Welcome to 2019 where meal kit subscription boxes help aid you in your cooking endeavors. Today we’re looking at a new subscription box called Plated. Just like many others out there, this meal kit subscription gives you the option to choose recipes, your delivery date, and even even give you an option to add on a dessert for an additional charge or around 8 USD, which isn’t all that much when you think about it.

Before we get into a full review of Plated as a whole, today we’re reviewing one of the recipes received in my Plated box.

This meal was meant to accompany me on my dog-sitting adventure, so I wasn’t looking for something super fancy or even on the level of “gourmet”. I needed something quick, and often times lettuce wraps are a great option! Because of how simple this meal was, I ended up live streaming my cooking adventure! You can check it out right -> here.

The Pork Lettuce Wraps turned out rather good with some minor hiccups that mainly came from the equipment I had, as well as my lack of experience plating lettuce wraps.

Lettuce Wrap Pro Tip #1 – Use more than 1 lettuce leaf per wrap to form a greater surface area for the filling.

Also, learn from my mistakes!

As the recipe described, everything came together rather quickly, which is perfect on a busy day after work. However, I can say for sure that the directions could be better. Rather than saying a pan or pot, it’s useful to be more descriptive about what kind of pot and pan we should be using. This is especially for newer cooks who may not be readily familiar with what they should be using.

Flavor-wise, the meal was decent. Again, this was a meal that I was jumping for joy over, but it was edible. The ground pork had a interesting flavor combination with soy sauce and dates. Sweet and salty–a pretty good combination.

Going back to my “pro-tip”, I feel like I was given a tip to do this rather than think of it after the fact. Rather than struggling with the leaves, I ended up turning my meal into a salad that I could consume with a fork. That’s about the only recommendation I could make.

Aside from the flavor, the meal arrived safely in its Plated box. All smaller produce were sealed in a plastic bag, and the pork was in its separate container to make sure there was no contamination in the event there was a leak. That storage is actually quite useful in keeping everything you need in one place for a particular recipe–extremely helpful in keeping yourself organized!

Was Plated “On Point”? Would I Make This Again?

Now, that’s a pretty good question. If you’re anywhere on the internet researching healthy meals and healthy alternatives to stuffing everything in a tortilla or spinach wrap, then you’ve seen lettuce wraps. They’re huge right now. There’s no doubt about it. They’re quick and easy, and the flavor combinations are infinite–or somewhere around there. While this recipe was decent, I wouldn’t follow it next time. For example, I’d completely leave out the rice. If you want a low carb wrap–definitely leave out the rice. There’s no need for it.

But would I make lettuce wraps again with the flavoring included in the pork (soy sauce and dates)? Sure! The combination of sweet and salty was pleasant and I’d definitely try that again, perhaps with another fruit!

Grey’s Grade: 3.5/5

While the recipe was simple to follow, the flavor wasn’t something that left me jumping for joy. I wasn’t excited to try it again, and honestly I would have been alright if I hadn’t tried it. Okay, it wasn’t TERRIBLE, but it wasn’t all the impressive. However, would I recommend making lettuce wraps? Of course. They are a great substitute to bread, buns, tortillas, etc.

I’d recommend experimenting with fillings to make lettuce wraps fun and tasty.

Stick around for more reviews of Plated recipes as well as a complete written and recorded review of this subscription box!

As always, have a wonderful day and happy nomming!

-Grey