Plated: Ready-to-Cook Delivered Meals (my review!)

You may have noticed that I’ve been in a bit of a lazy mood the past few weeks. As much as my new 30 Minute Monday series is about giving you what you asked for on the reader survey, I have to say, it’s been a pretty sweet deal for me, too!

Even on days when I’m feeling lazy beyond belief, I still like to eat good, healthful food. The husband and I haven’t had fast food in almost 2 years now, and sometimes it is really difficult to find other options for busy weeknights.

I usually try to plan ahead to develop meal plans for the week, but I don’t always have time to hunt around for recipes, put together a plan and a shopping list, then head to the grocery store to pick everything up.

I’ve been hearing about a company called Plated for a while now, mostly on Instagram and Facebook where I see other people posting photos of their delicious-looking meals (seriously, go check out the hashtag #platedpics on Instagram and try not to drool!).

When Plated reached out to me to see if I would be interested in trying their service, I jumped at the opportunity. I loved the idea of selecting my meals on an online menu, rather than dealing with the expense and hassle of eating out at a restaurant. The husband and I love doing a date night each week, and it gets really old trying to find a new restaurant every Tuesday!

I hopped on to the Plated website and picked out my meals. I decided to go with one meat option (Lamb Chops with Pearl Couscous and Snap Peas) and one vegetarian option (Crispy Chickpea Flatbreads). The menus change each week based on what’s in season, so when you go check out the current menu it will have options different from what I ordered.

The package arrived on-time and was loaded down with ice packs to keep the ingredients fresh. The ingredients came pre-portioned and looked fabulous – definitely no mediocre produce in this kit!

Each of the recipes came with its own instruction sheet which featured all kinds of helpful information: cooking time, calorie count, a glossary, cooking tips, and a list of equipment I’d need to cook the recipe.

Neither of the recipes required anything crazy on my part. I just needed a pot, a pan, a baking sheet and the trifecta of cooking ingredients: salt, pepper, and olive oil.

I have to say, Plated really surprised me! It’s a great way to discover new and different ingredients, and their handy cooking instruction sheets are chock full of cooking tips and techniques.

The step-by-step photos make the cooking process pretty much fool-proof, so you can feel confident in ordering a meal that you’ve never made before.

My mom decided to order a few meals and was so excited to tell me about if after she made them. My mom likes to try new things (like me), but my dad is a bit of a meat-and-potatoes type, so I was really happy to hear that they both loved what they received. Plated even has a gift certificate option – I’m thinking this would be perfect to give to new parents!

I was really happy with how everything turned out, and I’ll definitely be using the Plated service again. Plated was even kind enough to extend a special offer to you, my lovely readers, just because you are all so darn special. Click this link to head over to Plated and claim your offer!

Join the fun and follow Plated on:

Instagram: @plated
Twitter: @plated
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theplated
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/theplated