Spent $60 on a meal prep service and got two sad containers of pasta

I thought I was being clever with my budget by trying one of those cheaper meal prep companies instead of eating out. Paid $60 for what was supposed to be 5 meals, but each container was maybe half full and the pasta was mushy after day one. So I ended up ordering pizza twice that week anyway, which completely killed any savings. Anyone else get burned by a meal kit or delivery service that looked like a win on paper?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_blair2mo ago

Wait, you said "it's just pasta we're talking about here" but that's exactly the point. When I pay $60 for something that's literally just pasta with maybe a few sad pieces of chicken or broccoli thrown in, I expect it to at least be good pasta. Not mushy, sad, half-empty containers that make me feel ripped off every time I open the fridge. And yeah, I know I could have bought a box of Barilla for $2, but the whole reason I tried the service was because I thought it would save me time and mental energy after work. The math didn't work out, and now I'm out $60 plus another $30 on pizza, plus I still had to cook the pizza in the oven. So it wasn't just pasta, it was the whole illusion of being smart with my money that got shattered.

kelly.daniel2mo ago

Oh man, that's rough but honestly, it's just pasta we're talking about here. Not like you lost a kidney or anything (though I get the frustration, believe me). I've tried a few of those services and the portion sizes are always a joke, but $60 on pizza to fix it seems like overkill. You could have just grabbed a box of decent dried pasta and jarred sauce for like $5 and been fine.

luna_kim4012d ago

I gotta push back on that "it's just pasta" thing. Because it's not just about the ingredient, it's about the promise of convenience that got broken. When you pay $60 for a service that's supposed to save you time and mental energy, and instead you get mushy sad pasta that you don't even want to eat, that's a real loss. It's not about the cost of a box of Barilla, it's about the trust you put in that company to make your life easier and they failed you. And the pizza thing? Honestly that's a pretty normal response when your backup plan falls through, not overkill. So your mileage may vary, but I think you're allowed to be annoyed about the whole situation.