Garnish & Gather . . . A Review and Recommendation

I tend to talk about food here a fair amount.  If you have been around for any amount of time you may have heard me say that we have Crockpot Mondays to begin the week.  There is something about having dinner planned and prepped on a Monday evening after a busy weekend, busy day,  and just surviving the whole "Monday" thing.Well, I am NOT here to share a new Crockpot Monday meal.  I have something better.  One of my clients mentioned a food delivery service, Garnish & Gather, that interested her.    Well, after I looked them up and checked out their beautiful website, I decided I wanted to give them a try, also. You may be familiar with some of the popular national and local food delivery services and may have tried some.  I will admit that I have not, but love the idea of making a healthy and fresh meal as easy as possible for as many people as possible.  There are just so many benefits of preparing and eating meals at home.  Our society has gotten out of control busy and it seems that one of the first things to go is sitting down to a healthy meal around the table.One of the wonderful things I loved about Garnish & Gather's philosophy is their use of local, organic foods from local farms.  They have taken the time to find local farmers who use sustainable practices to provide meats, seafoods and vegetables.  Another interesting point is that G & G uses recipes developed by local chefs using seasonal ingredients for their meals and those meals change weekly, so things stay fresh.I thought this would be a great source to share with you, so was thrilled to receive a meal for my family by the folks at G & G.  They made it so easy!  I went to the website and looked at the 5 meals offered and chose Rosemary Ginger Chicken in a Balsamic Shallot Sauce over Spinach and Rice.  Sounds really complicated and fancy, doesn't it?  Then you get to decide how you obtain your food, delivery or pick up.  I chose pick up as there is a list of several locations.  One happened to be right by my local drugstore, so it made it almost too easy!When Monday afternoon rolled around, I stopped in at Sherlock's Wine Shop and found a counter full of G & G bags, all labeled with recipients' names and meals.  Alongside the bags were coolers with the cold ingredients labeled.  My only complaint on this, if you could call it one, was that there was no rhyme or reason to the ingredients in the coolers.  And, as luck would have it, mine was in the very last cooler.  I wondered why the coolers weren't labeled alphabetically to keep us from foraging through all the coolers looking for our cold items.When I got home all I had to do was  unload the perfectly packed, and labeled ingredients and the recipe directions.  They could not have made this ANY easier!  On the front of the card is the recipe with step by step directions, and on the back a list of exactly what is in the bag, what you need at home, and even what pots or pans you need, as well as how long the dish would take to prepare.   All I needed to have at home was oil, salt & pepper, a pot and sauté pan.The ingredients are packaged and labeled perfectly.  The spinach was beautiful, with huge fresh leaves.  All I did was a bit of chopping, rinsing and destemming.  Then I followed the directions for the chicken and the rice.  And I will admit that I am a terrible rice cooker, as I hardly ever cook it.  I was a bit nervous it would be gummy, but it was perfect.  The walnuts and zest made it so tasty.This is the chicken cooking in the juices before plating.  The Husband had one complaint as he only likes chicken breasts.  He was not a fan of eating the thighs, even though they were boneless and skinless.  The website gives you the option to request chicken breasts, so next time I would do that.I quickly snapped a photo of the Third Son's plate before everyone began eating.  The lighting is poor, but the meal was flavorful.  The portions were good for a family of four as we only had a little rice left over.The price for a meal for 4-5 with pick up is $60.  I think the price fair as I know we could not have gone out for that amount and to purchase, organic meats and vegetables would have also been as much.The website offers other grocery items, such as locally made breads, jams, pickles, fresh eggs and other good stuff.  I think my boys would have loved some fresh bread for this meal!I am now a fan of Garnish & Gather and will use this service again.  They also offer a membership with perks, but do not rope you in if you do not need a meal that week.AND best of all Garnish and Gather has offered to give you 10% off of your very own order!  Just use the code 5RAQJU.  So, go out and Garnish your meal and Gather around the table!  Let me know what you think!Have you tried G & G?  How was your experience?  Have you tried other meal services?  Which do you like and why? Enjoy Your Day!  *This is not a Sponsored post.  While I was provided a meal, I have not been compensated for this post and all opinions and experiences are mine.