At the end of February I signed up to try Sweet Peas Meals meal planning service. I love to cook and I actually do enjoy looking through recipes and choosing what to make each week, but it takes quite a bit of time (at least for me) and it was starting to become stressful. After reading Janssen’s review on Everyday Reading, I thought Sweet Peas Meals may work for me as well.
{what you get}
Every week they send an email with six dinner recipes, plus several bonus recipes including breakfast ideas, side dishes, and weekend fun like cocktails and dessert. Also included is a printable shopping list and steps for prepping ahead for the week (such as chopping vegetables and cooking rice).
{what I love}
– It is a huge time saver. It used to take me so long to go through recipes, Pinterest, and my favorite food blogs to choose our meals for the week. While I enjoy doing that, I would much rather spend my time making the actual meals than on the planning part. Now I use the shopping list they provide and it makes meal planning SO quick and easy.
– There is a lot of variety. I love trying new recipes and I can’t stand making the same thing every week. Sweet Peas Meals has been the perfect solution in that regard because each week’s recipes are full of variety. So far there haven’t been any repeats of the exact same recipe, and I like the mix of cuisine types and cooking methods.
– It is an easy way to add veggies to our diets. We struggle as a whole family with vegetables. Some of us (ahem, Jona) don’t like any, and we can’t agree on how or if we like them cooked. The recipes in Sweet Peas Meals are more veggie-heavy than what we’re used to, and I think that’s a good thing–it allows us to try things we may not have before. For example, one of their pasta dishes I tried had arugula mixed in and we loved it! (Well, Aaron and I loved it. The kids ate the pasta at least!)
– It isn’t a lot different from what we ate before. While it does encourage us to try new things, it’s still pretty similar to what I was cooking before. I don’t usually make all six recipes, so if there’s one that I know may be “too weird” we’ll just skip it.
– It’s easy to make substitutions. I try not to change the recipes too much, but if I do need to make a substitution it’s pretty easy to do that. For example, one recipe called for short ribs, but those were too expensive so I used chuck roast instead. For another, I used regular pasta instead of zucchini noodles to make it a bit more family friendly. (At this point it’s a win to get Jona to eat regular pasta, so we’re not ready for “zoodles” yet.)
– Really good recipes! Obviously it would be a deal-breaker if we didn’t like the recipes; all the convenience and variety would be worthless if the food didn’t taste good. But we have loved just about everything we’ve tried. There have only been a few that haven’t been our favorites. The dinner recipes are delicious, and I get just as excited about the bonus recipes, like their breakfast picks and dessert recipes.
– The meal-prepping steps save time. They list out steps you can take ahead of time to make weeknight cooking easier, like chopping veggies and preparing sauces ahead of time. I have been doing most of their prep steps and it is a big high-five to my future dinner-making self.
– Access to past recipes. Although I haven’t used this feature (what they send each week has given me plenty to work with!), I can sign in to their website as a member and have access to ALL of their past meal plans and recipes.
{drawback}
– Higher grocery bill. Honestly this has been the only drawback for me for Sweet Peas Meals. With this meal plan I have been buying more fresh produce (and I was already buying a lot!) as well as occasionally more expensive cuts of meat. However, I do think there are ways to make it work with your budget, I’m just still figuring it out. Overall it is not a dramatic increase in cost, but since I did notice a bit of an increase I wanted to be open about that.
Overall the positives clearly outweigh the negatives, and I would recommend Sweet Peas Meals for anyone who is interested in trying it. I think it’s especially great for people who enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, but don’t necessarily want to spend a lot of time meal planning. If you’re looking for super quick, easy recipes with few ingredients, this wouldn’t be the best option. The meal-prepping steps do save time, and some of the recipes are very easy, but in my opinion this wouldn’t be for a beginner cook who wants simple, 20 minute dinners.
{a few favorites so far}
Thai Curry Salmon with Coconut Cilantro Rice | Sheet Pan Gnocchi | Buttermilk Oven Fried Chicken
Honey Cheddar Scones | Goat Cheese Guacamole Burgers | Noodles with Asparagus and Basil Vinaigrette
Pulled Pork Stuffed Peppers | Lemon Arugula Pasta | Carrot Cake Cookies
Have you tried a meal planning service or dinner delivery service?
Disclosure: this post contains an affiliate link. However, I was not asked to share about this service. I am a paying customer and genuinely love it.
