Tried and tested by Kidspot parents
4.6 out of 5: Kidspot parents were pleased with Bargain Box Choice and would purchase it again or recommend it to their friends and family.
It’s choice for kids!
The team at My Food Bag have just launched Bargain Box Choice, giving Kiwi families more choice in their meal-kit options.
Bargain Box Choice delivers family favourite recipes at bargain prices, with everything you need delivered to your door by New Zealand’s cheapest meal-kit – and now with added choice for those fussier family members.
What type of food can I typically expect in a Bargain Box Choice delivery?
Every week you can choose from eight recipes packed with goodness that will make you go WHOA! The amazing Bargain Box chefs and taste testers create meals the whole fam will love. They’re packed with plenty of veggies (perfect for growing bodies!), have easy-to-follow instructions, and are super tasty, too!
There will be a selection of proteins to choose from each week i.e. some chicken dinners, some beef etc. as well as two vegetarian meals.
Bargain Box chicken and eggs are free-range, they use sustainably caught fish, and source as many veggies and other ingredients as possible from local suppliers.
Bargain Box Choice options
Bargain Box Choice is available for three, four, or five nights per week and comes in three sizes:
Serves 2: Great for a couple, or 2 adults with a young child
Serves 4: Feeds 4 adults/teens, or 2 adults and 3 kids
Serves 6: Feeds 6 adults/teens, or great for big families
Find out more at BargainBox.co.nz.
Read the reviews below!
We’ve given 25 families the opportunity to trial and review the new Bargain Box Choice.
- If you have received product for review, please scroll to the bottom of the page and add your feedback as a new comment. Upload your review photos to this Dropbox folder.
- Each selected reviewer will receive Bargain Box Choice meals for 3, 4, or 5 nights (your choice).
- In order to arrange delivery of your trial pack, you will need to register with bargainbox.co.nz. Details will be sent to you if you are selected for the trial.
- JOIN the Kidspot NZ Product Trials Facebook page and keep an eye out for review updates
- PLEASE NOTE: You will be required to post photos of the product/meals as part of your review.
Please note
- If you are selected to trial, the product will be sent to the address in your Bargain Box registration.
- Not registered for Kidspot Product Trials yet? Then sign up now.
- Kidspot Terms and Conditions: Open to Kidspot members 18+ only. Only available for NZ residents. If you are selected, you will be required to use the product as soon as possible plus supply a review, as set out in our review instructions. Your name and email address will be given to the supplier for the purpose of delivery of the product and/or order code.
- Click here for full Terms and Conditions.
See photos from our reviewers below
BARGAIN BOX FAMILY 4ppl 5nights:
WHAT A DREAAAAM!! We have had a different food bag previously when life got to hectic for our wee family to keep up with dinners and our kids absolutely HATED it lol They would winge every time the box arrived on sundays…. BARGAINBOX turned up on Sunday and the kids were less than happy to see another food box until…. We pulled out the recipe cards!!!
First night up – BURGERS, second night up – TACO’S….. They couldnt believe their eyes!! Its safe to say very quickly bargain box became an exciting and fun nightly event while we decided what we would have! Every meal was kid friendly (and adult friendly lol) and the ease and speed of the recipes is just AMAZING!! My partner absolutely hates cooking, It stresses him out because he doesn’t know what he’s doing in the kitchen, Well low and behold he has now taken over the dinner cooking – He’s as excited about the meals as the kids!!! I know other fulltime cooking mums/wifes out there understand how amazing this is! Sooooo Naturally lol we have signed up to make this a weekly subscription for our family – Kids are happy! Dads cooking dinners! so Mums over the moon!! I have now shared this secret amongst all my mum/wife friends and groups lol They are jumping on the bandwagon real quick
Thank you KIDSPOT and BARAIN BOX for changing our lives! I look forward to never hearing the words ” MUM WHATS FOR DINNER ” again!! ;P
So we are a family of 4- 2x adults and 2x kids, Master 11 and Master 13, we had
Korean fried Taco, = the chicken was really yummy, easy to follow instructions, Master 11 and 13 both would have again, had alot of coleslaw remaining
Creamy one pot bacon Alfredo= Master 11 made this dish, said he would have again, very tasty, but needed more sauce, spinach was a nice touch, next time will add cherry tomatoes
Crispy southern chicken drums, with mash and gravy, Master 13 made this dish, easy to follow instructions, would try next time with chicken not on a bone(family not a great fan of meat bones) loved the crispy coating-so easy to put together, used left over coleslaw from tacos, and added the beetroot to it, very tasty, loved the mash with the gravy, gave it a new twist
Mongolian style beef, flavour was simple, but amazing, mung bean sprouts, were a treat, different texture(kids have never tried before, they liked it, with the dish,) ‘wouldn’t have with other things’ Master 13 said
Spiced rubbed beef rump steaks, = roast veges were just the right amount for the family(would watch the cooking time= oven dependant – our oven got hot quickly) steak was cooked to perfection =time was spot on
Mayo dressing was a surprise – would definitely use again
Overall the bargain box – came in a timely fashion, package well, and clearly labelled products with fresh ingredients, the receipes were easy to follow =kids canmake the meals, it does make life easy as you know what is for dinner each night, the price was alittle high for our family, but others may think its great(weighing up the pros and cons of cost, family of 4 for 5 night is about $7 —8 something per plate per person, thank you for the opportunity to try the bargain box😁
I got 5 nights for 2, myself and my miss 9 but my adult son moved in and is a big eater so I had to add to the meals.
