When I had Charlotte, I decided to “treat myself” to Peapod. I had this preconceived notion that only the very wealthy people in my area used Peapod on a regular basis and that it was way more expensive than hitting up the local grocery store. When I am wrong, I am the first to point it out- I was totally wrong in this thought process.
Here is a little video I put together for 30Second Mom talking about how Peapod saves me time and money (it is cute, my little ones are featured actually getting along!). I usually dread going to the grocery store- either my son has the
“gimmes” or throws a tantrum because the deli counter takes about a year
and a half to slice some cheese. It is a recipe for disaster. I am embarrassed to admit that I have actually cried at the grocery store in the past. Ugh. If you want to try Peapod, use this link for $20 off your first order!
I have loved getting my groceries delivered, but am pretty uninspired when it comes to recipes. I will search Pinterest for something that looks reasonable, give it a whirl, and make spaghetti if it is horrible.
I recently had the incredible opportunity to sit down with a panel of Peapod representatives and chat about my experiences on the consumer end. I got the inside scoop on a new service Peapod added- an integrated meal planning system! They partnered with gatheredtable, a site that catalogs your meal preferences (think gluten-free, nut allergies, vegan, etc…) and sends you a weekly meal plan complete with recipes and ingredient lists. Here’s where it gets good– you have the option to add all of the ingredients for the next week’s meals to your Peapod cart and have them delivered!
I tried gatheredtable recipes and ingredients delivered by Peapod for a week, and I was happy to say that I didn’t have to resort to my emergency stash of chicken nuggets once! I am not necessarily a bad cook, but with a 16 month old and a 3.5 year old demanding my attention, a gourmet dinner isn’t necessarily a possibility. I need easy meals, but ones that are healthier than heating up frozen lasagna. I selected a max hands on time of 30 minutes for each meal, because that is about all I can manage.
Here are the recipes I tried:
Chipotle-Lime Grilled Chicken (pictured below)
Cowboy Calzones
30 Minute Beef Stroganoff
Salmon with Sriracha and Lime
Chicken Broccoli Mac n’ Cheese with Bacon
ALL OF THEM WERE WONDERFUL. None of the them took longer than 30 minutes to prep (some took me 45, but only because I kept getting interrupted by the little people in my life). I have used gatheredtable for a few months now, and added my own favorite tried and true recipes from different sites to my library. You can follow other people on gatheredtable, adding recipes from their library to yours as well (hint: follow “Mary E.”- she tests recipes, is the founder & CEO of gatheredtable…and she previously led Global Strategy and Corporate Development for Starbucks. She knows her stuff!)
For me, inspiration is half the battle when dealing with dinner, and this has provided me with more than enough to put healthy, quick and edible meals on the table. Do I still order a pizza sometimes? Yep, you bet. But I am actually excited to cook a bit more now, and have the confidence to test out new recipes. If you want to try gatheredtable, they have a limited time offer of 3 months free for now (normally $10/month).
A big thanks to Mary Egan, gatheredtable Founder and CEO, for taking the time to personally respond to my e-mails. She is genuinely interested in feedback from customers and tests the recipes on the site in her own kitchen. Here is what their goals are:
We succeed…
When day-to-day cooking becomes easier
When real, homemade food becomes the norm, not the exception
When mealtimes are about more than just great food
LOVE THIS! Keep up the amazing work, and I can’t wait to try more recipes!
