Lifehacker reports today on a new cooking trend: “make and take.” The idea is that you go to a special store and purchase pre-prepped (washed, chopped, etc.) ingredients for several specific recipes, which you then simply have to assemble at home. The going rate seems to be about $200 for twelve four-person meals, which works out to $4.16 per person per meal–very reasonable.
While the overall concept is a good one–allowing people to use fresh ingredients but cut down on shopping, prep, and cleanup time, I’m skeptical about the time efficiency. Both major national chains of “make and take” meals, Dinner and Dish and DreamDinners, say it takes two hours to assemble the twelve meals in their kitchens. Let’s assume it also takes the average customer ten minutes each way to travel to the stores. That’s about twelve minutes per meal. I can easily prep a meal at home in that time, especially if I’m doing it the make-and-take way of prepping several meals in advance and freezing what I won’t use right away. (As I’ve mentioned before, it helps to have a good sharp knife, and practice your chopping skills. ) If you’re worried about cleanup, there are plenty of one-pot meal recipes out there, not to mention a “pots and pans” setting on most dishwashers. As far as reducing shopping time, I still have to go to the store to buy diapers, toilet paper, and toothpaste, so I might as well throw some food in the cart at the same time. Yes, it saves a bit of time having someone else do it, but not that much, especially if you think through your meals in advance and make a list.
I realize I’m a bit of a cook-it-yourself snob. It’s probably an overreaction to our prepared, pre-processed, pre-cooked culture. I also think it’s useful for kids to be involved (in an age-appropriate way) with all the steps of food preparation. It gives them a better understanding of what’s involved, and teaches them useful skills for later in life. (And yes, take them to a farm, too.) I do see value in make and take during the holidays or at other times when getting the food prep done and keeping the house clean is of the essence. And for those of you who simply hate chopping and might find make and take useful, I’m happy to pass along the information. Happy cooking, however you do it.
I tried it myself the other evening. In 2 hours, I was able to prep only 5 dishes.
Oh, this sounds like something I’ll also have to test under experimental circumstances, then. Stay tuned. I admit there’s a lot of variability depending on the recipes one chooses, and the overlap of ingredients among them.
Just in case Erica’s right about the time saved using make-and-take services, I wanted to add this note before I started my own experiment, so it avoids any risk of sounding like sour grapes. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong–but here are some more thoughts.
Aside from the total shop/prep/clean time needed, one must consider the amount of time one has in a solid block. For myself, it would be very difficult to find two whole hours to get away from my toddler and go to a meal-prep store. I’d personally rather prep while he’s playing or napping or helping me, even if it means I do one or two prep tasks at a time, over the course of a day, until dinner time comes and I’m ready to cook. That’s admittedly a personal preference based on my current circumstances.
Looking at the meal options for both DreamDinners and Dinner and Dish, they’re mostly meat-centered entrees. Vegetables, which form a big part of my quasi-vegetarian lifestyle (some chicken and fish on occasion, but not always), don’t figure large in the make-and-take menus. For example, DreamDinners’ Pork Chops Dijon with Rice includes “Six lean, boneless pork chops marinated with Dijon mustard, garlic and herbs. Serve with steamed rice (provided) and your family’s favorite vegetable.” Presumably the vegetable isn’t provided, or it would be stated as such, like the rice. Again, their Autumn Pot Roast description says “Serve with your favorite fall vegetables [unspecified, presumably not included].” If I still have to buy, wash, trim, and chop vegetables, I need to add that in to the total meal prep time. (I’ll avoid the frightening thought of serving nothing but bagged, pre-scrubbed baby carrots every night.)
I’m going to try preparing twelve meals’ worth of food, vegetables and all, and let you know the results. Scientific? No. An excuse to play foodblogger for a day? Absolutely. YMMV.