The meals are delicious and easy to make so much my miss 9 helped me prep and cook, she loved the meals that we have had so far which is the Mediterranean chicken with roasties and whipped feta, yummy, delicious, easy and will do again 👌😊
Then Thai Green Beef Stir-Fry with jasmine rice and peanuts, I added more jasmine rice a had and the whole tin of cor to this one so I could feed my son as well, I have never done a curry before and this my miss 9 and I will most definitely do again, it was soo good, it was a thumbs up from my girl and my son but she loved it more, I loved how quick and easy it was and really enjoyable without it being to spicy 👌😊
We haven’t had a chance to have others yet as we have had family stuff going on but my next meal is going to be the Pan Seared Pork Scotch with roast veggies and gravy I just have to get a Kumara as my one squished in my hand when I went to pick it up yesterday to organise tea for tonight, can’t wait to get into the rest!
I really do enjoy these meals and would like to get them again but money is tight and I am on a strict budget so a treat when I have the extra funds 😊🤩
Ok so I have finished the rest of the meals and a massive thumbs up from my miss 9 👍😊
We had next the Chicken Katsu Curry; very different to what we normally have but very nice, my daughter enjoyed getting in and helping me with this meal and dipping her chicken into the flour, egg and breadcrumbs and getting her fingers mucky lol, a very nice enjoyable meal that we will have again!
Pan Seared Pork Scotch; yummmy, loads of veggies without the potato that was great, we loved it, soo easy and so delicious, my miss 9 went back for more veggies and gravy, a big hit in this house 👍😊
Last but not least was the Crunchy Pesto Gnocchi; very different but very good, so easy to make mind you all of them were easy to make! But my daughter loved this one more, she even took the leftovers to school and said it was delicious 😋 these are definitely meals I have never made before now and they have been a hit with my kids and myself, I am so happy about how easy and quick they are to do!
I have a happy thumbs up by my family for these delicious recipes from Bargain Box Choice!!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to try Bargain Box. Being a large family of 2 adults, 1 teen, 2 school aged children and a baby, it is often a challenge finding new meals that appeal to everyone’s tastebuds. The ordering process was easy and straightforward, they sent through additional information on the staple ingredients required for the meal a few days before delivery allowing time to purchase these. Upon opening the Bargain Box, I was immediately impressed with the quality and freshness of the ingredients and meat. In other meal boxes I have tried the chicken needs to be used as soon as possible. This left me a little nervous as our family had other dinner plans on the night our Bargain box arrived. Fortunately, the shelf life for all the meat lasted most of the week which was great.
