Subscription Box Review - Simply Cook

This time we're testing Simply Cook. This service provides a recipe card and pots containing things like rubs, pastes or oils to make the meal. You buy your own fresh ingredients and each meal can serve 2-4 (depending on how much of other ingredients you buy). It costs £9.99 for 4 meals. I got a Black Friday deal for our box, just £3 to try it.

We chose the Mexican Pulled Chicken with sweet potato fries to try first. But we were having it with Leigh and Erin who don't like sweet potato so we switched to potato wedges. The first pot contained a Mexican rub for the potatoes.

 

The second pot had a Chipotle paste to add to mayonnaise to make a coleslaw for the sandwich. We added onion to the cabbage and carrot suggested.

The chicken was boiled then shredded, adding the third pot which was Mole (Mo-leh) sauce to finish it off.

We all enjoyed the chicken. Leigh and Erin didn't try the coleslaw but JD and I loved it. The wedges were a bit disappointing as they didn't have much flavour. Still, the whole meal was nice and it's great to try something new.

Things we liked:

You can adapt the recipe to suit your own taste.
Lots of recipes to try, many I hadn't heard of before.
Easy to follow recipe cards.
Great to be able to have either just the 2 of us or all 4 of us
Quick delivery and fits through the letterbox

Things we didn't like:

Hmm struggling here...
It's a little expensive for recipe cards and seasonings.

To be honest this is a great service. As someone who has eaten a meal from every country there's still lots of new recipe ideas on the site I've never heard of. You get to try a new food without having to hunt down difficult to find spices or herbs (I've done a lot of that in the past). This service just makes it very easy for you.

You don't even have to subscribe, you can order a one-off box anytime or send one to a friend. This would make a great gift.

I'm looking forward to trying our other 3 recipes soon.

I'd recommend this subscription to anyone who likes cooking and being adventurous with new flavours.

P.S. JD and I had Vietnamese Pork last night and it was delicious!

Emma's Exercise Experiments - The Gym

My favourite exercise is plain old walking about. I like walking in the countryside, walking about my neighbourhood doing errands and fast walking listening to my Zombies Run! app.

I could stick with walking but I vaguely worry I'm missing out on something more fun that I might like even more. So I've decided to try out some new exercise types to see how I get on.

It's January and that means one thing. Rushing to the gym after all the Christmas excess. Except, I started back in December so I'd be ready to post this blog post. Aha, tricked you!

I got a deal to try 5 days at a Puregym for £5. I went once a week for 5 weeks.

As gyms go, they're pretty good. You don't have to sign up for a year, you can join for just a month. You can even buy a day-pass if you want to try it before you join.

I almost failed at the first hurdle. When you book a day-pass online they text you a code to use to get in. I had to press the help button because I couldn't get my code to work. When the code does work you step into the futuristic tube which closes shut behind you, then opens up in front. It was a bit snug for someone of my generous proportions. I don't think it was made with me in mind!

The first couple of times I went I started off on a treadmill which is weirdly different to walking outside. It even affected different leg muscles than usual. I enjoyed being able to set an incline on my treadmill walks and there was even a fan built in to cool me down.

I enjoyed my visits to the gym. I tried the treadmill, cycling, the cross trainer, free weights and some of the weight machines (I have no idea what they're called). It was good to try out different things and I'm glad I did it. I found the gym staff friendly and happy to help with advice.I liked the competitive physical atmosphere of the gym, everyone is there to get fitter and make their bodies feel good.

Gyms aren't for me though, I prefer being outside walking to being inside on a treadmill. I enjoy the scenary as I walk about. Yesterday when walking I saw a fat little robin sitting on a branch and it pooped as I passed. How majestic! I enjoy that my legs are actually propelling my body along as I walk. Treadmill walking seems to take twice as long as walking outside. It's like humans have invented a way of exercising that's less enjoyable than actually walking. Closed off in a room with other people not getting anywhere.


As my Dad used to say, it'd be boring if we were all the same. It was great to see lots of people enjoying the gym. Good luck to them on their fitness journeys. I'll keep walking outside for now until my next  exercise test which will be Yoga. Watch this space. :)

Playing Silly Burgers 8: Chilli Burger

Chilli burgers are one of JD's favourite burgers and one time a few years ago he ordered one in a takeaway only to be given a burger with a sauce made up of hot chili peppers. He was not pleased!

So today we're doing it the proper way with chilli on top of a burger. Well almost the proper way, we're using canned chilli for convenience.

Mix together minced beef, sausage, mustard, parsley and garlic to make the burger patties. Fry them in a bit of oil and top with chilli on a ciabatta bread roll.

The burgers were pretty great. Messy to eat with the chilli on top but still good. The inclusion of sausage in this burger made them a bit soft whereas we'd have preferred just beef patties. Ciabatta is a good choice of bun as it soaks up the chilli nicely. Overall a decent burger.

Ratings: JD - 3, Emma - 3 

Smoothies: Cocoa and Oat

I'm quite the fan of smoothies. Especially after exercising as an easy way to replace electrolytes. JD got me a smoothie maker for Christmas so I'm going to try up my smoothie game by making a few new recipes in it.

First up is a Cocoa and Oat Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/4 cup oats
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 banana
1 dash cinnamon

Put it all in your smoothie maker (or blender) and blitz until smooth (usually only a few seconds).

I have a very limited repertoire of smoothie recipes so it was nice to try something new. I felt suspicious that the oats would be chewy but they just added a nice thickness to the whole drink.  It had a sweetness from the honey but wasn't too sweet. A success!

Oats have a fibre called beta-glucan in them that helps lower your bad cholesterol and cocoa is a great ingredient to use in January as it has anti-depressant qualities. I don't need help feeling good in January because it's my birthday month!

But I was thinking of you guys. :)