How to use Sun Basket's meal kit service to make delicious healthy dinners at home

Depending on your delivery area, your meals will arrive on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. We receive two boxes each week with three meals for four people. Each box contains the week's recipe booklet, brown paper bags with produce and other ingredients, and the meat positioned on the bottom by the ice pack.

The ice pack will keep your food at a safe temperature for a while, but you should refrigerate your delivery as soon as you can. You can then empty the ice pack into your compost container or trash. The box and insulation are both recyclable in your curbside recycling bin. We also recommend reusing the screw-top containers for bulk spices or to organize small items around the house.

If you don't think you're going to be able to cook your recipes for a few days, I recommend putting the meat in the freezer. The meats are packaged in such a way that they defrost quickly. So, you can take the meat out the day before you plan on using it, and it'll defrost in time to make dinner.

First of all, I've noticed that some of the sauces and dressings are fairly solid in the fridge and more of a liquid at room temperature. Most of the time, you want the sauce to run easily for mixing. Also, the produce tends to be easier to work with when it's warmer. So, I recommend taking your paper bags out of the fridge a couple of hours before you plan on cooking.

Though Sun Basket sends you all of the ingredients for your meal, you do need a few basics that are already found in most kitchens.

• Oil: Sun Basket recommends olive, grapeseed, or sunflower oil, but I'm a big fan of using bacon grease and butter in place of oil, and these have worked just fine in most of the recipes.
• Salt and pepper: Sun Basket recommends freshly-ground pepper, but you can just use the already ground stuff if you prefer.
• Basic pots and pans: I have a great non-stick set from T-fal that has served me well, but you can get away with any large frying pan, small pot, and large pot for most recipes.
• A Knife: I use the Victorinox Swiss Classic 22-Piece Cutlery Block Set, but you really just need a decent chef's knife.
• A cutting board
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Basic utensils: This includes a good wooden spoon for stirring ingredients, some tongs for flipping items, and at one point, a zester came in handy for zesting some limes.

Each recipe specifies which tools and pantry ingredients you'll need. Once you have these extras gathered, you simply follow the directions in the recipe booklet. I may just be slow, but I've found that the meals take a little bit longer to make than the booklet suggests, so plan accordingly. I've also always made the four-person meals for my family so it may go faster if you are just cooking for two.

Also, we strongly recommend getting the kids involved. My 16-year-old was able to follow the directions and cook for us for the first time ever. Sure, it took him two hours, but the food came out excellent, and he had this beaming look of accomplishment on his face. We also got our five-year-old involved thanks to the special "Kids Can" section listed at the end of each recipe, which tells you the steps your child can help with.

If you want more out of your Sun Basket subscription, try the 5-minute salads. Currently, there are five options to choose from: spicy southwestern, protein crunch, rainbow Asian, and kale Caesar.

All of the salads are organic and designed to feed two people, but I’ve found there’s enough to serve the salad as a side during dinner parties. There are also snacks available featuring fresh vegetables and healthy dips.

As with everything you do in the kitchen, have fun! And, don’t be afraid to experiment. Also, remember to save those leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Why spend yet another dinner eating the same takeout when you can impress yourself with your culinary abilities?

We've tested several meal kits already, but stay tuned for more tasty additions soon.

• Best meal kit overall: Terra's Kitchen
• Best meal kit for foodies: Plated
• Best meal kit for sauce lovers: Sun Basket
• Best composed meal kit: Blue Apron
• Best fuss-free meal kit: HelloFresh
• Best comfort food meal kit: Dinnerly
• Best easy vegetarian meal service: Veestro
• Best meal kit in a cup: Daily Harvest