umommy: October 2015

, by umommy

Meal Plan + Shopping List Just For You!

, by umommy

5 Reasons to Try Just Add Cooking

About a 1½ years ago, I had the opportunity to try Just Add Cooking, the Boston-based meal kit delivery service. They were one of a select few meal kit delivery companies in Boston at the time, encouraging families to skip takeout and start cooking again. They promised to menu plan, shop and deliver your groceries to your door. All you needed to do was cook. I was in. You can check out my review here.

Today, there are dozens of meal kit delivery services jumping on the “cook real food at home band wagon.” While I’m a big fan of this movement of getting back into the kitchen (I’m pretty much riding shotgun on this band wagon), I haven’t signed up to any these services yet. With the amazing Russo’s just a mile away from our house, the convenience of grocery delivery is lost on me. Plus I like having the flexibility of meal planning based on the needs of my family.

But then again, menu planning takes a lot of time and effort. And food shopping can be a pain, no matter how fabulous or close your local grocer is to you. So when I had an opportunity to attend a cooking class at Sur La Table hosted by Just Add Cooking, I was game.

photo courtesy of Just Add Cooking

Joined by Boston bloggers Sarah Fit, Mommybites Boston, Healthy Chicks, The Boston Mom, and Bach to the Future Bites, we made one of Just Add Cooking’s recipe – Seared Prawns with Salsa. Led by Chef Holly of The Soul Chef, we got a to experience first-hand how easy – and fun – cooking can be when everything is planned and packaged for you to help you get dinner on the table fast.

So why should you try Just Add Cooking? Here are 5 reasons:

Unlike some other meal kit companies, you get to select the meals you want from a list of 7 recipes, which changes weekly. Pick from seafood, beef, pork, poultry and vegetarian options enough to feed 2 or 4 people.
Just Add Cooking shops, pre-measures and carefully packs all the ingredients and delivers them by a driver the day your box is packed to your door. Unlike other companies, Just Add Cooking packs and delivers your box on the same day to guarantee freshness (and is more environmentally friendly).
Ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible, so you’re supporting local fishermen, farmers and artisans in New England.
There’s less waste when ingredients come pre-measured, so you’re not wasting money on a jar of star anise seeds when the recipe call for one pod for example.
Just Add Cooking is just that – letting you focus on honing your cooking skills. Which is perfect for getting kids or the novice cook to feel more confident in the kitchen.

Still not sure? Just Add Cooking is offering umommy readers 50% off your first order until 10/31/15. Just enter “umommy50” code when signing up and get cooking!

Disclosure: Thanks Just Add Cooking and Sur La Table for hosting the event, which I received free of charge. I was not compensated for this postAs always, my opinions are my own.