A tasty ready made meal you can store in your cupboard?
Whether you call them microwave meals, frozen meals, supermarket meals or TV dinners, there are lots of reasons why you might opt for a ready meal over a homecooked one. There’s no prep, no mess, no food waste, no tops to wipe down, or tedious washing up to do. Just zap them for 2-3 minutes and you’re ready to sit down and tuck in.
READY MEAL MAD
The UK loves them, a research study from the food alliance Eating Better found that adults here go through an estimated 79 million ready meals each week. With a whopping £4.7 billion spent on them in 2017, this makes the UK the largest ready meal market in Europe†. Which suggests ready meals are here to stay.
Although, are they as simple, tasty and convenient as they make out? Many supermarket ready meals are pumped with excessive amounts of salt, sugar and saturated fats^ to help the taste! Frozen meals aren’t much better either, plus you have the added time and hygiene risks when defrosting them. Which is especially frustrating if you’ve forgotten what’s defrosting in the fridge, so it ends up in the bin – we’ve all done it.
THE ONLY OPTION?
But what if you don’t have time to cook? What if you live on your own and don’t feel motivated, don’t know how to cook or don’t enjoy it? What if your cupboards are bare and you can’t get a delivery slot till Wednesday? What if your freezer is the perfect size for a packet of peas but not much else? What if you would rather watch paint dry than wait for a meal to defrost? And what if you’d prefer to not defrost food at all? What do you do then?
If only there were a ready meal service that didn’t process its food to within an inch of its life and means you’re not having to shoehorn them into your freezer.
The thoughts of Parsley Box founders Adrienne and Gordon MacAulay exactly, when looking for a range of healthy ready meals for Gordon’s mother. “I was worried about her eating properly and the more we searched, the fewer options we had,” says Gordon. “There just had to be a quicker, easier and safer way of enjoying healthier convenience food.”
READY MEALS SOLVED
And so Parsley Box was born, healthier ready meals, that give your insides a hug. Ordered by phone or online and delivered directly to your door. Such an enviable, simple idea that’s clearly struck a chord, racking up over 160,000 satisfied customers and sending out 3.5 million meals to date. So what exactly is their secret ingredient?
THE SECRET INGREDIENT
First is their revolutionary cooking technique, inspired by an ambient style known as sous-vide. French for ‘under vacuum’, which cooks the ingredients slowly, so as to retain all the flavour and lock-in nutrients. Once perfectly cooked the vacuum is then sealed immediately, preserving the meal inside and keeping it fresh for up to 6 months with no unnecessary preservatives.
No need to use a fridge or freezer either, just pop them in your store cupboard, ready to eat when you are. Saving you some extra space and handy for those busier days with no defrosting needed and main meals taking just 2-3 minutes in the microwave or cooked through in the oven.
Worth noting their speedy service too, as their meals aren’t frozen your order isn’t stood around waiting for the van to fill up first. Plus, if your order is over £19 and you place it before 3pm (Mon-Thur) you’ll qualify for free nextday delivery* and a guaranteed 2-hour time slot. Putting most supermarkets and food delivery services to shame.
QUALITY AND VALUE
Not forgetting the impressive menu, with over 60 dishes and a range of single-serving wines, beers, prosecco and spirits to choose from. Who could resist home-cooked favourites like Cottage Pie, Lamb Hotpot or Chilli Con Carne with a glass of Merlot to wash things down? The fun doesn’t stop there either, new dishes are being whisked up all the time, each one as moreish as the last and surprisingly good value too. Main courses priced at a very reasonable £2.99-£3.99, singleserve wines at £2.99 and puddings at just £1.25.
INTRODUCTORY OFFER
If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, Parsley Box also has an introductory offer that’s hard to refuse. 10 meals plus 2 single-serve wines for only £19.99, that’s 44% off, including free next-day delivery*. “Too good to be true” I hear you say! Well, for that price, why not see for yourself?
Innovative cooking technique means no need for a fridge or freezer