Shop Local!/Review: Eat Rite Foods
Well here we are again. Another weekend is coming to an end, and the start of another week is just around the corner. I know to some of us the weeks are just blurring together at this point. I find myself thinking it is Friday on a Wednesday or Monday, when it is really Tuesday. I know I am not the only one with this! Instead of complaining about that though just keep in mind the people that are working their jobs as normal. Their weeks are likely a blur for an entirely different reason. So while you are complaining about being bored, just remember that there are plenty of people out there working probably wishing they had the option to be bored. I digress though! Today's post is going to be a little different. I wanted to talk a little bit about supporting local businesses during this time, and also do a little review about a local business I have been supporting during this time.
When you go shopping, I am guessing many of you just head to your local Walmart or Target. Maybe for groceries you go to whichever chain you have near you. I myself do this. What about eating out? I know a lot of us love our fast-food chains (although we really shouldn't be eating that junk, but I am here to be positive in this post not preaching health food.) and chain restaurants but I am sure you have a number of local places around you as well. These small businesses are going to struggle during this a lot more than the large chains are. So I wanted to take a little time to encourage you all to support these places during this time. Maybe you have a farm market near you. Why not buy your produce there for the week? If you are in the mood for Mexican food maybe look for a local place instead of getting Taco Bell, it is going to taste way better anyways I am sure. I am lucky to live by a lot of wineries in my area that are still doing orders for pick-up. Today I took a trip out to get a few bottles, some hard cider, and a pie to bake. It was nice just to take a drive honestly and instead of just going to a local liquor store to buy a bottle of cheap nationally sold wine. Do a little research and you just may find your new favorite place!
What about meal prep? I wanted to do a little review of a local business in this post as well to hopefully really encourage people to try new things. Today I wanted to talk about my recent experience with trying Eat Rite Foods. Eat Rite Foods is a local place that makes premade meals that are all very balanced, macro friendly, and overall healthy. I will admit up until recently I wasn't exactly ever interested in buying meals from a place like this. There was nothing against them, I just personally love to cook and do my own meal prep. Although I never had much interest I could see the appeal to people who may not like to cook or do not have the time to do so. I decided to try them out during this crazy time because I am finding myself struggling with sticking to a healthy lunch schedule like I would be at the office. First off the convivence is great for just being able to grab and reheat a healthy meal. I do not have to put any thought into my lunch. They also are delivering right now and offering pick up meals to keep going during these crazy times. I have been very impressed with the delivery as well. My newest order was on the porch before I was even out of bed this morning! They all come pre-portioned, packaged, and in a nice insulated bag to keep them cold. Overall just very convenient.
I am sure you are more importantly wondering how they tasted. Well, I ordered ten different meals in my first order and I liked every single one of them! They have plenty of options from marinated steak with veggies to bourbon glazed chicken and mac and cheese couscous, to old bay shrimp with rice and broccoli (I have put plenty of pictures here for you to see.) They all taste very fresh and you can tell they are cooked and packaged not too long before you receive them. Each one that I ordered was under 500 calories for the whole container, which was also great. I was also very impressed that the wrap and flatbread I ordered were not soggy at all as those sort of meals tend to get if they are premade and refrigerated. They also freeze very well. I ordered enough for two weeks of lunches and froze half of them so they did not spoil. They defrosted and reheated with no problems. I would say the honey Steak was my favorite, which surprised me since I am usually not a huge red meat eater. The best part about it? Each meal is usually around $6-$7. That is typically a little less than I would spend on groceries for my meal prep every week and the work is done for you! Overall I am extremely impressed and will likely continue to buy meals from Eat Rite Foods even after social distancing comes to an end. If I had to give a letter grade, I would hands-down give them an A.
I know a lot of my readers are actually not from my area, though, but I would encourage you to find a similar place and try them out. It seems these kinds of places are becoming more common so check out to see if you have one local! If they are even half as good as Eat Rite Foods. If you are local and interested in trying out Eat Rite Foods, however, you can check them out here. Shop at smaller local businesses just like this as much as you can. I know this is not an original idea on my part, and I am sure you are seeing this message all over the place right now but I wanted to do my part to keep that message going. Check out a meal prep service, get wine from a local winery or beer from a local brewery, show at the little produce market down the street, I could go on and on with examples. We need each other now more than ever right now so why not spend the money you are already planning on spending somewhere where it will matter that much more? As always I hope you are all staying home, and staying safe!
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