Celebrity chef Nadia Lim is one of three women behind My Food Bag, a company that delivers customers with food and recipes, aiming to take the stress out of cooking. The service has already taken off in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton and was launched in the Bay of Plenty last week.
indulge asked three reporters to trial the different bags: Gourmet, Family and Classic.
ROSIE DAWSON-HEWES tried out a Gourmet Bag.
I've never been much chop in the kitchen. I can cook an edible meal and follow instructions, but I'm definitely no MasterChef contender. Which is partly why I am so excited that Nadia Lim is bringing her My Food Bag service to the Bay. My husband and I work full-time and are your typical time-poor food-lovers, who've been known to have cereal for dinner on the occasions dinner inspiration isn't forthcoming. When the food for our week of gourmet delights turned up on Sunday we were missing one item - a chilli. An email to the My Food Bag team and a very speedy response had the issue sorted in no time. Excellent service - so far, so good. On to the food.
Meal one
Our first meal was delicious: fresh snapper, poached in coconut milk with chilli, coriander, lime and shiitake mushrooms, served with rice noodles. It was relatively easy to make, though took us a little longer than the estimate. This was my favourite meal of the week. I love Thai flavours and this one was amazing. The conversation following our first bites went like this: "Holy shiitake, did we actually just make this? Nothing this good has come out of our kitchen before."
There wasn't actually a response to my comment as hubby was too busy eating.
The portion sizes were generous - we even had enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
Meal two
Our second meal was easier to prepare than the first - roast chicken with harrissa paste, served with butternut squash, hummus, dukkah and a lemon/herb dressing. This was probably the easiest meal to make. All we had to do was smear the harissa paste on the chicken, drizzle the butternut with olive oil and honey, then bung it in the oven for half an hour. The dressing comprised lemon juice, olive oil and chopped mint, parsley and coriander. This is definitely a meal we would make again. The only other thing worth mentioning is that we both had wicked, vivid dreams that night. Not sure what was in the dukkah, but it sure made for an interesting sleep!
Meal three
This meal was super-rich - pumpkin spaghetti with wine barrel-smoked mushrooms, chevre (goat's cheese), kale and pine nuts. The flavours were absolutely delicious, however, we both found the kale a bit tough. I realise kale is one of those hip super-foods but I would have preferred baby spinach. It is possible I didn't wilt it long enough. That said, the rest of the meal was super-tasty and the pumpkin spaghetti didn't taste any different to normal spaghetti - a great alternative for those who are gluten-free. There was also plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day.
Meal four
Moroccan lamb shanks with garlic potato mash and baby spinach. There was the spinach we were after! This meal would have been better if we had a slow cooker. It still tasted amazing, but to do it in the oven I had to start cooking at 4pm, not something I could have managed if I was working that day. The lamb portions were huge and the meat literally fell off the bone. Again, it had amazing restaurant-quality flavours and was hubby's favourite.
All in all, the recipes were easy to follow, the ingredients were top-quality and at $35 a meal, it was reasonably good value for the quality of food and flavours we got, especially given the ingredient amounts were perfect for two - something we regularly struggle with at the supermarket. I would happily use this service again and have already been recommending it to friends.
REBECCA SAVORY and her flatmates tried out the Classic Bag, suitable for older families.
What a treat it is to walk in the door at the end of the day and have your dinner recipe and food all ready for you! The Food Bag takes the hassle out of your dinner, with the planning and grocery shopping all organised and dropped at your door. It suits busy people who can afford to spend that extra each week to have their groceries and food planning done for them, while knowing it is all healthy and nutritious .
Even just for a week, it was great to get some fresh ideas that were healthy and varied. We will definitely use the recipes again and they were flexible enough for us to substitute meats or vegetables for those of your preference.
Day one
Vietnamese chicken and lettuce rollups with vermicelli and spicy dipping sauce
Delicious and authentic flavours made for a special-occasion meal. It may be better suited as a summer meal, when you can sit outside and be happy to eat your dinner with your hands and get a bit messy. This is good for a weekend as it took a long time for one person to prepare. 9/10
Day two
Leek, kumara and feta tart with kale and apple slaw
As we were all going to be out of the flat for dinner, we made this the night before and reheated it for lunch, which was great. Loved that all the products were free range and the meal was packed full of veges so you got a decent, filling meal knowing it was good for you. 7/10
Day three
Peppered steak with hand-cut fries, Bearnaise sauce and vegetables
This was the easiest meal to cook and prepare. A good example of a delicious and healthy meal that is easy to prepare for when you are short for time but still want to put the right foods into your body. However, when we tried to microwave our Bearnaise sauce, it separated so we went without. 8/10
Day four
Sweet and sour fish with stir-fry vegetables and rice
Another meal packed full of vegetables, and making the sauce from scratch means you know exactly what you are eating, as opposed to a pre-made packet sauce. The fish could easily be substituted for chicken or pork as well as the veges of your choice. 7/10
Day five
Chicken and bacon potato-top pie
This meal was the epitome of a winter comfort meal. Easy to prepare and easy to substitute any of the ingredients for your favourite sausages, vegetables or kumara for potato. 9/10
CARMEN HALL tried out the Family Bag.
I dread thinking about what to cook for dinner. But, unfortunately, I have a 13-year-old daughter at home and a partner so it's not easy avoiding the task.
I have also been doing it forever but, unlike other kitchen goddesses, I don't particularly like slaving over a hot oven for hours creating delicious cuisine. Raised on meat and three vege in a household where white rice was considered exotic I am more of a mince and bog girl.
However, the other half has introduced our tastebuds to different fare from various cultures and we do try to eat "clean" and avoid processed foods.
Working fulltime doesn't help either, so when I heard Kiwi chef Nadia Lim had hit town and I could test drive her Family Food Bag, I was in.
The concept behind the enterprise is simple: she provides all the ingredients and recipes for five healthy meals, and you cook them. Bloody marvellous. My brain can rest.
Everything is delivered fresh to the doorstep on Sunday for the week ahead which is super handy - you just pop everything in the pantry or fridge.
We kick-started it off with fish, veges and rice with tangy sauce. It was a take on sweet and sour sauce with monk fish. Remarkably it was not a big hit with the whanau as they said the tinned pineapple overpowered the taste despite added vinegar and chicken stock.
On the other hand the colourful linguine with chicken and broccoli has been added to our list of all-time favourites. This was a standout and somebody (who will remain nameless) scoffed his - and all the leftovers.
The lamb, creamy mushroom and spinach sauce with chippies was an odd combination but it worked. It is a good way to make a few lamb steaks go a long way and I will definitely be making oven fries again.
The old-fashioned corned beef with cauliflower cheese, green beans and mash reminded me of home and was yummy. But I think roasted tomato relish will never beat mustard or white sauce.
And the highlight of the week surprised me. It was grilled squeaky cheese wraps with rainbow salad. The vegetarian dish was a winner. I loved the salad that had bulgur wheat, red cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, corn kernels, peas and a mango in it with a spicy, sweet dressing. Top that off with fried haloumi cheese and it was divine.
It was brilliant having everything planned out for you although some of the recipes did take a lot of prep and pots. The Family Food Bag feeds two adults and three children so we had leftovers that effectively did another meal. Budget-wise it may be out of reach for some families but it definitely saves time, energy and a dash of sanity.