Feelings on meal-prep boxes? Personally, I've never understood the appeal...

[Anonymous]

For me, deciding what I want to eat isn't hard—I have probably TOO MANY ideas of what I should cook. And grocery shopping isn't hard. I've got two kids, a full-time job and a very busy spouse, but I've always liked going to grocery stores—I used to go with my mom as a kid and that store had warm vibes and my mom knew everyone who worked there (because working in a grocery store used to be a career where you stayed for decades and knew everyone). But even on insane weeks, we just get groceries delivered.

For me, the problem is getting home in time to cook a nutritious meal that my family will eat, not choosing the meal or acquiring the ingredients. Most weeks, I wind up feeling very guilty over the various things I bought earlier in the week that didn't wind up getting used because I didnt' have time to get them on the stove and the table.

So, when we've tried meal prep boxes, I find myself facing recipes that someone in the family is going to complain about, and still require preparation. It might save me the grocery shopping time, but it takes away the flexibility and still requires me to cook and clean up.

I think if I'm going to replace my own cooking, I just want whole meals, that someone else cooks for me. A private chef that doesn't mind my kids' withering criticisms.

But they're popular--what do you guys think? I know everyone has tried them, but do you stick with them or are they occasional things, just to fill in gaps in the weekly menu?

[Anonymous]

I've never tried them. I like cooking; my three teen athletes eat so much that I don't think a single order would do it for us; and I hate the idea of the packaging waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never tried them. I like cooking; my three teen athletes eat so much that I don't think a single order would do it for us; and I hate the idea of the packaging waste.

I assume there are some that you can get in larger portions, but there's definitely a huge markup on price, so I can't see them being helpful for feeding at scale.

[Anonymous]

I’m with you, I never seen the appeal. But a lot of people seem to find grocery shopping really stressful or to feel like they couldn’t possibly use up the rest of the whatever, so getting the right amount of each ingredient in the mail is comforting.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone likes to shop or has time to shop and some people hate making the decision about what to make.

A friend used a kit for a while when her special needs child was young and for her it worked. She hated the process of coming up with ideas for dinner and shopping was hard at that time, but had time to put dinner together every night. It was easier for her to sit down once a week and click which meals they would be having and not have to think about it anymore. Her days were busy and her mind was filled with stress about her youngest.

They’re not for everyone but there are scenarios where people can find them helpful.

[Anonymous]

One appeal is cutting down on food waste (although maybe not packaging — and it means no leftovers and when I cook from scratch there’s usually lunch for one day later in the week). Also yes time saved shopping and menu planning.

I have tried them a couple of times and learned a few things from them. But generally also found them to be somewhat repetitive— variations on the same dishes (I.e three dishes that have you make a crema for example).

They can also be expensive after their introductory phases.

[Anonymous]

I also very much enjoy cooking and do most of the meal prep/planning myself. But we use meal prep boxes and like them for two reasons- to help my teens and spouse cook two meals a week, and for a bit of variety.

We get a box with two meals in it. Each week each of my teens prepares one of them, or occasionally my spouse. It sets them up to cook on their own, gives them exposure to a little variety of ingredients and cooking methods, and can be done on days when I'm not around, etc.

So we use it in some ways as a parenting tool as much as a convenience. We won't do it forever, but for now it really works for our family.

[Anonymous]

I loved Hello Fresh. I could pick a few things I had never cooked before and put those skills to use again later. I am also not that create of a chef so i liked trying new recipes. Another upside the portion control and fresh ingredients. We ended up letting it go because just as another poster said we have too many kids to feed in one order.

[Anonymous]

I used them for a while when we were living in a short term rental. I didn’t have much of a pantry to draw on and didn’t want to stock up on spices and things.

I also used them during a phase when I needed my teens to cook dinner before I got home. It made it more fun and straightforward for them. It works well for people who do f know a lot about cooking but want to branch out beyond eggs or pasta.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also very much enjoy cooking and do most of the meal prep/planning myself. But we use meal prep boxes and like them for two reasons- to help my teens and spouse cook two meals a week, and for a bit of variety.

