One of the hardest things since becoming a mum is finding time to cook myself some decent food during the day. When it’s just Baby C and I, there doesn’t seem to be enough time to cook a decent lunch from scratch and then eat it. So I have to admit, I’ve been living off chicken nuggets and waffles. To be honest, I’ve quite enjoyed the nuggets! But it’s getting to a point now where I’m craving healthy food.
I want to eat the things I loved before my taste buds went haywire. Finding the time to prepare, cook AND eat a healthy lunch, well, it’s laughable really. Unless, of course, I want salad every day. Which I don’t! So when I was invited to test Everdine and their clean eating food delivery service thanks to a company called Tornado I wasn’t going to say no! I was intrigued. “Clean eating made simple.” They said. “Delicious clean meals delivered to your door.” They said. Is there really such a thing? I was skeptical.
Everdine is basically a food subscription service. The subscription is available in meals of either 8 or 12 per delivery. You can also choose how often you get a delivery, from weekly to monthly. You pick your meals from what they have on offer that week. (There’s a lot to choose from!) This week there are 24 meals to cherry-pick from, so you’ll definitely be spoilt for choice.
In my opinion, the unique thing about Everdine is that the food comes frozen and you pop it in the microwave whenever you’re ready. Literally healthy ready meals! I was also shocked at how much fresh food was in the meals. Spiralised vegetables, butternut squash wedges, beetroot, noodles, giant cous cous and the list goes on! I didn’t even know you could freeze half the things I’ve eaten so far! This is the big selling point for me. The meals I’ve eaten so far have taken no more than 10 minutes to make. That’s an amazing amount of time to have something tasty and healthy to eat.
So far everything I’ve tried has been delicious. My favourite has been the cherry and hoisin duck with wilted greens. I really felt like I was having a restaurant meal, at home, cooked in 10 minutes. Not only was everything tasty but also it was so fresh. Nothing was soggy or dry. Seriously, why aren’t all microwave meals like this! As another perk, for a busy mum like myself, you can eat the meal straight out of the box. No washing up. Hooray!
I also really loved how some of the extra came in little tubs inside the meal, which you had to take out before microwaving. Little tubs of coconut, toasted almonds or sour cream all add to the gourmet feel of these dishes and there’s something nice about adding that finishing touch! As a top, I’d pop these tubs in a cup of arm water to defrost while your meal is in the microwave.
The only downside so far has been that one of the items I ordered was out of stock so they substituted it for another meal. I wasn’t overly keen on the salmon meal they substitute it for and I think they should ask you for 2 back up meals just in case this happens again. It was a lovely meal, but I have to really be in the mood for salmon. I’m much rather get something I know I want, even if it wasn’t my first choice. But they do email do let you know and you can discuss it if you’re not happy, so that’s really good. That’s the only constructive criticism. The rest of the service is faultless.
I also wanted to mention the packaging. As a subscription service it’s pretty important that they think ethically about their packaging and they really have. The meals are frozen and then sent in recyclable packaging for free. Sheep wool insulates the food during delivery too, which might sound crazy but totally works. I picked up my delivery from a neighbor a few hours after it was delivered and everything was like it had still been in the freezer!
Everdine offer a classic or a vegetarian plan, free nationwide delivery and you can cancel or pause the plan at any time. You can also log in after you’ve made your order and amend your delivery date, because they understand life happens! It really is SUCH an easy service.
I still can’t get over how delicious and healthy these meals are. The perception of microwave meals is such a bad one and honestly, these meals are divine. I worked out that when I was at work (I’m currently on maternity leave) I could easily spend £5 – £6 on lunch. Working in central London, this would get you a sandwich and a bag of crisps. For dinner, you could easily spend £15 on a bowl of pasta! The Everdine meals work out at £6.40 per meal, considering the freshness, tasty ingredients and complete convenience of the service, well it’s a bit of a bargain in comparison.
I know that the price will stop so many people dipping their toe in and trying Everdine, so to help you out here is an exclusive discount. £25.00 off your first order. Meaning that each meal will cost from just £4.31. When you consider that you can choose from things like lamb chops and ragu beef, well, it’s a good price!
I’m so impressed with how much better I feel after bringing some healthier food into my routine, and because this takes up such little time, it works for me right now. So goodbye chicken nuggets, I’ll still have you occasionally, but now I can have gourmet food in half the time a chicken dipper takes to cook!
Don’t forget the £25.00 off your first order code here if you fancy trying it for yourself!
