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I was recently invited to a Wildtree Freezer Meal Workshop night by a friend of mine. It’s sort of like the old time Tupperware parties but instead of coming home with a bunch of plastic containers your kids will use as sandbox toys, you come home with 10 family meals ready to go in the freezer. Since I am always looking to figure out how to keep us from dialing up taking out, I thought “sure, why not?”. I called up the Wildtree rep and paid my $60 which was $10 off because I signed up with a friend. The rep, Laura, said more information would be on the way.
A few days later I get a bright and sunny email with pre-party instructions and it was at that point I realized why I should have probably said “no way, Jose” instead of “sure, why not“. But at this point I am $60 in and I figure it can’t be all that bad. So, I printed my list and went off to Target of all places. I was tired and wasn’t thinking. I spent $150 on meats and vegetables and ziplock bags and then came home to prep this stuff. I spent the afternoon cussing and cutting my chicken, pork, beef, shrimp and sausage. I diced 7 onions. I packed ziplocks with all the right meats and vegetables in numbered bags and then I packed it all in a cooler and waited for my friend to pick me up in her truck so we had room for all the coolers coming. There were 3 of us carpooling that day.
These are just some of the additional items you will need to buy:
We got to our Wildtree reps house and had a small area assigned to each of us about the size of a table placemat. It was a CUTE house but the work space for 9 people was small and I was exhausted from shopping and prepping all this food all day so I was probably a little more crabby than usual. Suzanne from Crunchy Green Mom suggested if you were to host one you should plan for people to have enough room for each person to have their cooler behind them. We did all have fun measuring out the spices from the bundle of Wildtree products we spent the $60 on and chatting.
We added a few other “shared ingredients” like limes, water, salt, and pepper. I forgot all my measuring spoons and extra freezer bags to double bag. You put the label on the inner bag and then put another bag on top to protect it from spilling at any point. Smart. Thankfully the host had extra. I can’t believe I forgot them as I had them all set out. Oh well! Laura from Housewife Hellraiser also thought it would be a good idea to have a sink full of hot sudsy water for washing out our measuring cups and spoons. Both ideas I will be sure to take into account when I host my party (more on that later).
After assembling all the bags we repacked our coolers, had a chance to purchase extra products or book a party of our own. We were there about 2 hours total. The host/rep gave us the finished recipes at this point and a cheat sheet to make cooking them easier. I was really dismayed to find out that several of the dishes need things like sour cream or cream cheese added when it is time to cook which smashed the whole dream that I was just going to pull these out of the freezer and save us from the pizza delivery man. I mean, really, at this point I am wondering what the heck I am doing here.
Let’s do some math. I spent $60 on the Wildtree products, $150 on my first trip to the store for meats and vegetables and then the next day spent $30 on the additional items I needed to actually cook these meals. I am $240 in on 10 meals. And I have spent 2.5 hours prepping in my kitchen and cleaning it up, 4 hours total hauling my ice chest of meat to someone else’s house to mix up the bags and about 2 hours total shopping. So, $240 and 8.5 hours for 10 bags like this:
When I got home I was shaking my head as to why I did this but as a few days have passed we have had a few of the meals and my family has loved them. And I have loved being able to open up the bag and make dinner in 10 mins.Sort of like child birth, I have forgotten the pain it took to get to this point. Many of them are crockpot or simple grilling menus. $24 a meal is less than half the cost of me ordering out and it is healthier as well. I totally could have saved money on the meats if I had put some effort into it. I talked with several friends about this and how the whole process could be simplified and here are some tips in case you get invited to one of these parties and are questioning HOW this makes sense. LOL. Believe it or not, I actually agreed to host one at my house after all this because it really did end up being worth it. But I definitely have some changes to make going forward…
My Advice for Preparing for a Wildtree Freezer Meal Workshop
1. Be better prepared. Ask your host/rep to provide you with the shopping list for the products you need for both preparing the bags and cooking the meals.
