Family Dinner: A Better CSA for the Adventurous Home Cook
6:38 PM
Is it me, or does it seem like a new meal kit delivery service springs up every day? I've had the opportunity to test drive a bunch, but I keep wishing there is one service that sources from local producers, curates only the best ingredients, doesn't overload you on one ingredient, is eco-friendly in its packaging, doesn't lock you into a long-term commitment, and delivers straight to your door.
Enter Family Dinner, a farmer's market delivery service for Boston Metro and South Shore residents. Unlike your typical meal kit delivery company, Family Dinner does not shoehorn you into specific recipes in a given week. Instead, Family Dinner works with local farmers and producers to curate the freshest produce, grains, seafood, meat and dairy products.
Family Dinner describes itself as "a better way to CSA" as it offers "all the benefits of the CSA with none of the drawbacks." Here's how:
- Choose your share. You can pay week to week and there's no long-term commitment like traditional CSAs.
- Choose from "Omnivore," "Paleo," "Pescatarian," or "Vegetarian." Each share comes with protein, fruits, vegetables and a grain.
- Select the size of your share. Options include "Veggie only share" for 1-2 people, "Half Share" for 1-2 people, "Whole Share" for 2-4 people, or "Double Share" for 4-6 people.
- Choose to have it delivered to your home (Saturday delivery) or office (veggie only Monday delivery). Family Dinner will send you a text message when they are on their way.
- Cook! Family Dinner will send you an email with a list of ingredients and some recipe ideas ahead of time.
I jumped at the chance to try Family Dinner when founder Erin Baumgartner reached out to me to see if I would give it a try. Between starting a new job, the boys starting school, plus the start of after-school activities, I was thrilled to have someone else do all the meal planning and shopping for me, but still have the option to flex my creative muscle in the kitchen.
We selected a Omnivore Double Share and what arrived blew us all away in terms of quality and quantity. A Double Share easily offers a family of four 5-6 meals, with leftovers - which is perfect for my three hungry guys. Here's what our Family Dinner week looked like:
Monday: Roast Half Chicken with Oven Roasted Fall Veggie, plus Iggy's 7-Grain Bread
Tuesday: Avgolemono (using leftover chicken and eggs from Brookford Farm)
Wednesday: Pizza (dough from Forge) with fresh mozzarella and kale salad
Thursday: Spaghetti Bolognese and Boston Lettuce salad
Friday: Pasta with Swordfish (from Red's Best), Eggplant and Tomatoes
Extra: There were even ingredients for lunches and snacks too, including honey mustard for the sandwich spread, apples, and cottage cheese with fresh raspberries.
The boys loved everything. I loved the quality, local ingredients. I also love supporting local entrepreneurs. And I especially loved that we were still able to sit down for a family dinner, even during the busiest of days.
So if you've ever thought about signing up for a CSA, but didn't want to get stuck with 3 pounds of bok choy. Or if you're getting tired of meal delivery kits (and the excessive packaging), Give Family Dinner a try. There's no commitment and if you sign up using UMOMMY50, you get 50% off your first order.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Family Dinner for giving me a trial share, which I received free of charge. As always, all opinions are my own.
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