I am excited to share this very first Keep it Simple Review!
These days, there are SO many services and delivery companies for meal prep, cooked meals, health related products and even more available.
I don't know about you, but I just don't have a lot of time. Between working full-time, running a business, raising a family, attempting to keep a household clean (ok... somewhat clean), volunteering, and trying to focus on my own self-care, there is very little "down" time.
So anything I can find that makes my life easier AND fits with my personal beliefs on living a healthy lifestyle is a win in my book!
Which is why I have decided to share with you the different services/kits that have I have tried already AND to continue to try new ones to review and share with you here. All of these services are ones that I have decided to try on my own and I was not paid to review. I promise to always share here if there are any affiliate links or if I do make anything from sharing these various services and resources with you here.
My goal with these reviews is to share my experiences and thoughts about these services/products, so that you have an idea if it might be something that could work for you in simplifying. I am all about keeping food and health simple and real. Hence, my 'Keep it Simple' Reviews.
In the near future as well, I will also start some 'Keep it Real' Reviews, where I share products that I find and LOVE that are all about using real whole food ingredients! Once again, making healthy eating for the busy working nurses and their families as easy as possible!
To get started, this very first 'Keep it Simple' review is actually on the very first Meal Kit Delivery Service I ever tried....
I happened to have a friend who mentioned she used them and that she had a free box she could share with me...
Yes, I said FREE.
One of the coolest parts about many of these Meal Kit Services such as The Green Chef is that if you know someone who does use them, they usually can share a few free boxes with friends/family. All you have to pay is typically the shipping.
Well, I am not one to pass on a free deal, so of course I said YES please. Plus, I had always been curious how these meal box services worked and how good they actually tasted.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Green Chef sells USDA-certified organic meal kits. They offer Balanced Living, Plant-Powered, Family Plan, Paleo and Keto menus. They state that they deliver premium ingredients and easy recipes to cook delicious dinners in about 30 minutes. And that each box includes new recipes from the meal plan of your choice. They send all the ingredients in pre-measured and prepped along with all of the pre-made sauces, marinades, and spice blends.
When I tried out the Green Chef, I selected the Balanced Living Menu, which for that week included: Sesame Shrimp Noodle Bowl, Grilled Harissa Spiced Chicken, and Cuban Palomilla Steaks. I had decided to try a variety of different proteins. Although, in all honestly I don't eat all of these myself. But I wanted to hear what my husband thought as well. Now, he is primarily plant-based too, so you will see a lot of future reviews are more focused on plant-based options.
When the box arrived, it was kept pretty cool the way it was packed. Although, if you order anything with a meat, poultry, or seafood in it, make sure to look underneath some of the packaging for those proteins as I almost missed them under there! Thank goodness they were still nice and cold when I realized them hours after originally opening the box.
Each meal is in it's own bag, which contains all of the ingredients. The recipe cards were pretty easy to follow and were done within that 30 minute time as promised.
Since I don't eat shrimp, when I made the Sesame Shrimp Noodle Bowl, I gave that to my
husband and kids, and swapped the shrimp out for some edamame I had in the fridge in my meal.
But overall, the meals were all really tasty! We enjoyed them and used again after this first box. I don't use on a regular basis at the moment, mostly because I am trying out lots of different options for these reviews. However, the Green Chef is a great option if you would like some simple organic meals to cook at home. This can even take the place of dining out if you like!
The typical cost for a 3 meals/week for two people is around $79 per week. They do have other options for four people as well. You can choose to have weekly, bi-weekly, or even every 4-weeks a new box. However, you can choose to skip any week or cancel at any time before your weekly deadline (7 days prior to delivery). There is no minimum commitment which is nice!
If you want to try out the Green Chef and want to use my referral code (where I would indeed earn some money towards future Green Chef meals myself - see I told you I would share if I get anything from a product/service, even points or something towards free products), then you can just click HERE. This is good for a free week of their 2-person plan IF you haven’t tried Green Chef before.