2. Use technology! I should have downloaded the pdf to my phone instead of printing it, especially since the wind caught it and blew it across the parking lot. I, also, should have just put the list into my Cozi shopping app so that I had everything at my electronic fingertips. That would have been super helpful for the next time I make these meals on my own. You will leave your party with enough Wildtree products to make some of these meals again. I could have used an app like Grocery Pal to help me see who had meat on sale in my area instead of randomly walking into Target. For as much as I rely on my Note 3 to be my personal assistant I sure left it out on this plan.
3. Consider a grocery delivery service. I have been using Walmart To Go for a few months now and I absolutely love it. The site is super easy to use, they have been on time and bring the grocery bags right to my counter, often times substituting anything they are out of with much larger sizes. Bonus! This alone would saved me 2 hours and a lot of energy. It would have been so easy to click through my list and have it all dropped off for me. I should have happily paid the $7 delivery charge.
4. Buy the meat already cut up. If you can’t find stew meat, your butcher will likely cut it for you. Just ring the little bell and ask. I was able to find the chicken cut in both cubes and tenders. Big time saver.
5. Use your Cuisinart or other food processor. Nothing is worse than dicing 7 onions. You can also buy a bag of onions already cut up but you need a lot and it will add to your bill. Also, some need to be sliced and some diced so make sure you read the directions carefully.
6.Don’t bring your meat!! It would have been much easier to show up at the party with empty bags, add my spices and such and then go home and add the meat the next morning. So much easier than dragging a cooler full of meat just to drag it back home. You can’t bring your meat and prepare it in the bags to someone else’s house. It’s not sanitary and the party doesn’t have a food handling licence or whatever it is they need. You are going to a person’s home, not a commercial kitchen so you have to do the raw meat at your house anyway. Do it after instead of before. This was also the biggest advice from Chrissy at Clumsy Gourmet.
7. Use technology again! If you didn’t do step 1 & 2 you still have fresh items to buy in order to be able to serve these meals. Snap a picture of the cheat sheet so you have it with you the next time you are at the store.
I have been having a rough couple of weeks health wise and it is so nice to have dinner ready tonight. I just pulled out the defrosted bag and emptied it into the crockpot to make Slow Cooker Chicken Chili. The Wildtree recipe below will give you a look at how this all comes together.
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili (#3)
1-1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
15 oz can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp Wildtree Adobo Seasoning Blend
1 bag Wildtree Creamy Ranch Dressing and Dip Mix
4 oz can diced green chilies (optional)
1 Tbsp hot sauce (optional)
At Cooking Time:
8 oz package cream cheese, cubed cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Mix all ingredients into freezer bag. Remove air, seal & attach label. Double bag and freeze. Thaw bag in fridge. Place contents of bag in slow cooker. Cook covered on low 6-8 hours or on high 4 hours. Shred chicken by pulling apart with two forks & add cream cheese. Combine with cream cheese in slow cooker. Cook an additional 30 minutes on high. Stir to combine. Top with cilantro, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, rice (serve chili on top), or corn bread.
Disclosure: The Willdtree Freezer Meal Workshop was in no way compensated. Any mention of my technology products are likely a result of my relationship as a Verizon Influencer with #VZWBuzz.
I was not smart enough to read the instructions before I started my meal, and thus had to send my husband out to get the extras since it was already in the crockpot. But I have really enjoyed the meals, and the leftover spices as well!
In the end did you think it was worth doing Vicki?
I’m still not sold…. But I’ve only tried one, the the adobo chicken crockpot meal .. I am one of the pickiest eaters around and this just didn’t do anything for me .. Pretty much tasted like chicken and onions in a crockpot.. My husband the least picky eater I know said it was fine…I’ll try that chicken chili you have pictured above though because it looks great ! Since these were kid friendly meals, maybe I just need to kick up the spices in them ? I would probably pay $60 just to gang out with all my fav ladies though so it’s all good 🙂
Maybe Chrissy. I am not big on a lot of spice so they seem OK to me. The boys loved the Stroganoff and I am NOT normally a fan of it but this was pretty OK.
We had the crock-pot chicken chili last night. It was super good! Picky Pauly even liked it.
