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?

That’s my plan. Use the meal kits for a while and build up a repertoire of new recipes I can use. The rinse and repeat of cooking the DC’s favourites has become beyond tedious.

Oh she knows what I mean as I named the one I just signed up to. I gather she thinks getting ingredients sent in a box is lazy. She likes going to Farmers Markets and posts stuff online about only cooking what’s in season etc.

I think they are a great way for people to get into cooking! We cook from scratch so not worthwhile for us but then we love cooking. Buying a meal kit is a much more fun way to cook and nothing like a ready meal. Depending on how old your kids are, get them involved with reading the recipe etc. my dd is 10 and can independently cook a variety of meals herself and loves it

They’re “lazy” in the way that you don’t have to think about what to cook and not having to write up a shopping list, go out and buy it etc however I personally think they’re alot more hassle when it comes to actually preparing the meals than most meals I would knock up myself at home.
There’s always so many steps, so many random little packets to open and add and I find them more hassle than they’re worth and they don’t actually take the stress out of cooking in the evening.

Oh. They’re not lazy because you’re still cooking from scratch, you still have to decide what meals to pick. Yeh that’s easier than traipsing round farmers markets. I’d say they’re more convenient than lazy

Lazy? We get Hello Fresh and it’s just as much cooking and chopping. What they do is give you the right amount of ingredients (though they do skimp on the veg) measured out but the actual cooking steps are the same. So sure you don’t have to think, you don’t have to shop and you don’t have to measure, but you still have to cook!

I would find them stressful because I am a no-measure cook.

But they sound great as a project to get children interested.

My mother sometimes gave us fish fingers, sometimes taught us how to make pastry from scratch or joint a chicken, etc. She mixed it up.

Thanks to her I have no guilt whether I prep a fresh meal or have a cheese on toast night as a one-off.

Good luck and enjoy! Fab idea to change things up and spark interest.

Surely the cooking part is pretty much the same as any cooking. What it is, if anything, is lazy shopping. And that’s fine - people have busy lives :)

She didn't actually say they were on par with ready meals though? It may just be me but I can't see what was so wrong with what she said. She's used them herself so are you sure you're not reading too much into it?

You are paying extra for the convenience of someone else measuring ingredients for you and having done some of the prep so in that way I suppose it is lazy but there's nothing wrong with that! I would also say my cooking is lazy when I use microwave rice or a jar of sauce or whatever but on busy nights when you're feeding a family.....who cares!

Yes, DD made one of the kit meals yesterday from start to finish. She really enjoyed following the recipe so an added bonus was that I didn’t have to do the cooking:)

Definitely not lazy, it’s cooking from scratch!

They are what they are. The recipe and specific ingredients are provided so not a lot of thinking but you still have to cook it. I’ve used them in the past to trail meals and then kept the cards and bought the ingredients myself.

I see them as a bit lazy as you pay more to outsource the thinking and shopping, and I am too tight to do that. But that doesn't make them a bad or unhealthy choice.

As others have said they are a good option if you are time constrained or not confident in the ktichen, but long term a pretty pricy way to feed yourself.

That's why I prefer simply cook. You just get the sauces, spices and recipe cards and you buy everything fresh yourself. It cost just under £12 a month. I usually have most of the fresh ingredients anyway so not spending more on top. It is great for getting out of a boring rut with cooking the same every week.

So you could decided to make a curry and go out and buy all the jars of spices separately.

Or you could get a meal kit with them all measured out for you.

Or, buy a jar of paste to add tomatoes or cream to.

Or buy a jar with it all in.

Or buy a curry ready meal.

Or get a take away.

None of those options that other people might choose are any of my fucking businesses. It never ceases to amaze me why people have opinions on what others eat, worry about your own lives.

I like to make a cake, occasionally. But I’m fucked if I want bags of flour hanging about, I won’t use it, I make like two cakes a year. So I buy cake mixes with all the dry components measured out for me, so I can just add the butter and eggs I always have in the fridge. I’ve been told that’s cheating in the past, and honestly, I laughed in the sad twats face, because who actually gives a shit?

I found simply cook to be full of sugar. There was a lot of unnecessary sugar in most of their recipes. This is for spicy sausage and leek pasta:

GARLIC PASTE: Rapeseed OilGarlic PowderWaterGarlic ExtractSugarWhite Wine Vinegar.
GOCHUJANG: Glucose SyrupWaterSalted Black Beans (SOYBEANS)FructoseRed Pepper ExtractSugarSoy Sauce [Soy Sauce (SOYBEANSSaltSpirit Vinegar)MaltodextrinSalt]Rapeseed OilOnion PowderOnion ConcentrateTomato PowderWhite Wine VinegarGround Cayenne Chilli PowderSaltAcidity Regulator: Acetic Acid; Colour: Paprika ExtractRice Flour.
YASAI SEASONING: Demerara SugarSea SaltRoasted Garlic GranulesSoy Sauce [Soy Sauce (SOYBEANSSaltSpirit Vinegar)MaltodextrinSalt]Onion GranulesCracked White PepperYeast Extract (Yeast ExtractSalt)Lemon Peel GranulesOrange Peel GranulesGround FennelRapeseed OilKelp PowderGround GingerCrushed ChilliesCitric Acid.

It’s all about time management. On busy days it’s a great help.

On holiday self catering last week I picked up a Sainsbury’s meal deal for £15. Supposedly for 2 but I stretched it to feed 3.
Steak (frying pan)
Hasselback potatoes (foil tray in oven)
Sticky toffee pudding (microwave)
plus salad, bread and fresh fruit.

No way would I have cooked that from scratch after a day sightseeing but it was special enough for a holiday dinner and easy to clear up.

She sounds insufferable. I cook a lot from scratch but we ordered some meal kits in lockdown to get the teens cooking for themselves, and to expand our family’s repertoire.

I would see them as a bridge - more convenient than completely from scratch, but definitely more work than heating up a ready meal!

I don’t see the problem with what she said.
I use them when I CBA to think about food but still have teenagers and DH who need to eat.
My friend uses them to control portions and to encourage her DH to cook.
My DD uses them as she doesn’t have storage space for loads of herbs and spices and she needs quick food to cook between jobs.
As you said this was a friend I can’t think why you’d take the comment as insulting to you. Friends don’t generally insult each other.

It’s a ridiculous and irrational statement, can I ask does anyone know which of the ‘kits’ supplies the spices only ? It’s difficult to browse the websites you have to answer lots of questions

They are good for those with no time and who have the money - plus avoids waste. Saves time thinking “what shall I cook” which after 20 plus years of being a mum gets SO DULL!! And saves prep time plus it ticks the box of fresh whole food cooking!

if I had the spare cash I would do it and it’s not lazy cooking on my opinion- that’s microwave/ beige air fryer dinners