Disclaimer: I was provided a Local Plate meal for two to review for this post. All opinions are my own. See my policies page for more information.
Local Plate Provides ALL the Local Ingredients for a Delicious Meal
I know it isn’t just Portland that is on this trend to try to eat more local and support the local businesses. I’m glad that the trend has been sweeping the nation. I’m not as much as an alarmist as my husband, but I do believe that we will someday need the skills to source our food locally, be able to grow food, and definitely need to know how to cook items instead of having things that have been processed for us.
I was thrilled when Nicholas from Local Plate approached me about their new business providing the ingredients for delicious meals with all locally sourced ingredients. I was even more excited when he said that they deliver! The hard thing about eating locally is finding all the ingredients for a meal in one place. If you are lucky and can think on your feet, you can find local ingredients for entire meals at your local Farmer’s Market. But, I’m not that good. I would have to visit at least three different stores on many occasions to get ALL the ingredients I need from local suppliers. Having the fixings for an entire meal delivered to my door was stinking awesome.
Why would you want ingredients delivered instead of a full meal? This was my first question when I was thinking about whether I would use this service. I mean, I grocery shop every week and purchase ingredients for meals that I cook. If I’m getting something delivered then I’m getting a full meal cooked and ready to go so that I can avoid the kitchen and the mess afterwards. However, after creating this meal, here are my thoughts on the subject: 1. It was a quick meal with all the ingredients and directions. I barely had to do any prep at all and I think I had a delicious, healthy, and local meal out on the table in 30 minutes flat (with photos). 2. It was a meal I had never prepared before! I hadn’t ever made a meal with Tahini sauce and would have had to go out and buy several sauces/spices in order to create this meal at home. I loved that I could try something new without purchasing a large container of sauce or a new spice that I didn’t know if I’d enjoy or ever use again. 3. Boy oh boy, was my husband impressed! I put out this beautiful meal that is nothing like I’d cooked before. It was a a fun surprise for sure. 4. As I said above, it was all local and I didn’t have to drive all over town to get the ingredients.
Would I pay their price? The prices of the meals at Local Plate varied from around $8.50/serving to $10. Often when I am cooking meals at home my ingredients cost around $5 or less/ serving. A restaurant would cost around $12+ per serving (but, someone else would do the cooking and cleaning.) This is a biggie for me and my family… we need affordable food and eat on a budget. It wouldn’t be a service I could do 5 days a week for sure. However, when I want to cook for a dinner party, try something new, or impress the hubby I will certainly be using this service. I calculated how much it would cost me to source all of the ingredients myself and it would have been much more than the $9/serving because I don’t own many of the spices and sauces I used for the dish.
How did it taste? AMAZING. No, seriously, I loved it. I ordered the Sesame Noodles, Oregon Albacore Tuna, and Simple Asparagus and was surprised at the full flavor from such a simple preparation. I am terrible at directions and ended up mixing the tuna into the noodle dish instead of serving it on the side. I’d highly recommend that because the Tahini sauce on the tuna was SO good. They list ALL of their recipes online as well!
How was the portion size? Perfect for our family. The asparagus was just enough for two servings for us veggie loving people. The noodles with arugula and tuna made enough for my husband, child, myself and for leftovers the next day.
When do they deliver? Local Plate provides local delivery free of charge on Mondays and Thursdays. You can also pick up your ingredients on those days if you’d prefer. The delivery comes in an insulated, reusable green bag with an ice pack (just in case you aren’t home). The idea is that you order food and love it so much that you order again, reusing the bags along the way.
How do I try it? Hop on over to the Local Plate website, choose the meal that you want to try, choose the number of servings needed, and follow the directions for purchase. It is SO simple. If you are trying Local Plate for the first time then get 10% off your purchase by using the following coupon code: AAJUL24.
Man, I don’t live in Portland, but that looks amazing! How can I try it? While I can’t get the food delivered to you outside of Portland, the Local Plate website does have all of their recipes listed. So, you can source some local ingredients through your Farmers’ Market or find some quality ingredients from your local grocery store and make them yourself! Seriously try the tuna dish… it is out of this world.
Would you use a Local Ingredient meal supplier? When do you think this service would be great for you?
PS. Don’t forget to get your 10% off for your first try of Local Plate! Use the coupon code: AAJUL24
