HOME SPRING 2019 79LIVING |AT HOME
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 deli-
cious. 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.ukMindful Chef
ON THE MENUTouted 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 BOXIt’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 Be-
chamel 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.comBy Ruby
ON THE MENUFounded by a chef and a gourmet food shop
owner, ByRuby delivers healthy and convenient
frozen food with absolutely no additives or pre-
servatives to your door. I’m excited to choose
from over 40 meals, with plenty of vegetar-
ian, 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 BOXMy frozen meals are delivered packed in ‘Wool-
Cool’, which is 100% biodegradable and composta-
ble, 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“I love having my
weekend freed by
not having to do a
weekly shop”
HOME_Spring19_MEAL_DELIVERIES.indd 79 01/04/2019 16:55