To go on a recipe box mission…

[TheBeaTgoeson1]

Okay, mission is the wrong word, but due to various things going on, I’m going to be buying recipe boxes over the next few weeks, just to try a few out. I have a one from planthood coming, and we’ve just finished our HelloFresh one, any other strong recommendations? Has anyone used them long-term?

This is a thread to speak about the contents of them, not about packaging, or whether it’s cheaper to buy things in the supermarket!

Just very interested to know which other ones would be good to try! It feels like there’s lots out there, and I’ve had so many reviews now…

I’m using up special offers on them and stopping. They’re ok while discounted but I can’t justify the costs regularly

We’ve used hellofresh, gousto and now green chef. I wouldn’t say it’s cheaper then supermarket but we have cut down on so much waste as we only get sent what we need and also I love that i can just pick a meal and cook rather than thinking about what to have - when I don’t use them we end up with the same meals on repeat but get a lot more variety through these.

Gousto was my favourite when I tried a few previously.

I too really liked Gousto, they are good for trying new things without buying full sized spices etc that you might not use again and they’re also good for teens learning to cook because they have pictures of each step of meal prep.

The thing I’d watch though is portion size, I found some meals very generous in portion size and others quite stingy. I also found I needed to add some side veg for a properly balanced meal. Good value though especially on offer.

I find them helpful when I’m stuck in a rut and need some new ideas but not long term and Hello Fresh just annoys me with the ‘option’ to spend more and more and more. I just want it easier than that but don’t want to stick to three veggie and pasta meals on the basic sub because that isn’t worth it for me.

I have a small stack of recipe cards I do reuse frequently and buy in what I need for that. Yesterday was African Chicken Maffe and tonight will be Mexican Empanadas neither of which I would have cooked before trying them in boxes.

I’m interested to hear about some of the newer ones out.

Thank you! Portion sizes were good on hello fresh!

And yes always using the offers. Plant hood had 60% and was still around £50 for 5 meals so wouldn’t use full price.

I’ve used a few. Planthood is probably my favourite because some of the work has already been done but, as you say, quite pricey. Gousto is good, not had many issues with the boxes and they’ve refunded me the costs of meals when the delivery has been late. I’m veggie and DH is lactose intolerant so we’re quite limited on choice but both of those provide a good range. Found Grubby nice but a bit faffy, lots of fiddly add ins that rarely added much to the meal.

I used Gousto all the time when the kids were at home - best thing we ever did to make mealtimes and meal planning less stressful. Never had any real probs and if anything was off or missing they immediately refunded a couple of quid.

There’s only the two of us at home now so we don’t bother with it any more. Just get M&S ready meals instead.

Honestly, one of the main reasons, is almost to remove the mental load of planning what to eat in the week. It’s just me and my partner, both eating vegetarian. And sometimes the whole what’s for tea thing just grinds us down, he’s the cook not me, but he’s not great at making decisions, and I do that!! Just being able to go through and pick them, and then have everything delivered is super helpful at the moment, just while we have a lot of other things going on.

And, we do also use ready meals, just trying to avoid using them all the time! We have found some really nice ones in M&S, the worst thing is to takeaway trap, when we decide to grab something rather than make something.

We have Hello Fresh. We started using them during lockdown when shielding meant actual shopping was tricky and we couldn’t get a supermarket delivery. We only get the basic 3 meals a week but it takes the meal planning pressure off and provides quick easy meals when we have busy days. We cook from scratch on other days and rarely use takeaways.
i also like the lack of food waste - if a recipe only needs a tablespoon of something I don’t have to buy (and probably waste !) a whole jar.

Gousto are far and away the best of the bunch IMO.

Currently a 65% off discount if you use a referral code. More than happy to share mine if anyone wants one (and I get £20 credit for my next box).

I keep the recipe cards and use them for meal planning. I usually chuck the folder at the husband and tell him to pick a quick one and any other he likes then I write the shopping list. Works well for us.

Thanks @CornishPorschethat would be fab! I’ll be going for Gousto in around two weeks!

pescatarian here. i'm back on the Gousto bandwagon and think it's the best by far. Hated the upsell with Hello Fresh and found others more fiddly. Plus i have recreated some of my favourite meals using the recipe cards.

We have simplycook which only delivers the spices but means you can use them at your own pace. It's great.

When my husband is away working, I order full frozen vegan meals from Planty. They're good and filling but prob expensive for a ready meal - but they feel well made and healthy.

The riverford ones are the best ones I've tried. Portion sizes are best by far and the ingredient quality is top.
Cook is also worth a look, not recipe boxes but lovely ready meals delivered.

That was my reason for using Gousto, I’d fallen into the habit of making the same handful of meals and over relying on ready meals to fill the gap. I did find my mojo after a while but it got me back on track actually cooking again.

I also liked that I could try things on the kids without buying a whole range of spices etc.