Food Preparation Places

[KelleyD]

Has anybody ever used one of these places? Lets Dish or Super Suppers? I am working 4 days a week now, my husband works full time. We both get home around 5 and its such a frantic pace to try to get dinner going, eat and put our son (15 months) to bed at 7pm.

Usually I end up feeding my son something and then I have cereal and my husband eats around 8. Its nuts!

I know I should be way more orgainzed. But I am not. I have no idea what we will eat on any given day. I just feel so frustrated, I was hoping this would be my saving grace....

Anybody use these?

 

[thegrimdwarf]

My girlfriends gave me a gift of 3 weeks worth of Dream Dinners after I had my second child. It was nice to get me through a rough patch - all the prep is done, so you mostly just heat and eat (though it's not as easy as popping it in the microwave - some stuff is stovetop or oven). There was one dish my husband really liked, so I looked into getting some more made - and when I found out how much the meals cost, I didn't think it was worth it. But I'm a SAHM, a major foodie, and I love to cook....so probably not the best critic.

I think, for a working mom, it'd be a good crutch for 2 or 3 meals/week. It'd be pricey to rely on it 100%, and also most of the meals aren't as nutritious as they should be, IMHO. You'd be better off setting aside a few hours on the weekend to do some prep work - roast or grill some chicken breasts, make a soup or stew, chop some veggies, etc. I can imagine how difficult this would be for me if I suddenly started working outside the home, so feel free to tell me to shut up, lol. Oh - another trick is to cook BIG when you have time, and freeze individual dinners.

Good luck!

 

[mrs.beast]

I did Dream dinner for a while about 5 years ago when they were new. when I began it was really great, but the quality declined sharply as it became popular and stopped after a year. it went from nice cuts of meat to cheap meat and the food just wasn't any good. we bought the cookbook which had many of my hubby favorites and I now make them at home, a few at a time and freeze them. it really isn't that hard to do if I take a few hours a week i can prep 3-5 meals at once. it also cost much less than the dream dinners, and i use all organic products-shows how high the mark up is

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

Do you have a slow cooker? They have slow cooker meals already made for you in the freezer section of your food store - you can get them, throw it in the slow cooker before you leave for work, and by the time you get home, its hot and ready for you! To make it go further, you can also make some quick cooking rice to put in it as well, and then you'll have extra for lunches or dinner the next night.

 

[bgirl29]

I think you should definately try it. It sounds like people are saying that the food quality is iffy, so I think you should check one out near you. I have occasionally used one and I found the meat to be of a really high quality. I know it can be expensive but I believe it is cheaper than getting take out, and if it allows you to sit together as a family for dinner, that is a big benefit IMHO too.

 

[KelleyD]

Thanks Everyone. It is a bit pricey and I know I would be better off if I just set that time aside to prepare and freeze. I know this is what I need to do....

I also know I should stop eating ice cream...but....you know how that goes!

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

I think you ought to also try what a PP said with the prebagged crock pot meals. They also make really good bagged skillet meals, especially if you eat veggies (which my DF doesn't, haha) - Bertolli makes really good ones, but I've yet to have one I really dislike and I've tried all the brands. And Stouffer's lasagna is really, really good. I definitely understand wanting some other "fresh" meals, though. The Kraft website has some really easy meals on it as well.

Good luck with the dinner places. I currently couldn't bring myself to pay that much, but who knows how I'll feel when I have a family and little time!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Back when we both worked we did one of these and it was great. If you don't have an adult home full time it can be a time saver that is well worth the money. Now that I'm at home it isn't really worth it but my husband and I had a good time assembling the meals at the place and it made life really easy for a few weeks.