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Let’s Dish!: The savings might surprise you.

Boston Globe: Rising Cost of Groceries GraphicGas station. Coffeeshop. Dry cleaners. Just about any place you open your purse or wallet these days, you’re spending more than ever. This is especially true when it comes to shopping for food. According to a report from the Department of Labor (cited in the Boston Globe), a year-on-year increase in food prices like this hasn’t been seen in nearly two decades. Eggs are up 60%, pasta 30%, fruits 20%, and vegetables 20% versus last year – just to name a few examples.

So where does a family turn when faced with these economic challenges at the dinner table? Let’s Dish! is part of the solution. When you compare our costs to what you’d spend at grocery, you’ll find that the more you dish, the more you save. In fact, to illustrate just how much we save our dishers, we recently did a comparison of grocery costs vs. dishing costs for two of our most popular menu items (cited in a previous blog): Thai-Marinated Flank Steak and Mahi Mahi with Red Ancho Marinade.

The savings might surprise you. Here are some of the highlights:

  • If you bought all the ingredients at a grocery chain, you’d spend up to 7% more per serving than you do at a Let’s Dish! in-store session.
  • Those leftover ingredients not only clutter your pantry but they create additional costs. That Red Ancho Marinade, for example… you only need $0.69 worth (or 2 TBS) but the grocery store charges $9.95 for one 14.4 oz jar!
  • Check the price of flank steak recently? We can offer you the entire, marinated meal for close to the same price as steak alone!

Accounting for waste, Let’s Dish! can save you almost 50% vs making it yourself. And who wants to go through all that shopping and chopping hassle, just to spend more money than you would by dishing?! Check out the numbers for yourself. We think you’ll agree there’s no better (or more economical) way to put dinner on the table than with Let’s Dish!.

Don’t let rising food costs force your family into unhealthy dinner choices. Let’s Dish! is convenient, healthy, and always a great value.

Jeremy’s Signature

RECOMMENDED LINKS:
> “Surging costs of groceries hit home“: Boston Globe article cited above. Graphic (right) in post courtesy of the Globe.
> “More time and money are just a dish away

> Kid-Friendly Let’s Dish! Meals featured on WUSA9

FREE Delivery for New Moms!

Let’s Dish! bibLet’s face it - when you are a new mom, the first three months are bliss and a blur, full of sweet cuddles and sleep deprivation. That special time with your new baby is wonderful - but, unbelievably, the rest of the world keeps on moving and expects you to keep up! You’ve got a house to keep in order, a family to feed and take care of (especially if there are other kids), shopping and errands to do, outside responsibilities to fulfill (which may include a job!) and - oh, yes - that sweet new baby to tend to every minute of the day - whew! This hazy period of my life solidified my overarching philosophy on motherhood (sorry, Nietzsche!) : “That which does not kill you makes you a better mom!”

So, new Moms, would you like some help with dinner? Or, how about with three months of dinner? Here’s a special offer from Let’s Dish! just for you.

FREE Delivery from Let’s Dish! for new moms
Let’s Dish!
has a special delivery for new mothers: FREE DishDelivery for three months after your baby is born! That’s right, with our “You Deliver, DishDelivers! offer, we’ll waive all delivery fees on 8-meal DishDelivery orders placed within the first three months after you have a baby. You can select your meals from our monthly menu and order from all Let’s Dish! locations in Maryland and Northern Virginia - then, the meals are delivered right to your door.*

Eight (or more) easy and delicious meals without leaving the house - now that’s a new mom’s dream come true! Here’s how to qualify for our “You Deliver, DishDelivers” offer:

  • Simply email newmoms@letsdish.net to set up your own unique promotional code that will waive the delivery fee.
  • New moms must provide proof of baby’s birth date (via email or brought into your nearest Let’s Dish! store) to qualify for the promotion.
  • This offer is valid for 90 days from your baby’s date of birth. (So, don’t delay in emailing us - it is three months from your baby’s birthdate, not three months from when you contact us. So, ask your friends, family and “baby daddy” to remind you - it’s worth the effort!)
  • This offer applies to 8-meal DishDelivery sessions only and is a savings of $25 on every order!

