Healthy Meals with Hello Fresh

It's easy to get into a rut when it comes to planning our meals and going for the same things week in, week out. This has meant that it has taken out the enjoyment of meal times for us as we are getting bored of using the same recipes. So when I was given the option of trying out a Hello Fresh box I jumped at the chance of trying some new and exciting meals. We've not used a food delivery subscription until now. 

After checking their website I decided the classic box was ideal for us. Hello Fresh offer 3 different boxes - classic, veggie or family.  I chose the classic box with Blake being a fussy eater I felt that if we did go for a family box there would be quite a bit of waste. 

With Hello Fresh the idea is that it makes meal times much easier with no meal planning or grocery shopping.  This also means trying out new recipes to get you out of that rut knowing they will nutritious and delicious. 

When our box arrived we were surprised at how much you get in the box. The box had all of the fresh produce in separate bags with the name of the recipe on so you don't have to go routing through the box for the correct ingredients for each recipe. There is also a separate bag for chilled items which is kept cool so you can pop them straight in your fridge as soon as you can. 

Stuart is the cook in our little family and so that very evening we decided to try out one of the recipes. We went for the Asian Chicken with Stir-fried kale and coconut. Stuart followed the recipe word for word. The recipe was easy for him to follow and smelled delicious. It was soon cooked, plated up and than devoured. The portion sizes are ample, in fact we were stuffed afterwards. 

This was also the same with the other two meals we had as well. When ordering you have a choice of choosing to go for three meals or five meals and can choose them to be for either 2, 3 or 4 people.  Our second meal was Gnocchi Bolognese with cheesy Broccoli. As a fan of the family favourite of the classic it was lovely to try a new twist with it. We have probably had gnocchi once in the 8 years Stuart and I have been together as he isn't usually a fan of it however was willing to give this recipe a try. With the gnocchi being fried it tasted delicious and we both agreed that we will have gnocchi more often if cooked in the same way. We also liked that the broccoli was both roasted and grilled which is a way we never thought to cook broccoli before. 

Last of all was Balsamic steak with red cabbage and potato wedges. We love a good steak and chips and so were looking forward to the twist with this recipe. The recipe means for the steak to be super rare however no matter how you like your steak cooked it will taste delicious. We loved this meal with its delicious flavours, our only complaint would be that we would have loved more steak and less of the red cabbage. We found that was a lot of red cabbage which we didn't finish so I'd recommend using less than the recipe states. 

Price was the boxes for some would be a little on the expensive side however for us I can say it would be great to do very occasionally when we have the funds to do so. I would certainly use Hello Fresh in the future and I can see them being super convenient for those with a busy life style for new parents who just don't have the time with meal planning. 

Gousto Subscription Box #Review

*I was gifted a box for the purpose of this review

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Gousto to see if I was interested in trying out their meal subscription service. Blake is a fussy eater and so most of the time has a different meal to what Stuart and I have. Recently I have been getting fed up of having the same meals week in week out and wanted to try something different. 

The main thing about Gousto that appealed to me was that everything comes all ready weighed and measured which of course makes meal times a lot more easier. Meal planning is something that I have found has gone to pot recently and its something we need to get back into doing. When it comes to Gousto it meant that we had 2 meals planned for us and so we only had to plan what we were having the other 5 days of the week. 

I have been wanting to try out a subscription service like this for awhile and as we like to stick to a budget when it comes to meals I thought that £27.49 for 2 meals for 2 people was a bit pricey to pay each week. So what did I think? and would I buy Gousto again? 

After looking at the Gousto website and selected the 2 meals that we wanted to try we then got to choose what delivery day we wanted. When the box arrived it was packaged well with cooling elements to keep the food fresh and chilled. The items in the box were also labeled and inside there was leaflet that explained how to store each of the items before use. 

The recipes are written up on cards and with each of the food items measured out and ready to go. This made making the meals much more simpler. The photos of the food on the cards look mouthwatering and so we were very eager to make up our delicious sounding meals. 

The first meal we chose to go for was Auntie Sues Chicken and Leek Pie. The recipe card was easy to follow and all we had to add was butter, flour, milk, olive oil, salt and pepper which we already had in our store cupboard. The card also tells you that you just double the ingredients for 4 people. The creamy and hearty chicken and leek pie took approx 40 mins to prepare and cook and we were soon enjoying our meal. The portion size was ample in fact so that we actually couldn't manage it all.

The next evening we really wanted to try out the next recipe which was Honey roast ham, egg and chips. The items have a short date on them and so we wanted to make sure we had the meals when all the ingredients were still fresh. Again the recipe was easy to follow and this time we only had to add olive oil, salt and vegetable oil. Just like the other card it tells you to double the ingredients for 4 people.  This comforting pub classic took approx 40 minutes to prepare and cook and comes with a delicious mustard mayo and side salad (kale).  Again the portion sizes were ample and this time we managed to finish it all and our bellies were full. 

So would I recommend  Gousto and would I purchase a box myself? Yes definitely the meals were delicious, easy to follow and portion wise ideal for the 2 of us. The great thing about the subscription is that you can cancel or pause at any time. I think it will be ideal if you know you have a busy a few days coming up and need to make cooking easier for you without grabbing the takeaway menu. The only thing I would find an issue is the cost which I guess depends on what your weekly food budget is. For some people the price may not be an issue for them. 

Fancy trying your own box?  You can get a £20 discount on each of your 1st and 2nd Gousto orders, on any sized box, meaning the 1st & 2nd boxes could cost £7.49 each. All you have to do is pop this discount code TORNADO at the checkout. 

Spaghetti Quarkonara

Last week I received a rather exciting parcel, a hamper filled with ingredients to make

three yummy meals for me and Stuart using The Lake District Dairy Co quark based cooking sauces. 

