By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Contributor
Life has become so busy, with everyone in the house either working at school or doing recreational things like sports, so these days it leaves no time for a good meal. Most often this leads to the almost inevitable trip to the fast food drive thru. Trust me, as my kids were growing up, we were on a first-name basis with those drive-thru workers.
Food prep has become a healthy alternative to this spiral of generally unhealthy and sodium-laden fast food, but sometimes even it is hard to make time for this good option. When my oldest daughter started her teaching career, she made a conscious effort to food prep every week and stayed with it, for the most part. I joined that trend last year, but I was spotty in my efforts, like Sunday. My two favorite golfers were fighting for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, so that was my day. No time to cook.
I’ve seen Prepped Up Meals, 3330 North Market, Shreveport, on Facebook and always meant to check it out but never made the time. With school starting and my daughter now in her sixth year teaching, even busier than ever with a 3-month-old daughter, now was the perfect time to give Prepped Up Meals a shot.
The system is simple. You go online and pick the meals you want and place your order. The meal menu changes weekly. Place your order by the end of Saturday and the meals are ready for pickup on Monday evening, or for a small charge they can be delivered on Tuesday.
We picked a variety of menu options to get a feel for the range of Prepped Ups stuff. We ordered Cast Iron Chicken Thighs with Mac & Cheese, Turkey Meatloaf with Mashed Cauliflower, Grilled Kickin’ Chicken with Rice & Veggies, Sesame Chicken with Steamed Broccoli and Rice, Lean Ground Beef Hamburger Bowl and Mongolian Turkey with Rice and Garlic Chili Green Beans.
My mouth is watering just typing those in. I did choose the smallest of the three sizes in each order, which I would call a good lunch portion or smaller dinner. If your appetite is bigger, gauge your portion size accordingly.
Every one of these meals looked great and were very easy to warm up in the containers that they were packed in. The last meal was eaten Friday and tasted just as fresh as the ones we ate Monday night. They all were prepared well with an eye towards the healthier end of the spectrum. The flavors were perfectly true to their descriptions.
The ones that were the biggest hit were the chicken dishes, not a big shock for my family. The biggest surprise to me was the lack of vegetables left on the plates after everybody finished. We all remember that fight when our kids were young.
I ordered the Turkey Meatloaf for my mother who loves a good meatloaf. She really enjoyed it, I believe enough that her meatloaf pan may come out of retirement! Apparently, I forgot to tell her about the mashed cauliflower, because as she shared her thoughts on the meal, she commented that the “potatoes” were good, with a hint of cauliflower. We had a little laugh about that.
When you have a busy week coming up, but don’t want the fast food hangover, check out Prepped Up Meals and make your week of meals easy and good.
I spent a few minutes with Chef-owner Megan Chavez while picking up my order. She mentioned that they hold some cooking classes and have occasional Chef Table in-House meals. Count me in for probably both of those opportunities in the future. You’re never too old to learn new things.
Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net
