umommy: blogger event

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.

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Signs of Spring

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In american lamb, blogger event

1st Annual Lamb Pro-Am

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In blogger event, ChopChop Magazine

How To Pack Lunch with ChopChop Magazine

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In assembly meals, blogger event

Metrowest Bloggers Night Out

The other week I attended a “Metrowest Bloggers Night Out” hosted by Metrowest blogger extraordinaire Charlene DeLoach Oliver of Charlene Chronicles. Not only was I excited for a night away from the kids (call me selfish), I was really looking forward to learning more about Healthy Habits Kitchen (the location for that evening’s event), and the chance to meet other bloggers over nibbles and drinks.

So what happens when you bring a bunch of bloggers together to talk about the struggles of getting a healthy meal on the table for your family while assembling meal kits? Here's a hint: Ha ha! Nom nom...

About HHK

The evening took place at Healthy Habits Kitchen located in a nondescript office park in Wellesley, MA. HHK owner Sue Schochet kicked off the evening with a quick talk on what HHK is all about. In a nutshell – meal kits made from all-natural ingredients and fresh produce. Complete with pre-measured spices, sauces and a starch.

Owner Sue Schochet explaining HHK meal kits

While snacking on creamy cranberry salsa and curry mango chutney dip and chips, Sue went on to explain how HHK works. Choosing from a seasonal menu, you can schedule an “assembly session” where you assemble a meal kit yourself at HHK or for an extra buck, Sue and her staff assemble the kit for you. You can either pickup your meal kit or have it delivered. Follow the directions on your kit and you will have a wholesome, gourmet-like meal on the table in less time than it takes to surf the web for a recipe and cook something from scratch.

Assembly Party

Sue had two stations set up to assemble the pumpkin turkey chili and raspberry chipotle pork medallions. Basically, HHK acts as your sous chef. All ingredients have already been prepped.

Containers of all shapes and sizes waiting to be filled

Ingredients prepped waiting to be measured and packaged

Bloggers were then tasked to package the ingredients and create their own meal kits according to the directions. For a moment I felt like I was on Top Chef about to participate in a relay challenge. But without Tom or Padma. And it wasn’t a competition. Oh yeah, and I’m not a chef.

Easy-to-follow directions for meal kit assembly

packaging veggies for pumpkin turkey chili

Cindy and Kami assembling their meal kits

The assembly session and private party could be fun for those that want a more hands-on experience of assembling their own meal kit. But I think everyone was in agreement that we’d gladly give up that experience for an extra dollar and have the meal kit already assembled.

Bloggers

My favorite part of the night was meeting the other bloggers – super nice, smart and really funny women who all at one point or another struggle to find time to cook a wholesome meal day in and day out. Not only was it reassuring to hear how we all turn to convenience meals some days, but how we find blogging to be a fun creative outlet (or an outlet to swear – or ideally both.). I am already looking forward to laughing with these women again.

Good times with (left to right): Laura Reid of Being Loopy, Cindy Meltzer from Isis Parenting, Sharon Reilly of The Life of Reilly, Kami Lewis Levin of The Fence, me, and Sue Schochet of HHK. Photo courtesy of Charlene of Charlene Chronicles (not pictured)

The Food

Sue had prepared Chicken Cacciatore and Mango Curry Chicken for us to sample. Both were hearty and tasty. We also got to sample some Steaz Iced Tea. They were great – not too sweet but loads of flavor. I got to bring home a tray of the vegetarian option – Butternut Squash Sage Lasagna. I was psyched – here was dinner for the following night!

Butternut Squash Sage Lasagna - heated and served

I enjoyed the lasagna dish the next night (and not just because I didn’t have to do anything but turn on the oven). The boys were not big fans of the lasagna however. But the tray did eventually get eaten.

I think HHK is a great idea for families that want to go a step beyond the prepared foods section of their grocery store. It might cost a little more than the prepared foods section, but cheaper than going out to eat or ordering take-out. Plus I think you are paying for the satisfaction you get from putting together a healthy meal rather than pushing a couple buttons on the microwave.

I don’t know if HHK is something we’ll do often seeing how I actually enjoy the prep work and cooking. They are available at several farmers markets (brilliant), and can totally see myself picking up a kit or two the next time I see one.

What are some of your favorite convenience meals? Do you have any time-saving tips when it comes to meal planning?

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. The event was free and I was given a meal kit and a goodie bag with Steaz Iced Tea and t-shirt and water bottle courtesy of Healthworks Fitness for Women.. Opinions are my own.

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In blogger event, food blogger

Blogger Event #2: Good-For-You Pizza Party

Last week I attended my second blogger event - a Good-For-You Pizza Party hosted by Rustic Crust and Christine Koh of Boston Mamas. Boston-area moms, foodies and other "influencers" were invited to meet Rustic Crust CEO Brad Sterl and Christine Koh to discuss the importance of introducing families to healthy meals sourced locally and prepared and packaged sustainably. I was super excited to attend this event - great location (Boston Children's Museum), a mission I can get behind, and a chance to meet other food and mom bloggers. And I've never been one to turn down pizza!

Christine kicked off the event by sharing her thoughts on finding quick, yet delicious wholesome meals for her family. I found myself nodding in agreement.

Nice to finally meet the person behind the twitter handle

Brad spoke about the history of Rustic Crust and his "crust crusade" - offering high-quality food that is convenient, fun and healthy. All-natural, local organic ingredients. Ready-made crusts made by hand. I was ready to try it. Anything to redeem myself from hurried nights of frozen pizza.

Nice to meet a down-to-earth CEO that is passionate about his business

Everyone was then invited to don his or her Rustic Crust aprons and make pizza at a table set-up with different toppings. We were given a variety of crusts to build upon: Gluten Free, Tuscan Six Grain, and Ultimate Whole Grain to name a few.

I'm sure you could make a personality test out of the toppings you choose.

Everyone was pretty creative with their toppings. I ended up with pepperoni and broccoli. Yeah, not your typical combo but it looked good to me at the time!

What does this say about me?

The pizzas were ready in less than 15 minutes and there was plenty to go around. I found the crust to be hearty and delicious. I was looking forward to making this for my family to see if they would like it.

CEO Brad Sterle serving up the masterpieces

As everyone lunched on pizza, there was a raffle for prizes from HuePhoria (hand-blown and hand-painted glassware) and even a giveaway for a Rustic Crust fundraiser for a school or non-profit. I was one of the lucky ones to have my name drawn – wahoo!

Here’s what I won – cute, huh?

Everyone left with a Pizza Party-to-Go bag, complete with three crusts, pizza sauce, coupons and a pizza cutter. I don’t know if I was more excited about the goodies or the fact that I didn’t have to think about dinner that night. And what did my brood think of Rustic Crust? The boys loved it (I don’t think there’s a pizza out there they don’t like). Umdaddy found the crust to be too chewy for his taste. He’s more of a ~~think~~thin-crust guy.

As far as blogger events go in my young blogging career, this was a winner.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. The event was free and I was given a Pizza Party-to-Go bag and coupons and won a glass ornament via a raffle. Opinions are my own.