Embracing a new way of eating with Green Chef

I love food and those of you who follow me over on the Foodie Files know that eating is one of my favourite pastimes. However, when it comes to cooking the food, I have been known to be pretty lazy in that department 🙂 However, during lockdown, I made a conscious effort to get into the kitchen and learn how to cook and I must say I have become quite a seasoned chef. As much as I enjoy eating, I do try to ensure that my meals are balanced and that I have my 5-a-day quota. Saying that, working from home for over 15 months really made me reach for unhealthy and quick meals like pizzas and other microwave dishes so I was excited when I was contacted by Green Chef to collaborate on a three day recipe box where I was provided with three set meals with all the needed ingredients and a menu to help me prepare and cook them. The recipes are prepared by qualified nutritionists who provide calorie counted meals. These dishes are provided with a breakdown of what carbs, proteins and fats are in each meal.

The Green Chef recipe box provides you with 5 diet options to choose from each and every week and you’re provided with the option of picking from veto, lower carb, balanced, vegan and vegetarian options.

I was tempted to opt for a vegetarian option but the meat eater in me wanted to sample what their meat recipes tasted like so after some deliberation I opted for the balanced option.

When you choose your food option you get provided with a list of vibrant pictures of the different recipes you have on offer. Green Chef promise to deliver sustainably sourced ingredients straight to your door to cook and this is exactly what they did.

Once I placed my order, I received a confirmation email and was provided with all the necessary information regarding who would be my courier and what time they would be making the delivery.

The package came on the right day and was earlier than expected which was great. (I also filmed a small YouTube Video which will go live on my channel soon where you can see me unboxing of all of the food and ingredients).

My three day recipe box was made for 2 people so I shared these tasty meals with my mother. On the first day, I chose to make the Smokey Paprika Pork Burgers with Pickled Shallot Salad and Sweet Potatoes. Not only did it sound absolutely delicious but the menu sheet with a picture of the finished dish looked to die for!

To be completely honest, I wasn’t keen on eating a pork burger but I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty these were.

On the back of the sheet you’re provided with detailed, step by step directions with imagery as well as a breakdown of what cooking materials/equipment you need. A breakdown of the full ingredients provided, a full and detailed listing of the nutritional value of the meal which included energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars and salt content. It also listed what allergens may be in each recipe.

I found the step by step images really helpful as I often become distracted when following instructions so the simplicity of the presentation helped to make the process that more easier.

What I immediately enjoyed about this process was the fact that I was being presented with new ways to prepare my food using ingredients that I wouldn’t have tried before. Up until this point, I had always linked Paprika with curries. However, making this meal presented me with a new way of making sweet potato wedges at home and not buying store bought ones. Result!

Before we began cooking, we laid out all of the ingredients we needed as well as the necessary utensils and I recommend that you do this also as it helps to make an already easy process that more quick and efficient.

On day two, we felt like eating steak so we jumped into the next menu, which again was very easy to follow and came with a breakdown of all the ingredients needed. It’s important to add that coming from a Caribbean background, we found it increasingly difficult just seasoning our meat with salt and pepper, so we did add a few additional seasonings; in the shape of garlic salt and some steak seasoning. Of course, this will affect the overall calorie content. However, it is important for the sake of this review that we provide a clear picture of our meal preparation experience.

We normally don’t cook steak at home, so this was a great experience and the finished dish was lovely. We prefer our steak well done and introducing fennel into my diet was also un-chartered waters and has opened up my palette to add even more vegetables that I wouldn’t usually eat into my daily meals preps.

The third and final meal was Lemon & Zahtar Trout with a Herby Bulgur Salad and Harissa Dressing. This was the meal out of the three that I was the most apprehensive trying out as I had no idea what Zahtar and Harissa was and I was worried that as they were the predominant ingredients; if I didn’t like them, I wouldn’t enjoy the entire dish. However, once we got cooking and I was tasting the ingredients in between, they tasted so nice and the finished dish was more than satisfying.

I had heard a great amount about Green Chef before I received the offer of a collaboration, however I didn’t see how it could benefit me. However, after completing my three day cooking experience, I can honestly say that it offered me a number of benefits and I can see why their recipe food service can be a major benefit to the lives of people who want to take charge to their diets and their overall wellbeing.

I loved the way that the process of calorie counting was made easy and that all the ingredients that you need to prepare each dish are delivered straight to your door.

I also loved how quick and easy each meal was to make with the cook time of each being between 25-30 mins. I will add that for the pork particularly I increased the cooking time to suit my individual needs.

Being given the choice of different food types opens up your options and makes healthy eating much more fun as trying to eat healthy can often prove to be a monotonous task.

I love the convenience of Green Chef as well as the affordability and the fact that the menus changes each week means that you get the chance to try new dishes.

A massive plus point for me was the fact that it was fun throughout and really opened up my eyes to how healthy eating can easily become a way of life and services like Green Chef makes this that more achievable; especially for busy professionals and people always on the move.

What’s also important to note is that you are also not bound to any lengthy contracts which is even more vital.

Fully flexible subscription. Modify, pause, or cancel 5 days before your next delivery.

Nutritionist-approved, chef-created recipes starting at £2.82

I am so thrilled that I was able to try out Green Chef and see the benefits of what it can offer to everyday life. It encourages you to eat better, helps you stay in control of your calories so you can lose weight but also doesn’t take hours out of your day; allowing you to ultimately spend more time on the things you love to do.

An overall positive experience and one that I highly recommend you try out if you are trying to lose weight or whether you want to make positive lifestyle changes.

Find out more about Green Chef HERE

The Folks at Green Chef Are Extending A Special Offer To My Readers: Click Here To Get Up To £79 Off Your First 4 Boxes!

Special thanks to Green Chef for the collaboration xoxo