One month of meal kit life, reviewed
I'm working full time and writing a book at night. My partner, meanwhile, is busy taking a Covid side hustle full-time. He still does most of the cooking at home, so when the opportunity came to try Bargain Box for a month it felt like perfect timing. Here's a playback of some of our favourite meals across the month and our general thoughts on meal kit life.
Gnocchi with basil brightness
About once a year, I attempt homemade gnocchi. It's a huge lift and fails 50% of the time (for me at least). When it works, though, it really works and this recipe totally did. Critically, the gnocchi was already made for me and the sauce – a blend of sour cream, basil, stock, lemon and dried herbs – was perfectly balanced and not overwhelmingly creamy or pesto forward. Layered with peas and finely shredded carrots, the final result was comforting yet light. The least stressful gnocchi I've made by far.
Spicy, sweet and sticky fried chicken
All the Bargain Box recipes are incredibly easy to follow. I was hungry and hurried though, so still managed to mess up a critical step in this one. Still, it was great. Fluffy, aromatic rice, topped with free range chicken coated in a sticky chilli sauce and sesame seeds. Crunchy slaw with pickled cucumbers and a sesame mayo dipping sauce rounded out the meal. It took me bang on 30 minutes to make, which was excellent in my time of rush and hanger. Throughout the month I was impressed to find that all of Bargain Box's chicken is free range. And the rice! It's delicious, aromatic, never sticks to the pot – I want to fill my pantry with it, and will be getting in touch with them to find the source.
Taco Tuesday
I am a very slow cook. Like, 100-hour lasagna slow. So a Taco Tuesday dinner that promised 20 minutes of prep sounded impossible to me. It took me 30, but that's still less time than it usually takes me to cook brekkie. Great result for the time spent too – spicy, smoky mince tacos with a cooling ranch dressing and veges on top. The recipe also offered a great hack – toast up your tortillas on the gas hob if you've got one. It's a huge level up, I learned.
Speedy stir-fry with super fluffy rice
In a pinch, I can make a super generic stir-fry with whatever vege I have on hand, a protein, dashes of many sauces and rice. The end result has never been more than four-out-of-10 good. This one though was at least a seven in terms of flavour, texture and time-to-make. Crunchy baby corns, bok choy, carrots and juicy beef cooked just right thanks to very short yet very clear instructions. The sauce was built around kecap manis – a thick, sweetened and spiced soy sauce that is a staple in Indonesian cuisine. We enjoyed how this month of meal kitting introduced a few new-to-us ingredients to our pantry.
Spinach and feta tray bake
Meatballs are a fan favourite in our house, so I felt excited but slightly dubious about this recipe: baked spinach and feta balls. They were so easy to make though: roughly chop baby spinach, mix with flour, egg and two kinds of cheese. Then bake in the rich cherry tomato sauce. This dish turned out so well – the spinach provided nice structure and offered plenty of surface area to carry the melty feta and parmesan. It was served over fresh baby spinach and with an entire loaf of garlic bread for mopping up the rich tomato sauce. This dish, and several of my other Bargain Box faves, showed me that their recipe R&D team is really onto it when it comes to sourcing the exact right ingredients. The canned cherry tomatoes provided here, for example, were a deep, vibrant red and the baby spinach was crisp yet delicate. This dish made with normal sized spinach just wouldn't have been the same.
Butterflied lamb roast and green mash
Nothing says 'roast for dinner' like a rainy winter's day. Auckland has had plenty of these recently, so I was very happy with our last week's meal kit lineup. The star? A butterflied lamb roast. It was delicious – tender, juicy, flavoursome and sourced from Neat Meat, a small-scale, Queenstown-based butcher. As we chowed down I wondered why we'd never bought this cut at the supermarket. I went online later and found my answer: it's close to $60/kg. Bargain Box bills itself as New Zealand's affordable meal kit, and it sure felt that way when comparing the flavour, quality and convenience of it all to the supo.
