Mindful Chef family recipe box product test – Feedback thread!

[MaddyMumsnet]

This thread is ONLY for Mumsnetters who are taking part in this product test.

Hi Mindful Chef testers,

Welcome to your Mindful Chef product test, we’re so excited to have you all here! 🍽️✨

Over the next couple of weeks, you’ll be putting Mindful Chef’s family recipe boxes to the test at home, and this thread is where we’d love you to share your experience as you go along.

We’re really interested in how the meals work in real family life – from busy weeknight dinners to getting everyone around the table – so the more detail you can share, the better.

To get things started, here are a few things you might want to tell us about:
Getting started

• How did you find the ordering process?
• How was the variety of Family-friendly meals on offer?
• What made you pick the recipes you went for?
• First impressions when your box arrived – how did everything look and feel?

Cooking & eating

• How easy were the recipes to cook?
• How well did they fit into your usual family mealtime routine? Did they feel manageable on a weeknight?
• Did they take more or less time than the recipe suggested?
• Did your children get involved in the cooking at all?
• Any favourite meals so far? Or any that didn’t quite hit the mark?

Family mealtimes

• Did the whole family enjoy the meals?
• Any big wins with the kids? Did they clear their plates? 👀
• Did the portions work well for your household?
• Could you see these meals becoming part of your regular routine

Overall thoughts as you go

• How are you finding the quality of the ingredients?
• Has anything surprised you so far?
• Does a recipe box help reduce the mental load of planning and cooking?
• How does Mindful Chef compare to your usual way of planning and cooking meals?

Photos are encouraged if you’re happy to share, we love seeing the meals (and real-life kitchen moments!) 📸

Please make sure you’re updating this thread regularly across the full 2-week testing period - we’re looking to hear from you throughout, not just at the end.

Thanks again for being part of this, we can’t wait to hear how you get on, and we’ll be checking in here along the way too.

MNHQ x

Our box arrived today within the hour slot DPD said they would deliver

The box looked intact but a pack of chicken had burst and leaked

We had sticky 5 spice beef for tea and it was tasty

Getting started
I found ordering fairly easy, but I don’t think it was clear enough that I was getting two meals of four portions each, it sounded at some points like I was getting two meals of two portions each to eat in one go.

Variety overall was great but the “family friendly” filter was very limited and also non-sensical, there were plenty of other family friendly meals that were filtered out.

I went for salmon teriyaki bowl as we eat that a lot and my kids love salmon. We also went for trout pasta for similar reasons, the kids love fish and I know pasta will be fine. If ordering for just me and husband I’d have gone for some of the salads. I didn’t use the family friendly filter because I thought I was just meant to filter to family size, so the meals were not compliant with the guidelines.

At first glance the box looked good and sustainable but disappointing to see so much plastic used to portion out tiny ingredients.

Cooking & eating
Recipe was fairly easy but certainly not quick. If I was signing up to a meal box it would be to save time after a busy day and this did not.
The recipe book was handy and nice to have all the recipes so we can try them with our own ingredients.

Most of the staple ingredients were already in my cupboard so it felt wasteful and unnecessary using all the tiny plastic packets.

We had to use our own rice which was annoying, as we were only sent a small 200g bag. Seeing some of the other testers pictures I believe this was an error - I noticed the chilli recipe received two bags of microwaveable rice for 4, which equates to 500g.

Veg seemed to be good quality.

Kids didn’t get involved as cooking and a podcast is my time!

Salmon cooked beautifully, usually I’d do in the air fryer but going back to the oven in a sauce marinade reminded me how moist this can make it.

Teriyaki sauce was too sweet so I wouldn’t use all the honey if I did again. The yoghurt was too limey and in our opinion didn’t really “go” with the dish.

Kids didn’t clear plates which is normal for my 6 year old but usually my 10 year old would eat the lot.

This particular meal hasn’t quite hit the mark but I’ll see what the next ones are like before I say whether I’d use mindful chef going forward.

Our box arrived today! Delivered on time with dpd. Box well insulated and food was chilled. Unfortunately one of the eggs had broken (even in its very cute protective egg box!). Looking forward to cooking and trying the first meal tonight.

Got our box today, delivered well with DPD. The box itself was a little damaged at the top, but we're not cooking the first meal until tomorrow so we've not opened the inner bits yet to see if there's any damage in there.
One slight disappointment, got a text this morning to say there wouldn't be a recipe booklet in there due to an "unforseen supply issue". They did send me a link to get the recipes online, but I was looking forward to having a paper recipe to follow, rather than having to keep looking at my phone.

Really pleased with my box, ingredients packaged well and I appreciate the microwave rice rather than having to boil it. Much easier and a big time saver for family meals!
I’m glad I got the recipe book in mine so I can have a go at the other recipes. I chose from the specific family range this week but wondering if we need to stick to that next time as some of the other recipes did sound nice!