I like to eat, yo!

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen/heard that I got to try some awesome food compliments of Home Chef.  I was given no other payment than that week’s food supplies to try in exchange for my review.

If you are like me and totally unfamiliar with this company, let me give you a quick rundown of how it works. Each week, the company puts together a menu of 3 (amazing) meals and posts them on the website so you can decide if you want that week’s menu items or not. You can order in 2, 4, or 6 servings @ $9.95 per serving.  You can also email them with any dietary restrictions/allergies and they can accommodate!!

You get a really awesome box on your doorstep that looks just like this one.. I couldn't wait to open it!!

There's also a nice little letter inside that calls you "chef" and makes you feel REALLY SPECIAL!!

Not only do they send you all the ingredients you need (sans some salt and pepper or oil here and there) but they send you THESE awesome recipe cards with exactly what you need to do to make the meal. 

front

back (with ingredients, directions, calories and WINE PAIRING!!) 

The first meal that I chose to make was the Farfalle pasta with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, shrimp and fresh basil.  This meal was so out of my comfort zone- not taste wise, but ingredient wise. I never would have thought to mix pasta with leafy greens like spinach. Boy was I glad for this meal. It was SO GOOD!! Another thing to note is that even though this was listed as 2 servings- I ate it for a few days as left overs (always a win in my book). I will apologize for the not so fantastic picture- trying to snap this while doing 50 other things as well was not the easiest!

The next meal was pan seared chicken with baby arugula salad with fennel, oranges, and a homemade citrus dressing. Again, completely fabulous. I do typically season my chicken with more than salt and peper and added additional seasonings. This wasn't the star of the show anyway so I wasn't too worried about it. What I really loved (and couldn't stop eating) was the amazing salad. This salad was so different for me in composition. I have never eaten fennel or oranges in a salad, nor made my own dressing. Yes, that would be a LOT of firsts in one evening. This was a very easy meal to prep and even more delicious to enjoy.  I also must note there was more than PLENTY salad left over as well.

exhibit A: awesome ingredients (minus the chicken) 

I couldn't wait to dig in!!

My third and final meal in this box of goodness was a fun Naan pizza. Now of course when my husband asked what they were and I said “naan pizza” he thought I said “non-pizza” and told me it sure looked a lot like pizza. I laughed and explained what "naan" is. This pizza was SO simple but so full of taste all at the same time. Sadly, some of my ingredients didn't last so I had to sub out the roasted red peppers, the cherry tomatoes and basil. This was a bummer but I did replace with other tomatoes and sweet peppers. After these toppings along with artichokes were placed on the naan bread, I put the (tons) of cheese on top and sprinkled some pizza seasoning on top (since I lost the basil) and popped the bad boys in the oven. After I ate one I just sat and thought about how good it was and how guilt-free this treat was thanks to REAL ingredients. 

so good I can't stand it. 

Before I end this post, I do want to back track a little bit. I mentioned that some of the ingredients did go bad before I got to make the entrees. Sadly, I was scheduled to be out of town the day that this delivery arrived. Additionally, we hit sub-freezing temps over night that night and when I arrived home to unpack the box some of the items were actually frozen. I think with the produce becoming frozen it did not thaw/keep well. I do not blame the packing at all and think everything otherwise would have lasted just fine. 

So what are my final thoughts? I think that the idea of getting awesome ingredients and fool-proof instructions on what to do with them (seriously, everything is LABELED) is completely amazing . This is perfect for those who are super busy or planners who know they will not have time to shop for a week's meals.  Since it is just hubby and I and knowing he does not eat the variety of foods I do, this would probably not be a feasible option for us. I tend to shop for the biggest food bargains possible to keep my grocery budget low, but I could definitely see myself eyeing up the menus each week and on a splurge week ordering a box. If this was something in my budget all the time boy I would be a happy camper. There was nothing I didn't love about getting food on my doorstep that was easy to make and was real (aka non-processed) food. I really think this is an awesome company and I mean.. come on. Who doesn't love food?!?

Go check them out, and if it works for you, give them a try :) .. seriously do it.... Home Chef


****please note, this has been edited as of 8/24/14 to indicate a rebrand of the company Relished Foods to Home Chef. I have updated the links and the name per their request. You can also view the current menu available here****