Dream Dinners saved my family. Year 2013-our condo was for sale-in search of a house, we had great jobs, two kids under the age of three and expecting number three! That all started to change one random winter morning when our second son starting having seizures — soon being diagnosed with Atypical Uncontrolled Epilepsy; a horrific condition that keeps you in fear every minute of every day. In addition, we learned that we would be losing our unborn little girl due to complications. Our lives were turned upside down. Too many days off from work, too many hopeless doctors appointments, too many lengthy hospital stays. EVERYONE in our house was being affected right down to the core. We were falling apart-mentally and physically. This is where we are forever grateful for good friends!
A couple of co-workers were aware of our quickly spiraling lives and decided to start a collection with intentions of lightening our load just a smidge. They have no idea how much of a smidge that was… They traveled from Boston to Plainville to assemble meals, surprising me at my second job with a trunk filled with a month’s worth of ‘home-cooked’ meals. Just like that-we had ready-made hot meals to serve with ease! It was time to NOT have to think, gather around the table TOGETHER-recoup and replenish whatever strength we could muster-and get ready to conquer the next challenge! That experience taught us that just sitting down together makes you stronger; and truthfully, there is no better way to just sit-then over a good, hot meal. You feel better and can handle more when you have a healthy and full belly. We are happy to say that after all the downs-there came some ups. We have a house, our second son is medically stable and we have since added a third little boy to our brood. To this day-we still make Dream Dinners a monthly priority so we have no excuse to eat ‘scattered’ dinners-we eat meals as a FAMILY. We know (from experience) that this routine makes us each more capable of conquering what may lie ahead tomorrow…

When our daughter was born in March 2014, we were told she had a very rare neurological condition and she likely wouldn’t survive more than a few hours. When she came home with us three days later, we were ecstatic! The first few months were a blur of having a newborn and an endless schedule of appointments with various specialists. We could hardly keep our heads above water! A co-worker coordinated two months of meals through Dream Dinners to help our family. It was amazing. We were able to focus on our daughter, but still have home cooked meals without having to worry about prep, meal planning or shopping. Now are daughter is 19 months, still beating the odds, and we’re still hooked on Dream Dinners!

We started using Dream Dinners shortly after my daughter bought her first horse at age 9. I drove her to the barn every day after school and we stayed until dark. (I called it “The Place Where Time Stands Still.”) The last thing I wanted to do when I got home was plan a meal, and I didn’t want to prepare anything with more than five ingredients. Our diet improved dramatically after a friend told me about Dream Dinners. We love the variety, quality and value it provides. Even though we are now empty nesters, we continue to fill our freezer each month with 3-serving meals. The extra meal is placed in a Chinese take-out container. I write the date on top and the name of the meal on the side. Every morning before he leaves for work, my husband selects a leftover for his lunch bag. He told me he loves to open the refrigerator door and see the little white boxes standing at attention, eager to be chosen for his next meal. Thank you, Dream Dinners; we’ve never eaten better!

My son has autism, and because of this dinnertime at my house can be tricky. Once in the kitchen, I don’t have a lot of time to chop vegetables and prep ingredients. My son has a limited capacity to entertain himself so saying, “Mommy is making dinner, can you go play in the living room,” would not be accepted by him. He often needs me me near. Whatever the reason, I am often, quite literally, pulled away from the kitchen. Dream dinners has saved my family from an endless stream of fast food runs and pizza deliveries. We can look forward to great tasting, healthy dinners that often take less than thirty minutes to make. Also, no prepping in my own kitchen means fewer dishes.