JP from Surrey, UK
MEAL PACKS FEATURE
For today’s Meal Packs community spotlight, we spoke to teacher JP in Surrey, UK. We wanted to find out a bit more about how the app is helping him expand his food horizons and cook tasty meals from scratch with his girlfriend.
Let’s hear what he had to say…
JP (30) and his girlfriend
At work, dressed as Harry Potter for World Book Day
Meet JP
We kept it local this week! 30-year-old JP lives in Surrey, just outside of London. He uses the app with his girlfriend to cook quick meals in the evenings. As they are both teachers and often come home late in the evenings, Meal Packs is a really good option, making cooking nice and easy after a long day at work.
As for his view on food? He considers himself ‘very much a foodie’ and is well-versed in the basics when it comes to cooking. Since losing 7 stone a few years ago, he has made an effort to adopt a healthier lifestyle and attitude towards food.
‘My focus is now on having delicious home cooked meals with knowledge of what is in it and mixing it up so as not to get bored with the same dishes week in, week out.’
A fully stocked staples cupboard!
Cooking delicious meals at home
Living the Meal Packs life
JP and his girlfriend are no strangers to the app, having now used it for almost a year and a half. This has enabled them to get into a really strong routine. They pick their Meal Pack on the Friday when the new menu goes live, do their shopping at the weekend and cook Monday-Wednesday to get the week going.
As regular cooks with the app, they now have a good deal of Meal Packs in their library, giving them the freedom to choose between old favourites and newer options: ‘We use the tags to find Meal Packs that have shorter cooking times (20-30 minutes), a checklist of ingredients that we mostly have in the cupboard, or something that really calls to us.’
Though JP is allergic to egg white and his girlfriend is allergic to peanuts and intolerant to some nuts, they don’t let it stop them! They have found ways of adapting the recipes by leaving out certain ingredients or substituting them for something else. The ‘Twists’ feature on the app also helps with alternatives ‘to help bring the flavour or texture that we might otherwise miss.’
Staying inspired
Using Meal Packs, staying inspired
Anybody else find that coming up with dinner inspiration is often the hardest part? JP certainly agrees. He tells us that the meal ideas on the app are a lifesaver, helping him cook interesting dishes even when he’s short on time.
‘One thing that it definitely helps with is inspiration because coming home to cook midweek can definitely be a chore.’
The app has also introduced JP and his girlfriend to lots of new dishes, including his first chilli and his first curry! ‘I had the confidence to cook one with the recipe and the trust to try it because I know the app has delicious recipes… It’s a great way of being adventurous and developing that love of food, all within the working week!’
Dinner inspiration sorted!
Making the most of staple ingredients
As well as fresh asparagus!
No food box? No problem
With so many food box services and subscriptions out there, Meal Packs offers something different – you do your own shopping, meaning you can spend according to what your budget allows and eliminate the packaging waste that comes from food box delivery services. And JP couldn’t agree more. Meal Packs allows him the experience of shopping and looking around for a bargain, all while organising his shopping list for him.
‘I prefer the app to the food box services you can get because I like going to the shop to get the ingredients; for me, it’s part of loving food and cooking. I want to find the freshest produce and best value, which can come from supermarkets, farm shops or markets. Going in armed with the shopping list already done is a huge help but I am glad to not lose the shopping side.’
Mexican Black Bean Burgers + Tortilla Chips
Crab + Asparagus Linguine
Tuna + Sweet Potato Fish Cakes
The simple ‘Bare Necessities’…
This week JP and his girlfriend have chosen to cook an old favourite, the ‘Bare Necessities’ Meal Pack. It’s a great one to pick if you’ve just topped up your store cupboard, since the recipes rely mostly on staple ingredients!
As JP notes, it’s a really varied Meal Pack that features Tuna + Sweet Potato Fish Cakes, Crab + Asparagus Linguine and Mexican Black Bean Burgers with Charred Sweetcorn Salsa and Tortilla Chips.
‘We started with the bean burgers as they were smoky with spices and the charred corn (perfect for the cold evening we cooked it on). The fresher and a little more luxurious feeling crab and asparagus linguine was a quick dish on a busy evening with appointments and work. The tuna and sweet potato fish cakes was a more comforting dish and something we could make together and have fun doing so.’
While ‘Bare Necessities’ wasn’t a new choice for JP, he loves having access to a bank of Meal Packs that he can return to every now and then: ‘It was one we remembered from before, enjoyed and couldn’t wait to try again after a bit of time had passed.’
Like JP and his girlfriend, so many of us are living ever-increasingly busy lives, and cooking dinner in the evenings can feel like a real pain. We’ve carefully designed Meal Packs to take all the stress out of planning, shopping and cooking, leaving you to enjoy the best bits of the cooking process and the eating!
Get ‘Bare Necessities’ and loads more Meal Packs on the app now!
