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?

We've been trying Gousto for the last few weeks and we've been very happy with it. We get 4 meals for 4 - choose and cook one each. We've enjoyed everything so far and I like that I don't have to think about shopping / cooking for a few nights a week. The variety is good - DS tends to go for high calorie burger / chips / pizza type options so we save his for the weekend! I always cook from scratch anyway but had been stuck in a rut & find Gousto great for new ideas - also like that you get a full recipe card with weights etc (not sure if the other box companies offer the same?).

Favourites so far have been:
Spicy Beef Vietnamese style noodle bowl
Sweet potato & salmon fishcake grain bowl (taste was really good, but the fishcake was a bit too wet for me though so would add flour or coating next time, or maybe just didn't leave long enough after cooking the potato)
Thai Chicken, ginger greens & brown rice
Sticky lean beef satay wraps

2 teens have eaten everything so far and not complained, which is fairly unusual! DD can be very fussy & DS not keen on greens / cabbagey type things or stir fry but has enjoyed them all.

The first box we received pak choi instead if little gem and were missing rice wine, but i raised a complaint and received credit for both - i did have both ingredients in anyway so not a major inconvenience.

I used a referral code from MN to get a discount - 50% off the first box and 30% off the first month, which made it very reasonable. A box of 4 meals for 4 was around £25 for the first box and £35ish for the next few (depending on options chosen). So i thought not bad value - not sure i will continue full price, but maybe once a month or so.

Happy to share my referral code with anyone who would like it for the same discount (full disclosure - each referral gives me £15 credit).

[quote MutteringDarkly]@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).[/quote]
DS has halved the chilli on the meals he's made and said it was just right for him. I like a bit of heat so could have happily had more but the rest of the family are not overly keen and said it would have been too hot for them with the full recipe quantity.

Think this was the chipotle paste in the chilli cheese fries & sriracha & cayenne in the buffalo chicken pizza.

@GingerAndTheBiscuits thank you for the tip about veggie burgers. I've never tried the Gousto veggie burgers, cos every veggie burger I've ever had has been a disappointment so will keep an eye out.

These are brilliant hints thanks everyone

@LittleFriendSusan love your username by the way- takes me right back to Milly Molly Mandy

Their plant based burgers are gorgeous! Most of the fish based meals are low in calories. We have it every week and are rarely disappointed. Even getting my boys to eat more veggie options!

We started getting them in the new year- we are having a lot of building work done and limited space to store tonnes of ingredients. Very impressed! Faves so far have been-
Bacon cheeseburger with garlic butter fries and truffle Mayo (pic attached)
Vietnamese beef noodle bowl
Crispy teriyaki tofu
Herby fish fingers

We've also had a couple of the Morrison's eat fresh boxes- same concept but much more generous with ingredients and less expensive. The Thai salmon fishcakes were beautiful! The range of recipes is limited though which is why we have alternated

@rooarsome I hadn't even heard of the Morrisons offering... Is it decent? Just had a quick look on their website, no prices on there, how much are they? Thanks

£40 4 meals for 4 so a bit cheaper. Not much choice though

@auntiedolly that's a decent enough saving, maybe to have them for a month twice a year or suchlike.
Does anyone rotate the subscriptions to get tempted back by discounts etc, or are they too wise to offer that?
I'm quite new to meal boxes, but they have certainly changed my life for the better!

I was thinking gousto for 4 days, Morrison’s for 3!

We love it, get 4 meals a week and I love the sausage and mash, most of them are decent to be fair!

Looks like the morrisons box have started doing more vegetarian dishes which is great!

We find Goutso is far better for us as vegetarians. Much better and more varied options.

I might have to try this Gousto
I did simply cook a lot in the first lockdown. They were gorgeous too

Gousto burgers are amazing! I use Gousto and hello fresh and just alternate weeks depending on which menu looks better. Gousto is cheaper and we get 4 meals for 4 for the same price (ish) as 2 meals for 5 from HF. It's much more cost effective to get a 4 person Gousto box than 2.

Trying mindful chef this week for the first time as they had a generous discount so looking to see how it compares. It's a lot more expensive but meant to be a higher quality ingredient.

I didn’t know Morrison’s had started their boxes up again so I’m glad I clicked on this!

Best ones so far:

Normandy casserole
Vegan "cheese" burgers
Sesame tofu
Chicken & veg pie

Yes the sesame tofu with spring greens is really good. I got totally sucked in by the free bar of Tony Chocolonely we got in our box the other week and have added a bar to the next two weeks’ orders

I’m rarely disappointed with a meal to be honest. Will always add a veggie burger to the week’s box if it’s available, they’re our number 1. The onion bhaji burger the other week was exceptional. Anything gnocchi usually goes down well. The goodness/Buddha bowl type dishes are great - there’s one with beetroot hummus which is delicious. Although we only order for both adults the kids have been keen to try our meals which means they’re getting a bit more adventurous too.

I've not really been disappointed with any meals
There was one with pickled cucumber which I've made again and again as I loved it. Also introduced me to more meals using pork mince which was a nice change
Sometimes there's a lot of "pinch of salt" which aren't always needed especially with the stock cubes etc so I taste as I go!

I loved the Normandy casserole as well! Also the herby fishfingers, though they were a slight faff, they were worth it. The plant burger was delicious and DH liked the haddock linguini.

I like getting new ideas and recipes, I was so fed up with the same old food and also fed up with thinking about what to cook.

We’ve been using Gousto every other week for the past year. I really enjoy it and it’s saved me so much head space with meal planning as I do all the cooking.
We absolutely love the chicken dal and the Kiev. The only thing I’ve been disappointed in is the Korean beef.

Am relatively new to gousto. We just get it once a month now but we get veggie options which is more limiting. we were stuck in a bit of a cooking rut before and have tried things we wouldn’t normally. Dh was very “meh” about it but is now a convert as we regularly recreate previous recipes so the general quality of our tea has improved immeasurably!
It’s lazy but worth it. We pay £35 for four meals which is the same as what we’d pay for ONE posh takeaway. And we generally enjoy cooking it and more importantly seeing exactly what goes in.
Not tried hellofresh but gousto friends don’t rate. Also tried the one with the little flavour rubs (you have to buy the main ingredients) and did not like that at all.’

Simply Cook is the little boxes, I found it really bland.