3 minute read
Easy Eats
We road test five meal delivery services
Words CARLY GLENDINNING AND HELEN BARON
Abel & Cole
ON THE MENU
Organic food suppliers Abel & Cole refresh their seasonal recipe box menu with 15 new options each week. I’m offered nine different categories including ‘foodie’, ‘speedy’ and ‘light’ but opt for veggie. There’s six recipes to choose from and a further three that are vegan. They all look great, but could be a bit limited if I decide to eat plantbased all week as I sometimes do.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
Everything I need to cook three different meals is delivered to my door early on a Monday morning and I love having my weekend freed up by not having to do a big grocery shop. I unpack all of the ingredients for: Coconut & Tomato Lentil Curry; Roast Squash, Walnut & Feta Couscous; and Lentil & Mushroom Cottage Pie. There’s quite a lot of packaging, but Abel & Cole reassure me that everything is recyclable and returnable to them.
THE RESULT?
I really enjoy cooking something new without having to plan it. The recipes themselves are easy to follow and don’t require chef-level cooking skills. Each one takes me around 40 mins to an hour to cook, which feels quite long after a day in the office so another time I might try something from their ‘speedy’ section. Ingredients are all seasonal and fresh. The veggie meals I cooked were wholesome and healthy, and tasted delicious. The recipes were things I tend to make myself (curries and cottage pie etc), so it might have been nice to see something different. I found the portions to be quite generous, which is great if you’re sharing your meals with little ones.
from £6 a meal ableandcole.co.uk
Mindful Chef
ON THE MENU
Touted as the recipe box if you’re trying to eat healthily, I’m excited to see that the menu from the Mindful Chef is 100% gluten and dairy-free as well as being nutritionist-approved. There are 16 recipes to choose from each week, under the categories of ‘protein-packed’, ‘balanced’, ‘pescatarian’ and ‘plant-based’. As I’m eating vegan this week, I choose from the six options in the latter.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
It’s great to receive my box on Sunday, a day of the week I definitely don’t feel like putting too much thought into cooking. I’ve chosen two meals: Lentil Moussaka & Creamy Coconut Bechamel and Hawaiian-Style Poke With Crispy Tofu. Again there’s a lot of packaging, but you can return everything to Mindful Chef to be reused / recycled every four weeks.
THE RESULT?
Both of my meals took about half an hour to 40 mins to make (although they do offer 15 min options). They were quite simple, although the poke bowl required you to cut the carrots into ribbons, which may have been a faff if I didn’t use my blender. Unfortunately I was missing sesame oil to fry the tofu, something I didn’t have on hand in my cupboard and one step in the moussaka recipe was omitted, although it wasn’t difficult to figure out.
Mindful Chef source their award-winning produce from local suppliers and I was really impressed with the quality of the ingredients. I also loved how their plant-based options were a bit different (I wouldn’t usually cook a poke bowl and the moussaka was topped with coconut yoghurt bechamel with nutritional yeast flakes).
from £4 a meal. mindfulchef.com
By Ruby
ON THE MENU
Founded by a chef and a gourmet food shop owner, ByRuby delivers healthy and convenient frozen food with absolutely no additives or preservatives to your door. I’m excited to choose from over 40 meals, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan, dairy and gluten-free dishes and options under 400 calories. You can also order for one person or two, which is great for reducing food waste.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
My frozen meals are delivered packed in ‘Wool- Cool’, which is 100% biodegradable and compostable, releasing valuable nitrates back into the soil.
THE RESULT?
ByRuby offers the luxury of a home-cooked meal without having to do any of the work. The meals taste amazing and hearty and all you need to do is take them out of the freezer and pop them straight in the microwave or oven.
from £3.50 for a side dish byruby.co.uk
