March 2016 Plated Subscription Box Review + Coupon

Our latest Plated box looked like it had an adventure, but all our goodies were safe and sound inside.  Plated sends weekly dinner kits with high quality ingredients and chef-created recipes. Each week you’ll choose from a variety of quick gourmet meals that range from meats, chicken, seafood, and purely vegetarian options. There’s enough selection to please all palates, and the recipes are seasonally focused.  We love the way each meal incorporates only a couple key herbs or spices; the flavors shine through, and the recipes remain easy to follow.  We love getting boxes most weeks to try new recipes — our favorite recipes always remain available in our account if we want to look them up to make again ourselves.

Important to note: whereas Plated has been a subscription, you could previously turn off auto-shipments. You can no longer do that. No big deal for us, because we like to go in and select what recipes we’re receiving anyways. You can skip at the click of a button.

Plated uses recyclable/compostable jute for its insulation.  I have a stack of it in the garage that I’m planning to use to border some trees in our yard and create a weed barrier in some of the plant beds. Boxes are always packed with the meat on the bottom, underneath a few big ice packs — the rest of the food is set on top with more ice.

Plated sends a weekly email — it doesn’t tell you much about your meals, other than what you need from home. There’s now no reminder of the ease of preparation and all the other subscriptions provide some version of that.

We get asked a lot – Sometimes we order Plated and sometimes Hello Fresh. It just depends on what meals we’re interested in. [Hello Fresh: Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8] We have also started ordering Home Chef ($30 off with link). We love all of these boxes – try them out and pick your favorite.

Plated has new branding – but we’re still bummed they don’t put the ease of preparation on the recipe card.  Traditionally, all of Plated’s meals serve two people, but recently they have added some recipes with 3 person serving sizes.

Plated’s recipes rely on mise en place and then cook – we often mix up the steps from how the recipe is written, but we’re both experienced cooks and know what can be accomplished while something else cooks. So, read your cards if you need the step by steps.

All the food comes bagged up and separated (mostly) into the recipes — meat and some large or delicate items are bagged separately, with the meat nestled at the bottom of the box among the ice packs.

This week we had guests in and chose to double up on 2 of our meals. You can send a request in via the mea selection interface.

Steak Fajitas with Roasted Tomato Salsa. Medium, 35-45 mins, 730 cal per serving.  Shown above is our double order of the meal, one being fully unpacked (we were cooking for guests, too).

Each serving of three tacos (half a single recipe) was an ample portion.  This dish kept it simple with regard to condiments, skipping dairy and sauces.  Instead, all the fillings were seasoned via a marinade, with char-roasting and fresh lime juice creating big flavor in the peppers and homemade salsa.

Peanut Curry with Carrots, Mushrooms, and Spinach over Sticky Rice. Easy, 25-35 Minutes, 670 cal per serving.

This was a lovely vegetarian dish showcasing some light and bright Thai flavors.  Ginger, gochujang, and curry paste added complex undertones without blasting the heat, and the lime juice and sweet coconut milk gave the dish a tangy zip and creamy silkiness.

I cooked the mushroom separately (altering the recipe), adding it back in to individual bowls, along with a kneaded ball of sticky rice.  The tofu was a nice way to add protein to the dish, as it soaked up the subtle flavors of the sauce without contributing an overpowering flavor of its own.  Pictured is one serving.

Skillet Roast Chicken with Caramelized Fennel and Potatoes. Easy, 40-50 Minutes, 540 cal per serving.  Our double order is shown above, half of the non-meat items unpacked.

We really loved this dish!  Our guests noted the light, sweet flavor of the fennel (partially due to the sweetness of the onion baked with it), as it didn’t have the strong licorice tastes sometimes present.  The potatoes crisped nicely, a perfect accompaniment to the tender chicken.  The baking process was a bit tricky for us, as we prepared a double batch and are breaking in a new oven — were I making the dish again, I would sear both sides of the chicken before combining the ingredients to bake.

The seasoning wasn’t complicated – we made a sauce and poured it over everything before baking. One thing to note: this recipe used a ridiculous amount of olive oil.
This week’s Plated was fairly sophisticated, with unique spins on some of our favorite cuisine — a light and bright take on Thai, a roasty and zesty fajita, and an upscale version of meat and potatoes.

Visit Plated to find or more or to subscribe. Currently you can get 2 free plates when you buy 4 when you sign up with this link (no coupon code required).