A couple of weeks ago, a vegetable box from THUD dropped through my letterbox.
Inside, I found a selection of neatly packed seasonal vegetables ready to be cooked. Also included, were two recipe cards designed around the box’s contents. The Roasted Red Rice Salad included golden beetroot, carrots, spring onions and radishes. The Sweet Potato Rösti With Minty Greens included sweet potato, royal jersey potatoes, rainbow chard, peas and mint.
All the vegetables arrived very fresh and especially cut to fit in the packaging.
THUD’s box came in very handy a few days later, when I found myself in a rush after a mad day running around. I was craving a good meal but, with a thousand things to think about, I was totally lacking inspiration. Out came the THUD box and in less than an hour I had a hearty and delicious meal on the table. We were so hungry, I made the two recipes at once. My husband and I both really enjoyed our meal. The quantities were so generous, we had enough leftovers for lunch the day after.
Founded nearly a year ago, THUD is different from other recipe boxes. The boxes are designed to fit through most letterboxes and are delivered by Royal Mail without any signature required. There is no need to be at home when they arrive. Safely delivered with the rest of your mail, the vegetables keep fresh until you get home in the evening.
THUD’s recipe box only includes the vegetables, spices and herbs you will need to cook the accompanying recipes and leaves you to get the other essentials. An email sent in advance, lets you know the basics, such as oil, eggs or pasta, that you will need to add from your larder or corner shop.
The recipes are very easy to follow and designed to work together so that no ingredients are wasted. For example, in the box I received, each recipe used 1/2 of a pack of feta.
I did like the fact that there was no packaging waste. The main box is fully recyclable and you do not have small plastic containers, cooling pads etc… often included in recipe boxes.
The recipes use a variety of vegetables, herbs and spices including interesting ones that you might not find in the supermarket so it is a great opportunity to try new ingredients and / or cuisines. For example, this week’s box includes a Vietnamese Inspired Lemongrass Pho plus a Samphire and Quinoa Salad.
The recipes are suitable for vegetarians and flexitarians. Each week one of the recipes includes a suggestion on how to add meat or fish to the dish, but it is only an optional extra as the dishes are created to work as vegetarian meals.
A wide variety of people cook and eat with THUD, such as:
- parents with young children who don’t have time to find interesting recipes and ingredients
- a busy farmer who wants to cook more vegetables and less meat
- a student who is learning to cook now she’s moved away from home
- a business woman who likes the variety of the recipes and thinks the box is ‘nifty’
- a retired doctor who didn’t used to cook but likes to cook for his wife now he has more time.
The recipes are designed by the cook, Triona who sources the vegetables from Covent Garden Market. She makes sure all the vegetables will fit through the average letterbox. Then, at a community kitchen space in Battersea, she works with a team to pack the boxes by hand. Once a practice nurse, she used to give advice about diet to patients. “I grew up eating good food and my mum always served a bowl of salad before the main meal. I used to talk to people about diet, now I try and create recipes that inspire people to eat well.”
THUD really makes it easy to include more vegetables in your diet, without breaking the bank. £10 a week will provide 2 meals for 2 people and £18 a week will provide 2 meals for 4 people.
Now here is your chance to try THUD’s recipe box. Head over to this competition page for a chance to enter.
You can find out more about THUD here, check them out on Twitter or visit their Facebook page.
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