We get a box with two meals in it. Each week each of my teens prepares one of them, or occasionally my spouse. It sets them up to cook on their own, gives them exposure to a little variety of ingredients and cooking methods, and can be done on days when I'm not around, etc.

So we use it in some ways as a parenting tool as much as a convenience. We won't do it forever, but for now it really works for our family.

That's interesting about your kids. My kids tend to look at them and go "eww, I don't like avocado" and so deem the whole meal inedible... OBVIOUSLY, this isn't true, and teaching them that is part of the trick here, but I find that going through a good kid/teen cookbook with them for some reason makes them feel more able to say, "well, I guess I could try that because it doesn't seem like I have to use avocado".

Interestingly, my wife, who hates grocery shopping and meal planning, and struggles with cooking, is no more interested/competent/comfortable with a meal box, because the ones that taste good don't seem to actually be particular simple. She gets flustered with too many steps, too many time concerns, etc. I think she also just would like a personal chef with thick skin.

[Anonymous]

I used them a whole back when the part thst was hardest was deciding what to est any given day. I can shop and cook and have some time to prep. Its the coming ip eith something every day that i want and husband and kids will eat and not have it be boring. Food waste is a big one too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you, I never seen the appeal. But a lot of people seem to find grocery shopping really stressful or to feel like they couldn’t possibly use up the rest of the whatever, so getting the right amount of each ingredient in the mail is comforting.

I find clicking on things I want on the Wegman's site very comforting, but find the reality that some Instacart picker who does not GAF is going to be selecting everything, and even though I will get my order all nicely bagged up on my porch in a few hours, I really fear discovering that I got 2lbs of ground pork instead of 2 pork chops.

But I'd rather just admit defeat and not try to order complicated things from anywhere, and if all I can muster is some chicken breasts I throw on the grill, some buttery pasta with garlic and a big bowl of sliced cucumbers (my kids will eat nearly all vegetables raw, but will not abide by any type of salad or most cooked vegetables), it's easier to acquire (either to get in person or for an Instacart picker to eff up), easier to cook and more likely to make the family happy.

[Anonymous]

I have two MS kids who will eat buttered noodles every night if given the chance and I admit they get it more than they should. I hate cooking, I hate shopping, I actually hate having dinner at all. But we do Blue Apron so that I don't have to think about it, my kids help me or DH prepare it giving them exposure to different foods (my oldest loves duck! Who knew???) and eliminates food waste from when I do shop with good intentions and then flame out by Tuesday.

[Anonymous]

We have done them periodically but I mostly agree with you OP. The issue is having time to cook in the evening (and sometimes having energy even when we have time). Choosing a menu or buying ingredients isn't that hard. Usually one of us can pick up anything we need on the way home from work or school pickup and this doesn't take much more time than selecting menus and arranging delivery of a meal kit.

We prefer to just cook at home and make big batches so we have leftovers, which helps with the time and energy issue. Plus it's cheaper and then when we truly just don't want to cook we can get takeout. I'd rather spend any extra food budget on that than on meal kits because that's a lot more of a treat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have done them periodically but I mostly agree with you OP. The issue is having time to cook in the evening (and sometimes having energy even when we have time). Choosing a menu or buying ingredients isn't that hard. Usually one of us can pick up anything we need on the way home from work or school pickup and this doesn't take much more time than selecting menus and arranging delivery of a meal kit.

We prefer to just cook at home and make big batches so we have leftovers, which helps with the time and energy issue. Plus it's cheaper and then when we truly just don't want to cook we can get takeout. I'd rather spend any extra food budget on that than on meal kits because that's a lot more of a treat.

Yeah... this all makes a lot of sense.

A box of spaghetti, a jar of tomato sauce and a bag of frozen meatballs costs $13, it's not fancy or interesting, but the kids will devour it and it takes no effort at the end of the long day.

I feel like, too many people think too hard about meal planning. My mom, who was not a fancy cook, had about 12 things in her repertoire, none of which were complex, and there were just enough that it wasn't super repetitious. And in the summer, mix in hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, steak, and a dozen simple recipes can get you a long way.