Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
***
Day 3.
I look up from my laptop just in time to see the van slow to a stop.
It’s here!
I glance furtively around, anxiety building in my throat.
Which neighbors are out? Anyone walking dogs? No, too early. Good.
With schools on break, it’s an unusually low-traffic day on my street.
Satisfied that we’re alone, my eyes find the van, again. The door opens.
It’s him!
He exits the van with the package. I scurry to my front door to peer at him through beveled glass.
Walking up to the house, he’s got a bounce in his step and chats cheerfully on his bluetooth. I’m alarmed at his lack of discretion.
“Shhhhh!” I want to whisper-scream. “Can’t you be a little more, low-profile? Someone might see you!”
He plops the package down on my porch and leaves as quickly as he came.
I collapse in a chair, relieved and exhausted.
We made it.
The eagle has landed.
My weekly shipment of Plated is here.
***
Ack! So embarrassing. It’s got “guilty conscious” written all over it. But it’s true! I received a shipment of Plated on Day 3 of the #costamesa365 challenge. For shame!
I am guilty, guilty, guilty.
The worst part is? I’m getting another Plated next week, too!
I know. It’s bad.
Hear me out, dear readers, and then help me find a Costa Mesa alternative, if you can. I’ve scoured the Mesa and, to the best of my research, a replacement simply does not exist.
But to understand my Plated subscription, let’s go back to where it started:
A few years ago, life got way busier.
The schedule was wall-to-wall with kids (and kid’s activities,) work (and work activities,) social life (and social activities) – and I noticed we were cooking less and less, doing takeout more and more.
Now, I have never been a good cook, anyway. But at least when we were home-cooking regularly, it was healthier. As we started to eat out more often, our food budget kept expanding along with our, er, waistlines.
So I started exploring the world of meal-delivery services! The concept is they deliver fresh, seasonal produce, spices and ingredients – along with recipes – so you can home-cook with the convenience of takeout.
It’s not perfect. It is pricy. But my husband and I joke that paying for Plated is part of our “health insurance” because it keeps us eating well despite our hectic lives.
Sometimes we switch around to different services… a little Blue Apron, a little Purple Carrot… but they are all pretty similar. Convenient, healthy, and decidedly not-Costa Mesan.
I’ve looked all over our city for something similar. No dice. Just can’t find it! I am stuck, stuck, stuck.
So our options are:
- Switch to Costa Mesa takeout,
- Meal plan and cook at home… which will likely devolve into takeout,
- Keep Plated since, hey, we did our due diligence and literally can’t procure a Costa Mesa replacement,
- A fourth alternative I haven’t thought of???
Help, readers! Where do I go from here?
The future girth of a guilty Maven’s muffin-top hangs in the balance.
Tell me, WWYD? ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
