I admit that I am a bit of a terror for not allowing Zach to help in the kitchen. Most of the time it never feels like he is helping. He doesn’t always listen to instructions, gets under my feet, and makes everything that little bit more difficult. And yet I know that I should be encouraging him when he wants to make his own toast, help me make a cup of tea, or stir the bolognese for me. I just find it so difficult.
When the team at Little Cook Box got in touch with me just before the Summer holidays started, to see if I wanted to try their recipe boxes for children, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to allow Zach into the kitchen with me. You see, the boxes are designed to provide a stress-free way of cooking. You order the boxes that you want and they are delivered to your door.
Each kit has all the main ingredients required to create one delicious, nutritious child’s meal. They are perfectly measured out, perfectly separated, and the back of the packet has the instructions to create each meal. They are designed for children aged 5+, although this doesn’t mean that younger children can’t eat them. I made sure I ordered two of each meal so that Oscar could eat it as well. There were obviously left overs from his plate but he gave it a good go at wolfing them down!
When it came to making the dinners, they really were incredibly easy and Zach did get totally involved in the cooking process which he absolutely loved.
The first set that we tried was the Cracking Calzone set. I actually did this for lunch for them and they both had a go at helping to make them. We weren’t exactly great at folding the dough over and there was some tomato puree spillage, but all in all they were pretty good and easy to make. And in the oven they went and out they came…voila!
They absolutely loved them. Zach ate every single bit and Oscar did a good half of his which was pretty impressive. It’s safe to say they went down a treat.
The next thing we tried was the Classy Chicken Strog. The other half and I eat strog all the time and just recently, Zach has been asking to have it too. I really wasn’t sure he’d like it though, because he has only just recently come round to the idea of rice, and I didn’t want to dish up a meal for him that he wasn’t going to eat. This set enabled me to test whether he did like the meal or not!
He once again helped me make it, although he wasn’t quite as enthusiastic because it was dinner time and he’s usually pretty worn out by that point of the day! He did a really good job though and once again, it was super easy to make. Both the boys loved it and I had a little taste too and can confirm that it is absolutely delicious!
Finally, we gave the Terrific Turkey Schnitzel a go. Now I confess for this, there was no help in the making of it. We had just got home from a day out, the boys were exhausted and I needed to do it as quickly as possible before they went to bed! It’s another reason why these boxes are so good though. Usually I would shove chicken nuggets and waffles in the oven, but instead they had a nice healthy meal to munch on!
Zach wasn’t as keen on the spaghetti in this one, although I think that’s because it had gone cold and he found cold spaghetti yukky! I tested it when it was hot and it was delicious! The rest of it was thoroughly enjoyed though.
The main thing that I love about Little Cook Box, is the values that they undertake in their creations. They source local, sustainable and unprocessed ingredients, and pay careful attention to portion size, quality, freshness, calories and nutrients.
It’s super easy to order the boxes. You just choose what you want, pick from the available delivery dates and then wait for them to arrive. And if you aren’t home, they can be left in a safe place and will stay fresh thanks to the cooling sheets and insulation within the packaging. Of course, it wouldn’t be recommended to leave them for too long – but my neighbour took delivery of mine and I got it a couple of hours later when they were still perfectly cold.
They have different packages of boxes, ranging from a selection of four for £19.80, and nine for £42.30. Obviously I appreciate that this isn’t cheap, but for a healthy convenience option, they really are fantastic.
I was overall, super impressed with the boxes. They are easy to use, look fab, and most importantly, really made cooking with Zach that little bit easier!
Disclosure
We were sent six boxes for the purpose of this review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.