The buttery, onion forward gravy that went with this tasty roast was a perfect pairing as was the green pea, broccoli mash – an easy, healthy side dish. 'I am so into this broccoli pea mash,' my partner said, 'there's just so much green on the plate.' It's now a new side dish in our repertoire. We paired this luxe lamb roast with a little mid-week glass of red wine, super cosy. It felt like a date.
Takeaway dupes
One thing that's fun about meal-kitting is the excitement for arrival. I'd get a text from Bargain Box letting me know mine was on the way. And then, as if by magic, it would land on my porch at the absolute perfect time – 4pm on a Sunday arvo, which is about an hour before my anxiety for the week ahead really sets in, especially if we haven't done our food shop yet. One Bargain Box recipe genuinely lifted me out of my Sunday scaries: a crispy chicken 'takeaway dupe'. It had four lovely components: lightly spicy, crispy chicken wings plus creamy mash, tasty gravy and a bright beetroot coleslaw. All ready in about 40 mins and all at the exact right time – the recipes ensure you don't end up with a piping-hot main ready to be served and a yet-to-be-assembled salad (this happens to me all the time normally). Anyways, this dish – it did actually reminded me of takeaway fried chicken, and helped soothe my Sunday scaries.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- The Spinoff
One month of meal kit life, reviewed
A foodie who prefers to freestyle in the kitchen tries a new approach. I'm working full time and writing a book at night. My partner, meanwhile, is busy taking a Covid side hustle full-time. He still does most of the cooking at home, so when the opportunity came to try Bargain Box for a month it felt like perfect timing. Here's a playback of some of our favourite meals across the month and our general thoughts on meal kit life. Gnocchi with basil brightness About once a year, I attempt homemade gnocchi. It's a huge lift and fails 50% of the time (for me at least). When it works, though, it really works and this recipe totally did. Critically, the gnocchi was already made for me and the sauce – a blend of sour cream, basil, stock, lemon and dried herbs – was perfectly balanced and not overwhelmingly creamy or pesto forward. Layered with peas and finely shredded carrots, the final result was comforting yet light. The least stressful gnocchi I've made by far. Spicy, sweet and sticky fried chicken All the Bargain Box recipes are incredibly easy to follow. I was hungry and hurried though, so still managed to mess up a critical step in this one. Still, it was great. Fluffy, aromatic rice, topped with free range chicken coated in a sticky chilli sauce and sesame seeds. Crunchy slaw with pickled cucumbers and a sesame mayo dipping sauce rounded out the meal. It took me bang on 30 minutes to make, which was excellent in my time of rush and hanger. Throughout the month I was impressed to find that all of Bargain Box's chicken is free range. And the rice! It's delicious, aromatic, never sticks to the pot – I want to fill my pantry with it, and will be getting in touch with them to find the source. Taco Tuesday I am a very slow cook. Like, 100-hour lasagna slow. So a Taco Tuesday dinner that promised 20 minutes of prep sounded impossible to me. It took me 30, but that's still less time than it usually takes me to cook brekkie. Great result for the time spent too – spicy, smoky mince tacos with a cooling ranch dressing and veges on top. The recipe also offered a great hack – toast up your tortillas on the gas hob if you've got one. It's a huge level up, I learned. Speedy stir-fry with super fluffy rice In a pinch, I can make a super generic stir-fry with whatever vege I have on hand, a protein, dashes of many sauces and rice. The end result has never been more than four-out-of-10 good. This one though was at least a seven in terms of flavour, texture and time-to-make. Crunchy baby corns, bok choy, carrots and juicy beef cooked just right thanks to very short yet very clear instructions. The sauce was built around kecap manis – a thick, sweetened and spiced soy sauce that is a staple in Indonesian cuisine. We enjoyed how this month of meal kitting introduced a few new-to-us ingredients to our pantry. Spinach and feta tray bake Meatballs are a