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We Tried @RealEatsFoods to See How it Stacked Up to Other Food Delivery Services

Food/Drink, Recaps & Reviews

November 14, 2017

By ASHLEY

When RealEats reached out to have us test out their new food delivery service, and I was more than excited to volunteer.

In addition to the top chef curated menu, I couldn’t wait for a delivery service where I technically could say I prepared the food, but didn’t have to do a real clean up afterwards.

All the ingredients are made with “all fresh, never-processed ingredients,” and all you have to do is boil them according to the clearly labeled times on the bags using a cooking method called sous vide.

Sounds too fancy for you? It’s not! It’s really just a cooking method where you vacuum-seal your food in a bag and boil the bag. RealEats capitalizes on that method by labeling the bags with the number of minutes required to boil them, and most of them don’t take more than 10 minutes, in fact, most take less.

According to their team, the appeal and idea behind it is “there’s no prep, no cleaning up, no junk –just real food, made simple.”

I got a chance to try three of their dishes:

Grilled Salmon with Tahini Sauce, Wild and Brown Rice, and Sautéed Spinach
Whole Grain Pasta with Grilled Marinated Peppers and Local Ricotta
BBQ Beef Brisket with Crushed Golden Potatoes and Green Beans

And here’s what I thought.

Grilled Salmon with Tahini Sauce, Wild and Brown Rice, and Sautéed Spinach
Photo Credit: NYC Plugged

The salmon was surprisingly delicious. It was light and fluffy with the perfect amount of lemon flavor. It was really more poached than grilled, but the taste was not too fishy, which was great. It came with a side of spinach, which was not too soggy- I was afraid that might happen because it looked like it was soaking in lots of butter/oil in the bag.

The rice was my least favorite part of the dish. It was mainly the texture for me, from the chewiness of the brown rice to the crunch of the black/wild rice. Once you really had a few bites, the brothy flavor came out, which was ok, but nothing special.

Whole Grain Pasta with Grilled Marinated Peppers and Local Ricotta
Photo Credit: NYC Plugged

When it came to the pasta dish, I imagine it was a bit harder to conceive a bagged version. The pasta was a bit over-cooked; my guess it that they’re afraid of it drying out in a package so they pre-cooked it or preserved it in a little oil/water to keep it moist, which made the reheating over-moisten it a bit.

The peppers and onions were kind of sour from, but altogether the dish came out tasting pretty good. The ricotta was the saving grace, making the dish sweet and salty and bringing the whole thing together. I honestly could have eaten the whole package of ricotta alone if I didn’t already mix it into the pasta.

The brisket was saved as the last dish- best for last, right? The meat was incredibly tender, owing to the sauces, which added moisture. The flavor was fantastic despite essentially boiling to reheat. The cooking technique also made the potatoes particularly fluffy, although it did nothing to keep the green beans fresh and crispy- they were more tender as well, which I didn’t mind one bit.

As with most delivery services, not all dishes will be huge winners, but I have to say, I definitely felt healthier eating these, than some others services. They were tasty, low calorie, light, and wholesome. And you definitely won’t feel hungry afterwards. Plus the cleanup was the easiest I’ve had aside from frozen dinners. So would I recommend it? Absolutely! Sign up for your Real Eats Meals here!