I would like to preface this post by explaining that I am basically a garbage human. All my favorite foods can either be purchased at a drive thru or your local 7/11. No lie. I didn’t start eating non fluorescent colored pour-out-of-a-box-and-cover-it-with-milk meals until I became pregnant and got guilted into eating vegetables by “What To Expect When You’re Expecting”. I love Hot Pockets and Trix and Velveeta Cheese Slices and Taco Bell and that’s just who I am. I won’t apologize for it. Thrifty chocolate malted crunch ice cream is delicious and if you don’t agree with me, I feel bad for you. Enjoy your kale, you monster.
I believe strongly I had my kids in the worst possible timing. When I was growing up, it was perfectly acceptable to feed your kids mac and cheese from a box for dinner or frozen tv dinners. That was considered a balanced meal. Getting a McDonald’s Happy Meal for a meal was perfectly fine. Now that’s equivalent to child abuse. I had my kids in the 90’s and early 2000’s so I had to learn terms like “organic”, “grass fed” and “farm raised”… and I was supposed to know ratios of proteins to carbs on their plates and do math every time I fed them so that they had perfectly balanced protein to fat to carb ratios and didn’t call child protective services on me. I learned about healthy fats versus bad fats and whole grains versus processed carbs and I didn’t care even a little. I still thought pepperoni pizza pizza rolls were yummy.
Fast forward to me meeting Alex, my diet horrified him. He insisted I give up my beloved diet coke (POISON, he insisted)! He tried to get me to eat eggs for breakfast instead of banana chocolate chip pancakes or Cap’n Crunch. He gently suggested I take cooking lessons so I could learn to saute brussel sprouts and braise short ribs (I assume). One of the first things he did was sign me up for a meal delivery service called Sunfare. This was probably 13 years ago so my memory is fuzzy but I do remember the meals were delivered in coolers to my door and were beautiful and well packaged and probably delicious. I know they were expensive and I felt terrible about not eating them. I dutifully packed them every day and brought them with me to the office and then I would order a cheeseburger and a brownie from the cafe downstairs and feel extremely guilty.
About two years ago, I decided maybe it was time to give the whole eating-like-a-grownup thing another try. I started with Hello Fresh. I had seen it advertised everywhere and people seemed to be having a good experience. If there’s anything I hate more, it’s wandering around the grocery store and trying to decide what to make for dinner. I am a decent cook but I have ZERO creativity. So I loved the idea of having someone tell me what to make for dinner. The concept was great, however my husband is very very picky and I found Hello Fresh did not live up to his standards. The menu choices did not offer enough choices to satisfy his picky eater needs and often I found myself going out and replacing the meats with higher quality cuts to meet his standards. So it didn’t work for us, but I did like the idea.
Next I tried Freshly. I thought maybe having the meals completely prepared would be easiest. But I found that while these meals met his quality standards, the taste and texture was ruined by microwaving them. They would get gross and rubbery and the presentation was ruined by either the paper container they came in or by me trying to transfer them to a proper plate and losing the look they had tried to achieve. So Freshly was a no go also. Their portions were also too small for my husband.
Next up, Terra’s Kitchen. I thought I would love the eco-friendly company and it’s cool delivery style and high end packaging. I did not. The little mini fridge the order was delivered in was huge and clunky and heavy and my delivery guy refused to bring it down my steep driveway so I had to carry it down myself. Plus you have to set it back out again the next day which is not convenient. And everything is in these little separate drawers and trays and I found it awkward and cumbersome (love that word, what fun to say). Plus the recipes were a bit too out there and plant based for my husband. Wasn’t a win for us.
So next I tried a local culinary school. I was already a decent cook, but I thought maybe I would gain the confidence to be creative and be able to craft recipes and plan meals on my own. I LOVED my 12 week program and had so much fun with my class, met some really wonderful people and learned so many new skills. I really have a much better understanding now scientifically about what’s going on in my pan and can “wing it” so much better when I am cooking than I ever could before. It’s changed the game for me and was such a rewarding experience. What it didn’t do however was cure my grocery store amnesia- when I was in the market, I go blank completely and cannot form a single meal plan. I get the equivalent of writer’s block but for chefs. I can’t plan one single meal, let alone a whole week’s worth of lunches and dinners. But I am SO glad I did it, I had a great experience. I attended the Culinary Lab in Tustin if anyone is interested, they run several Home Chef courses including beginners, intermediate, baking, and improv.
So what finally worked for me? The girl who would gladly, happily, gratefully eat cereal for dinner every night? Who watches with envy as Olivia Pope eats microwave popcorn and drinks red wine for her supper? But who sadly has a husband who expects a proper meal? I signed up for SunBasket, expecting to be disappointed or at least underwhelmed. I actually only noticed them because they have a lot of Mediterranean recipes and my husband tries to stick to a more Mediterranean diet. So I thought I would give them a try, they had a promo offer. Why not? And guess what, I was pleasantly surprised. Every week I get to choose between about 20 meal options- around 5 vegetarian/vegan, 5 seafood, and 10 chicken/beef. This is nice because I only eat chicken or seafood. Each recipe is clearly marked with any considerations- dairy free, gluten free, 20-minute meal, heart healthy, one-pan, easy prep, family-friendly, good for company, soy-free etc so I can plan my week and accommodate my daughter who has some serious allergies. I have been using it for months and have never had a week where I couldn’t find three meals that sounded appetizing. There’s a good balance of lunch or dinner options, meaning lighter meals like salad and soups and heavier options like pastas etc. It’s all seasonal too so now the recipes are all using summer vegetables and the meats can be adapted for grilling. You can choose between meals for two people or four people which is great for our family although when my kids were all at home this service would never have worked for our big family. Now it’s perfect as it’s most often just Alex and I for dinner. He is one of the pickiest people I know- he will only eat at the bets restaurants and often sends his food back. He never complains about any of the dishes from Sun Basket and often asks if there is leftovers. That’s the biggest endorsement I could ever give.
This is just all my opinion, they aren’t sponsoring this post or giving me any kind of discount. I’ve just been really happy with their service. Another thing I love is that they offer upgrades or substitutions on the meat in the recipes, for instance if the recipe calls for salmon, you can pay a little extra and substitute halibut filets or scallops if you wish. For an example of the recipes, here is what was in my box this week (keep in mind these are the recipes I specifically chose from 18 available in the app):
Chicken breasts with cherry tomatoes, summer squash and olives
One-pan seared salmon with chimichurri and summer vegetables
Spanish style chicken and quinoa with fire-roasted tomatoes (substitute organic chicken breasts)
They’ve given me a link to share with my friends and family that will give you $40 off your first order. Here it is: SUNBASKET,
let me know what you think.