Friday, May 10, 2013

Foodie Friday – Diet-To-Go review

This week’s Foodie Friday is a little different.  A couple of weeks ago I was selected to be an ambassador for Diet-To-Go.  They sent me 5 days worth of food to try out and review!  I came home from work the day before leaving for Florida for our anniversary trip to this beauty sitting on my front porch -

DTG1

I was anxious to check it out and see what the chefs at Diet-To-Go had prepared for me!  The smaller box on top contained the items that didn’t necessary need to be kept cold/frozen, while the large cooler was the safe haven for all the meals I would be consuming.

 DTG2DTG3DTG4

I had to make some room in my freezer to store all of these gems!  I chose the vegetarian option (I have a weird thing about eating frozen meals with meat in them…I know…I’m a weirdo).  I do not like mushrooms, eggs (yep..another weirdo thing about me!) or tofu, and I indicated this to them when I placed my order, and they really did a great job of working around my food dislikes!

I received five breakfasts, five lunches, and five dinners.  Some of the items I received include:

*Cranapple Muffin
*Black Bean Soup
*Tomato Veggie Casserole
*Baked Cinnamon Bar
*Curried Couscous
*Fettuccini in White Sauce

On each package it gave you the nutritional value of the meal as well as what ‘sides’ went with it (apple, orange, string cheese, crackers, roll, etc) so that you could get everything together for your meal.

 DTG10

I am not much of a breakfast person, so the muffins were great as a light breakfast.  They reheated nicely and had a good flavor to them.  Some of the breakfasts even came with orange juice and V8 – I love tomatoes but am not a fan of tomato juice…is that weird?

My favorite lunches have been the Black Bean Soup and the Mexican Pizza.

 DTG5 DTG8

They both have such wonderful flavor and really packed a punch!  The soup had big chunks of red and green pepper in it, and the pizza was full of black beans, rice, cheese, and spiciness.  I absolutely love soft pretzels, and I was pleasantly surprised with this one!  It reheated nicely and had a great taste.  The mandarin pudding reminded me of an orange salad my mom used to make in the summers.

I’ve really enjoyed just about all of the dinners that they chose for me.

DTG7 
   Stuffed Shells with Spinach Sauce and carrots

These were my favorite though!  I loved the flavor of the spinach sauce, and the carrots just needed a tiny bit of salt.  They still had a slight crunch after reheating, which I loved.  The tomato veggie pie and tomato couscous were also a big hit.  I love couscous and the tomato flavor really shined through.

I wasn’t a fan of the patty melt or the soy Creole.  There was just something about it that I wasn’t crazy about.

Here’s a little blurb from the Diet-To-Go website about how they work -

Diet-to-Go is a meal delivery company focused on making healthy eating both easy and affordable. Our goal is to change perceptions of what it means to eat healthy and help our customers achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life. We want to help people establish a common sense approach to healthy eating, an approach that can be sustained so that making smart food choices becomes a way of life.

Working with some of the best chefs in the business and cooking in our USDA-certified kitchen, we provide our customers fresh, delicious, low-calorie, nutritionally balanced meals to help them lose weight or simply support an already healthy weight and lifestyle. We are constantly working to improve our products and service, in our aim to provide the best tasting, healthiest, low-calorie meals possible. And to do that, we need your input. We want your ideas, feedback and yes, even your complaints.

The way Diet-To-Go works is that you select your menu type – Traditional, Vegetarian, or Low Carb.  Let them know if you have any food allergies or dislikes and they will try and work around that.  Next, you order your plan.  They have four options for women, and four for men, so they really cater to everyone.  You can choose from a 5 day plan or a 7 day plan, both with and without a breakfast option.   Your order should arrive within 2-3 business days.  Mine was placed on a Monday and I received it on Wednesday, so very fast shipping!  When it’s time for a meal, just cut open the package, reheat, and enjoy! 

Here is a chart from the Diet-To-Go website comparing the cost of their foods to cooking at home and eating out -
DTG9 
My Likes

  • Not having to worry about meal planning was a nice treat.  I enjoyed being able to pick from my meals and not have to worry about making a list for the grocery store.
  • I really saved on my lunches.  I typically go out for lunch almost every day, so this did save me money
  • The food reheated very well.  I was very pleased with this!
  • I didn’t have to worry about working all day and coming home to prepare dinner.  It was nice and quick.
  • The shelf life for the meals in the fridge is 5-6 days, but they can be frozen for up to a month.
  • I also liked that they have a substitution form that you can submit if you did not like a certain meal!

        My Dislikes

  • I’m not usually one who likes a big dessert, but possibly having them included would be a nice surprise.
  • Since I’m married, we would still have to cook an additional meal for the hubs, so while it would be convenient for me, it wouldn’t be so convenient for us as a couple.  If I was a single girl, this would definitely be something I would consider doing.

Some additional information that I learned from Diet-To-Go is that if you live in one of their local pick up areas, you can choose to pick your meals up instead of having them shipped!  I thought that was pretty nice.  You also don’t have to sign a contract – you can start and stop your meals at anytime without being penalized. 

All in all, I enjoyed my Diet-To-Go experience!  It was a lot of fun to check out the company and see what they have to offer.

Are you curious about Diet-To-Go and want to check it out for yourself?  For a limited time only, Diet-To-Go is offering a 25% off your first week of meals!  Simply enter the code Summer25 when you check out!

diet-to-go-logo

Have you ever tried a diet meal service?  What was your experience like?

Until next time,

blog signature 

Disclaimer: As a Diet-To-Go ambassador I was provided a week’s worth of food.  All opinions are my own.

3 comments:

  1. Like you said, for more than one person it doesn't seem too ideal but I think the concept is genius. So many people either do not have time, or do not like, to cook and this completely takes out all the hassle of menu planning, grocery shopping and I'm sure clean up was so much easier than having pots and pans galore to tackle after the meal. Not only are the meals healthy but they are also cheaper in comparison to eating out daily.

    Do you have to order all meals each week or can you just order the lunches, since those seemed to be most helpful for you? Maybe the dinners would be easy go to meals for you and hubby, so if you got 14 meals over 2wks you could eat the Diet-To-Go meals 7x and cook 7x (or less if you cook extra for leftovers).

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never tried one of these, and I don't think I would unless my Fiance was doing the same thing. As you said, kind of not feasible for 2 people. Especially since I am the one who usually does the cooking, it wouldn't change anything for me as I would still be making things for my main man :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum!! They all sound delicious! I'm not a mushroom fan either! Glad they were able to accommodate you!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments make me smile :)