You are busy right? I get that.
As a busy lady with a full time job, two children under the age of five, a wife, and a part-time obsessive food thing (blogging, catering, reviewing, designing, writing, Instagraming, etc.), I’m no stranger to maximizing time and minimizing effort. Although meal planning, grocery shopping, food prep, and concocting new recipes for the week is my good time Saturday night kinda fun, I realize for most of you, it’s possibly torture.
If you find yourself not having enough energy to figure out what to eat, let alone make it, then I have the solution for you. No prep. No fuss. No problem.
Meal kit delivery services are reinventing the dinner ritual in a very good way. Working couples, singles, and busy families who care about eating fresh, home-cooked meals are flocking to the concept of a freshly prepped meal-in-a-box, and the market is lighting up with a flurry of new offerings.
It’s a trend that began in 2012, then took off. From Blue Apron to Plated to Home Fresh, these services are now a $400 million market that’s projected to increase tenfold in the next five years, according to Technomic, a research and consulting firm for the food industry. Today there are more than 100 meal delivery services in the U.S., and new ones are springing up all the time.
Two Pittsburgh-based companies have jumped on the meal kit delivery service bandwagon:
CHIP AND KALE (chipandkale.com) is a non-subscription plant-based meal delivery company. New menus are posted every Tuesday and you can choose from Vegan, Family Friendly, or Gluten-Free meals.
STEEL CITY MEALS (steelcitymeals.com) is also a nonsubscription delivery company.
With both, you place your order by Monday at midnight and Pittsburgh orders will be delivered the following Sunday.
Meals are delivered to your door, frozen, with each component of the from-scratch meal, locally sourced, handcrafted, prepped, portioned and individually packaged. All your participation requires is a fridge to thaw it out, an oven or a stove top, and about 15 minutes of your time.
A weekly supply consists of five frozen meals with approximately 2-4 portions in each. Sample dishes include:
From Chip and Kale: Cashew Tofu, Hawaiian Pizza, Pasta Putenesca, and Sweet Potato Enchiladas.
From Steel City Meals: Beef Stroganoff, Cashew Chicken, and Crab Cakes.
Bada Boom, Bada Bam. You’re welcome.