Okay, so the pork chops are delicious, however I cooked them on the grill instead of the stove top, because.. it’s summer… and cooking is a forced activity. Can I just live on fruit and salad until September?
I have out one of the Adobo chicken crockpot meals for tonight, I am going to make it with some rice and see how that goes. It’s an easy meal for the family so I don’t have to cook before vacation. However, the whole meal prep was fun but we need more room. There is a lot of moving around that needs to happen.
Great recap of the night!
Some of the items require adding salt to get the flavor to come out – been there and done that! Adobo is great for chicken fajita’s – add garlic and salt to the bag. You get more than 10 meals out of the spices so that’s good 😉
I can’t thank you enough for this post! I took the plunge to be a rep after having a similar first workshop but not quite as bad. I remember thinking that it was a lot of prep work and I wasn’t sure I would do it again. I think you’re right about the childbirth thing…by the time I was done making my meals, I was signing up to sell the stuff! Im just getting started and I will be taking your words of wisdom heart. Your words had an impact and I plan to simplify and conquer! Wish me luck!
That’s awesome. I do think it is a wonderful product and worth it in the end!
Disagree. They are no better and definately no easier than doing yourself Too many steps for a new mom of twins. I thought it would be time saving. Not so much.
I went to my first Wildtree party last night and I LOVED it! Since its just two of us, we made 20 bags… I paid full price for my Wildtree products ($79) and $91 for my meat & veggies…which comes to about $8.50 per meal… I was a bit skeptical at first and almost canceled! I made my first meal today and it was so good! I’ll be hosting my own party soon… Thanks for the tips!!
I am going to my first party in a couple weeks. My friend that I am going with has already been to her first party. The great thing about what our consultants have is a butcher. They give us the name of a butcher who has all organic meats. We call him with the menu choice we chose he cuts, bags and labels all our meats and delivers them to the consultants house!!! If even asks if you want to change anything out, like if you don’t want pork for a recipe and would prefer chicken he will switch it out. The only thing we will be bringing is our chopped veggies and canned stuff (of course cooler). I will be splitting my recipes since we are sort of empty nesters now. So $200 for 20 meals is darn good.
Thanks for the honest review. I am a Wildtree rep and will refer my customers to this info. It’s hard to know exactly what to tell. So this will help them understand the value as well as the process. I go back and forth on bringing the meats. I like the idea of all the meals being done when they leave the workshop. Then they just have to go home and freeze. But I definitely understand how heavy the cooler is. So it’s a tough one. The last workshop I did, I sold food saver bags and brought my food saver so the meals were more compressed for the freezer. I also took the meat list to Publix and they just had to go the meat counter to pick up the meat.
Thanks for the review. Personally I couldn’t see paying to attend a party for two reasons 1) I’m kind of picky and I would likely only make two of the 10 meals planned and 2) I’ve been doing freezer meals for years and I have a system down which doesn’t include hanging out at my friends house on a school night. BUT my good friend was having the party and actually bought my spices etc and I just had to show up with my bags. I decided to add my meats after based on this review and honestly I’m happy I did that. I prepped and froze them in the week to 10 days leading up to the party (based on sales and free time)…. then came home from the party and dumped the appropriate meat into the right bag and tossed back into the freezer.
I’m also a rep and appreciate your feedback!! I tried clicking on Clumsy Gourmet’s link but didn’t see anything on her page about a Wildtree workshop. Do you have the direct link? Thanks!
I just joined Wildtree as a Rep and I sure appreciated your honest discussion on freezer workshops. I’ve never actually been to a freezer meal workshop and they are a bit intimidating. Great tips on spacing, bring/don’t bring the meat and sending the COMPLETE meal grocery lists. Though they’ll never know, my future freezer workshops attendees will benefit from your rough first go! Thank so you much for sharing!
I am brand spankin new rep, never even tasted Wildtree.. so tyvm for such a fair and honest review. I like the baggie/no meat option.. sticker the recipie and store at home in the fridge until you want to cook.. thanks
I just attended a Wildtree freezer meal workshop and one thing I really appreciated was that there was a butcher provided. So all of the meat was delivered and packaged according to the meals listed for the evening by the butcher & co.. That made everything a lot easier!
