Some stereotypes are born in truth, and the idea that students tend to have poor diets is, in my experience, fairly accurate. Whether it’s money or time that’s tight, at one point or another we’ve all been on our third bowl of pasta in a week. I intended to break away from this and in my first year I tried to buck the trend during first year by getting into home-cooked meals, and even attempted some of my own recipes… to mixed results. Fortunately for me, Gousto came knocking on my door – literally and offered the solution to my boring food crisis.. This amazing food subscription box provided me with a number of great meals and allowed me to impress others with my cooking ability.

Picking The Right Meal For You

The greatest thing about Gousto is how straightforward and accommodating the whole process is. Get started by picking how many people you’ll be serving, and what day and time period you want your food to be delivered. Then comes the fun bit – choosing the meals you want to try!

Gousto currently offer recipes spanning across nine categories, with flavours from all over the world. If you are feeling adventurous and you want to broaden your palate, you can try a Mexican chicken traybake or if you are missing the comforts of home, why not a Chipotle burger with homemade chips?

Convenience doesn’t have to mean unhealthy

One big hangup people have about cooking is the amount of time it takes to prep and cook the meals. However, there’s no excuse with Gousto, who have meals designed to be ready in 10 minutes.

Whether you go for an express meal, or something more complex, cooking the meals is very easy and requires no fuss. Each delivery comes with clear and precise recipe cards. For those who are dieting or are nutritionally conscious, these cards also detail exactly what is in each meal – although these values only apply if you use their supplied ingredients.  

Most importantly, though, they taste fantastic. Each recipe has been perfectly engineered, the ingredient portion is expertly balanced so every taste comes through. No item is out of place.

Pricing

At first glance these prices do seem high.

At the time of writing the prices are.

2 recipes for 2 people – £24.99

2 recipes for 4 people – £31.75

3 recipes for 2 people – £29.99

3 recipes for 4 people – £42.75

4 recipes for 2 people – £34.99

4 recipes for 4 people – £47.75

However when you break down the cost of four meals for four people, a single serving equates to about £3, which for meals cheaper than your average takeaway and as nice

and well portioned as these, you can’t deny that is amazing.

Additionally, part of the cost is a convenience fee. Having predetermined meals means that you no longer have those moments where you look in your cupboards or fridge and can’t decide what to cook. Furthermore all of the ingredients are individually measured out so you no longer fear wasting food. Gousto provide you with locally sourced produce and 100% British meat for all of their recipes.The boxes come with ice packs and insulation so even if you are not home to take the delivery, your items will still be kept cool and remain fresh.

The nice about the recipe cards is that you can remake the dishes anytime you want. A lot of the time, you can find ingredients cheaper in supermarkets, so the price per serving will get even lower.

Disclaimer: I am yet to pay full price for a box from Gousto. We initially signed up to the service with a 60% code from sales representatives, then using 50% off codes when you refer a friend.

What Could Be Better

Whilst Gousto continues to go down a storm in my house, there is one aspect I wish they could improve. When ingredients get delivered they all come together in the cardboard box but they are not organised or packaged up by recipe. If you have four four meals, each with enough ingredients for four servings, it becomes time consuming to sort out numerous sachets and seasoning packets. I’ve found it useful to get sandwich bags and group all the ingredients by recipe so when it comes to cooking you can just grab a bag and go.

Dinner Is Served

Whether you’ve always wanted to get into cooking, or are just tired of the same budget noodle dinners, I would highly suggest Gousto as a service. So far I’ve ordered 19 recipes and nobody in my household has ever been disappointed by the quality of the meals, or confused by the recipe instructions. This, complimented by a revolving menu that refreshes every Wednesday, means you always have something new to try and no excuse for not eating better in 2019.