Dinner by Design

If you live near Homer Glen or La Grange, there is an even better place called The Dinner Club. Same concept, but several people that I know have gone to both D by D and The DC and all prefer The DC. They won't allow children under 12 though, and I agree that it wouldn't work well with a child.

Hello, I'm probably the one that talked to you on the phone when you called Dinner by Design. We do also have staff prepared mini meals that only serves 3 people. You just call in ahead, choose the meals, you come and pick them up. We use 4, 5 , and 6 oz chicken breasts (depending on the type of dish we are making, Our pork chops are 5 to 6 oz @, these are not skimpy portions. We have a family of 5, my husband, myself, a 12 year old and two 10 year old boys. A full size meal is definitly large enough for my gang and I usually have an extra serving to bring for the lunch the next day. We use top quality ingrediants that are fresh, we do not add any addiditonal preservatives, you can adjust the spices and salts etc., to match the needs of your familys likes and health needs. We only purchase the best quality. It works out to approx. $3.33 per serving. If you add a vegtable or a side potatoe from our freezer you get a full meal for approx. $4.50 a person. You can't even get a meal from a fast food chain for that, and you can't even compare the quality, health, convenience of eating real food. It only take 1 hour to make up 6 meals, each feeding 6 people. The mini meal of 6 meals, that feeds 3 people is only $69.00 and is made up just for you.
Monday is our meal deal, purchase 1 full size meal, or two mini meals from our freezer and get a free smart size veggie or rice. Make it a full meal and purchase a potatoe side dish for $2.00 off the regular price. The more you purchase the cheaper it is. We have 6, 9, and 12 meal packages and you can order as many or as often as you like. The To Go Freezer case is available to purchase from anytime. Our web site is www.dinnerbydesignkitchen.com and choose the McHenry Location to get our pricing and meal infor. Our menus change the beginning of each month and as always have 15 entrees to choose from with pork, chicken, turkey, beef, fish and a veggietatian also.
I hope you give us a try, you will not be disappointed. If you sign up for our e-mail constant contact we send out weekly deal coupons, for BOGO's, half off prep, free prep, get free sides etc.
We hope to see you soon. If you need more answers just call us at ###-###-#### M 10 - 6:30pm and T-F 9 to 6:30 and Sat. 10 to 2. We are open in the evening for sessions. See the web site for details. We also have a hostess party so you and friends can come in and make up a mini meal to try it. Call the kitchen for more detail.

M.

I do the Dinner Club in LaGrange. I try to go every 2-3 months, and usually split the 12 meal package with my sister. Each meal feeds 4-6 people, so since it is only my husband and I that eat them cause our kids are too little, I will split them again and get 10-12 meals. They are prepared fresh and then frozen with easy instructions to make them in a skillet or oven. So it is great when we come home from work and need to eat within a 1/2 hour. What is also great is you prep at the Dinner Club, so no need for all the extra spices (which are costly), and then clean up all the dishes. My sister had a Dinner Club party and there was 10 ladies with appetizers and bottles of wine. We made a girls night out of it -- definitely not a place for children. If you look at the cost, you would pay more ordering out, and it isn't fast food.

I've been doing DBD for the past 2 years and LOVE it! We never eat out/order out during the week and some nights I literally have half an hour to make dinner! It's SO much healthier than buying pre-made dinners or boxed meals from the store as there are no preservatives. It's all made fresh and then frozen. I usually take advantage of their free assembly specials and save even more time. (I use the one in Crystal Lake...the owner is very accomodating) We have a family of 3 (13 year old son) and we always get 2 meals out of the full-size and more out of the pasta. I think you save in the long run because you're not buying any spices or odd ingredients you might not normally have, you get a huge variety, you save time and are eating healthier! Between DBD and Market Day I can assure my family is eating a decent meal every night and that's well worth the price! The only down side is you may occasionally get something you don't really like, but that's the same with any new recipe you try. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Hi T., We have been doing DBD for over a year now. The half sized portions feed me, my husband and 6 yr old twins. I suppose it depend on how much you are eating. We usually make a salad and a side that are not DBD. I think the side are over priced. The convience factor is huge for us and the variety has been great too. Some months we get 12 and half that, it lasts us for 2 months. We don't eat them evey night, usually 2 -3 a week. As for cost I try to pick entree that are worth the 20 bucks. I won't pay that for the pasta dishes, but it's worth it for the beef and some of the others. In many of the dishes you prepare yourself you can add a little more meat or vegies and stry from the exact receipe to make it like you and your family would like it. Hope this helps. I would definately try it and see if it works for your family!

