Green Chef Review: How Does It Work?

I stepped on the scales the other day to find a few pounds had crept on while I wasn’t looking.

Oops! I am sure this may be something that has happened to all of us at some point. So time to start eating a bit healthier.

The thing is that despite my best intentions there are way too many temptations at the store.

My willpower is not the best, especially when I am hungry after a long day at work.

Now what would be perfect would be to have a personal chef just like the Hollywood stars do. Somehow I don’t think that is going to happen.

And how do I make things tasty? I really don’t want to eat chicken and salads every day!

So what are my other options? What if I had all the ingredients delivered to me ready for me to cook? Sounds like a good idea eh! Even better what if I had a choice of a few healthy eating plans?

It seems that Green Chef may be able to help keep me out of the store, and give me the healthy eating options I need.

Lets see if this could work.

This is a meal delivery company with a difference.

They are the first meal delivery company that are certified by the US Department of Agriculture for their use of organic produce. They are also GFFS (Gluten Free Food Service) certified.

That means that their meal kits for a Gluten Free menu meet or exceed Gluten Free standards.

The company was founded by Michael Joseph who has had a passion for food from an early age. He was raised in a family that spent a lot of time in the kitchen. His dad wrote food labeling legislation and got Michael interested in the transparency of the food we eat.

Later in life, fed up with favoring takeout food instead of cooking at home, he founded the company to offer a solution to this issue. The company has:

An organic ethos and a reverence for the simple pleasure of sharing a great meal.

There are two very flexible plans offered. The 2 Person plan and the Family Plan.

2 Person Plan

• Supplies 3 meals per week for 2 people.
• Gives you a choice of 7 menus. They include Omnivore, Carnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Paleo and Keto.
• The Carnivore option gives you meals containing meat or seafood each week.
• The Omnivore option gives you one meat or seafood dish and one vegetarian dish each week.
• The other menus give you three meals within that dietary choice each week.
• You are supplied three chef-crafted selected meals each week. You don’t have the option to choose but you can change meal plans whenever you want.

The Family Plan

• Supplies 2 meals per week for 4 people.
• Gives you a choice of 2 menus.
• The Carnivore option gives you 2 meals containing meat or seafood each week.
• The Omnivore Plan gives you 1 meal containing meat or seafood and 1 vegetarian meal each week.
• You are supplied with two delicious chef crafted selected meals each week. You don’t have the option to choose your nrecipes but you can change plans whenever you want.

All meals are conveniently delivered to your door in fully recyclable insulated  packaging.

There are a few things that make this company unique within the meal delivery market. Let’s look at some of them:

• USDA Certification: this is the first company within this market that has USDA certification. They work with the National Organic Program to ensure all their food is accurately labelled and handled in a safe manner. Items are separated where cross contamination could occur. They limit the types of cleaning supplies used in production. They are audited to make sure standards are being met.
• 90% of all produce is organic and delivered fresh to your door.
• Certified organic foods are GMO free, so no added antibiotics or hormones.
• Choices of seven meal plans to cater for different dietary requirements.
• GFFS certified: this certification is a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group. This makes sure food service facilities offering gluten-free options are following best practices. It helps provide a safe eating experience for gluten-free consumers.
• The company offers three options that are free of gluten, Paleo, Keto and Gluten Free
• The ingredients supplied are of a superior quality and most of the prep is done for you. Sauces are pre-prepared, and where possible veggies are pre-chopped.
• Ingredients all color coded to a recipe card to make them easy to sort out and find.

We have mentioned the menus that are available, let’s take a look at them in a bit more detail.

2 Person Meal Plans

All 2 Person Meal Plans give you 3 meals per week for 2 people. You cannot choose your recipes.

Dependant on which dietary plan you choose, you will be sent three chef crafted meals.

If you want you can opt out of proteins you don’t like. These include beef, poultry, pork, lamb, shellfish, fish, or game. The meal plans are:

• Omnivore: at least one of these meals will contain an animal protein.
• Carnivore: two of these meals will contain an animal protein.
• Vegetarian: eating a vegetarian or vegan regime can be as healthy as a non- vegetarian one. Each week you will receive 3 meals packed with beautiful fresh organic vegetables.
• Vegan: offers dishes that contain no meat or animal products. The innovative plant-based dinners use natural ingredients, from in-house sauces to cashew cheese – and more!
• Gluten Free: the gluten-free menu is packed with flavor. Each week has 2 meat or seafood dinners and 1 vegetarian dinner. They are suitable for people gluten intolerance and celiacs.
• Paleo: this is a diet based on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans It consists mainly of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. No processed foods allowed. Think back to the days when we were hunter gatherers. Only now this company can do the hunting and gathering for you. This diet may be good for weight less and regulating your metabolism.
• Keto: this keto-friendly menu offers you satisfying dinners designed for low-carb lifestyles. These delicious meals contain no dairy or gluten. Ketogenic diets have been shown to be beneficial to weight loss and reduction of cholesterol.

