We’re all busy. I get that! And, when we’re busy what tends to get pushed aside? I think most can agree the commonality in responses here would be working out and meal prep for most people, right?  We’re too busy to workout, so we skip it in favor of choosing something else. We’re too busy to food shop or cook so we choose the convenience of ordering out or going out to dinner instead. Why? Because that’s easy… and it feels justified when we are “so busy”.

I’ve been there, maybe not so much with the working out since that’s been a constant in my life for so many years and I know how much value and happiness it adds to my days- especially the busy ones! But, with regards to food shopping and meal prep? Sure, I’ve definitely skipped the food shopping in favor of doing something with friends or suggested going out to eat rather than shopping to get stuff to make.

However, what about if the food shopping and the majority of the meal prep was already done for you? Sounds like it would be a pretty easy way to make a homemade meal, so when Just Add Cooking reached out to me to be a brand ambassador, I was totally on board! If you’ve been following me for a long time, you probably see that RM and I do a pretty good job with food shopping and meal prepping each week, but with the upcoming wedding and everything else going on, I feel like having a week each month where dinners are planned for us will be so great.

What I love about Just Add Cooking is that they are Boston’s only local meal kit company and that they source all of their ingredients locally, which means everything is fresher when it gets to you (which, btw, it was! The veggies were better looking than what I buy at the store!) AND it helps support the local food economy. Knowing that everything gets hand-delivered on the same day it was packed was a huge selling point for me since I’m not too keen on the idea of food traveling for days before getting to me, which is the case with other meal kit companies. I actually got a text notification on our way home from our food tasting on Sunday saying that our food delivery had arrived, which was perfect since we were just a few miles from our apartment.

I didn’t even unpack my stuff before I ripped into the Just Add Cooking box.

As I unpacked, I noticed that the packaging was minimal and that we could reuse or recycle most of the packaging. I especially loved the compostable cooling bag- what a great idea! And, it came with an ice pack in it that RM and I popped right back into the freezer for future use (we’re always in need of ice packs when we’re packing for the beach). It was so easy to unpack and organize everything since they don’t use a ton of unnecessary, wasted packing materials.

As I laid everything out on the ground to review  what we received, I kept saying “RM, they literally gave us everything! Look at this cute little thing of white wine. And everything is measured for us! This is going to be so easy!”… he kindly goes “Yeah, Monique. I think that’s kind of the point of these meal delivery companies, right?”… Touche, RM.

Along with the food, they give you some pieces of paper with information on what meals you chose, where the ingredients came from (they name all of the local farms and suppliers which I thought was a neat touch) and their recommended cooking order.

We ended up cooking the Kofte Kebab on Sunday night since we were craving that type of meal. What I loved is that the directions are not only step by step, but they are EASY! For people who may not be super comfortable in the kitchen, Just Add Cooking’s directions make it easy for you to follow along and produce a delicious meal. Minimal ingredients and minimal instructions- perfect for all of us “busy” people 😉 The only thing I wish they had little more of would be pictures to go along with various steps of the recipe process- I’m a visual person and like to make sure what I’m doing matches what they’re asking me to do.

We seriously couldn’t believe how delicious the Kebabs were. I know I say RM raves about food all the time, but this time it was serious raving- it was so different from our normal meals and I know it will become a frequent rotation!

On Monday night I whipped up the chicken meal, which was even easier than the Kebab meal. I prepared for a much longer and more intensive kitchen experience, but was pleasantly surprised when everything came together so much quicker and easier than I expected. This is a great weeknight meal! I wasn’t sure how flavorful it would be since it seemed so simple, but the leeks really added a TON of flavor to the entire dish and made a traditional chicken breast so much better. My only suggestion would’ve been to have had more pancetta since it cooks down quite a bit and barely covered the chicken. Otherwise, this was another winner!

Finally, I whipped up our final meal on Thursday night, since it was the next night I’d be home before 8pm.

Just like the other meals, this one was also a big hit- what’s better than potatoes and eggs and breakfast for dinner?! This meal was quick to throw together, too, with the longest part being the time it took to cook the potatoes. I ended up using 1 extra egg since it seemed like it needed it and I also added in some of the tomato that was supposed to be served alongside the dish since I like tomatoes IN my egg dish. The salad was delicious and such an interesting combination of ingredients that I never would’ve thought to have put together. There was plenty leftover for the next night, too.

I can’t wait until our next delivery- it feels good to spice up our cooking since I feel like we’ve been in a bit of a cooking/food rut lately.

If you like the sounds of everything in this post, Just Add Cooking is offering a great deal for those of you who haven’t yet had a chance to try them. With the code BUBBLY, you can get your first Just Add Cooking box for just $39. Which, btw, is 3 meals- one hell of a deal if you ask me! Click here to sign up for a free account and to pick your recipes.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post but I was provided with a free week of meals in response for my review. As always, all thoughts and opinions in this post are my own- I really, truly think this is a wonderful company and I’m so excited that I get to work with them! As an affiliate, I do receive a credit when you sign up for the service using my code. Thanks for your support!

“Voted Boston’s Best by the Improper Bostonian, Just Add Cooking is Boston’s only LOCAL meal kit delivery company. They make home-cooked weeknight dinners fun, easy and delicious. Every week, Just Add Cooking offers seven different recipes, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. You log in, pick your recipes and they deliver all the ingredients you need, right to your door”