fan favourite in our house, so I felt excited but slightly dubious about this recipe: baked spinach and feta balls. They were so easy to make though: roughly chop baby spinach, mix with flour, egg and two kinds of cheese. Then bake in the rich cherry tomato sauce. This dish turned out so well – the spinach provided nice structure and offered plenty of surface area to carry the melty feta and parmesan. It was served over fresh baby spinach and with an entire loaf of garlic bread for mopping up the rich tomato sauce. This dish, and several of my other Bargain Box faves, showed me that their recipe R&D team is really onto it when it comes to sourcing the exact right ingredients. The canned cherry tomatoes provided here, for example, were a deep, vibrant red and the baby spinach was crisp yet delicate. This dish made with normal sized spinach just wouldn't have been the same. Butterflied lamb roast and green mash Nothing says 'roast for dinner' like a rainy winter's day. Auckland has had plenty of these recently, so I was very happy with our last week's meal kit lineup. The star? A butterflied lamb roast. It was delicious – tender, juicy, flavoursome and sourced from Neat Meat, a small-scale, Queenstown-based butcher. As we chowed down I wondered why we'd never bought this cut at the supermarket. I went online later and found my answer: it's close to $60/kg. Bargain Box bills itself as New Zealand's affordable meal kit, and it sure felt that way when comparing the flavour, quality and convenience of it all to the supo. The buttery, onion forward gravy that went with this tasty roast was a perfect pairing as was the green pea, broccoli mash – an easy, healthy side dish. 'I am so into this broccoli pea mash,' my partner said, 'there's just so much green on the plate.' It's now a new side dish in our repertoire. We paired this luxe lamb roast with a little mid-week glass of red wine, super cosy. It felt like a date. Takeaway dupes One thing that's fun about meal-kitting is the excitement for arrival. I'd get a text from Bargain Box letting me know mine was on the way. And then, as if by magic, it would land on my porch at the absolute perfect time – 4pm on a Sunday arvo, which is about an hour before my anxiety for the week ahead really sets in, especially if we haven't done our food shop yet. One Bargain Box recipe genuinely lifted me out of my Sunday scaries: a crispy chicken 'takeaway dupe'. It had four lovely components: lightly spicy, crispy chicken wings plus creamy mash, tasty gravy and a bright beetroot coleslaw. All ready in about 40 mins and all at the exact right time – the recipes ensure you don't end up with a piping-hot main ready to be served and a yet-to-be-assembled salad (this happens to me all the time normally). Anyways, this dish – it did actually reminded me of takeaway fried chicken, and helped soothe my Sunday scaries.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Finding wonder in nature
With the increasing prices in the supermarket, many home gardeners are choosing to live more sustainably and grow their own fruit and vegetables. Louise Frampton talks to a Wingatui woman whose food forest is thriving. Sara Pepers-Hiltrop is an advocate for living sustainably and has set up her own edible paradise. Five years ago, she and her husband, with their two young children, bought a property in Mosgiel and moved in just as the Covid-19 lockdown started. She says it began with a dream to recreate an idyllic childhood, a place where children can climb trees, find birds' eggs, scavenge for berries and where they can marvel at "the wonders and abundance of the natural world" and so Wingatui Homestead was born. "I grew up on an organic orchard in South Canterbury and I wanted to recreate this lifestyle, especially for my children and generations to come," Mrs Pepers-Hiltrop says. Initially there were just a few big trees on the property, but slowly she is transforming 0.4ha of the property into an edible food forest, based on permaculture principles. The lawn and pasture that used to surround the house has been replaced with layers of a "forest", mimicking a natural ecosystem, from the tallest of shelter trees down to the smallest of root crops underground. With a predominantly clay-based soil, she uses a no-dig method of building up layers