Making my Own Meal Prep Service!

 As I mentioned recently, after trying 3 different meal delivery services, I still wasn’t completely happy. You can read more about that in this blog post; the crux of it is in this paragraph: 

My goal as a home cook: Cook delicious, healthy food that doesn’t taste “healthy.” I want meals that appeal to the senses, including looking pretty. As a self-trained home cook, plating is a learning curve for me. As far as macro nutrients go, for my family we strive for high protein, high fiber and “regular” sized servings of carbs. 

I started thinking about how I could cook our “regular” food with the convenience and sumptuousness of the delivery services. I already use curbside for my groceries; I haven’t been inside the grocery store in 3 months. Here was my brainstorm:  I struck a deal with my hubby (Paul.) On Saturday we will pick up all the food for the week (which will be 6 meals) and he will help me sort and pre-prep it on Saturday evening.

Know that I'm coming to you as a former "once-a-month-cooking expert." I don't do that now mostly because the food that I was able to serve back then with 5 growing children is not the same as what's needed in a house with 4 adults. In other words, I know how to prep meals and prepare ahead of time to cook, so Paul was pretty surprised when I asked/volun-told him that his help was essential. He's a good sport though, and agreed without complaint.

I then set out to plan a week of waistline-friendly–in my case, Weight Watchers friendly– but still delicious meals. I followed the usual pattern of meals: Meatless Monday, Taco–TexMex–Tuesday, eat-out Wednesday, Pasta Thursday, Fish Friday, and then whatever strikes my fancy on Saturday and Sunday. Sundays are usually kept pretty simple as I am often making lunches for the work week on Sundays. (If you want to know more about why I follow a pattern, read this post.)

I thought about what supplies I would need to make this all come together. I ordered some disposable portion cups in ¼ and ½ cup size and jumbo zip locks to make storage easier (plus the huge zip locks can be reused). It occurred to me that I will have to empty the fridge a bit to make room for SIX meals when
we’ve only been storing  3 pre-packaged kits. Depending on the week, I may have to freeze some of the meat to keep it fresh enough. That’s fine. 

I ordered only the groceries for those specific meals–not our staples, milk, bread, etc.-- so I can more fairly compare the price. The grocery bill was $132 for 6 meals including main dish and side veggies. I bought the brands (mostly name brand) I would normally buy and didn’t look at the total until I placed the curbside order. For this week, at least, it is about half the cost of the services since we got twice as many meals out of it.

Looking back at my review of the meal service recipes, there are two main components I wanted to incorporate: sauces and seasonings.  A big part of the convenience is in the seasonings. The seasonings are already mixed for you and you don’t have to have a bunch of individual ingredients, or dig them out of your pantry and measure them. I have noticed that if the mix is “taco seasoning,” without a label, it will taste EXACTLY like most people think taco seasoning should taste. That’s what makes this all easier than it seems. 

Ditto for the sauces; most of them are put together with some sort of “base,” like chicken base, water and some sort of creamy addition, either actual cream or sour cream. For that reason, I decided to add a few mixes and bases to my pantry. These things are expensive on the surface because they contain multiple applications so they are not included in my grocery bill for next week. 

Things I added to the pantry. 

Here’s what I purchased and I am keeping them all together in a plastic basket (For the pantry staples). I have decided to make a designated area of the fridge for the refrigerated items I will be using for seasonings and sauces so I can easily grab whatever I need. Most of these brands are the exact brands I received in packets from the meal service companies so I feel pretty confident in my ability to put those amazing sauces together. The 

Spiceology Smoky Honey Habanero Seasoning

 is fire (ha,ha.). Well worth the price. 

There are a few other things I know I will use that are already in my stock ingredients:

Refrigerator go-tos. 

Pantry Staples

Freezer Must-Haves

Okay. That's the plan. On Meal-Plan Monday, I'll post the story of how it worked out!

Kraft "Homestyle" Macaroni and Cheese

Sometimes I am just a little snarky.  And frankly, some products are just asking for it.

I make homemade mac-n-cheese almost always.  I was raised on it and nothing in a box will do it for me.  Nonetheless, I have "normal" kids who also like the box stuff, so sometimes I buy it for them.  This week, I came home with the title product.  I probably would not have bought it, but I got it for free in a special.  So we tried it.

When I read the directions, I thought, "Hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like making white sauce."  When I opened the "special seasoning," it tasted a lot like flour.  Then I added the "cheese sauce."  I tasted it of course.  It tasted like a cross between Cheez Whiz and Velveeta.  The bread crumbs were dry, bland and apparently unseasoned.

Here is the thing, with the exception of using the "cheese product" instead of actual cheese, you are basically making homemade macaroni and cheese.  Most times when I make it, I top it with buttery cracker or bread crumbs and run it through the oven for a bit.  But if I'm in a hurry, I do it all stove-top like the aforementioned product. 

So I guess my real question is why anyone would buy this product and not just make homemade mac and (real)cheese?  And if you love the creaminess of processed cheese, you can always use velveeta for half the cheese.  It will not take any longer, I promise.  I spent more time trying to open the "easy open" sauce packet than I would grating the cheese! 

My homemade mac-n-cheese has 8 easy-to-pronounce ingredients:  Macaroni, skim milk, cheese, butter, flour, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.  This "homestyle" product has at least 23 ingredients, including canola oil and several stabilizer, colors, and preservatives.  (I say "at least 23" because I am generously assuming their bread crumbs and macaroni are the same as my "at home" versions.

So please, people, do me a favor.  Do not buy this stuff.  We have to stand up for home cooking sometime!  And if you do not buy it, you will save money, come out even on calories, save or break-even on time and enjoy a savory dish made with love!  If you need a recipe, let me know.