Meal kits: what's the point?

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Replies

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Hmm.... wonder if there are any meal kits that come with a wine or beer pairing?

    Hello Fresh recommends a wine pairing, but doesn't send the wine. Clearly this is a market opening for someone entrepreneurial!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Hmm.... wonder if there are any meal kits that come with a wine or beer pairing?

    Hello Fresh recommends a wine pairing, but doesn't send the wine. Clearly this is a market opening for someone entrepreneurial!

    Winc will send you wines and include recipe cards for each wine. My husband and I did it for a while and really enjoyed it. It was a neat way to try new food and wine pairings.

  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,589 Member
    Hello Fresh and Winc should set up a two-subscription discount ;D
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
    OMG people, BAGGED SALAD, are you *kitten* serious?

    You do know that SOMEONE ELSE has grown that, harvested it, washed it, chopped it, put it in an unnecessary bag, shipped it to the supermarket and overcharged you JUST FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, right?! :p

    Sigh.

    (I used to get Gousto, which is basically the same as Hello Fresh but presumably UK only. It was ace. I stopped when I went lower carb though. I kept all the recipe cards and still make my favourite recipes now I've invested in some of the more niche ingredients. No regrets.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited June 2017
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Hmm.... wonder if there are any meal kits that come with a wine or beer pairing?

    Hello Fresh recommends a wine pairing, but doesn't send the wine. Clearly this is a market opening for someone entrepreneurial!

    Winc will send you wines and include recipe cards for each wine. My husband and I did it for a while and really enjoyed it. It was a neat way to try new food and wine pairings.

    My sister does Winc but we haven't discussed it (some podcasts we both listen to advertise it, so I assumed that's where she got the idea). Didn't know about the recipe cards, that's cool.

    I was actually thinking of Winc as a comparison here, because of course you could just go buy some 2 Buck Chuck at TJ's or Yellowtail at the 7-11 or Walgreens -- and some people figure out that they can learn what wines they like and try new things just by experimenting over time and going to the local wine store -- so therefore a wine matching service that some find helpful in branching out and fun must be for lazy fools, no?

    ;-)
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Hmm.... wonder if there are any meal kits that come with a wine or beer pairing?

    There are! Or, there were - I think Blue Apron had an optional wine pairing at one point. I follow My Subscription Addiction, and they post wine/beer subscription and meal plan reviews fairly often.
  • Penthesilea514
    Penthesilea514 Posts: 1,189 Member
    edited June 2017
    Just heard the Amazon Prime got a beer and wine license in my state that in cities where Amazon does grocery delivery, you can order beer and wine to come straight to your door same day.

    Kraft Mac and Cheese singles and wine on daily Subscribe and Save, please lmao
  • goldengirl111
    goldengirl111 Posts: 684 Member
    Aerona85 wrote: »
    Will state up front I have never used them myself but have considered it: Convenience (going to the store isn't that simple for some...store a long way away, etc), not having the think about what to cook, new recipes to try (easier to get others to try stuff if it isn't "some crazy recipe you got online"), not having to make decisions, not knowing how to cook (they are more or less cooking lessons in many ways), and not having to eat the same stuff over and over (because many recipes out there make enough for 6-8 people, not everyone is fond of leftovers), variety. The benefit of services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron isn't money. That said, I can think of arguments against too, ultimately why I haven't tried them. :smile:

    Long commute... sometimes option....gift certificate...
  • Speckle38
    Speckle38 Posts: 53 Member
    edited February 2020

    Answered before I realised this is a ghost thread.
  • KevinWH87
    KevinWH87 Posts: 74 Member
    I did HelloFresh when I was a very amateur cook. I knew how to make eggs and a passable stir-fry... that's about it. After doing HelloFresh a couple times per week for a few months, I fell in love with cooking. I picked up some ideas along the way, and the inspiration I gained was invaluable.
  • Railgrl
    Railgrl Posts: 23 Member
    Its not for me. I enjoy shopping for and preparing my meals. The price seems high as well.

    I can see lots of reasons people would try it, though. The most difficult part of meals for me is deciding what to to have. It is nice to have someone else set the menu every now and then. There are lots of comments above that make sense too. (Delivery, learning to cook, trying new things, limited prep work, good quality ingredients, adding new spices etc.)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I don’t know why this got bumped but I did enjoy reading back through it for the LOLs and the hypocrisy.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    edited February 2020
    I’m not lazy and I like to cook. But I’m busy AF. Being able to select from a handful of meals that sound good, then having everything (down to tiny salt packets) delivered is a huge time saver. The hours I would have spent searching recipes, prepping and shopping is eliminated. We spend time together cooking and enjoying meals. And, BTW, I’ve tried many different box brands.

