- Green Chef is the first meal-kit delivery company to be fully USDA-certified organic which sets it apart from the competition
- They are indeed a green company with all of their packaging being 100% recyclable and minimizing the use of petroleum-based plastic in their packaging
- Green Chef is the first meal-kit delivery company to be certified gluten-free by the Gluten Intolerance Group
- They are the only affordable keto meal delivery company that is fully organic
My uncle was recently diagnosed with dementia and the National Institutes of Health has said there is research that says the Keto diet has been shown to help those with dementia and other cognitive disabilities so I decided to be the guinea pig before I had him try it. However, I’m admittedly lazy and don’t want to apportion all of my meals for my new diet. After some research and found a link to get $40 off my first meal, making this type of food within reach for someone like me, I decided to try it.
My Green Chef Keto Recipes Review
For my week these were the recipes that they sent to me. It’s important to note I didn’t have a choice in recipes for the keto diet. Fortunately,
I was pleased with the way they turned out!
Meal 1: Southern BBQ Steak with Brussel Sprouts
Main Ingredients (all ingredients organic): Brussel sprouts, Red Pepper, Onions, Mustard barbecue sauce, Sirloin Steak
Cook Time According to Green Chef 35 Mins / My Actual Cook Time 40 Mins
Servings According to Green Chef 2 / My Actual Servings 2
Calories Per Serving 400
Net Carbs Per Serving 14 Grams
My first meal was a Southern Barbeque Steak with brussel sprouts and red pepper hash. Let me just say that I am not a cook. One of the reasons I’m engaged is because my cooking isn’t edible and I’m tired of eating fast food! LOL! However, the recipe was really easy to follow and the portion was good enough for two people. I’m a 6’3 215lbs guy and I was full from just one serving. The food was pretty decent. I’d give it 4/5 stars because the sirloin steak seemed a bit tough to me. Don’t they say organic steak supposed to be more tender? However, the toughness could be attributed to my cooking abilities (or lack thereof). Overall it took about 40 minutes for me to cook and prepare the meal. Total net carbs 14 grams.
Meal 2: Chicken Fajita Salad
Main ingredients (all ingredients organic): Bell pepper, Boneless Chicken Thighs, Romain Lettuce, Cilantro Dressing
Cook Time According to Green Chef 25 Mins / My Actual Cook Time 25 Mins
Calories Per Serving 450
Net Carbs Per Serving 9 Grams
My second meal was a chicken fajita salad. That was really easy to make (much easier than the Southern Barbeque Steak). That was good because I was so tired after work today and I did not want to sit there and spend a whole lot of time making an elaborate meal. The portions were huge and in fact, I could almost say they gave me too much chicken because I went into the refrigerator and added more lettuce to balance out the chicken thighs. I’m not really sure how ‘Cuban’ the Cuban spices were but they added a really nice flavor to the meat. I would’ve preferred chicken breasts over thighs, however, I’m guessing this is how they manage to keep the price down as the organic chicken breast is quite expensive.
Meal 3: Malaysian Spiced Pork Patties
Main Ingredients (all ingredients organic): Ground pork, Onions, Red Cabbage, Broccoli, Cashews
Cook Time According to Green Chef 30 Mins / My Actual Cook Time 40 Mins
Servings 2
Calories Per Serving 570
Net Carbs Per Serving 16 Grams
My favorite meal was the Malaysian Spiced Pork Patties. Those were so exotic and yummy! They were also surprisingly easy to make and the vegetables were fresh and delicious. It actually tasted like a dish I had in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Like the other two meals, it was easy to make and took about half an hour. I did have to cook the pork patties a little longer than the instructions but that could be because I didn’t make them the 1/2 an inch thick like the instructions called for. An important note though, don’t expect to find this dish readily available in Malaysia. The reason being that Malaysia is a Muslim nation and pork is strictly forbidden in Islam. I was pretty hungry so I actually ate both servings in one day!
Overall I found the directions were pretty easy to follow. The recipes are written and illustrated with step-by-step photographs which I found to be extremely helpful. Some may not like the relatively high amount of packaging they used. I called the company and they said when they used to just put all the ingredients in the box with color-coded labels too many customers complained. That’s why they switched to wrapping each meal ingredients in a paper bag.
Green Chef Pricing ($$)
Here is the pricing grid for Green Chef as of 2018. Here is a special coupon so you can save $40 on your first meal!
| Meal Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Keto | $12.99 per meal/serving $84.93 per box, including shipping |
| Vegetarian | $11.99 per meal/serving $78.93 per box, including shipping |
| Omnivore | $11.99 per meal/serving $78.93 per box, including shipping |
| Vegan | $11.99 per meal/serving $78.93 per box, including shipping |
| Gluten-Free | $11.99 per meal/serving $78.93 per box, including shipping |
| Paleo | $12.99 per meal/serving $84.93 per box, including shipping |
| Family Plan | $10.99 per meal/serving $94.91 per box, including shipping |
Green Chef Keto Pros and Cons
Pros:
100% USDA Organic Certified ingredients
It makes eating keto organically a lot easier than having to go out and buy the ingredients yourself
The meals are super easy to prepare. It even made me feel like a real chef! LOL
It provides a good introduction to the ketogenic lifestyle
The food is 100% organic certified
It’s environmentally friendly
Large portions
They use minimal amounts of plastic–for example, the meals come in paper bags, not plastic
Cons:
It’s not as cheap as going to the grocery store
Not as convenient as other meal services which offer pre-cooked meals
Would I recommend Green Chef
Overall Green Chef is a solid meal-kit company delivering high-quality organic food. That being said their prices seemed high to me even with their steps to keep them low such as using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts in the Chicken Fajita recipe. Green Chef isn’t for those on a tight budget.
The appeal of Green Chef comes from the ‘green’ aspect and green ain’t cheap. Eating organic food and worrying about biodegradable packaging it is a reflection of privilege. At least Green Chef puts organic healthy eating within reach of more people than ever before and I commend them for that. Any attempt to eliminate cancer-causing pesticides from our food supply will always have my support. For that reason, I will continue to use this company and recommend you give them a try as well.
Anyway, thank you for giving me the opportunity to review this and I hope you guys find it useful.