Do you think its worth doing?

[mlynn]

Lately I've been having trouble getting dinner on the table. Somehow, something always comes up and I end up ordering pizza or we eat fast food. :o There's a place near my house www.dinneranddish.com that does all the shopping and prep work--washing and dicing produce, etc. You pick twelve entrees and assemble them there. Each one feeds 4-6 people, so we would be able to make at least two meals out of most entrees. The cost is $175 plus tax. So, what do you think--would it be worth it in the long run or do you think it is overpriced?

[Meganator]

I just heard about this today - our paper has an article about a similar place that has opened here.

I would say if the price seems reasonable to you and you can afford it, it is way healthier than eating either fast food or heavily processed-pop-in-the-microwave food. Also, pricewise, if you are paying $175 for 12 dinners, which you can split to make 24 dinners, that only comes out to $7-ish per meal. So that is less than fast food or pizza for two.

Megan

[mlynn]

Meganator--

thanks for the reply. I think you're right. I guess I'm still resistant to the idea because $175 seems like a lot of money up front and I know if I were to plan it out I could do this on my own on a weekend. I'm still thinking about it though...

[aggie94]

I remembered someone posting about their experiences with a similar service, but it took me awhile to find the thread:

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52564&highlight=dinner+station%2A

There's also a link on that thread to another thread where another similar service was discussed.

[Jazzmatazz49]

They do the shopping and chopping, then you put the dishes together? That's a good way to get the seasonings right and your own "look" to the dishes. I like that idea. It's more personal than buying premade, but not nearly the work. I'd probably never actually do it, but I think it would be fun with a friend. Maybe while drinking a bottle of wine...

[beckms]

You could always try to do it yourself one weekend to see if you could match the expense and maintain your sanity; then if it seems like more work than it's worth, try out the service.

Report back if you do end up trying it!

[Hoosier Hokie]

mlynn, My aunt does something similar to this. It's just her and her two boys, so she packages the meals into smaller portions. She loves it and it's well worth it to her.

HH

[RPM]

You should look at it as to what you are not spending on fast food. Based upon your figures, 12 entrees yielding an average of 5 servings (4-6) comes out to $2.92 a serving or $3.65 a serving if you only get 4 servings per entree. In either case, you cannot eat fast food for less and that does not take into account the value of the time you saved, the increased nutritional value, etc...
Richard

[JenniferJJ]

To me, that would be a lot of money, especially if you still have to add lunch and breakfast to that equation. Some alternatives could be:

*take a day/evening every week or every two weeks and make freezer meals. I went to the library and found several freezer meal cookbooks. If a meal gives you leftovers, you only need to make five meals to last for two weeks (giving your family two days to do whatever). I personally knew someone who did this once/month. When dinner time came, she just whipped out the frozen meals, but they were cheaper, healthier and fresher than Lean Cuisines.

*find a friend or a small group and make freezer meals to trade. I have a friend who does this with two other people. Every three weeks she needs to make freezer meals for three families and then gives them to the other families. This way, you can eat the meal whichever night works best for you.

*Find one or two other neighbors with the same prediciment and make a fresh meal. The same friend makes triple portions every three weeks and then gives them to the neighbors that evening.

[NancyR]

DH and I work together. We go in at 6:30 AM and get home around 9 PM. Needless to say cooking during the week is out of the question but I refuse to load up on junk food. Through the years I have devised a pretty good system for cooking on the weekends and then eating during the week. Without going into it all, a few ideas are (and if you want more specifics, just ask):
Make taco meat; then at meal time wrap in flour tortilla with cheese and nuke
Soups, lots of them
I make HUGE pots of soup and freeze in individual portions in empty sour cream cartons (fat free, of course
:D ). This is the perfect size for one serving.
Make a large bowl of tuna salad laced with small pasta shells. Cut up carrot sticks, fruit slices, to round out a meal.
Make a large casserole that easily reheats in the microwave.
Bread and bake chicken thighs. Make large bowl of marinated bean salad and have carton of cottage cheese. Good combo.

Good luck!

[colleency]

I'm in a similar situation of being too busy to cook. I buy the food, and then I'm too tired to make it.

I've noticed that one thing that helps is to eat a snack before attempting to cook. If I'm hungry, I want food now!

And I'm trying to learn to be more flexible with my menus.

If you're comfortable with doing that service, I would definitely say go for it. Try it out once or twice and see how you feel. If it keeps you out of the golden arches, it's worth it.

[mobear]

Does anyone have freezer meal cookbooks or recipe recommendations? Sorry for the hijacking....

I also cook alot of soups, chilis, and casserole-type dishes that I can freeze and reheat well. I find that I prefer to do a big cook-fest on a Sunday afternoon of 2-3 meals for the rest of the week, and then just supplement with faster meals like salads and mini-pizzas on pitas or bobolis or something for the other nights.