    In the summer I find it much easier to browse the farmers market and grill outside.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,757 Member
    If anyone is familiar with Red Dwarf, I keep reading the title in the voice of Marvin, the Paranoid Android.

    I looked into meal kits for about two seconds until I realized I'd still have to cook. Otherwise, I think they're a good idea.
  • susandslp
    susandslp Posts: 3 Member
    When my husband was dying the meal kits were perfect. I didn’t want to leave to go shopping, didn’t have time or concentration to make a list or plan. Didn’t want to eat garbage, or make the same things over and over.
    The groceries come to the door in exactly the right amounts - beats all the waste of buying a whole X if you only need 1/2.
    Good quality organic ingredients
    Planning done, everything you need is in the box.
    Recipes take approx 30 mins.
    Several studies show it’s not more expensive than groceries. Yes buying a loaf of bread and a can of tuna and mayonnaise and celery and salt and pepper and butter and lettuce will make 10 sandwiches with mayo etc left over and cost less per sandwich if you make ten sandwiches, but what if you only need one sandwich? Meal kits send you and nine other people just the ingredients needed.
    They are also great to take to airBnB or cottage. You know you have everything you need (including that teaspoon of mustard you would have forgotten to pack) and There’s nothing to take home or store or waste.
    Life is short.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    glassyo wrote: »
    If anyone is familiar with Red Dwarf, I keep reading the title in the voice of Marvin, the Paranoid Android.

    I looked into meal kits for about two seconds until I realized I'd still have to cook. Otherwise, I think they're a good idea.

    Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ;)
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,757 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    glassyo wrote: »
    If anyone is familiar with Red Dwarf, I keep reading the title in the voice of Marvin, the Paranoid Android.

    I looked into meal kits for about two seconds until I realized I'd still have to cook. Otherwise, I think they're a good idea.

    Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ;)

    Dammit, you're right. I don't even think I've seen Red Dwarf! Read the books tho.

    What was I thinking?

    I suck as a nerd. :)
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,302 Member
    yes susandsip, that sounds a very good scenario for using meal kits.

    or perhaps you know, you were just lazy for not shopping and putting everything together from scratch while your husband was dying t1827.gif

    On a sort of similar note, we have been considering getting them for my parents - my mum liked cooking and was a good cook but now dementia has reduced her skills and she cant go to the shop to buy ingredients anyway as her drivers licence has been taken away on medical grounds

    But she still wants to experience cooking, albeit in more simplified form - and my dad can help/supervise her if simple instructions and techniques - because he really isnt much of a cook at all.
    and sure ,he could learn - but he is 80, I dont think he wants to take a crash course in gourmet cooking.

  • DecadeDuchess
    DecadeDuchess Posts: 315 Member
    edited February 2020
    Since people're adding new opinions to this thread, I'll add my reasoning for whilst even though I haven't {expense} & also haven't been cooking via scratch for 3 years {disability}, when I use to sometimes it was difficult to obtain all of the ingredients especially at 1 store. Many times, I either was doing without and/or substituting.
  • Buttermello
    Buttermello Posts: 127 Member
    I tried them, hoping the would be an easy/convenient way to try new recipes.

    Unfortunately, even though I selected the 'easy prep' recipes, they still took way more time than I usually spend on my meals.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    I don’t know why this got bumped but I did enjoy reading back through it for the LOLs and the hypocrisy.

    Yes!! :laugh:
  • Speckle38
    Speckle38 Posts: 53 Member
    edited February 2020
    Since people are coming back, I will put my reasons. I work and study and my husband is away half the time. This is what I get from meal kits:
    • Convenience - 4 meals a week that I don’t have to plan or shop for.
    • Variety - New recipes that I don’t have to search for or think about. I tend to cook things I know the children will eat, and I get bored, so it’s an easy way of trying new recipes.
    • A night off - meals that my children can cook without assistance. I mostly cook without recipes, and I adapt the meal kit recipes if I feel like it, but the children are starting to learn to cook, e.g. to turn raw mince into meatballs or hamburgers.
    • Value - it works out to about $7.50 per person per serve for a family of 5.

    Since we’ve been using meal kits, there are things we have as staples in our pantry that we’d never had before, and things that I’ve cooked again by buying the ingredients myself, including tonight’s dinner.
  • karenscfld
    karenscfld Posts: 38 Member
    WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »
    They're called "children". Many of us like to eat, but don't like to cook.

    Yah, but you have to cook what is in the meal kit.
  • karenscfld
    karenscfld Posts: 38 Member
    I don't buy those meals in a box because I know myself and it would go to waste. I would not be in the mood for whatever food is in the box so I would not cook it. It would spoil. I buy lots of different meat and fish and keep it frozen. When it is meal time I fix what I'm in the mood for.
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