- We have a produce delivery, so step #1 is to figure out what to make with it each week, and make sure to use the stuff that will go bad FIRST
MM 1970, I too have a produce delivery bag, and after not having one for a year due to work travels I find this actually helps me be more creative and yet focused in my meal planning. Our bags come in on Tuesday, but the contents are posted on Monday, so Monday I plan the food, Monday or Tuesday PM is groceries, and then we are trying to do Wednesday meal prep and then a second meal prep if needed on the weekend. This allows us to use the veggie bag quickly.
Previously, we were trying to do all our meal prep on the weekend, so where we were failing was the Friday night dinner, and then weekend lunches, and then being busy on the weekend, and having to get groceries/meal prep, and by then the veggies weren't super fresh. Shifting everything a few days earlier in the week instead of the weekend has really helped us so far, and it means we are eating leftovers on the weekend. We haven't been doing full meal prep, but more so a few "longer items" the night before so the next day we can come home and immediately eat dinner.
Some samples of what we have had to eat the past two weeks.
Veggie "Pad Thai" made with spiralized zucchini and other veggies
Fish tacos with nappa cabbage, fennel, and orange slaw
BBQ Chicken Wings with blueberry and plum bbq sauce (with left over slaw), and corn on the cob
Swiss chard burritos with chili rice, refried beans, tomtillo sauce (can), chiptole peppers with adobe sauce (can), black beans, roasted corn on the cob, homemade pico di gallo
Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Bean Quinoa buddha bowl with sun dried tomatos, balsamic reduction, and goat cheese
Tofu and veg spring rolls, chinese cabbage salad, and dumplings (frozen premade)
All these meals were 2 30 min trips to the grocery store, and approximately 6 hours of cooking/clean up? (2 weeks)
Yes, these meals probably take me longer than going to a restaurant, but the time saved isn't worth the extra restaurant markup for food, when if I wasn't cooking these meals, I would probably just wasting my evening time with another unproductive task. I guess if you are 100% efficient with your time, then you would need to assess if the additional cost is worth your extra free time. By this I mean if I'm saving ~4 hours a week by ordering take out, but it is costing me an extra $100, am I making more than $25 in those "saved" 4 hours (for example)?
Also, the health benefits, with the above meals I get to make sure I'm eating low calorie options and there isn't any hidden sugar. Saves me time (and money) from working out at the gym to burn off the restaurant food!