We know our healthy, delicious meals are a help during challenging times - and let’s face it, new moms need all the help they can get!

ShareThisSpread the word! Pass this offer on to other new moms - Email This Post Email This Post or use our ShareThis tool below and share the offer on all your favorite social-networking sites!

Corcoran FamilyAs a co-owner of Let’s Dish! and mother of two, I hope all you new moms in the mid-Atlantic can take advantage of this special offer. Speaking from experience, I barely remember stumbling through those first months - and we had not yet opened our Let’s Dish! stores so I was in the same boat as everyone else! I’d try to look and act like a coherent, put-together woman instead of the exhausted, two-under-two-mom I was. And, when my second decided she wouldn’t sleep through the night until she was eight-months old, to say I missed sleep is a massive understatement. Hibernating bears would have nothing on me if I could have found a dark room and a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Here’s a pic of me on *the day* I would have contacted Let’s Dish! for my much-needed You Deliver, DishDelivers offer! :-)

Wishing you a doorstep full of DishDelivery and as many hours of sleep as you can get - and look forward to dishing with for you soon!

Alexa’s Signature

RECOMMENDED LINKS:
> Kid-Friendly Let’s Dish! Meals featured on WUSA9
> See the Let’s Dish! Menus and Sign up for DishDelivery today!
> Wow the crowds at home and on vacation
>
DishDelivery to the Summer Vacation Rescue!

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*Offer not valid on in-store or Dish-n-Dash sessions. Offer valid for exactly 90 days from baby’s birth date. No exceptions or extensions will be made. You Deliver, DishDelivers promotion launches June 3rd, 2008. Babies born more than 90 days prior to June 3rd are not eligible. Offer cannot be applied to previously-booked sessions or combined with other offers. Delivery fee covers cost of delivery within the Mid-Atlantic covered zones covered by DishDelivery only. Visit letsdish.com for details on eligible delivery areas.

DishDelivery to the summer vacation rescue!

Let’s Dish! was featured on Beltway Gourmet this morning as WBAL’s Doug Roberts talked with us about preparing meals for vacation. Roberts asks the question: “While the rest of your gang is having lots of summer vacation fun, how much time are you going to spend planning and shopping and preparing all those meals?

DishDeliveryOur answer: DishDelivery!

Roberts lets folks know that all they have to do is head to Let’s Dish! for meals and “you’re good to go!” In his interview, he features our Baltimore store, but don’t dismay - DishDelivery is offered at all our Let’s Dish! stores in the mid-Atlantic, so you can order and *finally* get that relaxing summer vacation!*

Co-owner Rick Corcoran explains how it all works and why this has become one of the most convenient ways to “dish” and benefit from healthy, delicious and already-prepared meals at home or on vacation. Order online and have your meals delivered to the beach - it couldn’t be easier! And, Julie Linz was in Timonium to dish on a crumptious salmon recipe on May’s menu.

The real proof of the convenience of DishDelivery is shared by Let’s Dish! customers, Tracy Pohlhaus and Kay Carney. Traci is having her meals delivered to the beach house - and going green with her saved space by downsizing the car they use to get there. Kay echoes her sentiment: “Now I don’t even have to go and pack the things in my car…they’ll bring them right to me! How much easier could it be?”

So, take a listen and find out more about our NEW delivery option. It’s DishDelivery to the summer vacation rescue!

We RecommendBeltway Gourmet on WBAL AM 1090
(Dave Durian and the Morning Team, Interview by Doug Roberts)

Alexa’s Signature
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RELATED LINKS:
> DishDelivery for Mother’s Day: Make your Mom’s day even brighter
> Learn all about DishDelivery
> Sign up for a DishDelivery now
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*Let’s Dish! locations referred to in Food for Thought post are: Baltimore, Bel Air, Columbia, Gaithersburg, and Rockville, MD and Alexandria, Ashburn, Fairfax and Leesburg, VA. Let’s Dish! is currently offering corporate programs, including delivery, in the mid-Atlantic region. For more information, please email Food for Thought.

