Pursuing a writing career while having a full-time job means I’m often working at home in the evenings and weekends. A lot of things have to take a back seat while I try to take the time to write and be creative. (I have to say I’m in awe of men and women who have a full-time job and children and still find the time to pursue their passion.) So when I have a burst of creativity or if I’m trying to make a deadline, cooking is one of the things that often falls by the wayside. 

People often assume that because my family owned a restaurant, that I must be pretty good in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I’m just an okay cook, and aside from fried rice and steamed rice, I rarely cook Chinese food because there’s a Chinese restaurant down the street that has a great take-out menu. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, a friend told me about a company that ships groceries and recipes to your home for a reasonable price. It’s called Make Good Food, a Canadian company  which currently only delivers in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. There’s no contract and I can cancel at any time. I checked out their website and the recipes looked delicious, so I thought I’d give it a try. I chose the minimum order which is three meals for two people for $65.

I had the box shipped to my office. It arrived in the morning, but I didn’t have to worry about spoilage because the box is made to keep the food fresh for several hours.  The meat was kept at the bottom with ice packs.

I was impressed with the packaging. All the ingredients for each meal is packed separately in a plastic bag with exactly the right amount of spices and sauces. Even the garlic was already peeled!

The recipes are 8-1/2 x 11 inch color cards with clear step-by-step instructions. From the selection of  weekly menus on their website, I chose Cuban Beef Picadillo, Tempeh Bolognese and Sour Cherry Glazed Pork Chops. The company recommends that people who have severe allergies should not order from their site. I’m allergic to soy protein and so while I try to be careful, I didn’t know that Tempeh was natural soy. (That’ll teach me to do my homework.) It wasn’t a problem. I just didn’t add it to the pasta. While it may not have had the intended texture, it was still pretty good.

Cuban Beef Picadillo with Raisins & Fried Plantains

Tempeh Bolognese with Fresh Penne Rigate (without the Tempeh)

Sour Cherry Glazed Pork Chops with Roasted Leeks and Tarragon Freekeh with Pistachios

So would I do it again? Yes, and I already chose my selection for next week. The recipes were not hard to make and I felt like I could be a contender on Masterchef! I got to try recipes I never would have chosen on my own. The portions are big and from each meal, I had enough leftovers to take to work for lunch. (Yay!) I especially like how there is no waste as I don’t like to buy spices and sauces that I’ll rarely use just to make one dish. Even the packaging, containers and ice bags are recyclable.

Getting the box delivered was a real time-saver because I didn’t have to search for recipes and go to the grocery store. I’ve decided, however, that I would only order every second week because I do have other recipes that I like to make and of course, there’s that Chinese restaurant down the street.

Got any time saving ideas you’d like to share? Please write them in the comments section below.