The large portion sizes were also a welcome surprise and excellent for a large family. The amount of food also meant it could stretch for an extra mouth or two if you have unexpected visitors or provide a lunch the following day. We did make some alterations to suit our fussy eaters such as leaving the turmeric off the wedges and the spices off their steak but overall our family was very happy with the meals. The variety of different vegetables was a welcome surprise, everything looked and tasted so fresh. The Korean chicken tacos and spice rubbed beef steak meals were amazing and favourites for our family! Our teen was able to follow the recipe, take ownership and produce the middle eastern lamb loaded wedges all on her own. We felt the middle eastern lamb loaded wedges would have also been perfect as a taco/nacho dish. We also added a fruit box to our order, the fruit was good quality and had a great variety of fruits however the quantity was a bit lacking for a large family, 1 bunch of bananas, a pineapple, some apples, pears, kiwifruit and 5 mandarins doesn’t go far in our house so maybe having a medium and large fruit box could be an option. The fruit box was actually miss 5’s favourite with her reaction being the same as opening a gift 😊
One aspect worth mentioning is that the ingredients that are assumed pantry staples- rice wine vinegar, chicken stock, beef stock, whole grain mustard, sesame oil are not things our family have on hand as staples so these needed to be purchased to make the dishes and I’m unsure if we will get anymore use out of them now the dishes have been made. It would also be helpful if Bargain Box provided potatoes that are washed and ready to use. Having to scrub these adds an extra job during an already busy time, especially when it is late after sports practice, and I need to get dinner out as soon as possible. For a family meal box, it would be great if there was more choice in the variety of meals each week. If you sign up for 5 nights of meals with only 7 choices it becomes difficult when considering everyone’s food preferences or dietary requirements. Having a burger/roast/crowd pleaser meal that is available all month long could also be beneficial as if everyone enjoys it, I am more likely to purchase again in subsequent weeks. Overall, we really enjoyed our trial and have continued our subscription by ordering a Bargain Box for this week as well.
Thanks for the opportunity to trial the Bargain Box Choice.
Our family of 5 – Mum, Dad, 7yo, 4yo & 1yo really enjoyed this experience.
The registration and ordering process was really straightforward, and we had fun looking through the available recipes and choosing ones we thought we would like.
When it arrived, everything was clearly labelled and looked fresh. The only thing I didn’t really like was all the individual bags of the same item (as it was to be used in different meals) which just seemed to be a waste of non-reusable plastic packaging.
The meal cards were really easy to follow. Our 7 year old loved helping out as a ‘chef’, reading through the recipe and working through the steps with us. He took real pride in presenting the meal to the family and letting us know what he had prepared.
The meals themselves were all tasty, packed with great flavours and lots of veggies. We can find sometimes that recipes call for too much flavouring in them which our family doesn’t enjoy, but these meals were really well balanced and flavoursome (but not too intense!) Our children had mixed reviews. Our 7 year old ate and enjoyed everything, but he’s generally pretty easy to please. Our 4 year old can be a bit more difficult, however she did try everything, and the meals were easy to adapt when we knew there might be something she would find tricky. Our 1 year old was the hardest to please, but again she tried most things, and there were only a couple of nights that she didn’t eat much. I felt like overall it was a win for the week’s meals 🙂
We chose the 5 nights for 4 option, and that gave us plenty of food for the whole family, plus often extras for a lunch or two the next day.
I really enjoyed being able to come home and not worry about coming up with something to cook for dinner. It was great to try new recipes, and there were definitely things we can add to our regular meals we make.
Even though at the moment this is not something we have the budget for regularly, I can definitely see us ordering again from time to time when we have a busy week coming up, or are just wanting some new meal ideas.
Thanks again for this opportunity Kidspot & Bargain Box! Would definitely recommend for other families to give Bargain Box Choice a try.
Wow what an amazing experience for our family!! When we saw what was for dinner the girls made there choices well known. We took the box for 6 as we are a family 4 adults and 2 kids, and the portions where huge for us and at times had enough left overs for a lunch.
Our first dinner was the Carbonara, it was so tasty and flavoursome, everybody enjoyed it.
Our next meal was the Mongolian beef, another winner in this house. The recipe was easy to follow and my oldest who is 9 made it almost entirely by herself whilst her nanna kept watch.
The 3 meal was the yummy southern drum sticks with mash potatoes and salad. My 6 year old enjoyed seasoning the drum sticks and helping to peel and chop the potatoes.
Our 4th Dinner was the Morccan lamb with wedges, but due to a malfunctioning oven, we did it on corn chips, it was the most favourite out of all the meals.
Our rump dinner is tomorrow night due to illness I. The family but we all looking for to that one. Especially the girls so they can help prep the meal!!
We all enjoyed this as the food was plentiful and super delicious to eat!!
If I could do it over, I would definitely sign up again.
Time friendly, budget friendly as didn’t have to add to many other staples, and super nutritious!!
I don’t know if I would buy it again, as it is pretty pricey when you have to add lunches and fruit and another 2 dinners on top of that. But definitely worth the experience and time spent cooking with the family!!
Thank you!!
