Imagine having all your meals delivered to your doorstep, fresh and ready to eat, pre-portioned to specific nutritional values. Once your meals arrive, you only put the box into the microwave and enjoy! Does it sound too good to be true ? I thought so too, however let me tell you why all of this works for me.
Why ?
I am no chef, I don't enjoy cooking and never will! But I have always been able to whip something up for all my meals, something usually quick & easy, fairly healthy and easy to grab and go. I must say, I've been a student for the past 6 years, so I always had time to put something together and (mostly) enjoy.
However
all this changed after going into full time employment and with it my diet went out the window. Like most people, I tend to starve myself until I the last second, and then...ouch...I could fight with the fridge. But when you are at work, such thing is not possible. I would have to meal plan&prep for the next day(s), plus cook dinner or let Vlad cook it for us. Bless him, he would be in the kitchen all afternoon after work.
In time, I felt that we were spending most of our free time right there, in the kitchen prepping food, washing dishes or even worse, thinking about grocery shopping.
IT WAS ALL STARTING TO FEEL TOO MUCH ! Instead of spending time with each other, we were arguing about what to have for dinner or the dishes not being washed because one of us (mostly myself :-P ) was too tired.
Something had to change, so I started to look at Meal Delivery companies in the UK and was astonished to see prices varying anything from £9 per day/person for companies such as Mindful Chef where they would deliver the ingredients and your job was to cook everything, to £36 per person/day at The Detox Kitchen. But I was in no capacity of paying so much money for food that would be delivered from who knows what part of the country, would arrive semi-frozen and most importantly, I wasn't feeling confident with the quality of the products. These are only a handful of issues with food delivery from far away. I wanted something local, maybe a smaller company that would understand my needs as a potential client.
My Experience with Peel & Coconut
Peel & Coconut is a food delivery company located in Liverpool that Vlad stumbled across at the gym. While, with the other companies, I explored them by reading reviews and customer opinions on Youtube, with Peel & Coconut I had a first-hand experience.
Like everyone else, I Googled them, found their Facebook page and messaged them with my questions, too many questions. I was interested in knowing whether they cater for vegans, prices and details about their products. Shortly after I received an email back from Ray, one of the owners, explaining how they've just added a vegetarian to the team and they would love to cater for my needs <3. Ray sent me a list of the prices and assured me about the quality of the products. The conversation gave me the confidence to try them out, especially because they offer a 20% off your first month of deliveries and I am always excited to SAVE some £££.
They offer mostly food targeted to meat eater, but now they are accepting orders for veggie/vegans.
- at the same time, Vlad decided to have his meals prepped and delivered - I was over the moon, for the first time in what felt like forever, I could avoid washing dishes or the kitchen mess <3
They kindly offered me a discount code for you, my readers <3
Use:
ANDRAPC for 10%off your first order
Contact Peel & Coconut here
*Day of delivery* - every Monday & Wednesday
Fruit & nut bircher (440kcal)
*Flavour & freshness*
My first meal was the Sweet potato, chickpeas & roasted vegetables(249kcal) and my, oh my was I surprised by the taste! I was not expecting such exceptional, fresh flavours with a sprinkle of coriander and salt. Also, the sweet potato was massive and filled me up quickly, which is what I look for in a meal. Seeing large portion sizes made me the happiest. I don't know about you, but I tend to eat everything on my plate even if I'm full, so actually knowing that the entire box would provide me with the right nutrition helped my mindset immensely going into this.
Health benefits & other PROs
Money: Unlike other services, you don't have to give in to those awful subscription service fees that tie you to the company though an ongoing membership scheme. I am horrible at remembering to cancel memberships, and I want to avoid that at all costs ;) Plus, as we no longer go into the supermarket while hungry, we have cut down of rubbish foods and binge-shopping.Health: I lost weight! I was struggling to shift any weight for the last couple of months and I went into this without any expectations except saving time, maybe money and let me tell you, the weight just came off ! Sounds too good? I lost 1kg of fat without having to do any more work than normal & all in the first week. I still have pizza and chips at the weekend, that is my naughty time!
Energy: I've never felt better because I can focus on doing work and not thinking about what am I going to eat next. I know what my next meal is going to be and that I will be satisfied at the end of it. I still train 5-6x/week in the gym and my strength and weight-lifting skills have gotten even better.
Ease: I had to travel to Romania last week and I took my lunch from Peel & Coconut on the flight. I despise airport food like nothing else, it always makes me feel bloated and "meh". So, I put my box in the hand luggage and went through security without any issues. Very convenient indeed! I had Tofu & cashew nuts, tabbouleh & broccoli (246kcal)
Final thoughts
In my honest opinion, this has been the best decision since starting sessions with a Personal Trainer at the gym. While similar in price to cooking everything myself (or Vlad), having the convenience of going to the fridge, picking up a box of goodness, popping it into the microwave and enjoying it knowing that it has all the my dietary requirements and nutritional value needed makes all the difference.
If you are looking to stay healthier, save yourself from all those supermarket visits, awful mess left after cooking and have some money to spare, I highly recommend them. The fact that they are a smaller company, delivering fresh food in Liverpool and being able to contact them fairly easily via email or phone, without going through some sort of customer service, gives them as a company that much more individualism & brownie points on personal approach. Stay healthy, lovelies, no matter the way!
