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Is there anything more transformative than food? It has the powerful ability to connect, transport your senses to another place and time, and even comfort us when we need it most. It’s no secret that the Camille Styles team loves to gather people around a table. In fact, cooking, entertaining, and eating have always been some of our greatest passions in life. Of course, not everyone (including us) has the time to prepare a chef-worthy meal every night of the week. But if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that you don’t need a lot of people to enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal and every dish you serve is an opportunity to nourish yourself from the inside out. If you’re still new to cooking or you’re just looking for easy, healthy recipes to make then meal kits are the way to go. So, three Camille Styles editors tried one for a week and today we’re sharing our Green Chef review.
We chose Green Chef because of their easy-to-follow meal plans for every lifestyle and diet—they have keto, plant-powered, gluten-free, and more—but also because they’re a certified organic company.
With so many of us working from home now (and juggling work/life balance), having an affordable chef-crafted meal plan delivered straight to your door that’s also easy to prepare and good for you, is something we can totally get behind.
So, keep scrolling to read our Green Chef review along with our honest thoughts on each of the meals we prepared. Put it this way, eating well has never been easier.
And if you’re interested in trying it out for yourself, Green Chef has an exclusive offer for Camille Styles readers. Use code 90CAMILLESTYLES to get a total of $90 off your first four orders, including free shipping on your first box!
This story is in partnership with Green Chef.
Camille Styles, Editor in Chief
Meal name: Maple Cauliflower Power Bowls, as part of my “Balanced Living” meal plan
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredient rundown: rainbow quinoa, cauliflower, pecans, shallots, kale, dried cranberries, turmeric, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, green goddess dressing
Expectation vs Reality:
How long did it really take?
It actually only took me about 25 minutes from start to finish.
Was it simple to prepare?
Super simple, though my one pro tip is that I minimized the number of pots and pans used by making the cauliflower and kale in the same sauté pan (one after the other.) Always looking for places to streamline dish duty!
How did it taste?
I loved the flavor combination of these ingredients. The golden turmeric sautéed cauliflower was insanely good on its own. I realized I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge, so I actually doubled up the cauliflower that I made and had leftovers to throw into my lunch salad the next day. The sautéed kale with cranberries and pecans tasted restaurant-worthy; it was simple to make but had a really complex flavor that won over even my husband Adam, who is on the fence about kale.
Final Verdict:
As someone who really loves to cook, I’ve truthfully never been that interested in meal delivery kits—since I enjoy the process of making a meal from scratch, I just didn’t really see the point. That said, I’m in a particularly busy season of life, and during the week, my cooking process is often super rushed with after-school activities for the kids and wrapping up my workday. Lately, on the weekends, I don’t feel like devoting myself to much Sunday meal prep. Well, I’m so glad I tried Green Chef because it felt like I was still doing the cooking, but like I had a sous chef by my side doing all that prep work for me!
The ingredients were super fresh, and I particularly loved that I knew what was organic—the one “conventional” item (the shallot) was clearly labeled as such. Both my husband and I agreed it was one of those vegetarian dishes where you didn’t miss the meat. It was totally satisfying, packed with protein, and a perfect way to start the week when we’re looking for a solid #meatlessmonday dinner idea.
Michelle Nash, Senior Producer
Meal name: Spicy Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry, as part of my “Keto + Paleo” meal plan
Prep time: 20 minutes
Ingredient rundown: chicken, cashews, broccoli, bell peppers, green cabbage, spicy ginger-lime aioli, chili & ginger spice rub
Expectation vs Reality:
How long did it really take?
It took me just about 20 minutes. I love how straightforward yet delicious stir-fries can be.
Was it simple to prepare?
Almost all of the ingredients were already chopped, so it really just involved seasoning and throwing everything onto a pan. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
How did it taste?
I was surprised how delicious this dish was despite being so simple. I had to omit the spicy ginger-lime aioli because of an allergy to eggs, but even without it the flavor really delivered.
Final Verdict:
This dish was so simple and delicious, and honestly who doesn’t love stir fry? I made this one for lunch in the middle of a workday, which is something I rarely do because of time constraints. Normally I have to prep a big batch of something on the weekends to have every day for lunch or order takeout, and it tends to get pretty boring. Since this stir fry only took 20 minutes, throwing everything together turned out to be the perfect break in the middle of the day.
Taking a quick break to cook something delicious and healthy immediately elevated my lunchtime experience. Plus, the pre-portioned ingredients saved a ton of time, and I didn’t have to worry about that “what’s for lunch?” conundrum many have daily. Overall, Green Chef saved me time, energy, and money at the grocery store, and left me with little to no food waste afterward.
Green Chef also earns bonus points in my book for having keto, paleo, and gluten-free dishes. I have a lot of food intolerances which normally steers me away from meal kit services, but they had plenty of options for me. Whether you have allergies too or are just trying to eat a certain way, I found that the plans are very adaptable to dietary preferences. I felt energized after eating this stir fry instead of feeling that after-lunch slump so many of us experience.
Sacha Strebe, Deputy Editor
Meal name: Tuscan White Bean & Chard Soup, as part of my “Plant-Powered” meal plan
Prep time: 35 Minutes
Ingredient rundown: celery, yellow onion, garlic, great Northern beans, rainbow chard, chives, carrots, rosemary, basil and sage blend, white wine vinegar, vegetable stock concentrate, multigrain mini loaf, crushed red pepper flakes.
Expectation vs Reality:
How long did it really take?
My husband and I prepare and cook every meal at home (Friday night is our takeout night) so we consider ourselves to be skilled home cooks and this soup definitely took the allotted 35 minutes of cook time (maybe even a little longer for bonus flavor) but it was worth it.
Was it simple to prepare?
This recipe is foolproof. Every ingredient is portioned out so there is zero room for error. I think this is a great option for time-poor, busy couples or families like us who need healthy, easy meals that even the kids will love. And it’s a one-pot meal so the clean-up is also a breeze.
How did it taste?
Our family loves soup—we probably eat it at least two times a week (even in summer!). So, we had high expectations for this soup recipe but it did not disappoint. I loved the chewier texture of the rainbow chard with the softness of the great northern beans, and the celery gave it a wintery broth flavor that is just instant comfort in a meal. We had this on a cool spring evening and it was perfect. I also sprinkled some feta on top instead of adding salt or parmesan and it was delicious—highly recommended.
Final Verdict:
As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I are major foodies so we cook everything ourselves which means we can tend to be picky when eating out. We are also vegetarian and gluten-free so it’s usually just easier to prepare meals at home to accommodate our dietary needs. While this soup does come with bread, we just skipped that part of the preparation and swapped in our own gluten-free toast using the same seasoning from the box.
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with Green Chef for making it so easy for people with food allergies and diet restrictions to eat really delicious and nutritious meals that are also incredibly easy to prepare. Everything was so fresh and easily labeled, there really is no way you can get this wrong.
Oh, and it passed the kid’s tastebud’s test, too. Our son is almost 13 and not unlike most kids his age and younger, is brutally honest when he doesn’t like something, But I’m happy to report that he scraped the bowl clean. Now that makes me one very happy mama.
Want to try Green Chef too? Well, make the most of our exclusive offer and use code 90CAMILLESTYLES to get a total of $90 off your first four orders, including free shipping on your first box!
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