We all want to save time. Yes, even me. We’ve been inundated with marketing and advertising that leads us into thinking that this one benefit is the most important of all. Save time working smarter, save time exercising faster, save time doing as many things as you can at once. I used to pride myself on my ability to multi-task like a boss, by the way.

But to bring it back to the subject at hand, we are mesmerized by the promise that we could save time by cooking delicious meals in half the time it would normally take. This is the message that most of these companies sell you on in the first place, and rightly so. It is the message we want to hear. And while it might be true that having all of the ingredients on hand via UPS delivery will save you a trip to the grocery store, there is a much more important, and long-lasting, benefit to using this type of service. One that doesn’t really get acknowledged by anyone on either side of the fence, producer or consumer, but one that is the most important benefit of all.

So, if the point isn’t to save time, then what is it? The point is, in my humble opinion, to learn how to cook. And while this might sound extremely simpleton and obvious, bare with me for a couple more paragraphs if you would.

If you could stop focusing on the time thing for a moment, and instead focus on what is inherently gained from the moments you spend standing at the kitchen counter chopping onions and tenderizing your steaks, then you have an idea of what I’m talking about. It’s like the parable about giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish. Teaching the man to fish has obvious benefits that would serve him long into the future, whereas giving him the fish, while saving him on time, only gives him a short-term reward.

I guess I’m imploring you to change your perspective. If you are somebody who is on the look-out for a way to incorporate healthier meals into your diet, and you know that cooking your own food is one means to this end, then use these services! But don’t expect a ton of time savings. Why? Because you still have to cook.

So instead, expect to learn how to prepare raw chicken super fast. Expect to learn which vegetables taste better roasted versus steamed. Expect to learn how much spice to use in your enchilada sauce. Basically, expect to learn HOW to cook.

Save the meals you love, and discard the ones you don’t. And next time you find yourself sitting at home on the couch, hungry, with nothing planned for dinner, you’ll be that much more willing, AND ABLE, to pull something out of the fridge and actually prepare it. Faster than driving through the drive-thru.

And that is where the time savings really comes in to play.

So rather than always searching for ways to save time, search for ways to enjoy the time you spend. This perspective will serve you far better and far longer than any one-time meal you can make on the quick and the cheap. Invest in yourself by patronizing these meal delivery companies. They are giving you the chance to make cooking a realistic and enjoyable part of your life!

Wondering how to decide which meal-kit delivery service is best? While it will ultimately be determined by your own personal preferences and some good old-fashioned trial and error, my family has been using Blue Apron for years now. They have a great deal of variety, an iOS app that is extremely intuitive (they probably have an Android version as well), and customer service that responds super quick if need be (which was actually only once when they sent me the wrong vegetables and ended up giving me a credit for an entire four-person meal). Oh, and the meals themselves are super tasty. Even my Sous-chef husband can’t hardly complain. As with any service, it would be extremely rare if we loved every single thing we tried, but I’d say 90% of what we receive is a family hit.

The only thing I wish they’d change is the option to deliver two four-person kits of the same meal. I have a big family, and if they are serving up chicken enchiladas as one of their meal choices, I’d love to be able to cook enchiladas for eight and have some left-overs. They do have a work-around for this, but it would be tons easier if the option were offered up-front.

So… one last little story. A couple nights ago, what do you think happened when my daughter asked me to make Chicken Caesar Salad on the fly? Well, thanks to Blue Apron, I was able to buy, tenderize, season, cook, and cube those chicken breasts at nearly the speed of light. No joke. And my Sous-Chef husband ate every last bit of the left-overs later that same evening. Booyah! I think I can safely say I know how to cook, and I owe a ton of that knowledge to Blue Apron, for teaching me what it really means to prepare and appreciate the food I use to nourish myself and my family well.