I hate spending money, seriously, but I do spend it. And truthfully, a large majority of my spending is on coffee and eating out. But I'm trying to be better about money management, and one of the biggest things I can do is cook at home more.

Seriously, if I'm eating Chick-fil-a twice a day, three times a week, that's close to $50 I'm spending on just myself.

So, we've tried those at-home delivery services. Three different services to be exact. And let me give you the short rundown. Cooking takes time (usually around an hour, and I get home around 6, so let's say now dinner's at 7). Dishes are the worst. I hate doing them, and we have a dishwasher, so that's just pitiful. But also in my defense, the pots and pans never go into the dishwasher - they have to be hand washed. And sometimes, I'm not the best cook. I really suck when it comes to making sauces and thickening the sauces, while also whisking out all of the lumps. Those things all suck when it comes to cooking at home.

But something else that irks me with at-home meal delivery services is how freaking expensive they are. Typically, they're around $60 a week (on average of the major ones) for three meals for me and hubs. That's $20 a meal, $10 a serving - which let's be honest - will buy me and hubs Chick-fil-a twice a week with no cooking and no cleaning. Maybe it's not the most healthy thing, but it's delicious and more convenient.

So, realistically, I can't force myself to spend that much money every week - that's almost $250 a month, which is wayyyy more than we would spend on groceries.

But I finally found an at-home meal delivery service that has a reasonable cost at around $5 per serving ($30 a week, $120 a month) - which is half the price of competitors.


Dinnerly.


So, how do they do it? First, they don't run huge marketing schemes like other companies. Their recipe cards are digital, so no printed recipes come in the box. There are a limited number of ingredients per recipe, which makes it easier to make. Also, there aren't any selections to choose from, which sounds bad, but isn't. In fact, the recipes are totally customizable if there's something you don't like (see below for the curry soup).



So, let's talk about the food. Is it worth it?
(Let me work it. Put my thing down, flip it and reverse it.)


So, each meal have six or less ingredients that make cooking a lot simpler than having to do a million things. I will say, I had to have my own sugar, oil, salt/pepper, and an egg - but those things I already had on hand, so it wasn't a big deal. The meals were pretty great on their own accord and were filling.



See below for what we made from this Dinnerly box.





Thai Curry Chicken Soup with Peas and Jasmine Rice
★★★★★

This was hands-down the best thing. I've never eaten Thai food before, let alone cooked it, so I was really nervous about this recipe. It includes throwing in an uncooked egg at the end (kind of like an egg-drop soup type thing), so I seriously wasn't sure to expect. But it was delicious, and hubby loved it, too. He doesn't like peas though, so I left out peas until the very end and then dumped them into my soup and it worked out fabulously. So good. I would love to make this again - the only problem is the curry paste was pre-made for this recipe and I think it would be difficult to find what I need for curry paste, but other than that - this was terrific!



Sausage Pan Roast with Parmesan and Roasted Vegetables
★★★★☆

I am very weird about sausage, so this one wasn't exactly my favorite, but the veggies were so delicious and weirdly fulfilling (because this is small plate). I was honestly satisfied at the end even though I only fully ate one sausage patty - but again, hubby enjoyed this one. This one was probably my least favorite of the bunch. I would probably make this again, but maybe with ground turkey or chicken instead.



Creamy Linguine and Greens with Parmesan and Mascarpone
★★★★★

This was a no-meat meal, but could have easily been spruced up with some grilled chicken. While kale isn't necessarily my favorite leafy green (there, I said it), this was still a fairly delicious meal and really easy to make. It's the noodles, kale, some different seasonings (like fresh garlic and red pepper flakes), parmesan and a cream cheese-like spread called mascarpone. I would absolutely make this again, but probably opt for spinach instead of kale, and maybe throw in some chicken.



Would I continue the subscription?

Yes. While it appears that one meal per week is meatless - that's totally okay with me. I could purchase my own meat or participate in meatless Mondays. That was no biggie.  The pricing is reasonable, and the meals force me to try new things (which is a goal for me this year). I definitely intend to continue with Dinnerly.