.
So we took the plunge. When Quinn brought the Chefs Plate box in, I opened it and started preparing dinner.
For our first meal, I chose the 15-Minute Korean Pork Spring Roll Bowls with Jasmine Rice. The servings were just the right size and the food was restaurant-tasty.
Plus, I'd cooked dinner. Me! I was super happy. What a feeling, sitting together at our kitchen table, eating, talking, laughing, the demands of our jobs forgotten.