It's Plated for Dinner!

This post is sponsored by Plated.

Have you heard of Plated? Plated is a meal delivery service where all of the ingredients for a specific recipe are pre-portioned and delivered to your door, making dinner super easy. Jeff and I actually first used Plated back in 2014 when I started my current job. My commute was so long for the first year and a half (usually 90+ minutes each way!) so by the time I got home I didn't want to put any effort into dinner. I tried leaning on Jeff for a while, but he never knew what to make so we ended up eating a lot of pasta and frozen dinners.

I finally decided to give Plated a try and we loved it. Plated takes all of the planning out of making dinner - you simply choose from a couple of recipes, and they do all of the shopping for you. Plus, everything is perfectly portioned, so you don't end up with awkward leftover ingredients or a million spices in your cabinet. Jeff likes having exact measurements and directions, so he really liked the service and was often able to start prepping or even sometimes finish making dinner before I got home.

Plated also helped us get more confident in the kitchen and taught us a lot, like to put so much more salt than you think you need on everything, and how to correctly poach chicken to avoid poisoning yourself.

When we moved last November my commute was cut in half so we ended up ending our subscription. While I have more time for cooking now, I still sometimes can end up in a cooking rut where I don't have any idea of what to make. I was really excited when Plated reached out to me last month to see if I'd be interested in trying out their services again.

We decided to try some cheesy enchiladas and tomato and burrata paninis (you can't fool me Plated, I know those are actually fancy grilled cheese sandwiches!) and oh my gosh you guys, so good! I opened up some "chef juice" (ahem, wine) and Jeff and I rolled up our sleeves and got cooking. The paninis were really easy to make, but still fancier than our usual weeknight meals. Plus, you know, who can say no to warm, gooey burrata cheese?! There was a side salad too, so you know, we totally balanced out all of that cheese ;)

Interested in trying Plated yourself? Sign up to try Plated and you'll receive a free dinner for two with your first purchase! You know I can never say no to free food ;) Next week's menu includes shrimp tacos - yum!

More cheese please!

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Review: Plated

Have you heard of Plated? It's a service that delivers all of the ingredients and recipes you need to make gourmet meals at home. Jeff and I have been trying for a couple of weeks. I actually first heard of it over a year ago, but decided to finally give it a try when I accepted my new job and knew that I would have a lot less time for making dinners during the week.  

So how does Plated work? Each week I go online and pick which meals I want from their weekly menu and the day I want everything delivered. Then on the afternoon of my delivery date, a refrigerated box shows up on my doorsteps with all of the ingredients I'll need for the meals as well as recipes with step by step photos.

Steak au Poivre with Spinach Potatoes au Gratin 

While there have been a couple of misses (like a salad that was really just raw brussels sprouts), we have made some pretty amazing meals. I've always felt most comfortable making chicken and salmon, so it's been fun to branch out and discover other proteins, as well as vegetables I've never had before (like turnips!).  I also like that they send you the exact amount of ingredients you need, so I don't end up with tons of extra spices and oils I don't know what to do with. What I don't like? How much waste the process entails - each week we throw away tons of packaging and ice packs. We also had one box come with a rock hard avocado, but Plated was quick to give us some free meals to make up for it. Overall, I really like the service, and I can see us using it for a long time.

 

Kale Pesto Ravioli with Roasted Carrots and Anchovy Chicken with Roasted Carrots and Turnips

Have you used Plated or a similar service? What did you think?

This post is not sponsored. I actually reached out to Plated to see if they had a coupon to share with you guys so you could try it out yourselves, but they declined. I have seen lots of offer codes floating around though (especially on Facebook) so a quick Google should find a discount for you.

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