Working long hours, combined with a lengthy commute, can often demotivate us to cook dinner for the family when we get home. Even worse, when you force yourself to cook, is discovering that a key ingredient is missing. A trip to the supermarket could take an hour, and you have hungry mouths waiting.
At times like these, we just throw up our hands and turn to the speed dial: Subway, Burger King and Pizza Hut – you name it, we’ve ordered from it. Our diet plans go down the drain and we spend the next day deeply regretting our fast-food choice.
The good news is that there is another form of fast food now available in the UAE – and it’s consistent with our healthy-eating goals.
Cook-a-box in Dubai sends out packages containing the ingredients for prepare-at-home meals, giving us one less thing to worry about in the evenings.
It really is the full package – packed with all of the necessary ingredients for the dish in question, delivered directly to your door once a week. All you have to do is chop up the greens, slice the meat and mix the sauces before cooking.
The process is surprisingly simple: you visit www.cookabox.com and view the list of available recipes for the week. Add three of them to your cart, and select the option for two or four family members. Every week, a carton filled with the ingredients for the three meals, plus instructions for preparation and cooking, is delivered to you during a time slot of your choice. There is even a 6pm to 9pm evening option for those of us who are at work all day.
The recipes are easy to follow and take only 25 to 30 minutes to prepare. All of the ingredients packed in the box are bought fresh that day, including the meat and the vegetables – all you need to have in your kitchen is some salt, pepper, sugar, butter and olive oil.
The Indonesian ginger chicken and Thai beef salad are must-trys, and the portion sizes are just right, leaving you feeling healthily full – and not gluttonously stuffed.
• Visit www.cookabox.com to become a subscriber – three meals for two people cost Dh190 a week and three meals for four people cost Dh330 a week
hlodi@thenational.ae
