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The Spinoff
3 days ago
- General
- 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.
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- Business
- The Spinoff
The cost of being: An event coordinator with ‘dead money frustration'
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a full-time event coordinator explains where their money goes. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 52. Ethnicity: New Zealand European. Role: Event coordinator, full-time. Salary/income/assets: I'm on $65,000 a year; my husband $110,000 a year. Assets: My paid-up 1998 MGF worth $7,000. Husband's motorbike worth similar. Wine collection worth $10,000. Our combined KiwiSaver is approximately $200,000. Husband's $300,000 endowment policy, pays out at 65. Our house is mortgaged at $500,000; currently worth $800,000. Biggest monthly expense? Insurances – nine of them! Two life, two medical, plus house, contents, car, motorbike and pet. Which one do you drop? We've shopped around for the best deals and managed to save around $480 a year, but a major source of dead money frustration! My living location is: Suburban. Rent/mortgage per week: Mortgage is $2,100 a fortnight for me and my husband. My niece rents an upstairs bedroom, bathroom and office at $200 a week including power and internet. Student loan or other debt payments per week: Two low interest credit cards: one $25 a week, one $15 a week. We use them, clear them monthly, reuse them. Typical weekly food costs Groceries: $200-250 including three nights of Bargain Box / Hello Fresh for two adults. Eating out: Maybe every second month as it's just so much more expensive now. Takeaways: $25-35 a week on Takeout Fridays. Workday lunches: Leftovers from dinner, sometimes there's lunches at either workplaces, and I buy sushi once a week – $15-20. Cafe coffees/snacks: Coffee machine at home and free plunger coffee at work, but I'll buy one or two takeaways a week and maybe one out over the weekend with a friend. Other food costs: Planning a small herbs, lettuce, citrus and tomatoes type garden in various leftover garden pots. Including compost, soil and plants, $150. Savings: $3,000 saved but it'll go soon on the motorbike's WOF – which needs to get done so it can be SOLD! (Husband doesn't use it enough to warrant the expense involved in keeping it.) I worry about money: Sometimes. Three words to describe my financial situation: Stable, always watchful. There's always enough to clear the bills, and the extra expenses that regularly pop up, like pets' dental work, WOFs, dentists, glasses, plumbing issue etc. Never enough for a proper holiday overseas, yet. My biggest edible indulgence would be: Chocolate. Hubby's is wine. In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: $50-70 a month on a new pink gin. Hubby $25 craft beer rigger weekly. In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: My car, $100 a month. Hubby's work vehicle means we usually carpool – I'll only take my car if our work schedules clash. Don't use my car at weekends much either. I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: Due to a losing weight journey, $0 until I reach my goal. Last year, maybe $500? My most expensive clothing in the past year was: New work shoes, $250. My last pair of shoes cost: See above. My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: Regular periodontal and hairdresser visits, occasional haircare or skincare products = $2,800. My exercise expenditure in a year is about: $320 on yoga passes and a $240 annual swim pass. My last Friday night cost: $15 prawn rice paper rolls – my fave. And a $0 gin cocktail as ingredients were in-house. Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: Timeless Summer Christchurch tickets – $245. (The tour was postponed.) Most indulgent purchase (that I don't regret) in the last 12 months was: Saxenda (weight loss medication) – $500 a month, started two months ago. One area where I'm a bit of a tightwad is: Tradesmen – I'll always get at least five tradie quotes before deciding. And whiteware – very happy to play retailers off against each other for the best deals. Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Mostly good, planner, occasionally extravagant! I grew up in a house where money was: Tight. After age nine, Mum was a solo parent. She started out as a cleaner, worked her way up, refurbished and landscaped the house over many years – much respect. But no extras, no holidays, sometimes not enough meat/protein – too many spaghetti pizzas! The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: Within the last month. Hadn't transferred over enough into the grocery account. In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: In a better paying job. Mortgage cut in half so a decent chunk leftover after every pay fortnight instead of living month to month. Able to save a lot more and travel overseas. I would love to have more money for: A proper holiday – minimum two weeks.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
My Food Bag sees modest lift in bottom line, subscriber numbers
My Food Bag has 57,000 subscribers, a marginal increase of 200 from last year. Photo: Facebook / My Food Bag Listed meal kit company My Food Bag has modestly lifted its bottom line despite a challenging trading environment. Key numbers for the 12 months ended March compared with a year ago: The company's revenue was on par with the prior year, and it stabilised its recent decline by maintaining its subscriber base and paying down debt. It reduced its net debt by $4.9 million to $6.9m. Chief executive Mark Winter said growth was up 5 percent in the second half of the year with promising results for its low-carb and diabetes health offerings. The company has 57,000 subscribers, a marginal increase of 200 from last year. "Our results reflect the positive impact of the initiatives taken to strengthen our customer offering and improve operational efficiency," Winter said. "We're seeing clear signs that these efforts are translating into sustained business performance and renewed growth." The company remained optimistic about the growth potential of its cheaper Bargain Box brand. My Food Bag said in the first eight weeks of the new financial year, demand growth continued, and it was confident in managing cost increases. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
