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I Tried Green Chef and Here’s What I Thought – Green Chef Review

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As a lover of all things Subscription boxes, I have a critical eye for which boxes are worth my money. With a discount on our Green Chef first order, I had nothing to lose. I chose the Paleo plan and gave it a week. Here’s what I thought…

When Blue Apron first came out, I jumped on the opportunity to have dinner delivered directly to the house. I have since tried Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, Sun Basket (my favorite) and now Green Chef.

We went to a holiday show a few weeks ago (yes it was still October!) but one of the vendors was Hello Fresh. As I walked by and tried not to make eye contact, my daughter took one of the flyers they were handing out. That led to a short conversation about why we didn’t like Hello Fresh. I chatted with them a few minutes and told them that I was looking for more organic options (which is why I like Sun Basket). I found out that they had recently purchased Green Chef, but the sites weren’t yet integrated. When I got home that night I hopped on line and set up my first order…I told you I can’t resist a subscription box!

My 3 dinners arrived last night and today we had our first dinner. I will do a review of all three of our dinners and give you my final opinion.

Day 1: Green Chef Southern Cobb Salad

green chef review

The end product was delicious. The salad dressing had a hint of spice which went well with the bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toasted pecans and celery. The dish took about 30 minutes to prepare and aside from a few bruised lettuce leaves, the produce was in good shape.

This was a true Paleo dish. In other words, you cook the bacon first, then cook the onions, celery and pecans in the bacon grease. I know this is Paleo but it’s not how I normally cook for myself.

green chef cobb salad

I only had two issues with this dish:

  • The dressing packages didn’t have a tab for easy opening and must be opened with scissors. This is a small issue but still annoying.
  • The salad was just enough for 2. With other services the two serving plan can also feed 2 small kids. Salad in general isn’t filling so we actually ate a little more after dinner.

Overall Score: 8 out of 10

 

Day 2: Green Chef Beef Patties with Spiced Aioli

green chef paleo

This dinner was pretty good but a little different. I didn’t even bother trying to have the kids taste it because it would have just been a waste of food! Instead, I made them another dinner on the side.

This dinner was just enough for 2 adults. It was definitely more filling than the salad which was nice. Once I finished it, I didn’t feel like eating anything more and I was satisfied! The Aioli sauce made the dish. It had a lot of flavor and added a lot to the dish.

green chef paleo review

I didn’t have any issues with this dish. My only concern was that the meat didn’t appear to be grass fed. With an organic box, I had assumed that the meat and poultry would be free ranged and grass fed. I would be willing to pay more for that option.

Overall Score: 6 of 10

Day 3: Coconut Chicken Curry

green chef

We were torn on this dinner. My husband loved it and I just thought it was OK. We did have to laugh though because they really do give you just enough food for two. There will be no leftovers. Just look at the pieces of bell pepper they gave us!

green chef review

The pro to this dish is that it was actually fast and easy. The other dishes weren’t difficult but they did take longer than expected. This dish only had about 10 minutes of prep work. First you cook the chicken then add everything else and boil it. Easy. I also liked that they precut the ginger and onions.

Again my complaint will be that the bags did not have tear tabs. I had to use my scissors to open them. It’s not a big deal but just inconvenient.

Overall Score: 6 of 10

Final Green Chef Review

Like I mentioned in the beginning, I have tried numerous boxes. This one was great but it is one of my least favorites and I probably won’t be ordering a second week. Here is an overview:

Pros:

  • The food was good and tasty. Each dish was surprisingly delicious
  • The produce was in good shape. Some boxes don’t properly package the produce so it’s not uncommon to receive bruised or browned produce. Everything in this box was great.
  • The dishes were easy to prepare. There was some chopping but even a novice should be able to handle it!
  • The vegetables are all organic. Even the chicken breast was organic. But I couldn’t confirm whether the beef was grass fed
  • There are lots of options. They have Omnivore, Paleo, Keto, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten Free options.

