The Benefits of an Every Plate Meal Box

Meal box unboxing day 

My daughter and I decided to try a meal box for the first time about 2 months ago. I had heard that Every Plate was very affordable, so when I saw a special deal I signed us up.  We are currently on our 5th and 6th box, and we have been very happy about the side benefits that we were not expecting.  I recently asked for my daughters thoughts, and I found she liked receiving it for many of the same reasons as I did.  

Loaded Baked Potato Chowder  

My Favorite Reasons 

Cost  - The cost of three meals for two people is cheaper than eating out once at a chain restaurant.   The final cost per week is less than $20 per person for the entire week, and that's with shipping included. I am also spending less on groceries since I have to buy less at the store.  

Healthier Meals -  On nights when I had a long day, I have been known just to throw some kind of frozen food in the oven or air fryer and call it good.  They were not usually the healthiest choices.  We are eat A LOT more vegetables with our meals in our Every Plate box. 

Apricot Glazed Pork Chops 

Trying New Things -  I have to admit, I am not exactly adventurous when it comes to food. When I eat out, I have my regular menu choices at most of the places we eat on a frequent basis. I also have my mainstays in what I buy at the store.  Every Plate has a lot of menu choices we have not tried before, and I have been eating meals that I probably would not make on my own if I didn't have a meal box. 

Convenience -  Our Every Plate box arrives at our door on the delivery day we choose.  It is nice not to have to run to the store to go pick out something to eat for dinner. I know I already have everything I need for dinner right in my refrigerator. 

Time Spent Together - The last couple of years, my almost 20 year old daughter and I have not spent a lot of time doing things together. We don't always want to do the same things, so she would not go anywhere. She has also had a few years where she was dealing with bad anxiety and depression, and didn't want to leave her room.  She has been feeling a lot better lately, and we both enjoy cooking the meals as a team.  She cuts all the produce, while I am usually the one at the stove.  

Recipe Cards - We receive a recipe card with every meal.  Several of the recipes we have tried have been so delicious, we know we want to make them again.  We can make them anytime we want to, since we have the recipe.  There have been several glazes and sauces that we have loved that we can easily make and use with other meals.

Red Hot Ranch Chicken Sandwich and Spiced Potato Wedges 

My Daughters Reasons

Like Old Times/Time With Mom - When my daughter was young, she loved helping in the kitchen.  She told me that cooking dinner with me several nights a week makes her happy, because it reminds her of good memories of when she was a kid. 

Portion Control -  While the portions are big, and we do not always finish them, overall there is less waste and leftovers than meals we would make on our own.  

Variety -  She likes the variety of the meals, and trying things she normally would not try.  

Extras - We don't always finish off all the spices and seasonings.  We are able to keep it and use at a later time on something else.  

Eco - Friendly - My daughter would like to save the planet. She likes recycling, and not having a lot of waste.  The meals are shipped in boxes, and with recyclable freeze packs. 

Farmers Market Penne 

There are only a couple of small things that we wish were a little different, but they are minor.    I don't like hot, spicy food, and my stomach is not happy when I eat it either.  There have been some recipes that I would have like to try, but they only came in a spicy option.    My daughter's wish is that there were more veggie options.  Over the last several months she has decided to go more vegetarian, and has cut back on eating many meats. Every Plate does have some vegetarian options each week, but she would like to have more.   

There has been a couple of weeks that we have skipped.  It is easy to do on the website where you choose your meals.  We have done so on weeks when we were going to be too busy to make meals, or could not agree on three meals for the week.  

Would you like to try Every Plate?  They have a special promotion going on where you can get $20 off your first box. 

You can find out more and get your special reduced price box here. You may find that there are special benefits for you and your family too. 

Read More »

Quick and Easy Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Squash

 I love this time of year when you can often find squash on sale at the grocery store.  One of our favorites to eat is spaghetti squash. I recently wanted to try something new when making squash for my family.  I had spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and a few kinds of cheese on hand, so I I decided to try my own version of Pepperoni Pizza Spaghetti Squash. 

I don't know about you, but I think the worse part of making squash is cutting it. It always takes a lot of effort.  In the end though, once it is finally done, I am glad that powered through it.  When the squash was cut in half lengthwise, I cleaned out the seeds.  

There are a couple of different ways you can bake squash. You can cook it in the oven, but I find it works just as well in the microwave.  When I cook it in the microwave, I only do one half at a time.  First I rubbed  a little bit of butter on the squash, and turned it face down in a microwave safe pan. I then set the microwave for 8 minutes.  It's okay it if sits a minute or two when done, because it will be very HOT. 

Using two forks, I shred the squash until it looked like spaghetti.  I then added the other ingredients.  I don't have exact measurements of what I used, I just added what looked good to me.  I sprinkled in a decent amount of Parmesan cheese, and some garlic salt.  I then mixed it all together, and added a little bit more Parm.  

