I recently ventured into the world of meal subscription services with HelloFresh, but wanted to see what else was out there, so next on my to-try list was Gobble. Again, this service was chosen based on the recommendation of friends. Gobble promises convenient, fast, and easy recipes with using farm-fresh food that is locally sourced, using fresh produce and hormone-free proteins. All of the recipes are created by celebrity chef Michael Mina’s protégé, Thomas Ricci.

Plans: 3 dinner kits for two (6 meals per week), or 3 dinner kits for four (12 meals per week).
Price: $11.95 per meal (per meal = per person) if you order 6 or more meals, and $13.95 per meal if you only order 4 meals.

After spending more time than I would’ve liked cooking the HelloFresh meals, I went into this with a fair amount of skepticism. After we got the box, I even said to my husband, “I’m really not in the mood to cook tonight.” Imagine my surprise when I read the recipe card and it said “10-minute dinner.” Did I read that right?? I spent a few minutes reading and re-reading the instructions to make sure I understood the words “10 MINUTE DINNER” correctly. Are they sure they didn’t mean just the prep time? But nope, they indeed promise 10 minute dinners from start to finish, and I was actually pretty close to hitting that 10 minute mark. All my meals took no more than 15 minutes to make, but they tasted like I had spent at least an hour in the kitchen!

First impressions: The box came past dinnertime on the day I requested it to be delivered. I was a little disappointed because I had not planned for dinner that night, so we were left scrounging. However, they do have a 12-hour delivery window between 8 am and 8 pm, so they did deliver within the promised timeframe. One thing I didn’t like was that when I placed my order online, I was only given a choice between Tuesday or Saturday for delivery. Ideally, I would’ve wanted my delivery to be on a Monday, but was not given that as an option.

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Gobble had all produce and sauces separated out into gallon-sized ziploc bags, clearly labeled with what meal it is for. The proteins were packaged separately. The recipe cards were sturdy and small. They had a description of the meal, the supplies needed, the recipe ingredients, and a fun “did you know?” fact on one side along with picture of what your finished meal should look like. The other side contained the instructions. I noticed that their recipe cards did not indicate exact portion sizes of each ingredient (e.g. how many ounces, how many teaspoons, etc.).

Some of the ingredients are pre-cooked, and often times, ingredients were even pre-chopped, and spices pre-mixed for you. This takes a lot of the work out for you, and is also why it is possible to cook these meals within 10 minutes. Cooking these meals is actually faster than ordering take-out or grabbing fast food, but they’re a whole lot healthier and taste a ton better.

Meal #1 – Brown Sugar Crusted Salmon with Smashed Avocado & Tomato Vinaigrette

I devoured this dish like a hungry madwoman. It was AMAZING. If I had ordered this at a restaurant, I would go back and order it again. It was really filling too since it was chock full of healthy fats from the salmon and avocado. I’m still dreaming and salivating over this dish a week later. The cooking times were spot on too! I hate overcooked fish with a passion, so I’m always hesitant to order fish. I cooked the salmon exactly as instructed, and it came out perfectly moist and flaky. This dish made me an instant fan of Gobble.

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Mine versus Gobble

Meal #2 – Blackened Prime Sirloin Steak with Mashed Potatoes & Baby Carrots

Another restaurant-quality, flavor popping dish. The charred carrots, perfectly cooked steak topped with chipotle butter, and mashed potatoes mixed with a mild poblano pepper/corn mixture were all ridiculously good.

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Mine versus Gobble

Meal #3 – Country Captain Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice

Although this was our least favorite dish of the three, it was still really good!  The country captain sauce used to make this dish was pre-made, so I didn’t have to do anything but cut it open and toss it into the pan. The coconut flavor in the coconut rice was very subtle, so did not overpower the dish, but still added a unique flavor profile to the meal. This meal was so hearty and satisfying, and I would happily eat this again.

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Mine versus Gobble

I honestly wasn’t sure any meal subscription service could win me over, but Gobble succeeded  It is a little pricier than HelloFresh, but it’s worth it! I’d gladly pay the extra $2 per meal for dishes like these. 15 minute meals, with minimal prep-work and clean-up, that taste AMAAAZIIING. Sign me up right now! Every dish had a unique element to it that I would’ve been unlikely to try on my own. Meal #1 had the pearl couscous, meal #2 had the poblano peppers & corn as well as the chipotle butter, and meal #3 had me cooking with currants.

If you’re like me and want healthy, flavorful foods that require minimal prep and very short cooking times, then Gobble is for you! Gobble really kept the busy, modern-day parent in mind when crafting their meals, and succeeded!

I have one more meal subscription service to try, but I am already pretty ready to commit to Gobble. Have you tried multiple meal subscription services?  Which is your favorite and why?