Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Conquering My Cooking Fears with Chef'd

I have one dread in life. It does involve conquering its own fears.

I never liked cooking.

This particular "chore" was ingrained on me very early in life. From what I remembered, I wanted to say my parents just don't want me to be domesticated or somehow finding me wound up getting a job as a cook or house servant. Too bizarre, but that's how I grew stigmatized in believing cooking is not part of my repertoire.


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Two of the selections you can find in Chef'd selections


As I never gotten a cooking lesson and live through life by the take out counter... lo and behold an opportunity exists in our day and age.

Meal prep kit was a ever popular idea growing among the cosmopolitan. In a world that diy (do-it-yourself) has gotten a foothold in everyday of life such as home improvements, car repairs, and now creeping in to cooking.

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The step by step guide included in the kit

I had the pleasure of trying out Chef'd, one of the more popular meal prep kit that is widely available in local Costco or Gelson's market. All of the Chef'd meal prep kit comes in a hard shell container with printed instructions on the inner label. Each included ingredients are individually labeled and easily identifiable for you to find them. A much easier task than your usual "assembly required" kits.

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Part of the meal kit that is included inside of the container

The only thing not included are obviously kitchenware, utensils/tools, oven or stove, and more importantly anything of necessities you normally would need in a kitchen (ie cooking oil, bowls, kitchen helper etc etc).

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The 2nd kit I got

At the end of two kits I had bought, my success of this are determined by how satisfied I was with my cooking and how the taste of the meal turned out by my cooking.

Several factors I wanted to share about this kit. First, I think this do it yourself kit is very helpful for people like myself included that finds cooking to be a challenging, in that these kits were easy to understand. Because of the easy step by step, breakdown instruction on each of the kit, it helps guide these meals from start to finish.

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prepping of the additional components

Second, majority of the meal consists of easy to cook protein with a minor sides and a quick blend of seasonings. If it was a massive undertaking of a complex dish, I think it would be a major turn off. Luckily, based on the kits I have purchased, they were all sticking to an easy to make kit.

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The making of the sauce and egg in pad thai

Third, which this is important for most people, the ingredients were fresh before the due date. They are widely available on the refrigerated section of the two major chains I have mentioned above. These meal prep kits can be ordered online with no monthly subscription required. It's ordered as you please with no obligation.

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Prepping the protein before cooking

So in the end, I asked myself how hard it was to either to make a steak or a pad thai noodle? I had to honestly surmised that it was intimidating to do, but was quite easy when you get a step by step instructions. There were some steps required a google search (ie "blanch" the garlic), but most instructions are clear and easy to understand.

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Putting things in pan

It stated it will take 30 minutes to make, but for first timer like me an additional time required in planning and reading the instruction. Once you get a hang of it on what to expect, you can bet that customizing the ingredients for your own liking will be done in the future.

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My finish product of the Pad Thai

As I stated before, two things that will determined if the meal prep kit is successful are that if you were satisfied with your own cooking and if you liked the taste of your own cooking: I must say I was a lot more confident at the end and impressed by the taste. Even though the ingredients are provided, I will say that the positive experience will give me an opportunity to adventure out more creations on my own and experience new dishes.

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My finished product of the steak

This is highly recommended if you wish to do something on your own at home with a helpful guide.

As in for the question... this kit did conquered my fears of cooking.

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