My Experience With Green Chef Dinners From Start to Finish!

I recently got the chance to sample Green Chef dinners! Basically, Green Chef is subscription box for your tummy. You get to choose a plan that fits your families needs and then the ingredients for amazing, organic, healthy, sustainable, GMO free meals is shipped to your door. Here is my experience from start to finish-

I was so excited to receive my Green Chef box in the mail. I knew right away I needed to get the ingredients into the fridge, so I opened it immediately. Everything was packed with great care. The outside layer in like a little insulating blankey to keep the food nice and cool. Inside there were layers of ice packs and packaged food. At the very bottom, sitting directly on another layer of ice packs was the meat.

I was little concerned about how everything would ship and the freshness of the ingredients upon arrival. There was nothing to worry about, as all the ingredients looked great and felt cold.

Our family chose the carnivore plan for four people. Our box had enough for two meals that would feed our whole family. Each meal's ingredients are color coded and packaged. Some ingredients were pre-prepped while others required a little chopping. Each meal included a very detailed recipe card. There were step-by-step instructions and pictures that even the novice cook could decipher
.

The first meal that I made was sweet and sour pork over quinoa with a broccoli and edamame salad. There was a little chopping involved, but nothing too laborious. For example, I was sent three half sections of bell peppers, the seeds were already scraped and they just required me to cut them into bite sized pieces. I also cut the meat into smaller pieces and the broccoli. Nothing hard, but you do need a knife and a cutting board. 

The recipe estimated that the meal would take 35m to prepare. It took me about 40- but that was entirely my own fault as I had several interruptions. Seriously, sometimes I don't know how I get food cooked at all. The baby always needs changed and there is a fight to break up and then I get a phone call. I'm sure for most people this would take about 35 minutes.

My kids both had glowing review of this meal. I mean, it has pineapple and sweet and sour sauce in it, a family crowd pleaser for sure. I thought it tasted really great and I like that it was served over quinoa. I loved the broccoli salad that was on the side, but it received a mixed review from my husband (who is notoriously picky.)

Initially, I was sure that this would not be enough food to feed our whole family. When I looked at the ingredients it just didn't seem like much. But there was actually more than enough. Each person was able to have a large serving and there were even leftovers, which I enjoyed  for lunch the next day. 

The next meal was chicken cassoulet with a baby kale salad. This was chicken thighs served on white beans, carrots, celery, cremini mushrooms and onion in a tomato sauce and topped with breadcrumbs. The side salad has baby kale and radishes with a vinaigrette.  

More of the ingredients were prepped here, the carrots, celery and onion were all pre-chopped. I only chopped the mushrooms and herbs. I'm guessing because the overall time of this recipe was a little longer, 45 minutes, they wanted to keep prep time down. This recipe was actually simpler, the additional time was because it need to cook in the oven for a while. So, a good portion of the allotted time was hands off. I washed the dishes and fed the baby while this tasty dish cooked up.

How did it taste? Wonderful! This is a meal I plan on making again. Very family friendly. This dish was super flavorful and the salad paired really nicely with it. The kids and husband all approved. Again, there were leftovers, which I just ate for lunch today!

Before trying these dinners I really didn't think this service would be for me. I mean, I like to cook and honestly it just seems expensive and unnecessary. However, these meals really got me thinking. How often do I get super busy and can't plan dinner, resulting in me throwing up my hands and deciding we are going out. For my husband and I to eat and the kids to get some dinky meal, it's going to cost us. For the family plan carnivore box each meal costs $12.99. Sure, it's more than if I bought the ingredients at the grocery store, but much cheaper than eating out. There is no minimum commitment so you can always skip boxes or cancel if you know it won't be necessary that week.

Both meals were really pretty simple to prepare and cook. You do not need to be an Iron Chef to make these. If you can follow directions, use a knife and turn on your stove you can do this! I think my husband could have even figured these out. And how fun would this be as a creative date night?

This would have been such an awesome things to have after my last baby. Family and friends bring us meals for a week or so after baby comes, but after that we are on out own. This would have saved me the from some grocery shopping and meal planning. I could have fed my family great meals without all the stress. There are just times when life gets nuts, after a baby, during a hard pregnancy, long work hours, or just general life. You want to eat good, healthy food but simply don't have the time to do all the work, that is when this box would be a lifesaver. It saves prep, dirty dishes and a shopping trip.

Even though I find cooking enjoyable I sometimes just totally run out of inspiration. We get in a rut and eat the same thing over and over. These recipes are so inspiring and there is a ton of variety. If you fall in love with a meal you can find the full recipe online and make it again.

If you think your dietary restrictions will keep you from enjoying this box, they might have an option for you! There are 2-Person Plans that include Omnivore, Carnivore, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten-Free Plans and Family Plans include family-style Omnivore and Carnivore Plans. Check it all out on their website, they offer a lot more than you might think.

Even if you never considered something like this would be a fit for you, I totally recommend looking into these Green Chef dinners. I was really impressed with everything from the quality of the ingredients to the final meals.

Connect with them on-
Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook

 I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.