I love food, I really do. I used to look forward to mealtimes and taking my time to prepare complicated dishes that we would eat late at night with no regard to any schedule. Then I had children and dinnertime became a familiar scene that I’d heard whispers about. The witching hour is not a myth. Children crying and clinging to your legs demanding to be fed at 5pm prompt and parents desperately trying to hold off drinking a much-needed glass of wine until bedtime while rushing to think of a meal that can be prepared quickly and that won’t give them the Mum guilts that they haven’t met their daily healthy food quota.
Meal planning has become my least favourite task so when I heard about Gousto recipe boxes I was very keen to try them. Their food boxes promise to make home cooking simple and they really didn’t disappoint. To begin you just pick 4 recipes from their website that you would like to cook and the ingredients for those meals will be delivered on your selected day, meaning no long shopping lists or planning, and none of the swearing under your breath when you realise you have forgotten to buy the main ingredient for the chilli con carne you planned to cook on Friday. The website couldn’t have been simpler to use and I found I was really excited to cook recipes I would never have thought of.
Unboxing Gousto
It felt like Christmas morning when my Gousto box arrived on a rainy Tuesday! Opening it up I discovered that they really do send you just the exact amount of ingredients that you need so absolutely no weighing out of anything. I had selected enough food for 4 people and I could already tell the portions were going to be very generous. Also included are recipe cards which tell you exactly what ingredients you need for each meal and an easy to follow method with pictures. The recipe card also gives nutritional values so if you are like me and (occasionally) pay attention to the calorie or macro content of your food this is an added bonus.
The First Meal
The first meal we tried was one from the new 10 to table range which promises a meal which takes just 10 minutes to prepare. I started cooking at 4.50pm and we were sitting down to eat our chicken fried rice ten minutes later. It really couldn’t have been easier. And the kids devoured it! I felt like an absolute super mum because they even ate their mangetout, a vegetable I had never tried them with before because I made the mistake of thinking they would never eat it. As predicted the portions were generous and as my boys are only 3 and 1 years old they eat small portions so there were leftovers which made me very happy. I do love leftovers for lunch the next day.
Putting Gousto to the test
To really put Gousto to the test I decided to get my husband to cook one of the meals. He never cooks, he claims he can’t (insert eyeroll here). If this box can get him to rustle up a meal it really will be making my life easier. Off he went into the kitchen on Friday night, sweating slightly from the pressure of my expectation. He didn’t ask me one question, just followed the recipe and served us up a delicious chickpea Masala that didn’t take him 3 hours to prepare and he didn’t use every pot and pan in the kitchen because the Gousto recipe card even told him what equipment he needed. Hallelujah!
The Verdict
I will absolutely be using Gousto again, especially the 10 to table meals. It made mealtimes easier, more varied, healthy and with no waste. Winner winner Gousto dinner!
Gousto are offering The Motherload® readers a whopping 30% off your first THREE boxes! To claim your discount, just click here!, choose your recipes, and your discount will be automatically applied at the checkout. AMAZING!
To find out more out Gousto’s Recipe Boxes, including the fantastic Ten to Table range that Lucy reviewed, check out www.gousto.co.uk. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Photo Credits: Main Image – Gousto.co.uk. Internal images – Lucy Mulchinock
Disclaimer: As part of our sponsored content and campaign with Gousto, Lucy received a free recipe box for 4 people, for 4 days from Gousto in order to carry out this review. However, in line with our ethos on The Motherload®, any review is always conducted fairly, honestly and as transparently as possible to ensure that you receive the best information possible about a product, or service.
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