Worth the Hype? Plated Subscription Review
I was provided a Plated box in exchange for my honest opinion.
Affiliate links in this post; by clicking on them I may get a small commission at no extra charge to you!
It’s been a while since I did a Worth the Hype post (my last one was on the Too Faced Peanut Butter & Jelly Palette, which you can read here) so I thought I would sit down and write one this week on a subscription service that I recently got to try out.
Dustin and I are huge Shark Tank fans. In fact, when I decided I wanted to take blogging seriously, Dustin asked me to give him a presentation a la Shark Tank to get an investment from him for my blogging start-up costs. So I was really excited when Plated reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in trying out their service. Dustin and I had watched them pitch on Shark Tank, so I was already familiar with their company and business model and intrigued to give them a go. Ya’ll know that I love getting mail almost as much as I love Christmas music (and I LOVE Christmas music) so getting a subscription box for food was something I was really excited to try out. I’m trying my hardest to live as full of a life as possible, so trying out new recipes in the kitchen definitely sounded fun and exciting!
The whole premise behind Plated is this: You no longer have to ask the question “what’s for dinner?” Plated answers that for you, from helping you plan your weekly meals, to sending you the exact ingredients you need to cook them!
Here’s how Plated Works:
After creating an account with Plated, you can customize your subscription plan. You pick out how many meals you want to get a week when you want your meals to be delivered and have the control to skip weeks or swap recipes, depending on your schedule. It’s completely customizable.
Each week, you choose your meals from 9 chef-designed recipes, ranging from quick 20 minute meals to full culinary adventures that last up to an hour. There is also a wide variety of meals for beginners and meals for those a bit more experienced in the kitchen. Plated packages up all of the ingredients (which are all responsibly and farm sourced) in the exact portions with step-by-step instructions and delivers it straight to your door.
How does Plated deliver fresh food to your door? They package all of the ingredients in refrigerated boxes that keep the food fresh until Midnight! So, you can get your food delivered while you are at work and don’t have to worry about it going bad!
Plated Subscription Review
I found the signup process to be fairly simple and straight forward. Once I got all my information in and picked what day I wanted to receive my box, I got to the most exciting part: picking my meals for the week!
For our first meal, I selected White Asparagus Pizza
Dustin and I have really been on a homemade pizza kick this summer, and the ingredients on this pizza were unlike anything I had ever thought to put together, so I definitely wanted to give it a go. We both also love asparagus and balsamic vinegarette, so I was confident we would like the flavors that the recipe described.
Pro’s: I loved that Plated sent me pizza dough that was already mixed and risen, so all’s I had to do was roll it out. This meal took me all of 20 minutes to prepare and put in the oven, so it was quick and easy, even though the name of it sounds a bit complex.
Con’s: I felt like there wasn’t enough cheese to really warrant it a pizza. The balsamic reduction was good, but it was a little too bitter for us, so I had to add a little extra honey from my pantry to sweeten it up for our taste buds.
Chelsie’s Rating: 8/10 Stars I really loved the unique combination of flavors on the pizza and would definitely make this on my own again in my kitchen
Dustin’s Rating: 6/10 Stars Dustin really liked the pizza initially, but wasn’t a fan of the arugula. He would eat it again if I didn’t put the arugula on it.
Second Meal: Grilled Steak Tostadas
I selected this meal because it was something that I would never try to make on my own. Dustin and I both love Mexican food, so we were excited to try to replicate something authentic.
Pro’s: The cut of steak that was sent to us was very high quality and very tasty.
Con’s: The instructions to make the salsa were vague and I was completely bewildered on how to chop up the tomatillo. I think that the steak needed to be marinated much longer than the instructions said to get a real flavoring to it. The corn tortillas split apart as we tried to eat them, and created a huge mess.
Chelsie’s Rating: 4/10 Stars I loved trying to cook authentic tostadas, but this recipe was kind of a mess. The steak was great quality, but the marinade really didn’t sink into it, so it was pretty bland.
Dustin’s Rating: 5/10 Stars He loved the steak as well, and thought it was cool we made our own pico/salsa but was frustrated that his tortilla split after his first bite.
Is Plated Worth the Hype?
Overall we had a great time trying out Plated and cooking meals we would have never tried to create on our own. I think Plated is worth the hype for those who are super busy and don’t want the stress or worry of grocery shopping and trying to figure out what to eat. It may also be worth the hype for someone who really wants to experiment in the kitchen and try to cook fancier recipes, but who doesn’t know where to start and wants some guidance.
If you want to give Plated a try, you can sign up here with this link (affiliate) and you’ll get a free meal with your Plated Purchase! (Using the affiliate link doesn’t cost extra to you; it just helps me run Hey There, Chelsie!)
Okay, shout out below: have you tried Plated or another food subscription box? What would hold you back from trying one out?
