Mark, we did Hello Fresh for a couple of weeks and I was surprised at the selections available and the quality of the contents. Yeah, there's a bit of prep but it's typically a lot less than a normal meal and the package contains easy to follow instructions. I will add that we did not pay for these, my wife gets them as samples due to the fact that she's in the food industry and gets comped quite a few things to review. Bottom line, I wouldn't call it cheap. Plus, while I'm not a total tree-hugger, the packaging blows me away at the waste involved for a couple of meals.
A marketing department. It used to only be purchased by one of the food chains to decorate their salad bar. Then someone in the Kale industry paid for some marketing outfit to come up with a plan and to market it and before you knew it everyone just had to have it in everything. Humans are very easily manipulated.
So, we are talking about $13.50 per meal? I can make big pot of Chili or stew for $13.50 that will serve a family of 4 for 2 meals. That means 1/2 hr of prep time in a slow cooker for 2 meals. That seems like less time spent and way less money spent on meals where you control the contents. Time management is the key to good eating that is a low time and money investment. There are so many meals that can be prepped, cooked and served in under 30 minutes, that are not microwaved.
Friends of ours do meal kits and order takeout. i’d rather get a 5 ingredient cookbook, jamie oliver or whoever. Tons on amazon yes, shopping groceries is still a bit of a hassle but you could also get WF delivery. if you meal prep these, you are fed well in no time
When I was single I bought the biggest f'n crockpot I could find and that thing fed me damn near the whole week. I never shut it off. I have no problem at all eating the exact same dish daily. I do it for lunch all week still to this day. My brain does not see food as a pleasure device. I fill my stomach and get back to knocking out tasks. Weekends are a different story.