of organic matter with grass clippings and plenty of leaves that people drop off to her. "It's all about not disturbing the soil microbes too much," she says. As we meander around the garden, it is clear Mrs Pepers-Hiltrop's dream is coming to fruition. Most plants are still dormant, but the buds are swelling, a branch of one pear tree is already in blossom, a monarch butterfly is gracefully fluttering past and the birds are happily chattering, alerting us the garden is starting to awaken. In a few months' time, the garden will be in full production supplying the family with cornucopia of veges, fruit, berries and nuts to eat, give away or preserve. The selection of fruit and nut trees on the property includes many heritage apples, pears, nashi, quince, apricots, peaches, plums, almonds and hazelnuts, all of which Mrs Pepers-Hiltrop has grown herself from grafting scion wood on to rootstocks. She clearly has natural green fingers and enjoys propagating many plants, which is evident from the collection in her nursery area. Grafting is a skill she is especially relishing. She has even cut back an old cherry plum tree and re-grafted it with plums and apricots. "It's a bit of an experiment, but I like doing experiments." Nestled among the fruit trees is an under-storey of perennials and flowers to attract pollinators, block out weeds, repel pests and add year-round interest. And growing beneath the trees are potatoes, yams and mashua — a white type of yam which grows as a vine similar to nasturtium — which are ready to emerge once the frosts have subsided. There is plenty of variety around the garden, such as tree lucerne for the birds, buddleia for the butterflies, olives in the dry areas and water cress in the damp areas. "I try to keep it diverse," Mrs Pepers-Hiltrop says. Which is also why she does not get a lot of pests. "I think a lot is down to the biodiversity. I've also got frogs, skinks, earwigs, millipedes and predator wasps." She also has six Cayuga ducks, which are being encouraged to wander around the garden and gobble up any slugs. But the chickens are wisely fenced off from the food forest, as their natural scratching behaviour can cause havoc in the garden. At this time of year, Mrs Pepers-Hiltrop is finishing off pruning. She says stonefruit such as apricots, peaches, cherries and nectarines should ideally have been pruned in summer after they finished fruiting. Stonefruit is more susceptible to fungal diseases, such as silver leaf, if pruned in winter. But it is not too late to prune pipfruit such as apples, pears and quince. She says the main problem people have with pruning is they do not realise a fruit tree can't be pruned like a shrub. "You just can't get the hedge clippers out." "You have to structurally go through the whole tree and have a look at it and decide what to take out." "You want all your fruit on the top and outside of the tree so it can get sun on it and ripen." She says overcrowded branches inside the tree limit the airflow which can lead to powdery mildew and woolly aphids and diseases. But it is not just the pruning that is important. Thinning out the fruit in summer is essential too to ensure the fruit has adequate room to grow to a decent size. "You don't want 20kg of marbles. You want 10kg of good-sized apples." She encourages people to build their own food forest by starting with just one tree, and then building the layers around it. "There's so much craziness, pain and suffering in the world that can sometimes leave one feeling quite powerless. This is something I am within my power to do, to try to change things for the better. "I hope it inspires people to try to grow their own food and try to live a bit more symbiotically with nature." She says it is not as hard as people think. "You don't actually need a lot of space for a few fruit trees or berries." To help other people get started she has set up a small business where she offers pruning services and has a private backyard nursery offering a click and collect service from her Wingatui Homestead website for fruit trees, shrubs, berries, herbs and perennials. "I've worked in the corporate world and it just wasn't for me," she says. "I want to do something that's fulfilling and that I am passionate about. It is small at the moment, but I hope it will grow."
