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

Oh I forgot to add - again we found the spice level not very accurate, the creamy pork says use half the curry powder if you don’t want it spicy - I used the whole thing and we didn’t find it spicy at all. Additionally, with the beef this week the pak Choi looked a bit past its best (I cooked it the day I received the box) and I had to throw a couple of the mange tout away. Not a major issue, but If id eaten it the day after or the next day, I likely would have had to throw more away

I have really enjoyed trying some different meals with my kids, I think I have quite fussy eaters so have sometimes had to substitute a few things like white rice instead of brown and maybe skip a spice or something as both my boys are neurodiverse and have some sensory issues saying that it would be great to be able to swap a few things in each menu. I found the packaging sturdy and products fresh. The recipes were easy to follow * even for me! I enjoyed them but would be nice to see more family friendly variety meals. Maybe even an option to personalise a little for each meal may open the meals up to more families.

The meals themselves looked a work of art and restaurant quality if not better!

Have cooked out 2nd meal tonight, Chicken Parm. Another delicious meal. My youngest daughter normally refuses to eat potato wedges, but with the addition of the pesto, they were a huge hit with her and she ate them all.
Small issue was the inconsistency in chicken breast sizes, in the pack, 1 large, 1 medium and 2 very small, not only does this make portioning difficult but affects overall cooking consistency. Small issue but an easy correction that could be made.
Very impressed with the quality of ingredients and ease of cooking, following recipe.
We are looking forward to our 2nd box that will arrive next week.

All 4 meals have been cooked our absolute favourite which was a big hit with all 4 of us was the Turkey Chow Mein with Brown Rice Noodles & Rainbow Veg we said we would 100% order this as a 1 off box as we all loved this dinner so much.

Photos of meal number 3 and 4 included number 3 was the Pizza'-style Tomato Risotto with Grilled Mozzarella & Hot Honey Drizzle and number 4 was the Korean-style Sticky Beef with Speedy Brown Rice & Rainbow Veg.

The Risotto wasn't a hit with us but the Korean-style Sticky Beef tasted amazing but the vegetables were still quite hard when following the cooking instructions especially the broccoli.

The quality of the ingredients have been great very fresh vegetables and great tasting meat.

Some of the ways the receipes needed cooking was different to how I would of cooked them for example I would cook broccoli in a pan of hot water we had to cook it on a pan over heat and I think that's why we found it not as soft to eat.

Yes it does it's great having all the right measurements for all the sauces/mixes etc nothing left over to store in your food cupboards.

It keeps things simple by having all the ingredients you need for each meal at the ready with the right amounts and it makes cooking more fun with the different flavours and sauces you have to add to each dish, the kids enjoyed getting involved with the cooking so it has been nice to do that as a family.

I have enjoyed taking part thank you very much for picking me.