Was just invited to a party and I feel like I was totally scammed. It is not clear at all what was happening in the invitation. If the company is so great, why don’t the show the second email about all the food and prep work ahead of time? I’m so annoyed with this company.
Quite honestly, I felt that way too to an extent. That is why I put this out there in hopes it makes life easier for those theta get invited to enjoy the party and minimize the work involved. When my friends and I did it the second time around it was MUCH easier.
Completely agree. I was stunned that now after paying $82 for the party, I had to purchase all my food. What?! Very very misleading. Prepping now for my friends’ party tomorrow night. We’ll see if it’s worth it.
I too was a little shocked at the sticker price but we have loved all the meals and continue to use our products for side dishes and meals with all that we had left over. Plus I learned a great trick so you don’t have to prep any of your meets. We have a Jack’s fruit market where the butchers will pre-prep everything and put them in the individual bags for you at no additional cost.it’s well worth asking your local butcher if he’ll do that for you.
What a REFRESHING blog and YES! I am a relatively new Wildtree Rep and absolutely love your entire discussion and honest feedback! Thank YOU!!!
Thank you!
I agree with Pam Meyer. I feel like I paid $70 for a bunch of jars of spices, one jar of oil, and one jar of bland piccata “mix” (with a defective lid that leaked so 1/4 of the bottle leaked and the rep didn’t offer me another bottle and I had to beg her for some tape to reseal the lid), and some recipes. To be honest, with all the time it took to chop and cut and dice everything, I would rather take 15 extra minutes while cooking each meal and cut up the meat and vegs right then – and cook from fresh rather than freeze all those bags of meat. We have really liked one of the meals, and the rest were just ok. I guess I prefer to use my own spices and blend them my way, at a fraction of the cost.
Very interesting posts regarding the Freezer Meal Workshop. I am in the process of researching Wildtree products, and the more I read; the more I want to become a rep. Thanks for being sooo honest!
I haven’t found a meal I like. Very bland
I agree. They need a lot of spice added for my family.
I am a new Wildtree Rep, but have been using the products for about three years. I appreciate the ideas for planning my future workshops. Love the adding meat after idea. The one thing I will say to those who feel it lacks flavor, I have heard that from a few others and more than likely it is the low sodium content in their products that make it feel not flavorful enough and you are used to way more salt in your meals. I suggest adding salt at first and then cut back slowly to get used to the lower salt content. also if you want more spice to something, add a little chili powder or cayenne pepper.
I attended a party tonight in which the rep had found a butcher to prep and bag all the meat for us! So, i called him up, placed my order, paid over the phone, and the rep brought all the meats to the hostesses house! All I had to do was prep some veggies and bring ziplock bags. I had a very positive experience! You have to also consider the value in having 10 recipes planned out and just given to you without having to hunt them down on websites and make a list of everything to buy.
I love the Wildtree meals. I have been to two workshops. The first, I took my meat. The second, did not and was SO glad! I use online shopping and ask the butcher to cut meats per the recipes and bag and label them individually. Big time saver. Also, shopping online is a huge time saver. I have saved the recipes and when chicken is on sale, I make and freeze more chicken recipes. When beef is on sale, I make and freeze more beef recipes. This works for me and I have even purchased additional “bundles” of spices w/ the recipes without going to a party. I like the idea of making a few freezer bags when it suits me, in my own kitchen! The cost of quick foods, take out and restaurants has definitely decreased in our home. Of course, this could all be done without Wildtree, but I’m just not that organized! 🙂
The Korean bbq beef was tasty, nicely seasoned. I did have to add some moisture to my crock pot since it required 4 hours of cooking on high. I just added some more of the Korean bbq sauce mixed a 1/3 cup hot water.
The chocolate mousse was not a hit at all. My son said it tasted like flour and he could not eat it. We are big fans of Dutch chocolate so we may be the wrong audience for this very bland non-chocolate flavored version of mousse.
