Tuesday 9 June 2020

Living on a Box - Unpacking the Box


So, I got a text first thing to say delivery driver Simon would be bringing the Morrisons Food Box between 8.55 and 9.55am.  At just after 9.10am there he was on the doorstep taking a photo of my completed delivery.

Brilliant service and nice to be one of the first deliveries of the day because of all the fresh foods contained in the box.


Now to the exciting bit, the unboxing of the goodies contained within.

As you can see it was very well packed.  Nothing could shift around as every small space was filled just like a well executed puzzle.


First I completely emptied the box.

These two chilled packages had all the chilled food in them, along with ice packs.  They had been pulled into these strange shapes to make sure the rest of the contents of the box were secure around them.


This was the food that was loose in the box.

The dried foods and the fruit and vegetables.



The ice packs, three in each of the cool bags and still barely starting to melt.


In the first of the chilled packages was the Baby Leaf Spinach, the fresh Almond Milk and the dairy- free spread.


In the other I came across this ...


... inside the knotted carrier bag - an Alpro Yoghurt.

Nice of them to think that it might spill and spoil the other foods and take the time to double wrap it.


The rest of the second chilled package was Sausages, Meat Free Mince, bread crumbed 'No Chick Strips' and a block of Violife cheese ... my usual cheese of choice.

I think that's one of the reasons this particular food box jumped out at me as soon as I saw it.  The cheese, milk, bread, dairy-free spread, and vegetables are all things I would have bought individually if I had been out shopping with a meal plan in mind.  There are just enough things in the box to challenge me a bit more to actually put a meal plan together.

For instance I have never used 'meat free' mince, I tend to go down the vegetables and lentils route if I am making a 'mince' dish so that will be a total first for me.  I also have never tried the sausages or 'No Chick' strips or Jackfruit before ... and usually my chickpeas come in cans.  Yes, I KNOW that is the most expensive way to buy them ... but at least cans are recyclable and I don't have to remember to soak them the night before.  Maybe this is the Challenge that will make me change my ways, who knows!!


And finally here are the packets and dried things that come in the box.

The cereal is supposed to have eleven servings, but I think we all know that the recommended daily servings of cereal are tiny, so I will be seeing this as six servings at the most.  The Shredded Jackfruit rather strangely in a box that is designed for two, people is a single sized serving, so I will have to see what I can do with this.  And there are plenty of chickpeas and a nice large bag of Cous Cous.

The passata will be turned into a pasta sauce with some of the vegetables and so go much further, hopefully quite a few servings as I have 5 x 100g servings of pasta.

The biscuits are one of my favourites, I always have the little double packs of these in my handbag when I go out, or should I say when I used to go out in case any café I go to doesn't have any dairy free options.

The other two items are Almonds and 4 little vegan stockpots, pretty self explanatory.


So here it is ... the complete contents of the food box as it was delivered this morning.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you the store cupboard items I am using and the foods I am adding to my box foods to get myself to my necessary 'five a day'.


Sue xx
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19 comments:

  1. It looks really good, doesn't it? So beautifully packed and a great selection. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you make with it all.
    xx

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    1. I was really impressed with how it was packed. Nothing could move around ... and my bread wasn't squashed. I do hate squished bread 😬

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  2. It looks good, the veggies look to be good quality. How much does the box cost?

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    1. Everything is lovely and fresh and well in date. The box costs £35, and it's been worked out that to buy the items individually it would cost £34.45. So virtually free delivery 😃

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  3. The contents look lovely and fresh and so well packed too. I hope my Thursday delivery of a meat essentials box will be as well packed. It's great how they have included the ice packs isn't it, Sue, as they give you confidence in food safety in transit. Excited to read your next post!

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    1. Fingers crossed your meat delivery is a well packed and dated, it should be if it's also from Morisons as they do seem to have got on top of the packing and deliveries now after a bit of a dodgy start I believe. I loved that the food was still nice and chilled, like you say it does give you peace of mind about freshness.

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  4. Yes, soaking and cooking ALL the chickpeas in one go might be a good idea, then I can just freeze what I need for the second week.

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  5. An interesting box. It dies naked you wonder how the people who thought of the box portioned it out to last the 2 weeks. As you say some of the 30-40g cereal portions are tiny.

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    1. it is just slightly lacking on some meals I think. Luckily I have a small appetite and if I can jiggle my initial plan I should be able to manage the full 42 meals I need. For a couple that were big eaters this wouldn't work without a great big sack of potatoes, more fruit and veg and at least one more loaf of bread.

      But saying that IT IS a very balanced box compared to some of the others. I think them not having to include things like toilet rolls and other household items that they initially had in the boxes means the meal plans can be slightly better worked out.

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  6. A nice variety of foods but yes, I'd need a few more veggies - especially things like salad greens, broccoli and tomatoes, plus some more fruit so I think you are wise to supplement a bit.
    I will try to take a look later at the one they offer for omnivores and work out how I would do over a two week period.
    PS - I too use canned chickpeas. I do use lentils and split peas from dry but the few times that I've tried cooking beans from dry it has just never worked out quite right.

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    1. That would be an interesting read, if you worked out what you would do over a two week period. We can compare notes :-)

      The last time I cooked dried chickpeas was during last years sponsored Ration Challenge, and they were delicious and so easy to do, so I don't know why I didn't continue using the dried version ... just a smidge lazy I guess, but we all live busy lives and a little shortcut here and there is always forgivable.

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    2. Have you tried making them in a slow cooker? Virtually impossible to mess up as long as there is plenty of water in there.

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    3. I don't have a slow cooker. As the Aga is on 24/7 I have never really needed one. 🙂

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  7. I do this too. Then when I want chickpeas for homemade hummus or soup or a salad, I can just thaw out a little container of them. They actually defrost pretty well in the microwave if you forget to take them out before you need them. :) So much cheaper in the long run.

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  8. They sure managed to pack a great deal in that box. Looking forward to seeing what you make with all the items you received.

    God bless.

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    1. I was really impressed at what they packed in and how well it was actually packed. Nothing moved around and so nothing was damaged in transit 😃

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  9. That’s an interesting looking box, and I agree with Margie - I would need at least ten times more greens!
    I regularly use Quorn (frozen) mince and it’s brilliant. I did a chilli with it, adding a little “beef” Bisto (which appears to contain no animal products . . . ) and the taste was so good I had to go and check it really was a veggie dish, and that I had not defrosted a meat meal by mistake.

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    1. Yes, the 'red' bisto is vegan, it surprises a lot of people that one 😄. And actually the Stockwell Tesco cheap copy is vegan too.

      This will be the first time for me cooking with meat-free mince believe it or not 🤣🤣

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