Cons:

  • The portions were small. There were exactly 2 servings.
  • These were not kid friendly recipes (which they claim). My kids are not as picky as others but even they wouldn’t eat it. This meant I was cooking 2 dinners each night.
  • You cannot choose your dishes. They have just 3 meals each week and you are not able to substitute like you can with other companies
  • The packages do not have tear tabs for easy opening

Overall, Green Chef was not for us. But I do see the value in the dishes. If you are a family of 2 and you are living the Paleo or Keto lifestyle, Green Chef may be for you. They are one of the few subscription meal boxes that offer organic, Paleo and Keto meals!

Try it – Green Chef Promo Code

If you are interested in Trying Green Chef, use this link for a Free Week. You can see whether it works for you! I may get a credit for each person that gives it a try, but that means I just may give it another try!

By on November 9th, 2018

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40 thoughts on “I Tried Green Chef and Here’s What I Thought – Green Chef Review”

  1. I was Paleo for quite some time. So I think I would have loved this at the time. Thank you for sharing. Great review. Right on point! Everything that the consumer should know.

    Reply

  5. That sounds perfect if I’m trying to eat paleo and overwhelmed as well as I’m wanting to lose weight it’s like I could try paleo and portion control. Lol

    Reply

  6. I haven’t tried any of these subscription boxes yet. With it just being me at home I’m not sure if it would pay for just one person. Thanks for the review and giving me another option to choose from

    Reply

  12. Those dishes look awesome! That’s disappointing that they don’t send you very much food. My husband eats like a starving animal, so it would probably only be enough to feed him!

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  13. Thanks for your honest review! I’ve tried blue apron and I’ve been eying sun basket and one of the reasons I haven’t jumped on them is the cost as they are most expensive.

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  15. Thanks for an honest review of this subscription box service, their portions do seem small and certainly not good that you are still hungry after dining. I can see where these types of services are helpful for busy families, but we’d miss the fun of food markets! Thanks for sharing, your photos look great! 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks for the kind comments! These subscription boxes are perfect for busy families and they only give you 3 meals so you would still have to shop for the rest of the week!

      Reply

  16. Great review. I have been a member of Sun Basket for over a year. I recently ended my subscription because the quality seems to have gone down. Looking for a new fit, this doesn’t sound like it would be right for me.

    Reply

    • I use Sun Basket a lot too and I agree that the quality has changed. That was one reason I tried a new box. But in my opinion, Green Chef doesn’t compare to Sun Basket. Sun Basket portion sizes are much larger too.

      Reply

  17. I might try this as we are Paleo and Keto for the most part and would love to have stuff delivered right to my door. I am currently a “single” mom of 4 kids while my husband is away at training for 4 months so grocery shopping is not all that fun right now.

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    • It sounds like this might be perfect for you, especially if you are going Paleo and Keto. Everything you need is delivered to your door and it also gives you some ideas of what kind of dishes you could make yourself! Let me know if you decide to try it!

      Reply

  18. Thank you so much for this review Kim! I’ve been on the fence about ordering these meal ‘kits’ and as much as I’d love the convenience of having all the ingredients delivered to me, if I have to make more food just to satisfy my husband’s big appetite, it totally defeats the purpose! I really appreciate the thorough review!

    Reply

  21. Thanks for your honesty review. I tried a meal subscription box and honestly they are not for me. I can make more affordable meals in less time and my grocery bill is less than how much it costs for a subscription.

    Reply

  22. I really loved Sun Basket!!! But, can’t afford it. Blue Apron was okay, but we didn’t really love the food choices. We enjoyed Hello Fresh, but started to have quality issues as they grew so we canceled. Thanks for your honest assessment of this box.

    Reply

    • My experience was similar to yours. It’s unfortunate that the quality in the boxes decreases the longer they are in business!

      Reply

  26. Thank you so much for an honest review! As I was looking at the photos I thought “that doesn’t look like enough food for my house!” At least I’m not alone. 🙂

    Reply

  27. I love your honesty!! My kids would probably eat it, but you said the portions are small. That is a bummer. The ingredients do look fresh and full of color, but it’s interesting that you noted the meat not being grass fed, but organic? Hmmm. Thanks for your honest review!

    Reply

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