The excitement of experimenting with vegan recipe boxes
Why on earth would someone who can cook need to buy recipe boxes?
Without getting into too much detail, I’ve got Long COVID and one of the biggest impacts it’s having on me is brain fog. It’s hard to explain but I could look in the fridge and although usually, I’d be able to put something together, when there’s fog, I can’t work out what to make. With dishes that I can usually make without thinking, that’s not possible when the fog is strong. Also, I’m the stocktaker! So I keep an eye on what we have and then organise the shopping when it’s needed. I’ve been unable to manage that, so for a short time, I needed some extra help!
What’s the benefit of ordering recipe boxes?
I’m sure there are many more benefits but from the perspective of someone who’s struggling with brain fog, it’s great because of the following:
you can scroll through the available recipes and pick whatever takes your fancy
you can order 2, 3 or more recipes for each box
you can order a box every week, every fortnight, once a month or choose a different frequency that works better for you
you can skip a week i.e. there are no ties
you can choose a recipe to cater for two or four people
you don’t have to keep track of what you have in the fridge
you don’t need to buy the ingredients needed to make the dish
you have a recipe to follow, so even if you’re struggling to read, understand or retain what’s on the card, you can keep trying until you manage to action it
the ingredients are sent in the proportions that you need so there’s no wastage
The companies that I ordered recipe boxes from
I did some research and found that some companies use wool in their packaging. I didn’t want that as wool isn’t vegan. This was good for me as it narrowed the list of companies that I was interested in.
Over a few months, I ordered boxes from Gousto, Green Chef, Grubby and Mindful Chef.
I’m going to discuss all of them, one by one.
Green Chef
What I liked about Green Chef
I loved the tips that were on the flaps of the cardboard box
the recipe cards were easy to follow
the recipes came out great
What I didn’t like about Green Chef
there was no information about what the cooling ouches were made of and they were so so slow at replying when I asked on Twitter
I finally found out that they’re made using recycled plastic bottles that are at the end of their recycling journey
that the company wasn’t 100% vegan
Mindful Chef
What I liked about Mindful Chef
the recipe cards were easy to follow
the recipes came out great
What I didn’t like about Mindful Chef
they didn’t send individual recipe cards or even all the vegan ones in a booklet, but rather, they send a booklet with all the recipes in it i.e. vegan, vegetarian and those with meat in it
that the company wasn’t 100% vegan
Gousto
What I liked about Gousto
the recipe cards were presented well and easy to follow
the recipes came out great
the ingredients for each recipe came in a small paper pouch
What I didn’t like about Gousto
that the company wasn’t 100% vegan
Grubby
What I liked about Grubby
the recipe cards were presented well and easy to follow
the recipes came out great
the ingredients for each recipe came in a paper bag
the company is 100% vegan
How about you?
Have you ever ordered a recipe box?
If so, which company did you order from and what did you think of it?
If you’ve not ordered a recipe box before, after reading this article, might you consider buying one? If so, which one would opt for?
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“Vegan is just pure love. Love for animals, love for the planet, and love for yourself.”