Hi T.! If you want to have the "experience" without the high cost I can invite you to one of my Make and Takes. I own a Home Based Business called Homemade Gourmet where I do Make and Takes once a month in my home. It cost an average of $22 for 4 meals and $30 for 6 meals. The meals are predetermined each month and I send out the menu and then you decide if you want to come or not. The way the cost stays so low is that I provide the canned goods, seasonings, and add ins and you add your own meat. That way you can shop sales, bulk, club stores or whatever you want to keep the cost down. Most of the meals you can do 6-8 chicken breasts and end up with leftovers and a full family. In your case, each meal can be divided into 2 seperate bags since you are only 2.5 (my family is too and that's what I do) Children are welcome and can help you. I've even done mother/daughter events. If you want to check out my website it is www.homemadegourmet.com/amy22885. and if you would like to be added to my newletter so you can get the menu's just send me your e-mail address.

The company is all about saving people money!!! We have been featured on National TV 3 different times in the past month showing people how to make our meals in advance, how to save money, and our business opportunity. I can send you those links so you can see what its all about if you like.

I have not done the classes but I have purchased the frozen foods and for the cost I was not impressed. I would rather buy from Trader Joe's.

I'm surprised they are letting you bring your daughter. They had a very strict no children under 12 policy when I went. I saw women turned away....

Most of the food is quite good. You definitely need substantial sides as some of the chicken / fish portions are on the small side. Half portions fed myself, my husband and my then 1 year old daughter. I don't know if it would be enough now that she is almost 3 and eats anything and everything.

It did not save on our grocery bills at all. If you really break the cost down, it is still pretty expensive for what you actually get. It certainly does add a good variety to your diet and saves you from purchasing all the spices, etc. You still need to buy all the sides, etc, and if you eat the dinner by design stuff every night, it won't last as long as you think.

We tried it once so far with the mini portions for 2 adults and one kid (other one still eats babyfood) and liked it. If you compare to grocery shopping and cooking yourself, you probably don't save money, but if you compare to getting take-out, I think you do. And it's convenient- for the mini portions, I just ordered online and picked them up after work already prepared. The food was good- we enjoyed trying new things.
And once you're on their mailing list, you'll receive notices for deals and sales, usually for food already in their to-go freezer.

They were ok with me bringing my youngest, but I just brought a DVD player and had him watch a movie and I went in the morning. I only did it once.

It's too expensive for my family. You figure it's about $20 an entree and then you have to add more food to your meal. It's not enough food for all my kids. We will have a 3 pound roast and there won't be any leftovers. It's good to have if you are really busy or if your kids don't eat much. I have gotten it when I was coaching basketball and didn't have time to cook.

The meals are ok. I took the easy way out and had them make them for me. I always get emails saying if I order early enough in the month they will make them for me for free.

It didn't save me any money because the meals are too expensive.
M.

I was at my DBD yesterday. They offer buy one full meal for 21.99 (serves 5-6) and get one half off only on Tues/Thurs. I got four full meals which really serves us for 8 meals (three people family) for about $65. Not bad if you ask me. All the locations are franchises so I don't know about the deal being at all locations but I bet the location closest to you has some deals. Good luck!

I have been doing Dinner by Design for a year now, and given our family situation it is perfect. I've also attributed weight loss to making healthy selections from their menus (they provide all the nutritional information for you).

My husband works LONG hours. We live on the south side and I work on the north shore, so by the time I pick up my child I'm not home until 5:00 at the earliest. I get up at 4:45 am. By the time I get home, I am so exhausted that preparing a meal is the last thing I want to do! Chopping vegetables, measuring spices, using a tiny bit of an ingredient that will only be used once, AND having to clean up the kitchen...well, I'm willing to pay a bit more for the convenience of not having to do that. I come home, pop dinner in the oven, cook it on the stove, or grill it, and it's done.

I get the 12 meal plan and half size everything. Basically that means that I get 24 meals a month, so I cook 6 nights a week and then on Saturday we do pizza night. The cost for my 24 meals is $240 or $10 a meal. You get 3 servings in a half meal (3 pieces of chicken, fish, etc.). It's built-in portion control - you're not stuffing your face or overeating! I usually serve the meal with a vegetable, salad, and fruit for dessert. For our family, it is enough food but we do live in a society where people are used to 'super portions' and expect a gargantuan piece of chicken, so I can see how DbyD would disappoint some.

I usually do my sessions on a Saturday morning, and quite frankly, would never take my 2 year old son. First of all, this is kind of 'my time' and secondly, some months it takes me well over 2 hours to assemble the 24 meals. I can't imagine my son being patient or attentive during all of this.

For my family it is a matter of convenience. To me, it seems only slightly more expensive to go the DbyD route. It also has cut down on the "I'm too tired to cook, let's just go out or order in" which is definitely more expensive and definitely less healthy. I want to eat healthy food that tastes good, is 'fuss free', and has little to no processed food involved. I also make my selections based on calories, sodium, and cost (I typically keep in mind the $10 it costs to make a meal or $3.37 per entree). The rotation of meals is such that we only eat a particular dinner 2-4 times a year!

I've gotten a few sides but our family didn't like them. They also seemed to be overpriced.

Please feel free to send me a PM if you have more questions. As a working mother who rises with the chickens and doesn't get home until later, this has been a perfect option.