New Meal Subscription Review! I’ve been getting meal subscription boxes off an on for the past two years, but most of them have been ones I’ve already tried. This week, however, I decided to try something new: Real Eats.
Real Eats is a little different from the normal meal subscription service. It’s all boil-in-bag and ready in 6 minutes or less (great for my busy schedule). You just pop the packets in a pot of boiling water to heat them, and voila, you have delicious meal. Another benefit of Real Eats is that you can order single servings of up to 12 different dinners, so if you’re cooking for one, you won’t get bored!
Like other meal delivery services, the meals come in an insulated box with ice packs. The packaging was fairly standard, but there were no recipe cards since there’s no real cooking.
The major downside is the price of the box. The 4 dinner meal plan is $15 per meal or $60 per week. The cost per meal decreases with the number of meals, so the 6 dinner meal plan (the one I ordered) is $13.50 per meal or $81 per week, and the 12 dinner meal box is $12.50 per meal (or $150 per week). By comparison, the 6 plate plan with Blue Apron and Home Chef is $60. Real Eats also offers breakfasts which range from $6 per meal for 4 meals or $4 per meal for 12 meals.
Dish 1: Mushroom Ragout with Cheesy Polenta and Roasted Carrots
I was extremely impressed by the meal. The carrots needed a few flakes of salt, but the ragout and polenta were amazing. I wish I had the recipe because I would love to make it again. The sauce was silky smooth and the mushrooms were flavorful. The dish was garnished with marinated tomatoes which added a delightful hit of acid to the dish.
Removing the food from the bags kind of made me feel like I was eating like an astronaut. The downside was squeezing the hot food out of their bags. It was not fun for the fingers.
I don’t think I can understate how much I loved this dish. It was absolutely perfect. It was a great meal to start my experience with Real Eats. It doesn’t look like they change the entire list of menus every week. If I could afford to get this service without the new subscriber discount, I would totally order the mushroom ragout again. It was that good.
Dish 2: Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Root Vegetables and Red Rice
This meal wasn’t great. The meatloaf needed some kind of sauce and the rice was undercooked and very bland. Some of the root vegetables were ok, but there was something in there that was extremely bitter. The whole thing just seemed a little incohesive and lackluster, especially compared to the mushroom ragout from Wednesday.
I was especially disappointed because I had been craving meatloaf for ages, but it’s not a dish that I’ve ever made myself, so I’ve been putting off making it myself.
Dish 3: Chicken Ramen
It was wonderfully flavorful, if a touch salty. The noodles were broken, but I didn’t mind because they had a great flavor and texture. The chicken was a bit too toothy, but because of the cooking method, it wasn’t dry. It was a perfectly acceptable ramen which helped to soothe the grumpy belly I’ve been suffering with all day.
Dish 4: Miso Salmon with Sesame Rice and Roasted Bok Choy
The rice was a little bland and undercooked and the salmon was a little dry and overcooked. I liked the roasted bok choy after I added a touch of salt. Overall, the meal was a little bland. It needed some salt or acid to bring everything together.
Dish 5: Maitake Cod with Mushrooms and Parsnip Puree
Dish 6: Honey Soy Salmon with Ginger Carrots and Scallion Brown Rice
Eat at Lu's 
kinda like a meal on a mid-class airline. don’t waste your money
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That’s a great analogy. It wasn’t bad, just not as spectacular as one would expect for the price.
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