The Family Plan

This plan supplies you with 2 meals for 4 people per week. These  Again you have the option to select any animal proteins or fish that don’t take your fancy.

All the meals are designed by the chefs to suit both adults and children. They are easy to cook giving you more quality time with the family. The two plans are:

• Omnivore: gives you one meat/fish meal and one veggie meal per week. The meals are full of tasty organic ingredients.
• Carnivore: gives you two meals containing meat or fish. The recipes are easy to follow so perfect for getting the kids involved.

If you don’t fancy what is on the Family menu you can always opt for 2 or 3 boxes per week of any 2 Person Plan.

Particularly useful if you have family members with special dietary needs or want to feed more than 4 people.

Each meal is accompanied by a recipe card giving you easy step by step instructions with pictures. It also details the estimated cooking time, calories, nutritional information and what cooking utensils you will need.

Check out what recipes are on offer on the company website.

The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The company has a 4* rating based on 1,648 customer reviews on Groupon.

Many customers are satisfied with both the quality and variety of the meals offered.

Kirsten S is a busy mom who writes:

The food is easy to make and very tasty. It has saved me so much time! I am busy single mom and the owner of 2 businesses. My daughter and I enjoy seeing what’s in the packages although they send a reminder email with the selections we like the element of surprise each week. The food is organic, fresh and easy to prepare. Most meals are 35 minutes or less. The variety is fantastic!

Many people have commented how easy the recipes are to follow. They also love the fresh organic foods.

Allie M writes:

Green Chef is top notch. The meals arrive in a box very well organized with easy to follow recipes. The food is all organic, fresh, and delicious. I’ve tried the carnivore and vegetarian recipes and I enjoyed them both. I highly recommend Green Chef. It can seem pricey but then again you don’t have to meal plan, all is fresh and organic and easily to follow recipes.

Some people comment that even though it may sound expensive, it actually ends up saving them money.

No unnecessary trips to the store, no food wastage.

Some people comment how these plans have changed their eating habits for the better.

people who do not normally eat vegetables comment how good this food tastes.

Chantilly writes:

I absolutely LOVE Green Chef. I highly recommend this for anyone that loves to cook delicious food. I’ve been using Green Chef for a solid 2 months now. I’ve tried paleo, Keto, vegan and vegetarian boxes. I’ll preface this by saying I suck at eating veggies. I’m very much a meat and potatoes kind of gal, but boy did I enjoy every single dish we got! That to me says a lot about the quality and taste of their foods/recipes.

As for the cost, the meals range from $10-15 dollars per meal or $70-100 per week for 3 meals a week for 2 (We have 3 in our family and that’s enough to feed all of us). Now, I get it…that sounds like a lot!! But honestly this has been saving me money. Since I have meals ready to cook, I don’t have the excuse to go out and buy food. Eating out for a family can easily add up to $30-70 per outing. So I use Green Chef 3 days out of the week and do minimal grocery shopping for the rest of the week.

There are some customers that have not had such a positive experience with this company.

Issues raised are in respect of occasional missing ingredients, meals taking longer than estimated to prepare and difficulty cancelling accounts.

There are also several people who feel there is so much packaging the company is not eco friendly.

Kirsten Z writes:

The food tasted great but the amount of plastic packaging that is used and goes to waste was upsetting. E.g. does an entire lemon really need to be wrapped in plastic? You don’t eat the skin! I don’t know how a company can create this much waste and call themselves “green”. I would love to keep buying from Green Chef if they came up with a more environmentally friendly packaging solution.  Until then I can not in good conscience support their business.

The company are proactive in responding to reviews and replied to the issues Kirtsen raised. They have full recycling details on their website.

The company delivers to all of the US apart from parts of Louisiana, Alaska and Hawaii. Deliveries are Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm. More info you can find on the official website.

There are well thought out tasty eating plans to suit all diets. Like me you may want to drop a few pounds. I think I may have found my personal chef! Well all but having them cook it for me.

You may just want the convenience of having the hassle of shopping and recipe planning removed. Perfect for those of you with a family or a busy lifestyle.

The food is organic and fresh. The recipes are varied and give you all you need to bring out your inner chef. Impress your family and friends with healthy restaurant quality home cooked meals.

I will be trying the the Keto or Paleo plan.

Which plan would you choose? Have a look now!