Thanks for the opportunity to review Bargain Box
It all started off with excitement when we got to choose which meals to have. We are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 growing hungry boys! We had to cater for everyone’s different tastes when choosing meals, and I thought it would be hard to all agree on what to choose, but it was easy, there was something that everyone liked, in fact it kind of made it too hard to choose as they all looked yummy!
Setting up the account, choosing recipes and following the instructions was straight forward
The recipes we chose were:
Korean Fried Chicken Taco’s – we actually had these for lunch one day in the weekend, they were delicious, easy to make once we got home from kids sport, kids enjoyed assembling their tacos.
Spice Rubbed Beef Rump Steaks – this was great, steak and veges, kids ate the steak (which they sometimes dont eat) they liked the spice rub – it wasnt too spicy which was good for them. Great variety of veges too.
Crispy Southern Chicken Drums – Yum, yum, yum! As family we decided this was our favourite meal. There was heaps of chicken, the coating was crispy, the potatoes were easy to mash, and they gravy, we loved that! Perfect meal for a cold winters night
Smoky Mexican Veggie Cheeseburgers – When I was checking these ingredients, I realised there was not any meat in these, the patties were made from kidney beans! Ooops I thought that no one would eat them! I shouldn’t have worried, they were awesome, everyone ate them and thought they were great. The Chipotle Mayo was quite spicy so we didn’t use too much of that, overall, very impressed with this “vege” meal
Mongolian Style Beef – I loved the ease of this meal, and the veges, it was quick to prepare and easy to make, the toasted sesame seeds and mung beans added crunch.
Using Bargain Box has been so much fun for our family, from choosing the meals at the beginning, then choosing which meal to make each night and making them together. It made busy afternoons so much easier for me, not having to decide what to cook for dinner and racing to the supermarket after work/school/sports practices. All the products arrived fresh and well packed, with thought for the environment. Our kids loved helping in the kitchen and loved the variety from our usual meat and 3 vege dinners.
The recipe cards included in the box are great, easy to follow, simple to make, even if you are not a cook! To be honest its like dining out each night, everything tasted great.
Thanks again Bargain Box for this opportunity, we will be purchasing again in the future.
Thank you for the opportunity to trial Bargain Box Choice for our family.
Our family consists of 2 teenagers with large appetites so I was delighted to find some interesting, healthy and hearty meals in these options. It was fun choosing each of the delectable meals and I naturally gravitated to the chicken and steak meals as I know My Food Bag has such high quality cuts of meat.
Our options consisted of chicken tacos, the loaded lamb wedges, steak and chicken drumsticks. We loved them all but the number hit was the chicken tacos where all the flavours worked together so well!
Moving forward we will continue with Bargain Box Choice due to the variety, ease of use, not having to think about what to have and the affordability of it.
Thanks so much!
I had very mixed feelings about our experience with Bargain Box Choice. We are a family of 5 (kids aged 9, 5 and 3 – all big eaters!) and chose the 5 meals for 4. We’ve tried other services before and there were a few things that Bargain Box Choice really got right – not too much packaging, not too much preprepared food eg sauces, marinades (meaning that we can easily add the meals that we liked to our regular rotation ), and so much choice on the menu which was a real positive for me. I also loved the email a few days before the delivery setting out the pantry items that I needed. Although on that – I had to buy a few things that I wouldn’t normally buy (eg rice wine vinegar, beef stock) which was a bit irritating as I had to make a special trip to the shop for these!
Southern Fried Chicken drums with mash and gravy
I have to say I was largely underwhelmed by this meal. The gravy was really nice, but for me that was where it ended – the coating was a little floury and didn’t really crisp up all that well, meaning that the chicken felt a bit greasy. My kids are so great at eating vegetables but not such fans of slaw so we really missed having a big pile of green veg on the side – for them it was all a little beige!
Spice Rubbed Beef Rump steaks
This was really yummy – and surprisingly simple to make. I loved the spice rub on the beef, and the feta to season the veggies was a lovely touch. We all loved this meal!
Korean Fried Chicken tacos
This was a tasty meal, but I felt like something was missing – it didn’t really fill me up and it felt more like lunch. The asian slaw was delicious though and will definitely be making again!
Mongolian Style Beef
This meal was fine, and we enjoyed having veggies that we woudn’t normally choose ie Bok Choy and Mung bean sprouts. It was a really simple meal to cook which was great after a long day.