I made last week's two meals, and we will be starting our second box today.
I found the ordering process straightforward. It was easy to filter to the family size and the family friendly recipes we had been instructed to test.
I was surprised that there weren't many recipes in the family friendly section. There were 9 in the first week and 8 in the second week. I discounted the prawn and fake chicken recipes both weeks due to family preferences. Out of the remaining 6/7 recipes we chose from the recipes that we all agreed we thought we would enjoy the most.
It would be handy to be able to filter the recipes by type of meat/vegetarian/vegan/cuisine in future if choosing from all the recipes.
I found it very exciting when the first box arrived. Everything was packed very well and looked fresh. I was impressed that the meat looked high quality. All the vegetables looked fresh.
I cooked the first week's recipes myself. I had hoped that my teenagers would take over, but they weren't available in the first week. I found that the first recipe (Pizza style Risotto) took longer than expected. The following night I made the Pork Meatball Gnocchi Bake which didn't take much longer than the suggested time. It was more my sort of cooking, where I can finish the meal in the oven which gives me time to clear up before we sit down for dinner, so there is very little tidying up/washing up afterwards.
Our first recipe was the Pizza style Risotto. I added the whole sachet of the hot honey, but we still found it rather bland. I liked the pre cooked brown rice and it was a lot healthier and quicker than the traditional stove top risotto that my husband regularly makes with homemade chicken stock (although my husband's risotto is far more delicious !) If I made it again, I would add some chilli for more flavour.
Our second meal of the first week was the Pork meatballs with Gnocchi. Weuch preferred this recipe, but my husband and son both found the meatballs rather dry. This is probably due to the healthier low fat content of the meatballs. My husband suggested that if I'd made them smaller than the suggested size, then they may be less dry.
I regularly make meatballs and really enjoyed the roasted gnocchi which were part of the dish and will be copying this idea in future.
The four of us found the pizza style Risotto OK but rather bland. My children are in their mid/late teens. This recipe may be more successful for families with younger children/toddlers.
We much preferred the pork meatballs with Gnocchi. In future I would add a little chilli to this recipe. How are the family friendly recipes chosen? Are they the recipes that have shorter cooking times and milder flavours?
The portions worked well for my household. My husband, my two older sporty teenagers (boy & girl) and I all have healthy appetites and found that we all had enough food.
I am not sure so far if these meals would become part of our routine. It was fun to receive the delivery, we ate more vegetables than usual and I enjoyed the novelty of having everything ready and portioned for me to start cooking. The food did take up a large space in the fridge.
I have found the quality of the food very good so far.
I haven't found that it has decreased the mental load of choosing meals, but I have really enjoyed the novelty and feel that we have had far more vegetables per meal than we would usually have (on nights when I'm cooking!)
I don't have a particularly varied cooking repertoire. My husband is an excellent cook but works very long hours so I tend to cook most during the week. I often rely on Simply Cook or the same few favourites. My children tend to have different disliked dishes which limits my repertoire as I am not willing to cook different meals (as my Mum used to do for spoilt younger me!) This recipe box has given me some new ideas and I enjoyed the challenge of working through the box.
Our second box was due on Tuesday but was delayed 24 hours due to DPD problems. I was disappointed. We have a busy week and was planning to cook the Mindful Chef recipes on Tuesday & Thursday. Polly at Mindful Chef customer services was very helpful and apologetic. My husband will be cooking the Szechuan Beef tonight and we will be having our final recipe, the Chicken Parm on Sunday. I will encourage our children to cook that one.
I will return to this thread after our final meal on Sunday to update my thoughts.
I would add that I would find it helpful to have some more informative photos on the recipe. For the risotto, I wasn't sure at first how large a baking dish and baking sheet I should use. I have previously used Hello Fresh and Gousto and appreciate their step by photos.
I really liked the recipe booklet which is included and has given me lots of ideas. There are 28 recipes in the booklet and rather than flicking through it all looking for that night's recipe (or having to open the fridge to check the bag for the recipe number), it would be very helpful to have a contents list.
Thank you very much to Mumsnet and Mindful Chef for giving me this opportunity. I am really enjoying it and looking forward to tonight's meal.

had last mindful chef meal. Dan dan chicken and noodles. Very tasty. Little bit spicy but delicious. Everyone loved it. Easy to follow recipe. Plenty of veg in it.

For our second delivery we got the meatball and gnocchi bake and the Denver steak salad.

The meatball bake was very filling and there was a lot of food for four of us. There wasn't a lot of broccoli, just three or four small florets per person. However there wasn't a lack of food!

My husband and son made the meal and said that it wasn't very straightforward and that the timings in the recipe booklet didn't add up correctly!

The kids thought the meatballs were delicious but would have preferred the gnocchi and broccoli boiled. DH and I enjoyed it but think that we would cook it slightly differently if we had it again.

We had the Denver steak and salad. Unfortunately we had it this week when it has been cold and raining so nobody really wanted salad! I thought it was delicious, DH doesn't really like salad and the children both liked it but would have preferred it on a warmer day.

I have really appreciated taking part in the product test. My main takeaways for Mindful Chef:

1. The ingredients were top quality.
2. The food could have been slightly more pre-prepared to make the cooking easier for busy families.
3. Some of the recipes could have done with slight tweaks to make them easier to prepare.
4. The bags could be better marked with the meal they contain.

We won't be continuing with the subscription as we consider it to be quite expensive for what was, essentially, a shopping list for a specific amount of food. I didn't feel that the subscription saved me any time.

Thank you for the opportunity to give this a try.

I cooked our final meal today, Pork Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Smashed Avocado. I thought from the picture that is was pulled-pork but it was actually Mexican style pork mince. I’ve been caught out a couple of times where the dish hasn’t really been as I expected, it is possible to click into it when ordering and get more details but… I guess I didn’t do that. Anyway turns it was very tasty indeed!

During prep for the first time I wasn’t entirely sure what an instruction meant - it said to ‘score’ the sweet potato halves but ‘don’t cut through the skin’ so I was unclear on how deep to score tbh. Once scored and oiled/seasoned they went into the airfryer to cook which worked well. Then I fried up the pork mince with peppers and sweetcorn before adding Mexican spice, tom puree, tomatoes and black beans. The avocado was simply mashed with lime and salt/pepper then all served together.

