Dropped $200 on that whole-food meal plan app and got nothing but anxiety

I signed up for that popular meal prep service back in February, the one that promises to save you time and money on groceries. After three weeks of following their recipes, I spent 4 hours on a Sunday chopping vegetables for meals I didn't even like, and my total grocery bill went up by $60 because I had to buy all these specialty ingredients. The app kept glitching and wouldn't sync my shopping list, so I wasted another hour at the store trying to remember what I needed. Has anyone else tried one of these subscription services and felt like it actually made your life harder instead of easier?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_uma12d ago

Wait, isn't the whole point of those apps to give you normal ingredient lists, not stuff you have to hunt down? I tried one last year and ended up buying three different kinds of vinegar for one recipe, which felt like a prank. The glitching shopping list thing happened to me too, and I just started writing everything down on paper again. Honestly, it turned cooking from something I did for fun into a chore with a broken app.

joseph_coleman12d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree a little here! Those apps have saved me so many times when I'm at the store and can't remember if I need bay leaves or not. I think the key is finding one that lets you filter by common ingredients or stores you actually shop at. I use one that has a "quick recipes" section and it usually sticks to stuff like olive oil, garlic, and maybe one random thing. The vinegar thing would drive me nuts too, but I feel like most apps let you swap ingredients now if you poke around the settings. Paper lists work too, but I always lose mine or forget to bring it!

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