Plated and The Verdict

by | Oct 11, 2016 | General Health, Healthy Eating, Helps, Lifestyle

I decided to end this little experiment after trying three different companies.  I know there are many more out there, but Blue Apron, Home Chef and Plated all shared several qualities, and even had similar concerns, so I decided to conclude with Plated.  I still feel that this could be a valuable resource for some of you out there, so I will tell you about Plated and then we will have the VERDICT! **Please note, these are my opinions and I have not received any compensation for reviewing these companies-I paid for the services, minus the discounts offered on FB to everyone 🙂

Just to recap-There are several things I loved right away with Blue Apron that are true with Home Chef and Plated. I think these points will be true for most of these types of companies because I think it is actually the business model of all of them.

  • I love the time saved, not having to shop
  • I love that planning is limited-you just choose the recipes from the list they supply
  • I love the guess-work being taken away, as they supply almost every ingredient
  • I love the money saved, not having to buy a bottle of spices I may never use again, they send just the right amount for my recipe, so I can try before I buy
  • I love the portion control, again, they send just the right amount of each ingredient

 

So, those are the positive commonalities, here is what I liked about Plated: 

  1. The Recipes-were really good! The choices seemed more familiar or common. For some people that would be a big plus!
  2. The Ingredients-were fresh, the correct amounts and packaged for easy use.
  3. The Recipe Cards-were step by step descriptions with pictures, which make it so easy to follow. I loved the additional ‘technique info’ they included, like how to make your garlic into a paste for easier incorporation into the Caesar Dressing.

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    I learned how to make garlic ‘paste’ which is easier to incorporate into Caesar Dressing!

  4. The Timing-was very accurate, again the step by step pictures helped. If you are an experienced cook, you could probably economize your time, but for beginners, the recipe/card are laid out nicely.
  5. The Novelty-As I mentioned, the choices seemed more familiar, like sliders, Caesar Salad, and home fries, for example.
  6. The Packaging-Plated offered info on how to recycle the packaging.

 

Here are a few things I did not like about Plated:

  1. The Recipes-though good, they were higher in calories than I would like, especially since some (like the Meatball sliders) didn’t seem like enough variety on one’s plate. (You had the sliders and Caesar Salad)
  2. The Ingredients-themselves were good, however, the end product, when you ‘plated’ the food, didn’t really live up to the name of the company, ‘Plated’. My assumption was that this might be a ‘fancier’ variation of this type of service, but it wasn’t.
  3. The Timing-these recipes took longer, closer to 40-50 minutes, which is a long time for me, especially if you have to ‘tend’ to it. I prefer recipes that take less tending or less time.

 

The Verdict:

Although this was a fun experience and I liked things about each of the companies, the things I liked most were aspects that they shared, meaning, you could be happy with any of them if you were only interested in:

  1. Fresh products in exact amounts along with colorful, informative and easy to use recipe cards, delivered to your door.
  2. Eliminating the time spent deciding on and finding recipes and shopping for ingredients.
  3. Eliminating having to buy ingredients you may not like or a large quantity of and never use again.
  4. Portion controls, you choose how many you are serving and you can count on the ingredients being just enough.

    img_35961

    I love getting just the right amount of ingredients, so I can try before I buy!

Are there ways you could tweak this and make it work for you, so you could get some of the benefits listed above?  OF COURSE! And it really could impact someone’s journey to better health in very positive ways! For example:

Some Tweaks:

  1. Choose a plan for fewer people and/or portions than you would normally, at least by one serving. Then, divide the finished product into more servings and add a healthy vegetable choice to complete the meal.
  2. ‘Skinny’ some of the recipes up by substituting healthier ingredients. Don’t worry, you aren’t replacing a lot, just an ingredient or two will make a difference; for example, use light cream instead of the heavy cream they send for a Chicken Marsala dish.  It won’t change the flavor, but the calories will decrease a bit.
  3. Make sure you are prepared to choose only the healthiest choices and not be enticed by those that will not support your goals.

 

In the end I have to say that HOME CHEF was my favorite!  They offered the healthiest choices, the freshest ingredients (and an indication of how long they would stay fresh-very helpful). They had better packaging than Blue Apron in that the meat was separate from the other ingredients (which Plated did as well). They had a good balance of ingredients-healthy fats, carbs and protein and offered more recipe choices and types of ‘plans’. Overall, I found their recipes to be a nice mixture of familiar and new dishes, as well as nice visual presentation of the finished meal, which makes me feel ‘fancy’- and sometimes a girl just wants to feel fancy!

I hope this has been helpful for some of you.  If you have other opinions about these companies, or others, please comment below! We welcome your opinions!  OR if you have questions or need some guidance, please comment below or connect with me, I would be happy to help! I am here for YOU!

Until next time, be well and make good choices!

Your Bff