The Lake District Dairy Co have released a new Garlic and Herb cooking sauce which came out back in August.

Two more flavors (Tikka and Tomato and Basil) will be  available in UK supermarkets from Autumn. 

The new sauces have already impressed food experts having won the World Dairy Innovation Awards. 

Simply swap your usual cooking sauces for the Lake District Dairy Co cooking sauces to create healthy and flavorsome day to day dishes. 

The health credentials are so impressive that when making a indulgent tasting spaghetti carbonara using the 

cooking sauces instead of cream cheese the fat content is reduced by 28g (a staggering 88%) and the calorie

content is dropped by 227kcal per portion too. 

So to make the yummy Spaghetti Quarkonara (serves 4) you will need: 

- 300g of quick cook spaghetti 

- 250g Lake District Dairy Co Garlic and Herb cooking sauce

- 150g flaked ham hock 

-4 tbsp parsley (chopped) 

- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg.

Method: 

1. Bring a large pan of water to boil add the spaghetti and stir well, simmer for 7 mins or according to pack instructions. 

2. Drain the spaghetti in a colander reserving 100ml of the cooking water, empty the lake district garlic and herb sauce into the pan and gently heat until piping hot. 

3. Add the spaghetti, ham, parsley, nutmeg and 60ml of cooking water and toss until the spaghetti is nicely coated in the sauce, add a little more cooking water if required. 

4. Divide between warmed plates and serve garnished with more parsley. 

I can honestly tell you that it tastes just as good as it looks. 

Recipe idea: Add extra color with some frozen peas. Adding them to the pan for the final 2 mins

of cooking time. 

The next two yummy recipes using The Lake District Co cooking sauces will be

a fab Chicken Tikka and Quark Rice and delicious Gnocchi with Spinach and Tomato and Basil Quark Sauce.

The Lake District Co. Quark - Dairy's new "Guilt free" cooking ingrediant

It's no secret that I am on Slimming World, recently quite a few people at my local

Slimming World group have been mentioning using Quark as a substitute for higher calorie

dairy products in cooking and baking. 

I have wanted to see what the fuss was about for awhile now and have been 

sent a tub of each of the 3 of the quark flavours to try: 

- Original 

- Vanilla

- Lemon 

So far me the and the hubby have tried out the Original Quark to make 

a yummy low syn Quark Tikka Masala which was a really yummy treat after I had finished 

work on Saturday evening. 

With its smooth and creamy texture Quark is a spoonable soft cheese that is ideal for blending with other ingredients, as well as substituting into both sweet and savoury meals as a healthy alternative to the likes

of cream cheese, crème fraiche, mascarpone, ricotta, greek yoghurt etc.  

Quark is an award winning ingredient that is packed with nutritional credentials-

high in protein, naturally fat free, low in salt and sugar. In fact if you look on the packaging

you will notice that The Lake District Dairy Co Quark  scores "all green" on its pack GDAs.

Quark adds a smooth and creamy richness to meals without the extra calories and works well

with pasta, fish pie and curry to name a few for main meals. 

For a sweet treat you can use Quark in cheesecakes, Chocolate mouse and Eton Mess.

The Lake District Dairy Co Quark retails at £1.25 for a 250ml pot 

Have you ever tried Quark as a substitute in your meals/baking? 

Beanies Yogart Starter Set

As part of my diet I eat a lot of yoghurt's as snacks throughout the day. 

At most I will go through 3 pots of Muller Lights in a day. 

Of course this costs a bit of money and I have wanted to have a go

at making my own yoghurt to help me save some money. 

When I was asked to review the Yogart starter bundle a new concept from Beanies the flavour company,  

I jumped at the chance at being able to give making my own yoghurt a go. 

You may have heard of Beanies on my blog before as they make the most lovely

syn free flavoured coffees which I am hooked on. 

The make your own yoghurt starter bundle from Beanies/Yogart

comes complete with the Yogart making device which is very simple to use. 

The bundle comes with 6 different flavoured yoghurt's

- Apple and Pomegranate 

- Lemon

- Strawberry 

-  Vanilla

- Greek Style

and

- Natural Bio 

all of which contain live cultures, is 100% natural, vegetarian friendly and gluten free.

When made up each pack makes 1 litre of yummy yoghurt.

As I said above the Yogart maker is very simple to use: 

- Poor a pack into the mixing bowl and add half a litre of  cold water

- Whisk together and add a further half a litre

- Continue to whisk until smooth and place the mix  in the Yogart maker

- switch on the maker and leave for 8 hours. 

After 8 hours hours you get a smooth and scrumptious yoghurt the great 

thing is you can also add fruit such as berries and also muesli to give it a bit of crunch. 

What are your favourite yoghurts? will you ever consider making your own to save money?

New Walkers Pops

Walkers pops are a brand new creation from Walkers, merging their expertise in flavour

with science to create an air popped snack, at 50% less fat (than the average potato crisp).

Created with the whole family in mind Walkers experts have been busy behind the scenes to come 

up with a new snack to add to their range.

Swapping their usual frying method for a special air popped process the result is a

light potato snack that tastes delicious that can be enjoyed any time of day. 

Walkers have also been experimenting with flavours and have come up with 

4 mouthwatering options:

- Original 

- Prawn cocktail 

- Sour cream and onion 

and

- Melted cheese and crispy bacon. 

Walkers Pops have been available since 15th February 2014

and the 4 flavours are sold in multi packs of 6 at £1.99

Prawn cocktail and Melted cheese and crispy bacon are available in single bags

at 63p. 

My favourite out of the two I was sent has to be the Melted Cheese and crispy bacon 

I think I will be popping ;) to the shop to try out the other two flavours in the not too distant future. 

What are your favourite flavours?