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:

1. Choose your share. You can pay week to week and there's no long-term commitment like traditional CSAs.
2. Choose from "Omnivore," "Paleo," "Pescatarian," or "Vegetarian." Each share comes with protein, fruits, vegetables and a grain.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Cook! Family Dinner will send you an email with a list of ingredients and some recipe ideas ahead of time. 

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:









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.

1. 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.
2. 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).
3.  Ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible, so you’re supporting local fishermen, farmers and artisans in New England.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Someone was excited to check out the contents of our kit.

Large portion sizes. Nice heat to avocado sauce. Veggies were a hit.

Coq au Vin ingredients included pre measured red wine.

Ta-da - Coq au Vin. Rich and complex flavors. A tad too salty tho.

Tex-Mex Mac & Cheese (before)

The boys loved this. I didn't think I would like it, but it was really tasty.