The 15 meals I chose included:
- Champion Chickpea Curry
- Southwest Chipotle Salad
- Tex Mex Hash
- Veggie Char Siu
- Fettuccine with Garlic Chilli Prawns
- Ginger & Shallot Basa with Noodles
- Tom Kha Tofu
- Cauliflower & Chickpea Masala
- Baked Fish & Summer Salsa
- Chermoula Fish with Beetroot Hummus
- Bean & Eggplant Moussaka
- Japanese Miso Salmon
- Black Bean Chilli
- Velvety Black Dahl
- Protein-Packed Pesto
The meals arrived well-packaged on a Thursday morning – I was super excited to try them! Each meal was easy to identify, with the ‘Balanced’ menu items printed on the front of the sleeve. The ingredients list however was in small print and not very clear to read. The allergens and best-before dates were clear – the meals containing fish had the shortest best-before date, with all other meals needing to be consumed within 10 days from the day of delivery. Given the fresh ingredients and use of seafood, the best before dates were reasonable.
MACROS use Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) to naturally preserve their meals as opposed to freezing or vacuum sealing. This method is also used by Youfoodz and Soulara.
The box, meal containers and ice pack are all recyclable, however, the plastic film is not. The meal containers do not leach BPA when heated in the microwave which is a notable feature when compared to Youfoodz as they appear to use BPA meal trays.
MACROS have clearly considered the sustainability of its packaging; however, they are not the most sustainable option on the market. Ready-to-eat meal services Dineamic and Garden of Vegan are more sustainable as nearly all of their packaging can either be recycled or composted.
The meals were very easy to heat in the microwave and tasted great! The use of herbs and spices with flavourful sauces made each meal delightful to eat. I preferred the taste of these meals more than Youfoodz.
My favourite meals were the Chermoula Fish with Beetroot Hummus, Ginger & Shallot Basa with Noodles and Protein-Packed Pesto. The portion sizes were adequate, and I found I was very satisfied after each meal thanks to the great protein and carbohydrate content.