"Fast" Food

Sometimes life gets a little too much and a quick no thought meal is needed. Take away outlets have not really tackled the problem with packaging and often the produce is not sustainably sourced.

One option if you are having a busy week is to use recipe boxes. Sometimes it's nice not to worry about planning (if that's a thing you do) or buying food for the week.

It is a balance between ideals and cost. At the moment Mindful Chef seems to be one of the better companies and is a Certified B Corporation. They have announced (December 2020) that they are now Climate Neutral and on a mission to be Net Zero by 2030. You can read the full report here.

Riverford, another B Corp, offer really filling meals and are organic. Not all companies offer organic produce.

A much cheaper company is Hello Fresh. Although Carbon Neutral, mainly by offsetting, their claims to be sustainable seems to be focused on less food waste and I personally found that they didn't go far enough with reducing their packaging.

The last time I tried Gousto I also found that the packaging seemed excessive but I believe they have made a lot of changes and are going to roll out an eco chill box made of recycled cardboard and no plastic.

Dishy has found a way round the amount of packaging needed. They sell an essentials kit of items such as soy sauce, white wine vinegar, herbs and spices to avoid the need to use of single use packaging.

For a one off treat I really enjoyed the Vegan Sausage Naan Roll Kit from Dishoom most of the packaging could be recycled and for every kit bought a meal is donated to Magic Breakfast a charity providing healthy breakfasts to children living with food poverty in the UK.

The recipe box market is growing quickly keep an eye out for new introductory offers and for discounts from established companies.

There has also been an increase in vegetarian and vegan meal providers who will deliver fresh or frozen meals which are far healthier than the supermarket offerings.