Box'd Fresh Review
- Ellen Stanton
- Aug 3, 2017
- 3 min read
Last week I was kindly sent a box from Box'd Fresh. Before I begin I would like to make it clear that I have not been paid to do this review and this is entirely out of choice. There are a few companies around offering this service whereby a box is sent consisting of exciting recipes and all the ingredients you need in the correct quantities. Box'd Fresh is the first I have tried and I think it will be pretty hard to beat.
The service is simple and easy, all you have to do is sign up to the programme you want - I went for the individual plan, however you can get family plans too. Then you choose how many meals you want, in which I went for 2. This is followed by you selecting your chosen meals out of a selection of 6 recipes which are changed every week. So I went for the Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry and the Chinese Pork Fillet With Fried Rice. The deal is that you must place your order before midnight on a Sunday to receive your box the following Friday, which ensures all the best quality produce is sourced for the box. I guess this is slightly annoying as you have to wait almost week, especially when you're impatient like me...but let me tell you, it was worth the wait!
So on Friday morning, I was casually taking some shots of my protein pancakes for my instagram and I heard the doorbell. Mum then shouts "Blimey Ellen, you've got a big package here!". I had totally forgot the box was arriving that day and it was a great surprise. Box'd Fresh are brilliant because they package any meat and cold items in insulating material, so if you are out during the day and your box arrives, you will have nothing to worry about.
The ingredients for each recipe are placed into small containers (these are ideal for future snack holders, so thank you Box'd Fresh ;) haha) and some in paper bags. I will now explain each recipe in more detail...
Butternut Squash & Chickpea Curry
With Naan Bread
"This has to be one of the best curries i've ever tasted" said my Mum. That pretty much sums up this fabulous first dish I made using the recipe card provided.
It was very easy to make as it only required one pan (so the washing up was easy too haha!). The only criticism I would give is that it did take longer than it said it would, which I expected as butternut squash takes a while to cook and become tender. However, this could be due to me chopping the pieces too large.
After frying the onion, the recipe told me to add the lemongrass, mustard seeds, yellow curry paste and cardamom pods and ohhhhh my goodness this gave it the most wonderful fragrant flavours. I wouldn't say I am too confident with cooking curries other than my classic thai red/green curries but this recipe has definitely exposed me to some new exciting flavours. What I also love is that although it is vegetarian, I did't even notice that it's meat free because of the fabulous flavours and textures from the the chickpeas and butternut squash. The final garnish of the mint leaves and lime give it that extra touch. I will be cooking this curry again in the future for sure!
Chinese Pork Fillet With Fried Rice
Let me begin with telling you that the orange stuff there...that is egg. You know you've bagged yourself an organic, fresh and tasty egg when the yolk is this incredible orange colour. This highlights the quality of the ingredients that Box'd Fresh supply in their boxes.
For an individual who doesn't cook pork very often, I have to say I did a pretty good damn job of it. However, I put this down all to the fantastic quality ingredients and step to step guidance that I was provided with. So it goes to show that even you less experienced cooks can put together a fantastic dish in under 30mins!
Overall I can say I was extremely impressed with the service that Box'd Fresh provided me with and I highly recommend it. It is especially good for you busy bee's out there who just don't have the time to source out good quality ingredients or think of exciting new weekday meals. I for one will be saving these recipe cards and using them again as I can confidently say that these two meals have gone above and beyond my expectations. Thank you very much Box'd Fresh for this fabulous box!