I went my first Wildtree Freezer Workshop this past weekend and so far I’m disappointed. The initial flyer/posting I saw showed it was $80. That right there was pushing it in regards to the dollar amount but I convinced my husband it could be worth it. It was after I signed up and could not back out that I was told I had to buy the meat and other ingredients. $100 for the meat and then the other ingredients and this has cost me $200! For recipes that I was ‘iffy’ on but willing to try for $80. So far I’ve had one, the jambalaya and it’s just okay. Hopefully the other recipes will change my opinion.
A friend of mine introduced me to Dream Dinners and I love it! They have all the ingredients right there, all you bring is a cooler.
Thanks for sharing your experience. My next door neighbor just invited me to a workshop she is hosting at a cost of $86.90. The invitation was pretty vague about what was required for advanced prep, but the whole thing sounded pretty suspect to me. Glad I found this, which confirms my suspicious that the freezer meal “workshop” is a nothing but a big ripoff and a time waste to boot. $87 for 7 bottles of spice mix? No thank you!
I have attended several WT parties. I agree the prep work is about an hour but well worth it vs. eating out and paying way to much for processed food. I have to use double to triple the amount of spices that the recipe calls for. I also have to add my own seasoning when I cook the food, otherwise the food seems bland. I am happy to have several meals in my freezer to throw in the crockpot and come home to dinner.
I am attending a party tonight and also am a bit frustrated by the process. The invite said “if you love Dream Dinners, you’ll love this workshop!” Well I do love Dream Dinners, so I signed up. I had no idea I would need to buy, prep and haul all the ingredients! This is nothing like Dream Dinners, where you walk in with an EMPTY cooler and walk out with complete meals. Had I realized what the expectations were ahead of time I never would have signed up. It’s summer and I have four kids home so I just can’t do the prep ahead of time. I plan to go and bag my $80 spices and hang out. I’m sure I’ll have fun, but very misleading invite!
How much do you pay for 10 complete meals at Dream Dinners?
My husband and I love the meals a lot of favor, and really good, I have bought around 9 different package and love them all……..
I think you offer some great constructive advice here. I just hosted a party and the rep is a friend so I guess I didn’t ever feel misled. I only invited enough that I thought I had the space to do the prep work with so your point there is well taken.
I guess besides the comfort of having meals prepared I just enjoyed the time with friends. The actual prep work was not the majority of the party and our rep prepared some of the dips and oils for us to munch on while we drank wine and had a nice evening out.
OK I know this is like three years past when you guys all commented. But I recently just googled “wild tree food prep reviews”… Yours was the first that came up. Your story would’ve been my absolutely exact same words! Except I remembered my plastic bags! I literally was so baffled. Nobody told me really what it was I thought I was going to pay the $80 and show up and put some bags of food together! I thought it was a little pricey but I was OK with that for 10 meals. Then I get my grocery shopping list! Are you kidding me?? $120 later… Then I get my prep list! Then I see pictures of everyone prepping before the party. So I got my stuff together and prepped for an hour and a half. And then when we get there and we just get a few mixers? I just thought it was all crazy expensive and would not have done it if I had known. But a lot of places now have rep list! Then I see pictures of everyone prepping before the party. So I got my stuff together and prepped for an hour and a half. And then when we get there and we just get a few mixes? I just thought it was all crazy expensive and would not have done it if I had known. But a lot of places now have where you can go online and click the groceries you need, which would’ve been way easier. Also, at the party the host told me that you can just take your list to the butcher at Safeway or wherever and they can just get it ready for you. All these things I wish I would’ve known! Yes I agree with what someone else said… Pretty bland
It’s so funny how 3 years later the process is exactly the same.
