Paying for Convenience

On By youmeanmeIn Frugal Living

I was first introduced to Chef’s Plate a year ago when I was at a friend’s house. She was ecstastic to share that this company was able to deliver healthy ingredients along with a recipe card.

She urged me to look into it and gave me a coupon. Even with the coupon I didn’t find it to be a great deal.

This year another friend signed up and gave me a coupon for 75% off. Well that deal got me. I signed up and this week I received my two dinners.

The company is good for my green heart: items a sourced locally, purchased from responsibly farmed partners and they’re committed to being environmentally friendly.

My frugal heart not so much. When they say you get two dinners it appears they mean it. When I cook dinner what I really mean is I’m cooking for the next two days. To be honest, I am baffled by people who cook every night when generally you can double a recipe and deal with less dishes.

The full price for the box is ~$50. That’s the amount I spend on us per week at a grocery and it includes things like toilet paper! I’m currently trying to lower that.

Both my friends think this is a great deal so I can only assume that they regularly spend heaps of money on groceries.

As there was a shipping mix up I get 50% off my next order. I’ll order when I see a recipe that really catches my eye.

In my so very short time with them I can tell you I’m going to miss the recipe cards. Ordering the box made me realize we’ve fallen into a slump. It’s time for us to get more creative again.

Have you tried something like this? Have you attempts a convenience save and found it not worth the extra based on your lifestyle?

This would have been a salve to the fake frugal me of 8 years ago. It would have signicantly cut down on groceries and I would have been eating healthy things.

Off to hunt somebody more creative recipes on Pinterest!

7 thoughts on “Paying for Convenience”

  1. jp

    You could always ask your friends for their recipe cards after they received their box…then buy the constituents yourself – SO much cheaper…especially if can get a collection of the recipes and start pairing them to use similar ingredients.

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  2. valentinabrenni

    I toyed with the idea but ultimately decided that I’d prefer to buy what I felt like when I wanted and to be able to choose the ingredients myself. There are so many great recipes out there that if I prefer on a Sunday, I can have most of my meals planned for the week. I prefer cooking in batches rather than every day and purchasing a box that comes portioned for one meal isn’t enticing to me.

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  3. lauralynne

    I had a conversation with a classmate about these boxes; she felt that she couldn’t get a week’s worth of groceries for what they cost. She has some deal worked out with a relative, so in her case that may be true, although she was arguing in favor of the retail price, too. Like you, my weekly budget for the two of us is below the $69 this particular company charges for three meals. And I also am cooking a lot when I cook — we both work from home, so pretty much all of our food is consumed here.

    I can see how they help people who are really busy and don’t have much confidence in their cooking skills. And for some they might be a good gateway to a lower budget, since the one thing these definitely do is cut down on temptation — you only get what’s in the box!

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