Neither of my kids like sweet potato, they both tried but nope. I knew this though and gave them a wrap to eat their mince with which worked fine - both love wraps anyway. DH and I very much enjoyed the whole meal and the sweet pots were actually very tasty served like that. The mice was very flavoursome and I will make it again. A winner.

I’ll come back tomorrow with some overall thoughts from the trial.

Getting Started
I found the ordering process really easy, and was quite quick, which is always good! It was simple to filter on the “Family Friendly” meals on offer, and we picked as a family, based on the images of the food – always good to have images of what the food looks like, especially with children as they eat with their eyes.
When the box arrived, it was really well packed, and it was clear where all the ingredients were – the only bit that confused me was which number was which, but I found this on the top of the bag, but think it needs to be a bit clearer.

Cooking & Eating
My son, aged 16, was super keen to get involved with the cooking of the meals, so it was a great opportunity for him to follow the instructions. He found them really easy, and only required a small amount of support from me. They were really good to fit into our family mealtimes, as quick and easy to prepare, and no waiting around for food.
I really enjoyed having my son prepare the food – he and I liked that everything that was needed for the recipe was in the bag so didn’t have to look around for the ingredients.
Favourite meal so far is the Chicken Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce. We didn’t really enjoy the Mild Chicken Curry as found it a bit bland with brown rice – needed a bit more spice.

Family Mealtimes
My daughter, aged 11, is the fussy eater ever but she actually tried these meals and enjoyed some of them – interestingly, she actually enjoyed the Mild Chicken Curry as it wasn’t spicy but had a nice flavour for her. Portions were really good size, and we could see this becoming part of our regular routine. Maybe not all from the Family Friendly Options.

Overall thoughts as you go
The quality of ingredients has exceeded my expectations – I have found them all really fresh and tasty. The recipe box has really helped my mental load as not had to think about what we’re having for meals as well as getting my son more involved.

Hello! Thank you to everyone for leaving your feedback. Lots of you have asked about the 'Family-friendly' filter, so we hope this helps clarify things.

Our 'Family-friendly' range highlights recipes that work especially well for families: with some designed to be a little milder, with simpler textures and easy to adapt for younger or fussier eaters; and others for hungrier teens.

We know that 'Family-friendly' means something different in every household, and many of you have said that your families would happily eat from the wider menu too. We completely hear that!

Based on your feedback, we're actively working to grow the Family-friendly range, so there will be more options added over time. In the meantime, do feel free to browse the full menu – if a recipe looks like something your family would enjoy, go for it! Your feedback on this is genuinely valuable, so thank you.

A few of you have mentioned questions about delivery, so we'll answer here.

All our deliveries are handled by DPD, and you should receive a notification from them with a one-hour time slot on the morning of your delivery day.
The good news is our boxes are designed to keep your produce chilled, with insulated liners and ice packs inside, so if you're out when it arrives and have a safe place to leave it, you shouldn't need to worry. If you'd like more certainty about timing, we have a pre midday time slot available for a small fee.

We hope that helps.

A few of you mentioned not receiving a recipe booklet, so we wanted to address this.

We're really sorry - this seems to have been a packing error and we have flagged this to our Operations team to investigate further. We know how much easier it is to have something physical to refer to rather than your phone mid-cook. This is not the standard experience at all. Normally you'd receive a beautifully presented recipe book containing all the family-friendly recipes, not just the ones you ordered - great for future inspiration!

All recipes are available online through your account at any time, and we're working hard to ensure the booklets are reliably included going forward. Thank you for your patience!

Some you have mentioned that meals took a little longer than the suggested time.

Our cooking times are based on following the steps in sequence in a well-set-up kitchen, but we understand that in real family life – with little ones around, homework happening, or with different cooking equipment – things can naturally take a little longer. That said, it is really useful for us to know if it's taking you longer than stated, and we'll pass it directly to our recipe development team to review.

A couple of tips some customers find helpful: read through the full recipe before you start, and get any chopping done in advance. And if you have a budding mini chef at home, now's the time to put them to work!

Hello @SunshineVictoria – really glad you raised the packaging, as a few others have too.

We're on a mission to remove packaging wherever we can. Currently, 94% of our packaging is recyclable – including the outer box, the paper bags and most of the inner components. We know there is still work to do on the remaining 6% and we're committed to improving that whilst keeping your food fresh and safe.