Smoky Mexican Veggie cheeseburgers
Me and my two older boys loved this and will definitely be making this again. I would have loved a side of veggies of some sort though, as it didn’t feel like the kids got a huge amount with just the salad in the burger.
Overall, I would say that our experience was …. fine. The meals were all pleasant, easy and quick to cook. We tried some new ideas and got a bit of inspiration to spice up our weekly meal plan. However I don’t think I would continue with the service on an ongoing basis – perhaps return for another box next time inspiration runs dry! I suppose the main issue that I had with most of the meals is that I am lucky to have kids who love many veggies – but who don’t love slaw or leafy veg so much. I had to be a bit creative with serving things up separately, serving the younger kids up before adding certain things, or adding in some vegetables that they will eat.
In saying that, if I was to look to get another box, I would rate Bargain Box Choice pretty highly against the other options available. Good price point, nice range of choices and scored highly for me in the packaging and low waste stakes.
Thank you for our 5 nights for 6 Bargain Box!
We have ordered based on meals we are used to making, it’s awesome to have the choice.
First night Smoky Mexican Veggie Cheeseburgers, these patties were easy to make and looked great. Once served Mum and I reluctantly made our way through dinner but the boys and husband were quick to remove the patty and cook up a proper meat patty to replace my hard work.
It was such a shame they were anti the vege patty, especially my husband. It wasn’t amazing but I wanted to role model eating it!
Rate 1/5
Meal #2 was a staple in our house Crispy Southern Chicken Drums with mash.
There were 11 drums for the 6 of us, so I had one drum, 2 each for the rest of the family, so they didn’t go hungry. My teens prefer 3 or 4 drums each.
There were 2 x 1.2kg bags of potatoes which amounted to only 8 potatoes, we usually need 10-12 large potatoes for our household, so I used 4 of my own spuds to make the mash go further.
The Chicken flour crumb was easy to coat chicken with, tasted delicious and everyone approved of dinner, gravy and coleslaw were tasty too.
4/5 only let down small portion size.
3rd meal, Korean Fried Chicken Tacos, these were delicious!
Chicken was a little spicy, but not overpowering. Easy to cook chicken in batches, prep was quick and easy.
Only downside was shortage of wraps, so I added my own wraps I’d brought to ensure there was enough to go around. I ran out of mayo, so used Greek yoghurt as a dressing instead. These were really popular and kids asking for more, so will make again.
Rate 4/5 only letdown small portion size
Meal 4, Middle Eastern Lamb Loaded Wedges.
This is not something we typically serve, so I only used one spice packet instead of two. Unfortunately 9 and 14 year old didn’t like the flavor of the lamb, maybe the tomato paste and spice combo, not sure but it was disappointing. I cooked the Wedges in our air fryer, they are always a success. Kids barely touched the mince and picked at Wedges, they added sourcream and cheese to Wedges and I had sweet Chilli sauce too.
I used the leftover mince as meatballs for Subs as Saturday lunch, so it wasn’t wasted, was great with spinach, relish and cheese for my husband, son and I lunch.
Rate 1/5 unpopular with 3 kids.
Lastly meal 5, Spice Rubbed Beef Rump Steaks
Lovely cut of meat, thick and juicy steaks. Really delicious meal, however another small serve of meat. We added sausages, fried eggs and a spinach, cucumber, tomato, grated carrot and cheese salad.
This was Saturday night dinner and there were plenty of big appetites after 2 x rugby, netball, cross country. Our teenagers really needed adult portions especially after sport, so this meal wasn’t enough by itself for 6 of us.
I really appreciated the ease at which the meals came together, it was quick to whip meals up because of pre measured seasonings. Awesome to remove the pressure of having to think about what to prepare every night.
The only downfall being the meal sizes, we are 9, 14, 16, Mum, Dad and Granma.
Unfortunately I forgot to stop my registration so I’ve accidentally being charged for another bargain box this week and I’m not sure how to cancel the order so please be aware of this.
I was super excited to try this and hoped to acquire new recipes and variety to dinnertime and we picked up 3/5 winners. I am on the fence if we would order these again on purpose, not by accident like I just did so will wait and see what another week brings….
Thank you for giving us this opportunity.
