Dinner Boxes: Home Chef Review

So, since we are already in March, I  guess my series can no longer be called Winter Meals, so I'm continuing my now titled "Dinner Boxes" series.  If you want, check out my Hello Fresh and Blue Apron reviews here.

My third box I  ended up trying was Home Chef.  Keep on reading to find out more about my thoughts on this dinner box!  I find it interesting on how my views change toward boxes after I     continually try different ones!  A Plated review is in the works within the next week!

HOW TO ORDER

Like the other two boxes I  have reviewed, there are so many ways to order Home Chef and get a deal on your first shipment.  You can google it, look in your mail, or use my referral code here.  Please do NOT pay full price for your first order--you do not need to!  Home Chef is $59 and some change, which is the same price as Hello Fresh and Blue Apron for three meals a week for two people.  You have the ability to pick any number of meals for 2, 4, or 6 people.  

If you are a SmartPhone user, I have found that the best way to manage your food delivery is via the app.  Be sure to download the app via your Droid or Apple.  

Once you download the app and begin to plan your delivery, you have the ability to enter your food preferences, so they can easily identify meals for you.  The app will always provide their choices for you, but like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron, you can choose from a variety of meals for the week.  You have the ability to pick from a bunch of meal options (I  had 11 options), and you are not limited in your choices, as far as not being able pick one meal if you chose another.  

My thoughts on getting the most out of Home Chef or any food service is to always ensure you are ordering a meat or protein for each meal (e.g., fish, chicken, steak, pork).  This is the best way to get the most of your money in comparison to what is costs per meal if it were just veggies or pasta.  Obviously, this is not an option if you are a vegetarian, but I do think this is the way to get the most bang for your buck.  

My recipes for Home Chef were Pesto Butter Steak, Fig-Glazed Prosciutto Pizza, and Chicken Milanesa (Idid not take photos of this one).

Home Chef Box

Packaging of Home Chef

Each meal packaged separately in a Ziplock sealed bag

Recipe Cards

Prep for Steak Dinner

Prep for Fig-Glazed Prosciutto Pizza

Pesto Butter Steak

DELIVERY, PACKAGING, AND RECIPE CARDS

I  have been fortunate that most of my dinner boxes have always arrived on time.  Unfortunately, my first delivery of Home Chef was delayed a day due to an error in packaging; however, a fresh box was shipped out a day later, and it arrived on Saturday instead of Friday.

Like Hello Fresh, the Home Chef ingredients were packaged very similar.  The meats were on the very bottom on the box and separated by cardboard.  The other ingredients were packaged in a Ziplock-sealed bag separately for each meal.  I really like this concept, as I'm able to throw away scraps and wrapping in the bag as I cook.  

The recipe cards were clean, neat, and easy to read.  I really liked that these recipe cards already had three hole punches in them for inclusion in a recipe binder!  I  had no difficulty following the directions and thought they were easy to to follow.  

PREPARATION, COOKING, AND TASTE

Overall, here are my thoughts about these three things:

1. Home Chef recipes were very tasty, but I  did not think they stood out any more than other services.  The Pesto Butter steak was definitely awesome, but the others were not memorable.
2. The recipes were fairly easy to make and follow.  They also did not take an extremely long amount of time to prepare, which I like.
3. The pizza was a little dry, and I  thought it needed something else.
4. The portions are very small compared to other services.  There was about only two parts to the dish--a main dish with one vegetable side.  It seemed that each meal needed one more thing to complete it.   I honestly was wishing for a carb, like a potato!
5. The recipes were not unusual and seemed to be something I  would make again.
6. They indicated I needed to cook my steak to 165 degrees.  This is well done!  I was shocked they did not list the temperatures needed for each degree of how steak is cooked. I know medium is 145 degrees, so I  went along with what I  knew.

COMPARISON TO HELLO FRESH AND BLUE APRON:

1. All three are the same price.
2. Portions are larger and more satisfying in Hello Fresh and Blue Apron
3. The packaging is very similar to that of Hello Fresh (which I prefer)
4.  The Pesto Butter Steak was my absolute favorite, and something I  would definitely make again; however, the other two recipes did not stick out. I generally like all three meals from Hello Fresh and Blue Apron.  

WRAP-UP

Wrap-Up Thoughts of Home Chef:

1. Home Chef has nice packaging and recipe cards
2. Similar price to other services
3. May be a good option for those trying to lose or watch weight gain due to smaller portions and limited use of carbs

What I  would like to see:

1. Different ways of prep (why not integrate the crock pot or grill?!)
2. More satisfying meals (I  .e., increased portion size

Let me know your thoughts on Home Chef, and if you have ever tried a Dinner Box service!  I  have linked up some of my favorite kitchen gadget items that I  often use in cooking these boxes below!