Thank you for the thoughtful feedback – it genuinely matters to us.

Hello @TolpuddleFarter – thank you so much for this detailed and thoughtful review! We're absolutely thrilled that the Sticky Five-Spice Beef went down so well – and your comment about the mince being the nicest you've ever tried has genuinely made our day. We'll pass that on to our sourcing team!

Hello @Dizzywizz – wonderful to hear the Korean Sticky Beef was such a hit that everyone wanted seconds! That's exactly the reaction we hope for. And on the spice indicator – really useful to know it wasn't clear enough at a glance. We'll look at making those labels more prominent. Thanks for cooking with us!

I’m a bit behind on posting but we have been cooking and overall really enjoying our Mindful Chef boxes. Our second meal was a vegan chilli. We are not vegan, but I wanted to try ingredients I wouldn’t normally buy in the shops. Again, it definitely took me an extra 10 minutes to prep and cook than the time allocated, but that is probably down to my cooking skills!

I found the recipe easy to follow and liked the way it got me to prep all the ingredients beforehand so I just had to throw it in the pan at the right time! This is a habit I will be taking forward.

Whist we decided the sunflower mince is not for us, it was a lovely meal, the kids enjoyed the salsa salad and moaned about why I never usually cook anything good! We needed more rice, even though there were three of us, teens eat a lot of carbs so I would recommend that portions are increased dependant on the age of children in the family.

It was really good to get to try something new, to not have to think about shopping or ideas. Also fun to get back into cooking with quality ingredients. Thank you!

Will post shortly how we got on with the second box 😊.

The ordering process was very easy, and selecting meals was very simple. I picked the meals I thought would appeal to everyone and have a good portion size with having teenage sons.

I love that the meals were separated into bags to so I didn’t have to find the right ingredients for each meal.

cooking the meals was simple, I made the first one and my 14 year old son made the second, it hiked that the bag was numbered and so I could find the recipe easilyz

the cheesy chicken too longer to cook that suggested, id have been better putting the wedges into the air fryer but wanted to stick to the instructions.

everyone enjoyed the meals, the portions may have been a little on the small side, but with active teenagers it feeding 4 adults.

I could definitely see myself ordering one or two a week.

I cook from scratch anyway so the prep wasn’t a big deal, I would have liked the instructions in bullet points rather than a paragraph, it may have helped my dyslexic brain.

It’s not letting me add photos

I was excited for the second box to arrive. Choosing the meals was easy through the website. I found the website very easy to navigate. Though it was slightly harder to keep my fussy eater happy this week. We went for the Fajita Style chicken tray bake and then chickpea Malabar curry which I intended to serve up to friends.

The fajita traybake was easy to prepare, I left out the raw onion element as we are not a fan, but it’s easier to adapt the recipes. I was able to prep and make this meal in the allocated time- which might mean my cooking skills are finally returning!!! It was a really nice meal, good flavour and the chicken was great quality, the kids gave it a thumbs up! I didn’t have to add an extra two potatos as I have two very hungry teenagers to keep carb happy. I was worried that there would not be enough chicken, but it actually felt enough for two teens and an adult. It highlighted that maybe I need to think more about our portion sizes. Would defo want to cook again.

The chickpea Malabar curry was so easy to make- it was good to try out different ingredients I would never usually buy. It felt like a pleasure to make as it was super simple as everything was pre measured and just needed popping in. It was full of flavour, went down well and catered for three adults easily. Would definitely order and cook again.

Overall it’s been a joy to have great food delivered to the door. Family life is so hectic. It’s hard to plan and prep good food. I also needed support and inspiration to reset and find my cooking skills and motivation again. I would say that it would be ideal to work towards having less plastic to wash and recycle as there are a lot of tiny packets - though lots of the wrapping was in paper format which was pleasing. Mindful chef is definitely something I would like to continue to have in our lives- I’ve already ordered next weeks box! Thank you for the opportunity - it’s been a real pleasure and has made a positive difference to our week and general wellbeing.

My final feedback based on all four meals:

The ordering process was easy, no problems setting up an account and very clear on how to choose boxes of different sizes and amounts per week. There was a good variety of meals on offer, although I was unconvinced by the ‘family-friendly’ designation - this seems just to variable, what makes a meal family-friendly? My family generally preferred sound of meals in the other categories. None-the-less I chose four meals from the required section, my criterion were that I wanted meals that were different from what we would usually eat, but that sounded like something we might all enjoy. When the box arrived I was surprised by its size, but impressed with the quality of the ingredients provided. All veg was fresh and ripe (even the avocado - very impressive) and the meal was all free range which I appreciated. Branded rice and other extras felt like a luxury too.

