Will you Make and Take?

Rochester has 4 of the Make and Take Gourment franchises. These are located Webster, East Rochester, Henrietta, and Victor.  Lately I have had heard a lot of people buzzing about this as a productive girls night out activity.  Several clients have asked me what I know about the food; taste, financial value and nutritional value.  It is time I took a closer look.   I was warmly greeted  when I stopped by the Webster location to pick up a copy of the menu and prices.  I asked if they had the nutrition values for the different meals and I was informed that it was available online. 

Nutritional insights:  On the printed menu for July and August, Make and Take Gourmet listed 8 dishes out of 19 as “Lite.” I took some time to look a little more closely at just how “lite” a few of the meals that appealed to my tastes were.  I was a little shocked to see the fat and saturated fat contents in the “lite” meals.  However, when I went to Make and Take Gourmet to prepare the meals I found that there are suggestions listed on the recipes to reduce the fat, like cutting the butter in half. I think the only thing that could improve the nutritional content of the meals would be allowing the customer to choose a few more lighter options, like mayo, cream cheese, and cottage cheese.  Just something to think about. 

Tuesday I  took my kids, Mason and Anna to Make and Take Gourmet in Webster to prepare a few meals.  This was such a great time!   Our family loves good flavor, and we try to make healthy choices when possible so we cut back on the butter and choose the lighter options when possible. 

I am so pleased that Make and Take Gourmet encourages children to participate, on their website it says:

Can I bring my kids?
We encourage and welcome you to bring your kids with you to help make your meals. Cooking with your child is a great chance to spend some quality time together – and they really enjoy it. We’ve also found that the kids get excited about trying new foods. There is no age limit for kids coming in, but it is easier for them if they are tall enough to be able to see into the food stations.

I also used this opportunity with the kids to teach them a little bit about protein, fats and carbs and why they are all important.  It is my hope that the kids will embrace some of the new flavors in the dishes because they made them. 

Financial thoughts: This is what Make and Take Gourmet has to say in their FAQ

How can Make and Take Gourmet save me money?
Because of our buying power, Make and Take Gourmet can substantially cut your food budget, while still saving you time and energy! And when you factor in the extensiveness of your grocery list for all the ingredients of 12 main course meals, the waste of unused ingredients, and the time to shop, chop and clean up, there is no doubt what a savings and convenience this really is.

Will this really save time?
Let’s see…the average drive to the grocery store is ten minutes…the average stop at the grocery store is 45 minutes…the average time for unloading and putting away the groceries is 15 minutes…the average time for food preparation is 45 minutes…the average clean-up time is 15 minutes…and that was just for dinner for one night. What can you do with an extra two hours each day?

The kids and I choose to make 8, 2-3 serving meals and bought 3 more (2 from the freezer sale @ $10 each)  our total was $130 (on average the meals came to $11.81).  I guess I am a little concerned that this is a little pricey to make it an addition to our lifestyle.  So let me break it down a little.  Each dish came with 3 chicken breasts (weighed at home about 10 ounces) or 3 pork chops and the remaining ingredients to complete the dish.  Now at Wegmans you can buy chicken breasts or $2.49/lb that are not trimmed of fat.  So all in all we will say the chicken breasts were a value of $2.49, leaving $9.32.  I feel that the convenience of making the meal without any grocery shopping, chopping or dicing of ingredients and cleanup is probably worth about $5/meal.  This leaves $4.32 for the remaining ingredients.  Now some of the meals contain ingredients that I would not normally have in my pantry or that are a little more expensive (like fresh ginger root) and only require a small amount.   Is it worth it?  I think it is reasonable to incorporate 6 meals a month for $75. 

Taste check:  I like the variety of the flavors that Make and Take Gourmet will allow my family to experience.  After we have tried a few of the meals I will post again, stay tuned.