We received the 5 nights for 4 people bargain box (For 2 adults and kids aged 7, 6 and 1 )
I found the website so easy to select the choices that worked for our family and liked they had a few options to choose from (meal wise)
First night we made the Spiced rubbed beef rump steaks with feta roasted veggies. This was both my husbands and my favourite meal it had so much flavour and great portion sizes. It suited our families taste for 2-3 kids enjoying it ( our autistic son has a very limited diet but success to us is him touching / smelling food which he did the winter vegetables. A lovely homely meal for these colder nights.
Our second choice was the Korean fried chicken tacos with the pear ginger slaw and peanuts. Yum this was delicious ! The flavours were so amazing for such a quick meal to make (took us about 40 mins) I would prefer this as a summer meal as we like hearty warm meals for winter but the flavours were amazing and would definitely eat again and love how social it was to make together as a family.
Our third choice was the Smoky Mexican vegetable burgers, I personally loved these.
I’ve been trying to convince my husband to do one vegetarian meal a week and he said he’d make these again. I loved the texture of the burger patties and how light you felt eating them yet filling. My daughters tried the meals although totally different to anything they’d eaten so we didn’t get much success but if your kids are good with trying different textures and vegetables would be a great choice.
Fourth meal with the Crispy southern chicken drums with mash and gravy. I first thought the coleslaw was an odd choice for vegetables for the dish but it worked so well adding texture to the meal. The gravy had so much flavour with the beef stock and the coating on the chicken was flavourful but very light to eat. Was a delicious winter meal with success from the kids as well as the adults enjoying.
Last we had the Middle Eastern lamb loaded wedges, wow what a great dish. This was a very close second favourite and whilst it was cooking our son even said “What is that yum smell “ Which is huge for us ! The whole meal every mouthful was so flavourful and even with the cold salad felt like such a warm winter meal. I would order this meal going out to lunch.
All in all I thought the dishes were super generous for portion sizes, produce was so fresh, meals had so much flavour and each night made us excited for what we were having for tea and relaxed to know the choice had been made for us with the convenience of the bargain box itself. If your kids like flavourful meals and aren’t fussy the family boxes would be a great choice. Thank you for selecting our family, we were very impressed with the bargain box and will definitely purchase in the future.
We received the 5 nights for 2 box. This was rrp at $111.99. The app was really easy to navigate and it was extremely easy to sign up. I loved the ‘choice’ factor and that it wasn’t a set menu. I definitely altered the meals to what myself and my husband would enjoy. (We do have 2 children aged 6 and 5 but we wanted to trial this box to see if we liked it, and if my hubby was able to cook the meals).
Prior to getting the box we received an email from bargain box letting us know which pantry staples we would require. We had most of these items already in our cupboards but I didn’t have chicken stick so made sure I added that to our little grocery shop. I liked this feature.
When the box arrived it felt like Christmas. It was amazing to see all the lovely produce (it definitely is vege heavy which I love). The cold items (meat, dairy products) were all kept on a wool bag. There were plenty of pre packaged spice mixes and nuts etc. One thing I would like to note here is that there wasn’t too much plastic (compared to competitors boxes) and there was a focus on reusing if there was. That was cool.
The meals we chose were:
Middle eastern lamb loaded wedges with yoghurt and cucumber salsa. This was our favourite meal. It was really easy to make, the instructions were clear and it was DELICIOUS! I particularly loved the cucumber salsa as it tasted very fresh. This meal feed the 2 of us well and we felt full after eating our portions. Would give this meal a 5/5!
The following night we had the Korean fried chicken tacos with pear ginger slaw and peanuts. Again, this was a really yummy meal and extremely easy to make. On the recipe card it said that this meal was best enjoyed early so that’s why we had it 2nd. In this meal I felt like there was so too much slaw to chicken ratio, and it didn’t fill me up as much as the previous meal but would still recommend it and have it again. 4/5!
The third night we had a creamy one pot bacon Alfredo with bacon and Parmesan. I loved that this was made in one pot (yah! Less dishes) and this made A LOT of dinner so we shared this with the two kids as they love pasta. I really enjoyed this meal and loved the way it incorporated spinach broccoli and Mushrooms. My daughter who usually loves bacon didn’t like the bacon that was cooked in all the liquid. Next time I would cook that separately. Overall 4/5
For the fourth night we made the spice rubbed beef rump steaks with feta roast veges. Can I just say that I was really looking forward to this meal. The photos looked incredible and it was the sort of meal we usually enjoyed eating. Again, the instructions were simple to follow and considering it had roast veges it was a pretty quick meal (45 minutes). This one i’d definitely have again. 5/5
We usually try to eat at least one vege meal a week so we chose a vegetarian meal aswell. We chose the kumara and lentil moussaka with broccoli and feta. Now this was delicious! And so easy to make. It did take a long time so I made it in advance and cooked it when we got home. It’s not often you can do this with box meals but that was a bonus. I would give this a 5/5.
