YOUFOODZ: The ‘ready to eat meals’ that Batman would approve of*. ..

*Probably.

10th November 2018

This week I got my lazy on and tried 7 days of lunches from pre-made food delivery service Youfoodz.

[You just know it’s cool when a word is spelt with a ‘z’ where there should be an ‘s’.]

If Batman didn’t have old mate Alfred to make sure his HP bar was full for adventuring, he would absolutely be into Youfoodz.*

Why? Check out this complimentary plate and cutlery set that came nestled amongst my meals;

(
[No caption needed]

I know what you’re thinking; “Holy rust[less] metal, Batman!".
This set is more than just a cool colour.

Psychology has taught the human race a lot about ourselves, our perception and behaviour.
Let’s go deep into our psyche with a couple scientific gems;

The colour -
You are likely to feel more satisfied and eat less;
‘Serving white carbohydrates on a dark plate highlights the colour difference and makes you aware of your portion size’ ^3

Size matters –
The knife and fork are bigger and heavier than your average set;
‘Heavy cutlery enhances diners’ enjoyment of the food’ ^1
Using a big fork may help you eat less ^2

Novel experience -
(I can’t find any exact^4 citing for this point – so I will propose the following!)
Humans tend to zone out with the mundane, you eat every day and it can be a repetitive bore.
Presuming (unless you are Batman*), there are no black cutlery in your cupboards. Simply having something different to eat from should stimulate and light up your brain - increasing awareness, mindfulness and enjoyment! *

[Just a little bit novel, you don’t have to do this for every meal to enjoy it!]

If the hashtags #foodgasm, #foodaholic or #foodheaven make you roll your eyes – warning – you’d better go grab an adult to hold your hand before scrolling on.

BEEF LASAGNA – Tastes homemade, not like a frozen store-bought one. . where my veggies??
There are carrots, celery and onions in the sauce but that’s it. (I made my own beetroot and chili salad.)
Note: Added extra cheese because I had to use it up!

CREAMY MUSHROOM CANNELLONI – I’m not big on cheese and eating this made me so thirsty.

GLAZED SALMON – Calm down with the amount of sauce haha, my plate was drowning and I only put half on.
Salmon was well cooked! (- see earlier in the post for the snap of this one)

SATAY CHICKEN – YUM! The smell of the spices was delicious as soon as I stabbed the holes in the top. I’m not usually a fan of brown rice but this dish has changed my mind, the texture was spot on. Absolutely delish.

MOHITS BUTTER CHICKEN - Tasty… no veg again? Rice was drowning in sauce a little but I ABSOLUTELY licked the plate.

STEAK AND CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE – although it still has 3 day left until expiry some of the green beans were looking a lil' sad :(

LAMB SHANKS - The best for last 11/10 delicious

WHAT I LEARNED -
I thought I couldn’t cook for this cheap...
ABSOLUTELY WRONG. I could cook for cheaper!
I realised that my portion sizes have always been way too big.
This was an excellent reset for the overeating mind.
Although I only had 7 lunches, I found myself portioning the dinners I cooked smaller too.

FINAL TAKE-AWAYS (Pun intended.)
I love to cook, I could never be able to fully immerse myself in the pre-made meal life.
Moving forward, I will be incorporating some food psychology to spice up my life – making meals more enjoyable and reduce my portion size.

PRO’s:

• Vacuumed sealed meals last 7-9 days
• Fresh (not frozen)
• Microwaveable
• Cheaper than take-away or dining out (@ $7 per serve)
• No delivery fees
• No sign up - order when you need or automate to deliver weekly
• I haven’t felt the need to add additional salt. If I had it on had I would crack on some pepper, because you can never have enough.
  (Take that with a pinch of salt though, this is how I like my eggs)
  

CON’s

• Not enough veggies (it doesn’t feel healthy, am I supposed to add a side salad?)
• More expensive than cooking for yourself (@ $7 per serve)

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom. Your reward is this;

Your next task is to go get a snack and Google images of ‘Batman cats’.
Thank me later.
<3
Website: https://youfoodz.com
Promo codes to try (Nov 2018): Enter 'KICKSTART' or sign up with your email for $20 off

For further reading, please see below for links to my sauces …. Oh oops… I mean SOURCES.

1. https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13411-015-0036-y
2. http://healthland.time.com/2011/07/15/using-a-big-fork-may-help-you-eat-less/
3. https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/diet/weight-loss-collections/the-simple-sciencebacked-swap-that-stops-overeating/news-story/9b7c7be507606439884b30659535ce07
4. https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2018/09/12/why-you-should-eat-popcorn-chopsticks-and-other-psychological-tricks-make-life

(This was not a sponsored post, but Batman approves*)!