Now that I'm at home all the time, I finally have the opportunity to pick up a new hobby. One thing I've always wanted to be really good at is cooking, but I've just never had the time to learn and practice until now. I always relied on going out to eat and ordering take out, or just relied on super easy recipes like pasta.

I decided to look up recipes, but I didn't know where to start. Everything I looked at was super intimidating, with ingredients I'd never even heard of and wouldn't know where to find in the store. Plus, I was trying to avoid the grocery stores as much as possible and definitely didn't want to be spending more time there than I had to, wandering around looking for Juniper Berry spice. What even is that?!

I was beginning to think that maybe learning to cook during this time wouldn't be as achievable as I'd hoped. I FaceTimed my best friend who loves to cook to ask her for advice and she said she recently signed up for a meal kit called Green Chef. Using Green Chef, she didn't have to go to the store nearly as much.

Green Chef delivers recipes and ingredients right to your doorstep every week. This sounded super convenient, but would the recipes be suitable for beginners like me? My friend insisted that the recipes were super easy to follow, she even had her kids helping her.

So with that, I decided to check it out. I went on their website and saw how many recipes and plans they had. I was excited. They literally have a plan for any diet--Keto, Paleo, Plant-Powered, Balanced-Living, and Family plans. I went with their Balanced Living plan. There are so many different cuisines from all over the world, and I personally couldn't wait to try the Mongolian Shaved Steak Bowl.

Plus, I read that meal kits have a significantly lower carbon footprint than meals from the grocery store. Green Chef uses recycled, reusable, or compostable materials for packaging without compromising food safety or quality. They are members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and have partnered with Plastic Bank to offset any packaging used to ensure they stay as green as possible. They also offset their carbon emissions partnering with Terrapass.

Not to mention the fact that they're the first USDA Certified Organic Meal Kit Company. They work with local farmers to provide the freshest and highest quality produce, so all their ingredients are sustainable, traceable, and GMO-free. I've really been trying to cut out GMO foods recently, so I decided to sign up and get 3 recipes per week to start. Plus, there would be less food waste because I would be getting exactly what I needed. Knowing all of this goodness was what I was signing up to cook and nourish myself with, $11.99 per serving for the plan I chose seemed really reasonable.

In a few days my first box arrived and I couldn't wait to cook my first homemade dinner that evening. When I opened the box, I was relieved to see that all the ingredients were perfectly portioned out for me. I didn't have to do any measuring at all! Plus, the recipe cards were super clear and easy to follow. My first meal was the Roasted Mediterranean Shrimp, and to my surprise, it was delicious! I'd never really cooked shrimp at home, so I liked how Green Chef had me trying different foods.

The other meals that week went really well too - White Bean Ratatouille, and the Cilantro Mojo Chicken Tacos were my personal favorites. I couldn't believe how Green Chef made cooking amazing meals so easy. When I sent my friends photos of the meals, they couldn't believe it was me that made them.

I'd recommend Green Chef to anyone who wants to learn how to cook or learn new recipes, or anyone who wants to avoid the grocery store as much as possible.

Update: Our friends at Green Chef are extending a special offer to our readers. Follow this link to get $60 off + FREE shipping!