Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Just how Super is it?

Pretty good, I'd say. I have not tasted the food yet, but it was easy and fun. Most meals come with six chicken breasts or pork chops and the owner suggested that I package them in twos, since Bean eats a bird portion if she deigns to try it at all. That was a really helpful suggestion and will stretch the meals alot further as I won't have leftovers.

Everything is frozen or canned. I'm sure it's from Sysco or wherever, but it all looked pretty good. The marinara sauce smelled nice, the chicken and meats looked lean, and there was an excellent assortment of meals. But there weren't any veggies.

I wouldn't call it "meal preparation" as much as entree marination. You are still going to have to thaw the chicken in advance and then cook it. And that's where I was needing the help. I can do a marinade. I've got several Fischer & Wieser marinades in the fridge (mmm, Mango Habanero Ginger!), not to mention my own marinades. There weren't alot of things you can just thaw overnight and stick in the oven, add a salad, and bingo! - a meal

The whole experience has made me think of how to prepare my own super suppers and what I really need. What I need to do is set aside one day a month and have a marathon cooking session so I have a freezer of meals that are already pretty much cooked and just require thawing, some quick prep, and cooking in the oven or on the stovetop without requiring alot of tending. And I need to make sure that there are alot of veggies in the meals, so I can really just add a salad for a healthy and low-fat meal.

I will definitely do Super Suppers again. I think it's a great idea and it's nice to have a freezer stocked with food that I didn't have to mess with alot. But if you go to one of these things, remember that there will still be cooking involved.