So we asked to trial it to see what it would be like when I go back to work (I’m currently stay at home Mum) but also to see if it was easy enough for my husband to cook. The later was definitely true and we cooked in the kitchen together which was fun. When I go back to work I would definitely like to use this box on a regular basis but at the moment I think that 111.99 was too expensive for the 2 of us, especially when I have the time to shop/recipe plan.
Overall I would give this box a 4.5 / 5. Super easy, super yum. Loved the choice factor, loved the veges. Thanks Kidspot for selecting our whānau to do this trial!
These meals are awesome for busy families! With a Sunday delivery, it gave me time to make dinner for that evening as well as prep a few meals for the following nights – chopping veggies, preparing sauces etc. The range of meals was great, and they were super tasty.
Being a full-time working mum, I loved that it took the thought and planning out of dinner for me. And my family and I loved having something different every night – even my fussy 4 year old! There were a few meals where the kids could help with the prep and cooking which they really enjoyed. Being able to see what the final meal looked like on the recipe card and the step-by-step instructions made it really fun for them so they got involved – and then felt really proud of the final product, which made them even more likely to eat it! The favourite dish, as voted by the kids, was the Crispy Southern Chicken Drums with Mash and Gravy….deeeeeelish!
This is such a convenient option for us, and I think we’ll keep doing it but perhaps every second week. There were usually always leftovers which made work lunches the next day for us. We loved the variety of recipes and the fact that we got to try new dishes we usually wouldn’t make during the week. 10 out of 10 from us and the two kids (aged 4 and 7)
***** 5 stars for Bargain Box!
This has been such a fun week in the kitchen. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed our bargain box experience and we are doing it again this week!
We have a family of 7 so i ordered the 5 nights for 6 and as our 2 youngest children are 1 and 3 there was SO much food. We ate it all though (cannot abide food wastage), my hubby and I were lucky enough to have some delicious lunches. I do think the feeds four box would have been enough for our family for dinners so that is what i’m getting this week.
We enjoyed getting to choose and i picked the meals that i thought our family would enjoy the most as well as trying to balance out a variety of proteins and potatoes/rice/bread. The meals we ordered were:
-Smoky Mexican Veggie Cheeseburger with Chipotle Mayo
-Crispy Southern Chicken Drums with Mash & Gravy
-Mongolian Style Beef with Bok Choy & Jasmine Rice
-Spice Rubbed Beef Rump Steaks with Feta Roast Veggies
-Middle Eastern Lamb Loaded Wedges with Yoghurt & Cucumber Salsa
We chose to have the box delivered on Saturday and that meant we ate the meals from Sunday through to the following Saturday as we had a night that we didn’t cook at home in the week.
My highlights:
-Really minimal rubbish and lots of recyclable packaging
-food was seasonal and really hearty
-introduced my family to some new flavours but in an accessible way
-everything was fun to cook and really tasty
-my 10 year old daughter was able to cook a meal by herself
-super easy for my husband to cook a meal without me having to explain where everything is etc!
-enough leftover from our last meal to make into another leftovers meal
-healthier and less waste than another food subscription box brand we have tried
Our favourite meal was the lamb loaded wedges. they were so delicious and a recipe I would definitely have again. they were a hit with the family and the instructions were spot on.
We also loved the rump steak and my family all devoured the steak and i think its the best steak i have ever cooked. Thanks bargain box!
I also really loved the Mongolian style beef it was soooo good. I think this was my favourite dish. It wasn’t so popular with my kids as I couldn’t persuade them all to eat the bok choi, but they ate everything else 🙂
Our least favourite – even though we all ate it and with the exception of the 1 year old who adored it – was the mexican veggie cheeseburgers. All the ingredients and falvours were amazing but we just couldn’t get over the texture of the burgers made from kidney beans. They were abit too mushy for us. However the flavours were on point and we loved the chipotle mayo!
Thanks so much Bargain Box and Kidspot for the trial! it was a wonderful way to cook in winter when you just want to hunker down and stay home and still eat in a balanced yet comforting way!