On top of the squash and cheese mixture, I poured a layer of spaghetti sauce.  The cheese on top can be any type of cheese you prefer.  On the day I made this, I used cheddar, because it is one of our favorite cheeses, and what I had in the refrigerator.  

Before putting it back in the microwave, I added slices of pepperoni on top.  I then put the squash back in for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to heat up the sauce and melt the cheese.  When it was done, I sprinkled a little bit more Parmesan. (We love our cheese!) 

This was a pretty big squash so it was big enough to feed 2 to 3 people.  It was a tasty meal, and one we will eat again!  

Read More »

Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

There are several taquito recipes online. I found one that had the most ingredients that my family likes, and then altered it to our tastes. 

Ingredients I used

shredded chicken
shredded cheese
a brick of cream cheese
green salsa
tortillas
garlic powder
onion powder

I started by shredding the chicken, and adding the shredded cheese in a mixing bowl.  I did not measure the cheese, but added about 2/3 of a bag. We like things cheesy at my house. 

I then put together the cream cheese mixture in another bowl.  I softened the brick of cream cheese in the microwave. I then mixed  in 1/3 cup green salsa, and about 1 to 2 TBSPs of garlic powder and onion powder.  I didn't measure the garlic and onion, I just eyeballed it to our preference. 

Once the cream cheese mixture is mixed together, stir it into the chicken and cheese. 

Probably the hardest part of this recipe, is rolling the taquitos.  You are to roll them tightly around the mixture. There is a knack to that, that I have not mastered yet.  If the tortillas are not very flexible, warm them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they should be easier to roll.  

chicken and cheese taquitos 

Line them on a cookie sheet, and bake them for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Mine were a bit crispy on the edges at 15 minutes, so I would start checking on them about at about 12 minutes.  

If you over stuff them like I did, some of the cheese might try to escape. It doesn't get very far though. :)   

These photos do not really do them justice. I had to hurry and take some pictures, because they were disappearing fast.  I did get the best compliment though. my girls both  thought  they taste better than boxed taquitos. I thought so too, so we will definitely  be making this recipe again.  

Read More »

Cooking with Kyle- Chicken Salad Surprise

I am so excited to share this post.   This is our first day posting  "Cooking with Kyle".  Recently Kyle has acquired at new nickname in our house.  He is taking a  health class  in school, and has turned into  the food police almost overnight.  I wrote about our grocery store adventure in  my shopping with the food police post  last week.   Since he wants everyone to eat healthier, I came up with the idea that he could share a healthy kid friendly recipe each week. Today we had a snow day, so he decided to make us lunch. This is his own recipe....   Chicken Salad Surprise.

The Ingredients

Chicken.. We used a can of 97% fat free Hormel chicken breast
Miracle Whip.. I did not have the lower fat version, and was not going out in the snow to get it
Green grapes
Carrots
Minced onion... you might be able to use real onion, we did not have any on hand
Garlic Salt

For the sandwich bread, we used a Crusty French Baguette that was on sale this week for only .99.  I followed the directions and cooked it at 400 degrees for 20 mins.  It cooled, while he made the chicken salad.

He opened the can of chicken, and drained out the liquid.  He then placed the chicken in a mixing bowl.

He added 3 Tablespoons of Miracle Whip.  He did not measure it, just eyeballed it to make sure he had enough to cover the meat.

He than added a 1/2 teaspoon of minced onion, and a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt, and mixed well.

He cut up about  10 grapes into small pieces. He felt the smaller the better, so picky eaters might not realize what they are eating.

I then shredded a little bit of carrot for him.  He added it to the chicken mixture, and mixed well again.

I offered to cut the bread for him, but he wanted to do it himself.  He was using a sharp knife, so I was a bit nervous, but he did a great job!

He cut the baguette into sandwich size pieces.  He then placed the "secret ingredient" on each roll. Shhh, don't tell, but it is a piece of spinach.  When the chicken salad is on roll, the spinach is completely hidden.

I helped him scoop out the rest of the chicken salad onto the rolls.

Doesn't it look good! We added the toothpicks only for picture purposes.

The sandwiches were served with a side salad made with all the veggies I bought on sale at the Meijer Dollar Sale.

This chicken salad was delicious! It had the right mixture of sweet and tangy. I knew that the spinach was in the sandwich, and I didn't even see it or taste it, so the surprise spinach idea  worked.   Kyle was  proud that he made something that tasted so good all by himself.    

He also had these words of wisdom, that he wanted me to share. "Busy moms can make chicken salad surprise quickly, and also get their children to eat some fruits and vegetables at the same time."

Because of the success of his first recipe, he is really looking forward to sharing another next week, on the next "Cooking with Kyle'. 

Read More »