Gousto Meal Boxes - How they have made a difference?

Gousto Meal Boxes 

If you have been following me on Instagram for the last few months you have seen me sharing and raving about Gousto boxes. Making you all hungry with my Masterchef (that's how I feel) family meals. 

I've had a lot of you interested in how it all works and why I chose to use what is in effect a meal subscription service. So here is my chance to explain a little more and share my honest review. 

As I said its a subscription meal service where you can choose how many meals for how many people and how often you would like it delivered. All the ingredients for each meal, of which you get to select from approximately 40 different recipes each week, are delivered straight to your door. I choose mine to arrive on a Monday. It can be left safely if you are not in and is well insulated so nothing perishable ever arrives or is later opened and ruined. If your away on holiday or just decide you don't want a box one week you just skip a week, easy, no hassle and no extra cost. 

I choose to do this because, as a family we do already cook good fresh meals but every week finding new inspiration and time to research recipes and think of new ideas and then do a food shop was becoming a tiresome chore. Some weeks I didn't mind other weeks I was thinking this is such a waste of time! Meals had become a bit 'Sammy' and my sanity was being tested trying to please everyone. This was then showing up as meal times being seen as stressful or somewhat lazy, we were spending more money on food than we wanted to some weeks,  possibly buying less 'healthy' and nutritious food for convenience and wasting food.  Add into that a  further mix of 'parent guilt' of not doing a good job or being disappointed in your own abilities and its good to recognise time for a change! 

One day whilst scrolling Instagram for inspiration I came across someone sharing about Gousto, I clicked the link had a little look at recipes and carried on. Then I seen someone offering a try Gousto Story, Where you get 60% off your first box, PLUS 30% off all other boxes in your first month! It worked out such good value for my family of 4 it was silly not to give it a try, and so I did. 

You download an app which is super easy to use and send you notifications of your delivery times, and prompts you to choose your recipes each week. It is also the easiest place to reschedule delivery or miss a box.  So I chose 4 meals for 4 people to be delivered weekly. It now on average costs us £47.75 per week which is just £2.90 per person. With my discount my first box was £19.10! I did wonder why they offered such a good discount but I think once you try these boxes you will see how having them can be really beneficial regardless of family size or frequency (do what's right for you!) so its a great incentive to try the box. I know a few of you have shared that you order a few meals each month instead of eating out which has had similar effects to saving money and eating better. 

You can use the app to select which meals you want. (They have gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options) up to two weeks before and there are always new meals included and fakeaways for those who like variety and cheat nights! The app also stores all your previous recipes in a cook book so you can find them again or share them with friends. We had some free gifts with our first box a cute wooden spoon and a recipes card holder which didn't sound to exciting but after 2 weeks of delivery I already had 8 recipe cards, as they come in the box each week to tell you which ingredients you need for that meal and I guess would let you make it yourself again. 

Worried about portion size? You are not alone so was my husband and teenage son. Panicking I was suddenly gonna starve them! We were all pleasantly surprised to find they are extremely generous portions, so often we have a little left over for seconds or a meal the next day. 

What has been the most fun for me, is choosing the meals together, cooking together, helping teach my son and daughter on how to cook and sharing fun facts like nutrition. If you have an apple product (I use my iPhone) you can easily upload a record of the full nutritional values of the your meals using the health kit. The more we learn about food the better choices we can make. 

So maybe now you can see why I post pictures of my dinner and share this fabulous service, and who would think something as simple as a meal subscription box could help:

• Reduce stress of food shopping and choosing recipes
• Help make good nutritional and portion size choices
• Inspire kids to cook (and the husband more) 
• Reduce food waste 
• Making cooking exciting 
• Learn new skills
• Understand food better 
• Try exciting new food options and combinations
• Save time 
• Save money 

If you want to try it for yourself here’s my link to try Gousto! Use it to get 60% off your first box, PLUS 30% off all other boxes in your first month.

This is the same offer that was extended to me. To be transparent if you use this link once you get your first box I receive a £15 credit from Gousto towards my next box. When your a customer you too will have a link you can share and gain rewards if you choose to share with others. 

https://cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promo_code=LINDA28024763&utm_source=iosapp

Update: For those wondering about packing a waste. Gousto have a pledge to reduce plastic waste from their boxes, I find the waste a lot less than any supermarket shop, so have enjoyed that benefit, and have already seen in just 2 months some of the products changing the type of packaging to a more sustainable option. Mach of their packaging is recyclable and reusable but you can read there pledge here. 

I would love to hear about what recipes you have chosen and your experiences so please do share with me. 

Have fun living life healthy , happy and fulfilled.