If figuring out what to make for dinner each night stresses you out more than going to work in the morning, meal delivery kits can seem like a total godsend. For a fee, subscribers receive recipes and all the ingredients in insulated boxes, rendering mealtime a no-brainer for those who’d rather order food than cook it.

It’s a way to avoid fast food and follow a healthier well-balanced diet. Meal kits can also reduce time required for food shopping and meal prep while helping with portion control and expanding your culinary horizons.

Meal Kits

Chef Lawrence Bangay takes the meal kit to the next step in Barrie, offering gourmet “heat and eat meal kits” through his website Without Reservations. All meals are created with globally inspired flavours and locally sourced ingredients.

“It’s the ultimate convenience food,” Bangay says. “We’ve taken the bulk of the prep work and a whole lot of stress out of dinner time.”

Without Reservations is a small batch, artisan, online food company focused on creating and delivering mouth-watering, sous vide cooked, bistro-inspired fare for home enjoyment from seasonal, local ingredients. Meals are delivered frozen and Bangay says it is “delicious made easy!”

“We give you flexibility and freedom to create meals to your taste. Individually portioned items make it easy to serve food you can feel good about. Even households with multi-diet preferences can eat together with ease.”

The Ontario Farm to Table Dinner Kit is the ultimate comfort food. For example, slow-braised lamb shanks, with roasted garlic, onions and a hit of rosemary served with roasted garlic smashed potatoes and vegetable medley is an affordable option at $22 per serving.

Meal Kits

Without Reservations can even take the stress out of the holiday meal, with the roasted semi-boneless turkey kit. “We separate the turkey legs and breasts and cook them sous vide at their optimal temperatures to ensure a moist turkey every time,” Bangay says. Just drop the pouches into boiling water for the set amount of time and then pop the turkey into the oven for a crispy finish.

“When you do that, you end up with a perfect roast turkey and your house smells wonderful,” says Leslie Parker, Bangay’s partner. “You can’t burn it. You don’t know how cool this is.”

Meal kits are sweeping across North America. It’s the perfect trend for consumers who want to be empowered by cooking but still want convenience. In Canada, the meal kit segment is estimated to be worth around $200 million and growing.

Cravings Fine Food Market and Catering in Barrie, quickly expanded from a home kitchen operation to their location at 131 Commerce Park Drive in Barrie, as the demand for home-cooked delicious meals grew. There is a “Food to Go” counter with a selection of freshly cooked meats, salads, soups and sandwiches. Visiting the frozen food section is a convenient way to stock up on hearty classics like lasagna, pot pies, soups and quiches.

Online options like Chefs Plate, Hello Fresh and Make Good Food will deliver prepared meal kits to the Barrie area, giving you back that most precious of commodities, time.