For 2020, my resolutions are pretty typical: I want to eat more whole, nutritious foods, and live more sustainably. First, I cut out snacks like chips - no excess packaging or foods with a long, long list of ingredients.

But I needed to do more. I started buying more produce, but without having recipes in mind already, I'd end up forgetting about things, and throwing them out when they went bad. It was a complete waste!

My best friend, Tess, and I had a talk about our resolutions, and she mentioned she'd been wanting to try Green Chef, a specialty diet meal kit because she was trying to go keto. Although I liked the idea of ready-to-cook ingredients, I figured all meal kits were probably super wasteful.

When I was home later that night, reading a eulogy to my week-old wilted broccolini, Tess sent me a screenshot from Green Chef's page. It turns out, the company belongs to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition in an effort to achieve waste-free packaging in the future. They provide carbon offsets for all of their deliveries and packaging in their boxes. They're also a USDA-certified organic company, but don't have a much higher price tag compared to other meal kits I'd seen!

If this worked, it would be perfect. Everything aligned with my new goals - and the meals looked delicious, too. In addition to keto, they also have paleo and multiple plant-based and vegetarian options.

I liked how the "Balanced Living" plan would give me a taste of everything, so I thought I'd sign up for a week, and cancel if I wasn't a fan.

My box arrived shortly, and I was excited to see recyclable packaging and that my food was fresh and still chilled. For my first week, I chose a Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon, Butternut Squash Chili, and Mustard-herb Bavette Steaks with a broccoli & potato parmesan gratin. There were so many vegetarian options - I really liked how I could lower my meat consumption, which is fantastic for the environment.

I started with the chili - I laid out all my ingredients and set aside the suggested half an hour for cooking. I followed the instructions, realizing that the smell of sauteed roasted red peppers, corn, onions, and garlic, was the best smell to come from my kitchen in ages.

I stared down at my beautiful dinner and dug in - it was so good! It had black beans, so even though it was vegetarian, it was super filling. The steaks went without a hitch, and then it came to the salmon. I was terrified of cooking fish, but with the easy-to-follow instructions, it came out delicious!

I decided not to cancel my plan with Green Chef. I learned how to reuse, recycle, and compost different aspects of my boxes! Nothing from Green Chef goes to waste.

Green Chef changed the way I eat and the way I look at the Earth. I now try to recycle or offset everything I can, eat more whole foods, and limit meat in my diet since it's so much more convenient now. Green Chef gave me so much convenience and affected my life in such a positive way, you have to try it!

Update: Our friends at Green Chef are extending a special New Year's offer to our readers. Follow this link to get $80 off + free shipping!