So excited that we were selected to try Bargain Box. I had been considering trying a box for some time as life gets busier & I get less inspired to find meals to please teenage boys.. aged 15 & 16. It was a great opportunity. I let the boys choose the meals & told them they were going to cook them 😉
The online ordering process was easy & the communication from Bargain Box was excellent.. notifying me of its delivery progress & when it had arrived.
Opening the box I was a bit surprised that everything was ‘free range’ except the fridgeables which were still cool in an awesome recyclable wool bag with frozen water packs. A bit more thought in putting this big wool bag in the middle of the box & soft items like the tomatoes & buns on one side & heavy hard items on the other side would have saved us from having a couple of mushy tomatoes & slightly squished spinach.
Our first meal was Smoky Mexican Veggie Cheeseburgers. My boys managed to follow the instructions on their own. This recipe was quick & easy. Our meal for 4 made 6 burgers with large patties. I, hubby & 1 son loved this meal. Son 2 was disappointed the patties were not more like the ‘fake meat’ patties at Burger King. I think he was too picky about that. They were great & I would happily make them again as a cheap to make, healthy, filling & easy meal.
Meal 2 was Crispy Southern Chicken Drums with mash & gravy. A KFC look-alike 😉 Again, really easy to prepare & ready in a little over the 40 minutes stated. This meal came with a massive bag of coleslaw which we only used half of. I did add an extra potato or 2 to those provided as hubby is a big spud fan & the 800g provided wasnt quite enough for us. Would have been ample for a family with young children. The chicken looked & smelt wonderful but we were all disappointed with the lack of flavour & felt the coating was a bit floury. We regularly eat coleslaw & I thought adding a grated beetroot was a great idea, but again, we were not a huge fan & the boys left some on their plate. The gravy was devine. Possibly the best I have ever had.
Meal 3 was Spice Rubbed Beef Rump Steaks with Feta Roast Veggies. This was by far our favourite meal of the week with 4 thumbs up. Super easy & ready in the 45 minutes stated. A great recipe for kids to help with & for teens to do themselves 😉 The meat portion was generous & tender. The veggies were devine with spinach mixed through & feta sprinkled over. I will always do them this way from now on. I did add an extra parsnip & some pumpkin to the veges provided to feed hungry teens.
Meal 4 was Middle Eastern Lamb Loaded Wedges. Easy for the boys to make & ready in the 40 minutes stated. Hubby & Son 1 loved the salsa & I will make it again for them. Me & Son 2 just had the spinach with tomato. There was spinach & cucumber left over from this meal to go in lunches etc. The 600g mince was generous & more than I would normally use for our family but it was all eaten. This is another recipe that didn’t deliver on flavour for any of us.
Meal 5 is Kumara & Lentil Moussaka. I have been sick this week so we haven’t got to it but am looking forward to tonight! I chose this meal as the boys didn’t fancy any others on offer. Kumera always goes down well here. I have left it to last as the ingredients were easy to keep. It looks like a healthy recipe but I can see a little more flavour will need to be added for our tastebuds.
All up this has been a great experience. Getting the boys into the kitchen to help was a bonus & having the meals planned out, ready waiting was fab. No more last minute ‘what are we having for dinner tonight’ stress. I can see how others find these boxes a very convenient option, especially if the kids were able to prepare the easy meals before mum & dad got home from work. I wish I had used them while I was caring for my sick dad & was often late home. As a lower income family I’m not sure they are for us, as I have always cooked our meals from scratch & could purchase the ingredients for substantially less myself. If you are not a seasoned cook however I would highly recommend these boxes to provide your family with nutrious quick & easy meals and to gain cooking skills.
It has been the first time we were using Bargain Box or any food box services. What an amazing thing!! We will definitely use it again from time to time – maybe not every week because of money.
We ordered 5 meals for 2 people and not only we ate the three of us ( a foodie toddler and two adults) but we usually have leftovers so totally worth it.
The recipes were super easy to follow, packed with vegetables and good for the whole family -which takes the stress out when thinking what to cook for a toddler and also we all ate the same which improves quality family time around the dinner table.
Even my husband cooked!!! He did the pan seared pork and the gnocchi!! What a treat!
It was super good just been given the ingredients and been told what to cook without thinking. It has been extremely helpful for us since we both work full time and the recipes take only around 30 minutes to cook.
Easy, healthy and for all the family. As I said, we will definitely use it again.
We’re blown away!