Gusto boxes

[IdesMarchof]

Just started the gusto boxes. Would anyone like to swap recipe choices? / hints?

I’m cooking the prawn farfalle today - about to serve it for lunch but baffled the online recipe and physical recipe card don’t match. One says rocket one says pea shoots - I assume that’s a sub but weird that it’s the physical version that’s correct!

Has anyone else made this one? Or have any tips on choosing gusto meals?

I get the box for two people but am only adult at home and DD refuses to eat them ha! Means I can cook once and eat over two days. I always get two fish dishes and two vegetarian- and mix them up based on time taken to cook, so ensure that there's some 10 mins recipes for the days I don't want to cook too much. Also mix with some 'lighter' recipes because some tend to be carb heavy. I also find they take longer to cook than the recipes say but the portions are generous. One thing I've learned is to pay attention when ordering because the katsu curry I made yesterday required flour but it only said that the bottom in small writing that it's not included in the box, luckily I had some at home. And I really wish that the fish recipes weren't basa fillets and annoying that red meat is included in price but salmon is always more on top. However I have been so glad of the Gousto boxes in lockdown, learned so many new recipes. How did the prawn farfalle turn out?

And yes the recipes are sometimes wrong- their twitter page is really good at answering questions.

Are they good value for money? I've been thinking of trying these for a while xx

I loved them, had my first hello fresh today , it’s good but I think Gousto have the edge
I never had any major issues with the box, think once I got the wrong stock so no big deal
I found it good with working, don’t have to think auto what to make
I guess some people plan anyway but I never did unless it was when I used Gousto

@bonfireheart great tips thank you! The farfalle was actually lovely. I went very light on the chilli flakes (cut it by almost half) and it was just right for me so would have been VERY spicy as it was meant to be cooked

@FredaFox really interesting! Would love to know what the differences are between the two box schemes

@Missingthebridegene I worked out what I would have had to pay to cook the same meal with Ocado products and Gousto was definitely just a bit cheaper

Always worth messaging them on the app to point out any errors/confusion (when they haven’t let you know about a sub in advance for example) and getting a few quid off the next box

Ah good tip @GingerAndTheBiscuits! Thanks

I’ve meal planned for years but in lockdown I just got so bloody fed up of having to think what to have for dinner every day. So now we do Gousto for just me and DH and it is so nice not having to think of what to eat! I’ve also started eating foods I never usually would - lettuce and cucumber that I would have always picked out of a meal or left on my plate before. Veggie selection is really good and the Chinese New Year banquet we had last night was gorgeous.

@GingerAndTheBiscuits that sounds lovely! I was a good meal planner but had got into a horrific food rut. All our food was always the same and it was horrible as well

Basically lockdown issue!

Well I only had hello fresh today so just 1 meal made.
I think the choices of menu is better on Gousto, I had looked at other weeks on hello fresh. I think it was only one week with gusto I wasn’t blown away
Quality of items so far seems similar
Gousto feels better quality though, the file, the recipe cards, hello fresh is just an a4 copy of a recipe. Guess it’s the little touches

I do like the boxes for learning new recipes and skills

I've tried Hello Fresh and Gousto, prefer Gousto because they have more variety and their vegetarian range is nice. Also like the little binder and recipe cards I can keep and refer back to.
I've also had a few freebies like the wooden spoon which is fab and a huge bar of Tony's Chocolonely.

I did once go through all the recipes and price up with ingredients vs supermarket and there really wasn't much a difference in pricing. Also I have buying a huge pack of something from supermarket to only use once, no waste with Gousto.

I've already had two people remark on my weight loss, that's not why I do Gousto, but think it does help me to eat healthier.

Had first ever gousto box this week - we did Thai chicken with ginger greens (making Thai paste was WAY more effort than I usually make or ever will again ) which I thought was tasty but DC weren't keen, despite me using only a quarter of the specified chilli.

Then we had Normandy apple and chicken casserole, which was a big hit, not a scrap left at the end, and I would definitely pick again.

Like the rest of you, am giving this a go as just so bored of thinking what to cook, so hoping it will break the monotony.

@MutteringDarkly oh I’ve picked that dish as well - so will make sure I make it at the weekend then!! The casserole sounds great - will try that if it’s on the list another time. Was it still quite spicy even with a quarter of the recommended chilli?

The farfalle prawn arrabiata thing was very easy and quick to make

@FredaFox that’s interesting about the two schemes. I do like getting the proper recipe cards

@bonfireheart I like the idea of losing weight - I’m thinking I may need to pick slightly more healthy dishes. The portion size seemed sensible

It's funny how people who haven't tried will comment on their social media that it's for lazy people, when in fact I think the recipes require effort and I've learnt new skills - the veg pizza was quite something!

I'm 3 week into a 4 week offer & we are LOVING it. It's not cheap but frankly, we're not spending money on anything no else right now so this is our new indulgence. We get 2 meals for 4 people each week and have enough for a my lunch the next day. DS (14) cooks once a week one and finds the photo recipe cards brilliant and he hasn't needed any help at all and has served up 3 really delicious meals so that alone has been worth. So far:

Prawn farfalle - very tasty but as previous poster noted, it is really quite hot if you use all the chilli.
Joe Wicks Spicy Bean curry - very quick, easy, healthy and tasty more like a chunky soup than curry.
Pork and venison burger and herby fries - lovely (although DH wasn't convinced by the herb fries) but burgers came ready made so can't really replicate
Fish gyros with caper mayo - delicious lovely fresh and tasty
Keema naan - lovely meal made by ds 11 but won't make again. we all agreed the meat needed more flavour & it was more like a starter than a main meal (although portion size fine)
Cheesy cod and spinach gratin with crispy potatoes - felt a bit retro and not one for the waistline but very tasty. We added broccoli and it felt too rich without an extra veg.
Chicken shashlik burritos with mango yogurt - made by ds a real hit.
Lemony smoked fish and spinach linguine - delicious definitely make again

The veggie burgers they use are the tastiest I have ever had. The Christmas one in particular was out of this world.

I recently got back into ordering Gousto boxes as I was getting bored of my usual recipes! Found some great ones recently.

I have a link anyone can use which gets new accounts (or email addresses...) 50% off their first box and 30% off the rest for a month, DM me if you want it.

Some weeks I find everything comes with coriander, or everything comes with rocket, which can get a bit boring, so I’m trying to read the full ingredients before choosing them instead of just looking at the pictures!

@IdesMarchof for a normal adult who likes Thai food, the chilli supplied is fine I'd guess. I tend to prefer things milder, so would have gone for half (but went even lower due to DC tastes).