NZ Herald
13-08-2025
- NZ Herald
A turning of the education tide? Latest school data shows improvements at all levels – except for NCEA 1
The exception was the proportion of school leavers (84.2%) with NCEA Level 1 or above, which dropped slightly from 2023 (84.6%). This was the lowest rate in a decade. All other measures increased: 76.1% left with NCEA Level 2 or above, up from 75.5% in 2023 but below the peak of 82.2% in 2020. left with NCEA Level 2 or above, up from 75.5% in 2023 but below the peak of 82.2% in 2020. 55.5% left with NCEA Level 3 or above, up from 52.8% in 2023. The peak was also in 2020 (60.7%). left with NCEA Level 3 or above, up from 52.8% in 2023. The peak was also in 2020 (60.7%). 40.2% left with University Entrance, up from 38.6% in 2023. left with University Entrance, up from 38.6% in 2023. 81% of school leavers stayed at school to the age of 17 or above, up from 79.3% in 2023. of school leavers stayed at school to the age of 17 or above, up from 79.3% in 2023. 11.8% of school leavers achieved a Vocational Pathways Award, a slight improvement on 2023 (11.3%). It's possible a greater tendency for schools to drop NCEA Level 1 had an impact on last year's results, potentially increasing the likelihood of more students failing to reach NCEA Level 1. 'We can't be certain whether the decision by some schools to no longer offer NCEA Level 1 is having a significant impact on the proportion of school leavers attaining that qualification,' said Curriculum Centre manager Rob Mill. 'However, many of the schools that have moved away from offering Level 1 tend to be schools with students facing fewer socio-economic barriers (schools with lower equity index numbers), which may influence patterns in the data.' A turning of the tide? After new NCEA standards came out in 2013, only 45% of students leaving a state school had NCEA Level 3. This rose to 50% in 2016, 51% in 2019 and 57% in the first year of the pandemic, when Covid disruption enabled students to receive bonus credits. It was all downhill from then and across the board – until 2024. An Education Review Office report in 2023 said New Zealand is not alone in experiencing a post-Covid collapse, while a 2024 academic paper called A Generation At Risk estimated the impact of Covid was up to six months of 'learning loss', and up to eight months for students with higher socio-economic barriers. NCEA Level 1 attainment for school leavers in 2024 was the lowest since new standards were introduced in 2013. Photo / 123 rf The 2024 results buck the trend of post-Covid collapse. 'The data does suggest a potential turning point,' said Stuart Deerness, senior lecturer in teacher education at the Auckland University of Technology. 'The improvements across higher qualifications [from NCEA Level 2 to UE] are genuinely encouraging and show that teachers' dedicated work to reverse post-pandemic learning disruption is paying off for the majority of senior students. 'Combined with more students staying to age 17-plus, this indicates we are becoming more effective at moving engaged learners through to meaningful qualifications.' This contrasts with the drop in NCEA Level 1 achievement, with nearly one in six school leavers with no formal qualification. 'The recovery is real but unevenly distributed, with a widening equity gap where students from poorer areas and those struggling with issues like chronic absence are being left further behind,' he said. 'Our most vulnerable learners are disengaging from the system entirely. While the mainstream improves, a marginalised group requires urgent, targeted support to prevent them from leaving school empty-handed.' Māori falling further behind A far greater proportion of students with few socio-economic barriers (as measured by the equity index) left school in 2024 with NCEA Level 1 (96.3%) compared with those facing the most barriers (72.3%). This was also the proportion (72.3%) of Māori school leavers in 2024 with NCEA Level 1 or above, lower than for Pacific school leavers (81.4%). 'The gap in NCEA Level 1 attainment rates between Māori school leavers and all school leavers increased in 2024 to 11.9 percentage points, up 0.5 percentage points from 2023,' the Ministry of Education report on the results said. 'This was the largest gap since 2014, and 3.8 percentage points more than in 2017 when the gap was smallest.' The difference between rich and poor was far more pronounced at NCEA Level 3 or above: 84% of school leavers with few socioeconomic barriers gained this level, more than double the proportion of those who faced the highest barriers (36.2%). Only 37.1% of Māori school leavers had NCEA Level 3 or above, while for Pacific school leavers it was just shy of half of them (49.5%). Since 2020, the proportion of Māori school leavers with NCEA Level 3 or above has decreased across all school equity index bands. Female students are still doing better than their male counterparts, but the achievement gender gap is shrinking over time. In 2024, 59.5% of female leavers attained NCEA Level 3 or above, compared with 51.6% of male leavers. The office of Education Minister Erica Stanford did not respond to a request for comment. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced plans to scrap NCEA last week. Photo / Dean Purcell 'Overused' flexibility Last week, Stanford announced plans to replace the NCEA system, saying it was enabling students too much flexibility at the expense of credibility. Under the new scheme, Year 11 students will face what is being called a Foundational Skills Award with a focus on literacy and numeracy. English and mathematics will be required subjects for students at this year level. Year 12 and 13 students will seek to attain the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) and the New Zealand Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE) respectively. This will replace the current system with a structured approach that requires students to take five subjects and pass at least four to receive the Year 12 and 13 certificates. Feedback on the proposed new scheme is open until September 15, with Cabinet making final decisions in December. Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the press gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.
