Are meal kits a form of lazy cooking?

[Eastie77Returns]

Mentioned to a friend that I am trialing a meal kit service as I've been given a discount for a few weeks and thought it would be good for DC to try dishes I wouldn't ordinarily cook. Friend replied "oh yeah I've used those too when I'm feeling lazy and can't be bothered to cook from scratch for the kids". I got the impression she considered them on a par with frozen meals (my DC have also been known to have fish fingers for dinner as well😅)

I thought meal kits were an (albeit expensive) way of cooking from scratch? Or am I deluded?

Your friend is an asshat.

They’re good for busy working families. I’m not sure what you mean by meal kits do you mean like hello fresh?

They can be great. I always have a few from Spice tailor. Brilliant and super versatile, can add ten veges and fish or just a can of chickpeas and a bit of freezer veg if you want something quick and easy.

If it is a box like Hello Fresh it is good for getting a few extra favourite meals. In the long run I went back to shopping for it myself as some of the items I wanted to be organic and the meat was rubbish.

i would never equate them to ready meals. Though I sometimes get a few but am careful with the ingredients.

Of course you're not deluded. They save you the shopping part, and some of the preparation, but they're not the same as ready meals.
It was a pretty silly thing for your friend to say.

Why do some people have to be like this its like they just can't help themselves

Who cares? What does it matter if it's "lazy" what a pointless insult!

Yeah, they are a sort of 'lazy' cooking, but that doesn't mean it is necessarily superior to mix your own spices. I've used them in the past, and you are still using all fresh ingredients and cooking from scratch but it tends to be easier to do, 'Add Spice Pot 1 to chicken', stir in Pot 2, pour in coconut milk and serve with rice.

It saves a lot of fannying. Doesn't mean you aren't still cooking from scratch though.

I used Gousto for a while but I spent just as much time cooking their kits as I did my own recipes. The ingredients are all measured but you still have to peel and chop everything. I also hated picking and sorting the ingredients. When the box arrived, I spent at least half an hour packing each recipe card and its ingredients into a bag and storing them in the fridge that way. And you need a big fridge!

Yes they are really, someone has supplied everything ready, but If I was single and lived on my own I would provide them a go!

It's more the expense, as if you buy the main seasonings and ingredients they are cheaper and last longer. Xx

It’s like cooking but having an assistant who preps some of the stuff for you. You still do all the cooking but it’s a bit easier as some of the stuff is already weighed out etc.

Your friend sounds rather silly and insecure. Keep cooking for your family however works for you!

Your friend is bonkers.

I think they’re more work than cooking from scratch, because you have to keep checking the steps, instead of just running on auto pilot, while listening to spellings, making tomorrows lunches and folding the laundry. Plus you only get one portion, whereas I would usually make double or treble and freeze.

They’ve plenty to recommend them but if you’re after lazy, you’d surely buy a frozen microwave dinner or order a takeaway.

My guess is your friend doesn’t actually cook much.

Do you think you misunderstood? I use them and really enjoy not having to plan meals and just follow the instructions so in that way it is ‘lazy’. Definitely
not unhealthy or ultra processed though.

You have your reason for using them, she had hers. Not sure what your issue is. Is her reason unacceptable to you? Are you so insecure as to feel judged just because someone honestly said a product met different needs for them?

Seeing as it tells you what to cook and provides the ingredients it's clearly not as much work as choosing, thinking, buying, figuring out portions etc. So I can see why she used these when she was feeling 'lazy'.
I can also see why you would like to use them.

Neither is better nor worse than the other.

Get over it.

We have used Gousto and hello fresh most weeks for a few years now. It’s not cheap (though we always have a discount) but it’s easy and requires little mental effort which is the stumbling block for me. It’s fresh food, cooked properly, not a ready meal. The lazy bit is avoiding the planning and checking cupboards for ingredients - just select 4 or 5 recipes for the week and the stuff all arrives.

They offer a ready meal selection in my part of the world as well as a from scratch meal.
Best idea ever.
Lazy no
Mine are quick healthy family meals of substance and 20-30mins prep..whats lazy.
Sometimes people are idiots.

Yes, like Hello Fresh (not the one I’m trialling as tried HF years ago and wasn’t keen on the menus)

We use simply cook and love it! All you get is the sauces / spices etc... and we have to get our own fresh ingredients. Of course its cooking from scratch and has been a game changer in our kids trying new meals that they wouldn't usually try. Your friend is an idiot. Some people literally fall over themselves trying to undermine others.

What's wrong with being lazy?

What a bizarre response! 😆

First reply nails it as usual. 😂

How is 'cook from scratch' any different? You have a bunch of ingredients and you combine them in a variety of ways, then introduce them to a heat source. The only thing that differs is that one meal is made from stuff bought separately, and the other is stuff bought together as a kit.

I have used a few of them @Eastie77Returns & have a few recipes now that I regularly do. I cook a lot from cookbooks/websites as I get bored of eating the same thing.

Mentally lazy. Not physically so in my opinion. Depending on the company. Lots of chopping

Does your friend know what you mean when you say meal kits? Does she know it’s the kind where you cook from scratch after choosing the ingredients and meal or does she think you mean something like a meal kit from a supermarket where you fry some meat and chuck some spices in the pan?

Even if it’s lazy, what’s actually wrong with that? If you’re cooking a balanced meal with fresh ingredients, it doesn’t suddenly become less tasty or less nutritious just because it’s easy.

Some people are such sanctimonious cunts. It’s like they think nothing has any worth unless you have to slog your arse off and be miserable to achieve it.