Recipe Boxes

Here’s the thing: I can cook, and cook well, but left to my own devices, I tend to get in a rut – even that rut will start out healthy, but soon declines with my enthusiasm. That’s largely how this blog started!

I’ve battled this previously by using Riverford’s excellent veg box scheme, on the principle that (a) if there is fresh produce in my fridge, I’ll use it (b) the less trips round the supermarket I make, the less tempted I will be by bad things.

An extension of this that I have been curious about is the “recipe box” schemes, which provides you with 2-5 days recipes plus all the ingredients, ready to go. Riverford run such a scheme, as do others. I’m about to trial Gousto the week after next, purely because I got a introductory offer that gave me three 2 portion meals at a special price of £9.99 (normal price £35).

However, my reservation on these boxes is that they are all for 2-4 people, which means I would need to split each meal into two portions. This is not difficult, but there are two issues – on a good week, it means I will be eating the same meal twice in a week; on a bad week, I’ll say “sod it” and cook the lot for a single meal. 😀

So I perked up today when I came across Mindful Chef, who offer a single portion deal. You get to choose 2-5 meals a week, from a changing menu of 8-10 different items, they work out about £6 each, and they contain no refined carbs – no bread, no white rice etc. From the photographs, they look pretty tasty and adventurous.

As it happens, I already have food for next week, and Gousto the week after. I think I might try Mindful Chef at the end of the month, when I have a week’s holiday at home. I will be in the frame of mind to do some proper cooking, and take my time over it.