Another New and Exciting Cook Off Day!
September 16th 2020, the day a number of new miraculous My Fresh Box dishes were created. Over the course of the day, our star chefs whipped up a number of delicious new meals for the CEO to give the taste test to. With these dishes though, there was so much science going into them as opposed to ‘do they just taste nice’ like what ordinary restaurants do, as for our dishes, we need to calculate the macronutrients for each of them. This is to ensure that they are nutritional for our clients and help them in their goals in at least one way or another, whether that’s through the amount of protein to help build muscle or being low in calories for weight management.
Cajun Chicken / Cauliflower ‘Mac n Cheese’
By far the most popular amongst the chefs, this dish is massive in the United States of America and that’s exactly where the inspiration came from. However, one massive difference is that the ‘Cheese’ in our dishes aren’t actually made of cheese, or any diary for that matter. Newest member of the cooking team, Ade, has taken the usual diary replacement of nutritional yeast and added his own tasty twist to it. First of all, he cooks potatoes and carrots, before allowing them to simmer, then adding them to a blender alongside cashew nuts, onions, garlic, and of course the nutritional yeast, before blending them until they are a nice smooth, thick liquid-like texture. This then gets coated over the macaroni, which is also vegan friendly, before being added beneath the topping selected. The toppings we offer for these two dishes also come from previous research, as we offer a number of spices on a chicken breast and also a variety of vegetables, which have all been used in previous dishes that have been really popular amongst our clients, as well as providing excellent nutritional values!
Cajun Chicken ‘Mac n Cheese’ Cajun Cauliflower ‘Mac n Cheese’
Spanish Chicken, Chorizo and Olive Orzo Pasta
A close second behind the ‘Mac n Cheese’ in terms of popularity amongst the kitchen staff was head chef Tony’s creation, a Spanish styled spiced chicken alongside olive orzo pasta mixed in with chorizo. This creation was heavily themed by the type of meals you get in traditional Spanish restaurants, which sees the chicken marinaded in red pepper and paprika before being steamed, then partnered up with the orzo pasta, which has olives and pieces of chorizo in it’s sauce. All you’re missing with this dish is the sunshine outside and a bottle of Estrella.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Orzo Pasta with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
This is the vegan alternative to the Spanish chicken dish, which sees the meat substituted for a roasted butter squash. However, this version also has a nice little addition on top, which is a sprinkling of toasted pumpkin seeds, adding an additional serving of protein and good fats.
Open Cornish Pasty, Spring Cabbage with Brown Sauce
A Pasty? Well that’s not healthy. Correct, but in this case, incorrect. This pasty has no pastry around it, hence the open part, and is literally all that you’ll find inside a traditional Cornish pasty. This includes potato, swede, onion, carrots and beef mince, all alongside some spring cabbage and our famous homemade brown sauce (the same one that features in our Vegan Haggis, Neeps & Tatties dish, which has received remarkable feedback and compliments.
Harissa Salmon / Roasted Aubergine, Spiced New Potatoes, Tenderstem Broccoli with Baba Ganoush
A combination of two previous dishes really, this meal really does prove that salmon can go with any sauce and seasoning! Harissa is a seasoning that often features on the menu with other meats, especially chicken, and a number of different vegetables before being roasted. This slightly spicy addition gives a different edge to the thick chunk of salmon, as well as being alongside roasted new potatoes, a nice few pieces of tenderstem broccoli and Baba Ganoush. For those who have never heard of Baba Ganoush (like me before this dish!); Baba ghanoush, also spelled baba ganoush or baba ghanouj, is a Levantine appetizer of mashed cooked eggplant mixed with tahini, olive oil, possibly lemon juice, and various seasonings.
For the vegan version, it’s literally just a case of substituting the roasted aubergine into the meal as opposed to the salmon, so you can still enjoy the classic new potatoes, tenderstem broccoli and tasty sauce without having the meat content.
Harissa Salmon / Roasted Aubergine, Spiced New Potatoes, Tenderstem Broccoli with Baba Ganoush
Seabass Fillet, Chinese Vegetables with Chilli & Lime Noodles
This dish features a nice thick juicy cut of Seabass fillet, alongside ‘Chinese vegetables’ which consist of Stir fried Pak choi and spring onion. This is then mixed with rice noodles cooked with lime, soy and chilli to give it that extra taste.
Chilli & Lime Tofu, Chinese Vegetables and Noodles
Similar to the Seabass dish, this is the vegan alternative, which just sees the fish removed for some tasty Chilli and Lime Tofu. The tofu for this dish is sauteed with chilli and lime, allowing it to spread the flavour, but still remain a healthy way of cooking.
Cauliflower Katsu Curry
Katsu curry, one of the most popular curries around the world, and can be eaten with almost anything as the makeshift main ingredient. In our case, we’ve added some lovely portions of roasted cauliflower to this dish, with putting it alongside spiced rice. This curry is actually one of the most popular dishes in Japan, tasting completely different to the more traditional curries that you often get in Asian buffets and takeaways in the U.K., that are usually Chinese and Thai originating.
Cauliflower Katsu Curry
Our five star chefs put in a number of additional hours when they're not in the kitchen to work on new recipes and ensure each and every dish they think of is not only tasty but highly nutritious. This is definitely one thing that sets us aside from most other meal prep companies and definitely restaurants, as we actually care about the progress towards each and every one of our clients personal goals, and feel a brilliant little buzz inside of us when they've hit their target! So please, if you've got a story regarding fitness aims and how you're progressing, please let us know as we'd all love to hear it!
We're always looking to try and invent new dishes before adding them onto our ever changing menu, so if you have any suggestions that you think would be delicious and also healthy, then please let us know...there might even be a reward for it!
