Aussie families turn to meal kits for affordable dinners
We Some Aussie families are turning to meal kits to save on time, money and food waste – not to mention eating delicious foods at home.
This is a far more affordable alternative to ordering in and eating out, with the added bonus of learning new recipes and teaching your children how to cook.
My partner Shamus and three teenagers (who refused to have their faces included in their photos, although their hands are featured and they ate everything after) helped me test out five of the most popular meal kits on the market.
Here's how we fared.
READ MORE: 9News Perth's Tracy Vo shares details of her upcoming wedding
Jo, her three teenagers and her partner Shamus tested out five popular meal kits. 9Honey
Lite n' Easy Xpress Meal Kits - Classic Supreme Pizzas
These are the newest players in the meal kit game, with Lite n' Easy expanding out from pre-prepared eating plans and meals into meal kits. We tested out the Classic Supreme Pizzas.
These kits are so quick and easy with all ingredients including and minimal cooking required and no fancy equipment needed.
READ MORE: Count Nikolai of Monpezat 'free' after losing his prince title
Lite n' Easy now offers simple meal kits including pizza and pasta. Lite n' Easy
This is a great one for amateur cooks like my teenagers, or those who are time-poor.
But there was way too little sauce and cheese, and we did pick the pineapple out of the topping mixture.
These pizzas are simple and delicious but need more sauce and cheese! 9Honey
The base is really crispy, which is great.
AVERAGE COST PER MEAL: Less than $10
Hello Fresh - Parmesan-Crumbed Chicken Tenders
Chicken tenders are such a great meal for families because you can serve them in so many ways and enjoy the leftovers the next day.
These chicken tenders are so delicious. 9Honey
Hello Fresh kits are great but you do need some of your own ingredients. Hello Fresh/9Honey
We eat them a lot, but they're not usually parmesan-crusted. I mean, yum! Parmesan makes everything better.
With Hello Fresh you do need to provide some of the ingredients yourself.
In this case you need to provide some pantry items including olive oil, plain flour, egg and balsamic vinegar. These are listed on the recipe card. The rest is provided.
These smelled amazing while I was frying them up.
The teenagers aren't great at frying stuff yet so I did this step. 9Honey
The finished result was delicious. 9Honey
I didn't have any balsamic vinegar so used red wine vinegar. I really liked this one and ate the leftovers the next day.
AVERAGE COST PER MEAL: $9 - $12.50
Dinnerly - Milk Bar Beef Burgers and Oven Fries
From Dinnerly, we chose to sample the beef burger, and it was a hit.
Burgers are a great way to feed kids and easy to modify. Dinnerly/9Honey
Philip helped me out with this one. We combined the beef mince and seasoning and then fried the patties up with the onions.
Next, we grilled the burger buns and we added tasty cheese to the side, even though these weren't part of the official recipe.
Philip put his together, giving the lettuce a miss. He put a pattie on the bun with onions, tomato sauce and cheese and smashed it. He was very full.
We were too full for oven fries! These are really filling. Dinnerly/9Honey
READ MORE: Why you need the food storage bag that's changed my life
Giovanni, who is autistic with a very limited diet and rarely tries new foods, decided to sample one to my complete and utter shock.
He put a pattie on the bun with the cheese, took two huge bites, added some tomato sauce and took another bite. So happy.
My son Philip helped out with this one. Dinnerly/9Honey
Even Giovanni tried these, much to my surprise. Dinnerly/9Honey
My daughter Caterina ate one too. Success.
AVERAGE COST PER MEAL: $5.49
Marley Spoon - Hoisin-Glazed Pork Belly Bao Buns
I tried bao buns for the first time recently while at a ramen place with my partner Shamus. I'd seen them around, even at Aldi, and always wondered what they were like.
Marley Spoon sent this kit and I was super curious to try them.
Marley Spoon's bao buns were a fancy treat. 9Honey
These were pork bao buns so we cooked the pork first, extra crispy. Marley Spoon/9Honey
The ones I tried weren't the best. Because bao buns are pretty thick, they need smaller-sized fillings methinks – not the chunk of chicken I was given, which fell out as soon as I took a bite.
My partner Shamus took charge of this one. He loves pork and bao buns.
It's a very generous family serving. Marley Spoon/9Honey
A thumbs up for this one from my partner Shamus. 9Honey
This kit came with an added bonus – four Birch & Waite Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta cups, which was a delicious surprise.
And the pork was very crispy, if the crunching noises Shamus was making were anything to go by.
AVERAGE COST PER MEAL: $12.49
EveryPlate -Speedy Spaghetti Bolognese with Carrot Salad
Spag Bol was definitely on the list of meals to try when it came to testing out meal kits, and EveryPlate is one of the more affordable versions on the market – and the serving size was still generous.
We tried out the EveryPlate spag bol. EveryPlate/9Honey
This was pretty simple to make, a basic bolognese and a good amount of spaghetti. But the sauce recipe was different to what I am used to and called for sugar and soy sauce.
But it was very tasty.
I had my doubts about the sauce which called for sugar and soy sauce. 9Honey
EveryPlate's spag bol was very tasty. 9Honey
This one didn't come with parmesan cheese so we added our own, and an interesting point is that none of the kits came with tomato. Apparently it's a particularly 'squishy' tomato season due to the weather so they don't keep.
So lettuce and carrot salad is our new fav.
AVERAGE COST PER MEAL: $4.44