Thank you for the advice on not bringing the meat to the party and just doing the spices and sauces. I am going to a party tonight and sickness is going around. Great advice. 🙂
My first workshop I ever attended (Jan 2017) I jumped in with both feet and ordered BOTH kits being offered (20 meals for 4-6 people). It is true, like others, I was initially overwhelmed by the amount of money spent on the grocery list, and time cutting, chopping, meats and vegetables. At the workshop, I added my oils and seasonings to the pre-prepped meat bags, while learning the facts about the spices from Wildtree; no GMO’s, 85% gluten free, no preservatives which equals lower sodium (therefore, the reason some need to ADD salt for there own taste preferences). Then, went home with 20 meals that I was not sure if me or my family would even like.! Funniest thing, I also booked my own party to do this all again 8 weeks from then.! I know by this time your thinking I am a Wildtree rep, I promise I am NOT, I am simply sharing my true story and experiences for others. So why did I book a party without even trying a meal yet, you ask?
First, I trusted my friends (who knew me personally) and trusted it enough to invite me to there Wildtree party. Next, if this really worked like they said over the next 60 days, I was going to easily cook 20 DIFFERENT meals that needed only a salad and side dish with minimal kitchen clean up each night! Woohoo.!
Fast forward, the first meal we tried was a lemon rosemary pork roast, my family really like it, but I LOVED it and I don’t like pork.! The next, was Jambalaya which was just “okay.” So, when my party came 60 days later I again jumped in with 20 more DIFFERENT meals again, and this time prep work was much quicker and freezer was full again.! I am getting ready to attend my third workshop (May 2017) where I am once again going to prep 20 new meals.! This now totals 60 recipes with reusable grocery shopping list, and meal ideas just since Jan 2017.!
For myself, I am a mediocre cook, with little knowledge about what spices go together and on which meats, therefore I was in a rut cooking the same meals over and over. I also get easily discouraged when new recipes fail. Thankfully, I have only experienced that once with a Wildtree recipe and it was my fault thinking I could leave a crockpot meal on “warm” until I could get home which, instead over cooked the meat. Finally, about 25 years ago I tried something called once a month cooking, but it didn’t work for me for many reasons, so obviously I was looking for something like Wildtree pre-prepped meals then.
My greatest testimony for these meals was when my husband came into my Wildtree party and told my guest, “if your thinking about ordering these meals, do it.! Your husband will love them.” I can honestly say Wildtree has changed my and my families life for the better.!
I have to comment because not only am I a rep for Wildtree I have been using their products for over a 1 1/2 years now. Yes FOOD PREPPING is time consuming. Yes, It is not an easy task and it is not for everyone. However, if you want healthier alternative and recipes you can have to pull up you will enjoy them. I have done about 80 of the meals (about 8 workshops) and there probably only about 3 meals or products we truly did not like. BUT again that will be for any recipe you pull off of other websites. I like that WILDTREE does provide all the shopping and prep instructions. It made my life easier with 3 kiddos at home. At first I was kind of leary for the price but man ORGANIC does cost a lot more than nonorganic. Further, you do have a lot of product leftover from the workshops that can do more of the recipes. Oh yes, I do have friends who do like to go to store daily. I just od not have the time or energy to do that. I like that the meals last me 2 weeks and almost 2 1/2 weeks I am only going to the store for my basics like eggs and milk etc. Good luck with meal prep. Also, keep in mind Wildtree is Organic and has low sodium and salt etc, you have to find what you like and what you want to put into your body. I have loved my WILDTREE and I do not do it to make the money but the ease of what you get.
I agree don’t take the meat. It is unsanitary and unsafe. I took shrimp which defrosted so then I didn’t know if I could refreeze it. Didn’t want to cook it. Wasted.
Shopping and prep took a whole day. Party was fun but the rep was new and couldn’t answer any of our questions. The process needs to be streamlined and the reps need to have the info on the products plus talk about how to use them.
I tried the wild tree party this year and was also amazed at the prep. But … I did shop around for good deals for the meat, had the meat cut by the butcher, brought some extra meat (and made a couple of extra meals) and we loved it! Every meal that we had it was something that we would eat again. I had once tried the dream dinners and felt like it was so bland I would never do it again. These I would definitely do again. Yes, it takes some time and some money but to do it all at one time was really better than coming home from work, looking around and knowing there was no dinner and not having a magic fairy there to make it for me! It’s nice to know that there are dinners in the freezer when I need them. I would definitely do it again. In the long run if you shop smart is well worth it.