More time and money is just a “dish” away.

No matter where you’re getting dinner, it’s hard to find a better value than Let’s Dish!. You can efficiently make dinner at a terrific cost per serving. Who wouldn’t like MORE time and money?!

With the busy lives we lead these days, time is precious. And, it’s about more than a few extra minutes during the day tackle your “to do” list. It’s quality time to spend and enjoy - or a little bonus time to work on a special project or even pick up a new hobby. Plus, when is the last time you put a value on your time? In a world where an hour is very valuable personally and professionally, you should calculate how much your time is worth. One or two hours invested making meals at Let’s Dish! earns you back a whole lot more when you don’t have to shop, chop or prep dinner.

Let’s Dish! is the smart alternative

Now, let’s review the savings:
First, we showed you how Let’s Dish! is less expensive than dining out at a casual restaurant. You’d probably guess that our meals are a better value than dinner at…say, Chili’s… but did you realize that on a typical Let’s Dish! menu, you’d SAVE anywhere from $7 to $15 dollars per person. Multiply that time six and you’re saving $42 to a whopping $90 on ONE meal! Next, we compared Let’s Dish! to cooking from scratch. In a comparison of two meals, you could save up to 50% over shopping and preparing the meal yourself.

Time Magazine agrees: “The other nice thing was the price… clip as many coupons as you want, but you can never make a dinner as cheaply as these kitchens can…” (1/31/08 report on meal assembly industry: “Outsourced Home Cooking”)

So, here’s the summary: more time and money is just a “dish” away.

Come on in for a session!

Jeremy’s Signature

RELATED LINKS:
> See how much you save with Let’s Dish!

> Cost comparison: Save up to 50% over cooking from scratch

> FOX News: Food Costs Rising Fastest in 17 Years, Squeezing Poor Families

> Mom’s new battle: The Food Price Bulge: Read how families are creating new ways to stretch their monthly grocery budget

> Soaring Food Costs: Share your story: Tell CNNMoney.com how Let’s Dish! lets you enjoy healthy, family meals at a great economic value

We Recommend: Cutting Down on Catalogs

For a fresh idea on spring cleaning, here’s a great article from the The Wall Street Journal on how to cut down on the catalogs you receive in the mail. It’s not only going to save you time and clutter, but your sanity as well - who needs all that sorting! Plus, you can “do right” by those trees - it’s the green thing to do.

We at Let’s Dish! are also committed to saving your sanity as well by making sure all the information you need to “dish” is online at www.letsdish.com. Did you know you can find:

  • Monthly menus for up to two months
  • Nutrition facts, cooking instructions, ingredients and dietary modification options for each dish
  • Special offers and events for your local Let’s Dish! store
  • A chance to earn unlimited discounts when you Refer-A-Disher to Let’s Dish!
  • The opportunity to opt in to receive promotions and news via email

So, while you may occasionally receive a coupon in the mail (and we’ve heard you don’t mind these little postcards), we’ve put in all on letsdish.com for you. It’s information at your fingertips - at the office, at a friend’s house, or even at home in your jammies!

Click to continue reading “We Recommend: Cutting Down on Catalogs”

Tip of the Day: How To Keep Food Fresh

Consumer Reports is a valuable resource for so many savvy shoppers out there. But did you know they give advice on more than cars and electronics?!

Follow the link to read their “Tip of the Day” on how to keep food fresh, posted on the Consumer Reports Home and Garden blog. And, don’t forget, to keep your Let’s Dish! meals fresh, always follow the label instructions and be sure your packaging stays sealed in your freezer and fridge when thawing. As you can read, all foods - including meat, poultry and fish - can maintain its flavor and freshness if you use the proper storage.

Click to continue reading “Tip of the Day: How To Keep Food Fresh”