The recipes were all pretty easy to cook, the instructions generally fairly clear and nothing fancy required from the cook. They varied on how they fit into our usual routines; some were prep and leave which was fine and some were fairly quick which was also fine but others were more involved or took longer which was tricky on a weeknight. They all took a little longer to prep than advertised - I’m a confident, able cook and not slow, but nor am I at TV chef levels of chopping. The actually cooking times were pretty accurate. Weeknights my eldest typically cooks once a fortnight and my youngest occasionally gets involved with chopping but generally they are busy with clubs and schoolwork and getting them involved in cooking is best left for the weekend. As a family we enjoyed all the meals, the meatball gnocchi bake was probably the overall winner.

The kids had different favourites - meatball gnocchi for one, Mexican pork (minus the sweet pots) for the other. They both ate well at all the meals, but they usually do and I didn’t feel there was anything particularly different or special about these meals in that regard. The portions were good for us, two adults, a teen and pre-teen with smaller than average appetites meant we always had some leftovers. I can’t imagine these meals will become part of our regular routine, mainly because of the cost. I do value the quality of the ingredients and highly value free range meat (i only buy free range) but it’s hard to justify paying £50 for two, fairly normal, meals. I think they are great if you are stuck in a rut and need new ideas, also I think they would be really excellent to take away to a self-catering type holiday. To be honest for someone who typically ‘cooks from scratch’ things like tiny packets of tomato puree, or honey etc seems a bit ridiculous. The individual servings of passata were fun to see once, but again nonsense for someone who buys passata by the four-pack normally. Whereas the non-store cupboard ingredients, the fresh veg and meat and the very specialist stuff maybe, seemed more valuable. I wonder if this is a model that could be offered to those of us who are (to coin an American phrase) ‘ingredient cooks’.

The boxes definitely reduce the mental load; picking the meals is super easy and then no shopping required. Cooking was slightly higher mental load because a new recipe always takes more concentration but not bad. My usual way of planning meals is I look at the family calendar and consider what we’ve got going on, who will cook and how much time they will have available. I typically plan 2-4 days ahead and often make a switch on the day if our somewhat chaotic family life demands a change. The cooking style of these meals is not dissimilar to my usual method.

That’s it from me, just wanted to say this was a great product test to be part of, it felt really thorough and I now have a good understanding of how Mindful Chef works.

Firstly the website was very easy to sign up and navigate around to search for meals. I filtered by family friendly meals, but did find this quite limited and not easy to select meals we would all eat, some too spicy or just food we wouldn't choose etc. There were plenty of meals we would choose in other sections, but these did cost more and I guess it's why they were excluded.

The delivery turned up when expected and left by the front door. Not too much of an issue, even though we were all out, everything was kept cold with the ice packs. I liked how the difference recipe ingredients were in paper bags, easy enough to store in the fridge to have everything together, although it would be handy to have the recipe name on and not just the number.

My 13 year old helped me with the peri peri chicken and the meatballs. He was really enthusiastic about the cooking process, we both liked how simple it was. Both recipes took far longer to prepare than stated and the cooking time was longer too.

I would be tempted to use the boxes again, but the cost is far too much for the convenience. I'm used to cooking from scratch, so the recipes gave given me new ideas. The little pits and sachets were all handy, but probably costly compared to a larger size. The portion sizes for us as a family of 4 was too small, we aimed for 3 portions and it was about right for us.

These would be ideal for a short UK break, to be delivered for an easy meal with all ingredients except oil included.

I really enjoyed being part of this trial and it’s given us the chance to try different types of meals we wouldn’t normally go for.

Overall I thought the ease of ordering, quality of ingredients and easy to follow recipes were great - we particularly loved the five spice beef.

The only downside for us is the price. I wouldn’t order regularly but it would be great as an occasional treat or even as a gift to help someone else out.

We had our final meal, the cheesy chicken parm, last night.

It's been nice to try out some different recipes, and the children have enjoyed helping to pick them. It's also nice that you get a recipe booklet including other recipes, so could try out ones you haven't ordered.

The ingredients were good quality. I do feel that brocolli is a bit overused as a side vegetable, every meal we had included brocolli.

