I have a complicated relationship with meal planning. Some weeks I get super excited, make elaborate lists, and plan the most delicious-sounding meals… only to realize I’m not in the mood to cook them when the time actually comes. I also love experimenting with new recipes, but I hate buying an entire jar of some specialty ingredient, discovering I don’t love it, and then watching it languish in the back of my fridge until it’s questionable at best. (I’m looking at you, jarred preserved lemons.)
Enter Green Chef.
Full disclosure: Green Chef isn’t paying me to write this. I’m sharing it because it genuinely solves my meal planning problems, and my referral link gets you a free box (which gives me a small credit).
Who couldn’t use free groceries after the Christmas gift spending spree? Or am I the only one who goes a teeny tiny bit overboard every year?
(*ahem* My name is Jessica Lovett and I’m an American Girl addict.)
The restaurant at the Dallas store looks like an actual dollhouse! I’ve no hope of escaping without relishing the cuteness. The 2000s dolls have an internet modem that goes BEEeeeddoobbbooo like an old kind of internet connection!
Why Green Chef Works for Me
Here’s the thing: Green Chef satisfies my “Try Something New!” cravings every week without any of the waste that usually comes with culinary experimentation. I’ve tried other meal kit services, but most are heavy on carbs and light on nutrition. As someone who values clean eating and loads of fresh vegetables, Green Chef is the only one that checks all my boxes—literally and figuratively.
A lot of people assume Green Chef is vegetarian-only (probably because of the name), but it’s not! While they have excellent vegetarian options—which I personally love—they also offer a wide variety of meal plans including Mediterranean, keto, protein-packed, and quick & easy options. There’s truly something for every family’s needs and preferences.
What You Can Actually Make
The recipe variety is genuinely impressive. We’re not talking boring chicken and rice here. Think: Moroccan-spiced cauliflower steaks with herbed couscous and tahini drizzle. Butternut squash ravioli with sage brown butter and toasted walnuts. Mediterranean chickpea bowls with cucumber-tomato salad and creamy tzatziki. Sun-dried tomato and spinach stuffed chicken with roasted vegetables. One-pan honey mustard salmon with green beans and baby potatoes.
These aren’t just meals—they’re restaurant-quality dishes that look absolutely colorful and fun on the table! There’s something deeply satisfying about setting a beautiful, colorful meal on the table and feeling genuinely proud of what you’ve created. It’s the kind of cooking that makes you feel accomplished, not exhausted.
I’m not one of those people who can have Taco Tuesday or Pizza Thursday and do the same thing every week. I need variety! I want to explore the world with our meals! I don’t want to be bored!
The Real Benefits
Beyond the food itself, Green Chef has given me something even more valuable: time and mental space. The holiday season is already overwhelming—shopping, decorating, managing activities, coordinating schedules, trying to create magical memories while keeping everyone fed and relatively sane.
The last thing I need is to spend mental energy figuring out what’s for dinner, making grocery lists, shopping for ingredients, and then hoping I actually want to cook what I planned three days ago.
Green Chef removes all of that stress. The ingredients show up at my door, pre-portioned and ready to go. No more wandering grocery store aisles. No more “What’s for dinner?” panic at 4:30 PM. No more specialty ingredients collecting dust in my pantry. Just fresh, healthy meals that take 30-40 minutes to prepare and actually get my family excited about dinner.
I’ve tried some meal plans that give you all the ingredients for all the meals in one giant box. That is too much of a hassle for me! Green Chef puts everything in separate sacks with premeasured ingredients and mostly pre-chopped things! You heard me right! Last night, I made broccoli cheese soup with pre-chopped rainbow carrots and my husband even made a comment about how perfectly cubed they were but I had to admit that it wasn’t me!
Speaking of organization, can we talk about fridge storage for a second? One of my favorite things about Green Chef is that each meal comes in its own bag with everything you need. But I also invested in these clear storage containers that fit perfectly in my fridge to keep everything visible and organized.
See? No more “oh no, I forgot about that bell pepper in the back of the crisper drawer” moments. Everything is right there where I can see it, and the Green Chef meal bags stack beautifully on that top shelf. It’s like meal prep and organization had a baby, and that baby is actually manageable for once! It cuts down on waste and lets me see exactly how many meals that I have left.
That freed-up time? I can use it for things that actually matter—working on my business, spending quality time with my kids, reading a book, or simply having a moment to breathe during the busiest season of the year.
Perfect for Teaching Kids
Another bonus? The full-color recipe cards are perfect for teaching kids to cook. Each card has clear, step-by-step instructions with photos, making it easy for children to follow along and build real kitchen skills. My kids have learned so much from working through these recipes with me—how to properly chop vegetables, what “sauté until fragrant” actually means, how to balance flavors, and the satisfaction of creating something beautiful from scratch.
The Deal
The best part? My promo code actually gives you free meals.
Here’s what your checkout screen will look like when you enter it:
See that $0? That’s my favorite kind of checkout! If you want more than 2 meals for 4 people in your first box, you can customize it—and additional servings come out to around $1 each. (Which is honestly insane when you think about what groceries cost these days.)
Give Yourself a Break This Holiday Season
Green Chef isn’t going to wrap your presents, untangle your Christmas lights, or convince your kids to stop asking when Christmas is over and over…
But here’s what it will do: it’ll take one thing off your impossibly long to-do list. It’ll give you back those precious evening hours when you’re trying to figure out what’s for dinner while simultaneously helping with homework, answering work emails, and pretending you have it all together.
It’ll let you serve your family restaurant-quality, nutritious meals without the planning, the shopping, the decision fatigue, or the 4:30 PM panic. And, honestly? In the middle of the holiday chaos, that’s not nothing. That’s actually kind of everything.
So go ahead—use my code and get your free box. Try some Moroccan-spiced cauliflower or that butternut squash ravioli. Let someone else do the meal planning for a change. Enjoy your pre-chopped rainbow carrots. (They really are perfectly cubed!)
And maybe, just maybe, you’ll have a few extra minutes to actually enjoy this season instead of just surviving it.
Homeschool With Joy 