Susan's Healthy Gourmet

My dear friends Kim and Anne sent Jason and I a surprise gift last month: a gift certificate for free dinners delivered ready-to-eat, straight to our door, from a company based here in southern California called Susan's Healthy Gourmet.

As this is our first week in our new home - and much of what we own is still in boxes - I decided to put Susan and her "fresh, healthy meals" to the test and ordered dinner for seven nights beginning yesterday.

A week's worth of dinners are split into two separate deliveries, one on Sunday and one on Wednesday. You choose your meals by visiting the company's website and reviewing their menu for the week, which gives you the option of choosing either their meal of the day or a variety of entrees that are available any day of the week. Entrees are priced based on the portion size (ranging in a variety of calories counts) and there are also vegetarian and low carb options. And in addition to dinner, you can order breakfast items, lunches, snacks, and desserts.

The meals come individually packaged and just need to be reheated - this is one entree for one person (I ordered two of each for me and Jason):

And this was our dinner tonight - mexican lasagna, spinach with almonds, and strawberry rhubarb crumble. Pull it out of the plastic packaging, reheat on an actual plate, and suddenly you have a complete meal that looks quite appetizing!


We've eaten our first two dinners and so far I am impressed. The food tastes like it was prepared here in our kitchen, not like a microwaveable meal. Last night we had chicken provencal with sugar snap peas and zucchini, and even after being microwaved the vegetables were still very crisp.

So thanks to Kim and Anne, our gourmet menu for the week is as follows:

• Sunday: Chicken Provencal with sugar snap peas, zucchini, and warm cinnamon apples


• Monday: Mexican lasagna made with chicken, tortillas, corn, black beans, and green and red pepper, with sides of spinach and strawberry rhubarb crumble


• Tuesday: Pot roast with mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrots


• Wednesday: Gouda stuffed chicken with sugar snap peas and butternut squash


• Thursday: Chicken and spinach lasagna with cauliflower and lima beans


• Friday: Poblano chicken and Jarlsberg enchiladas with tomatillo salsa


• Saturday: Hungarian beef goulash with sugar snap peas and butternut squash

One of the most thoughtful gifts we've ever received!