There was quite a lot of preparation involved and I don't feel like any time was saved compared to when I usually make a meal from scratch.

The wedges were undercooked after the recommended cooking time, but everything else was cooked, so we had to remove the chicken and brocolli from the oven while the wedges took an extra 15 minutes.

The meal itself was nice, and enjoyed by both adults and children. The portion sizes were good for a family of four (I've noticed that it says this could serve 2 adults and 3 children - I dont think there was enough to spread between a family of 5).

It felt a bit overpriced for the ingredients and considering no time was saved (other than shopping) compared to a regular meal I'd prepare from scratch. I would maybe use the boxes in the future very occasionally to try out some new recipes, but the value doesn't feel good enough for us to have it regularly.

Getting started

• How did you find the ordering process?

I had no issues at all with the ordering process, it was very straight forward and easy to set up.

• How was the variety of Family-friendly meals on offer?

Pretty good, certainly a number of things my husband and I would try but I didn’t they were all particularly child-friendly, certainly not for the younger ones.

• What made you pick the recipes you went for?

I went for the meals I thought everyone would at least try. I’m gluten free so that also affected what we were able to order.

• First impressions when your box arrived – how did everything look and feel?

It arrived in a large, thick cardboard box. I didn’t hear when it arrived so it was left outside for a bit but the cold packs in the box kept everything perfectly cold and fresh.

Cooking & eating

• How easy were the recipes to cook?

Very easy. Everything was packed and labelled well so it was really easy to put everything together with minimal preparation.

• How well did they fit into your usual family mealtime routine? Did they feel manageable on a weeknight?

Very manageable at any time.

• Did they take more or less time than the recipe suggested?

Generally I thought the timings suggested were about right. The pizza style risotto took the longest to prepare, and definitely longer than suggested, mostly because there seemed to be a lot more chopping up to do but the other meals were all about right.

• Did your children get involved in the cooking at all?

No, because they were busy with homework and clubs on the days we made the meals but they generally do help in the kitchen when they can or want to.

• Any favourite meals so far? Or any that didn’t quite hit the mark?

While all 4 meals were pretty easy to prepare and make flavour-wise they were 50/50. We loved the Hoisin Salmon Traybake and the Pesto Gnocchi Bake, they were full of flavour and enjoyed by everyone. On the other hand the Sticky Five-Spice was very bland and not sticky in the slightest, it was nice just a bit blah and nowhere near as good as it sounded. I’d also dispute that carrot and pak Choi could be classed as rainbow veg. The Pizza-Style Tomato Risotto took the ,ingest to prepare and, while nice enough, again we found it very bland and nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, I also had to chuck out the basil that arrived as it was not looking good, smelt great but it was going brown and squishy.

Family mealtimes

• Did the whole family enjoy the meals?

Overall, yes.

• Any big wins with the kids? Did they clear their plates? 👀

No clear plates as there never are with the kids but they did enjoy the meals overall and it was nice to try different things with them that we wouldn’t have otherwise.

• Did the portions work well for your household?

Yes. We are a family of 4 with 2 adults and 2 kids of 12 and 5m so the portions were about right but as they get older I think we’d find us having to add to what we get.

• Could you see these meals becoming part of your regular routine?

Possibly.

Overall thoughts as you go

• How are you finding the quality of the ingredients?

The ingredients were all fresh and of good quality. The only thing we had a problem with was the basil that arrived with the risotto and didn’t look appetising at all as it had done brown so we didn’t use it.

• Has anything surprised you so far?

Not really, it was all packaged and prepared well and the dishes were nice but that didn’t surprise me as it’s would I’d expect/hope for from a service like this.

• Does a recipe box help reduce the mental load of planning and cooking?

Yes, it really does. I worry about feeding my kids nice, healthy and different meals, particularly during the week when my husband is away and my kids have clubs and homework to deal with and I have household things to get on with. Having everything pretty much ready to put together and simple recipes to follow makes a huge difference and takes your mind off having to come up with your own ideas.

Summary
I really enjoyed trying some recipes with Mindful Chef. I found the recipes easy to follow, the ingredients were fresh and of good quality and the meals were all nice, if a little bland at times. It is a great way to try new things that I wouldn’t normally think to make and I’d definitely try the recipes again, possibly adjusting a few things to our personal tastes.

Unfortunately we won’t be carrying on with a subscription for the sole reason that it is well out of our budget but it is something we would consider in the future if our circumstances change or maybe get the odd one-off box for when we could do with a quick and easy meal or 2.