One of the very few silver linings at the beginning of lockdown was a sudden abundance of time to cook healthy meals at home.
Cooking from scratch means more control over what you're eating, and with all this free time there was no excuse.
But fast forward eight months, and it's getting old.
So what's the answer when you can't bear to stand at the hob for five more minutes, but don't want to scrap your health goals?
In all honesty, I have never even entertained the idea of pre-made meals as I always thought they'd make me feel lazy.
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When things were normal, I'd eat out with colleagues regularly, grab food on the go, and of course, I would head out for dinner with friends and family at least once a week.
But now in lockdown, I was making three meals a day, every day and I just... got really sick of my own cooking.
As a result of this, my takeaway orders skyrocketed. A few nights a week for dinner, maybe a lunch or two in there along with brekkie every now and then.
I was feeling pretty sluggish and my bank account was taking a hit but then this opportunity arose where I got to try
Parallel Nutritions pre-made meals for a week.
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Full disclosure - the meals were gifted. But let me tell you, I'm completely sold.
It honestly felt like I was on holiday with the lack of cooking I had to do and the ease of it all.
The deliveries came on Sunday and Tuesday which kept me going from Sunday night to Friday night including breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even a smoothie or two.
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The food was delicious and way tastier than anything I would ever cook but the bigger kicker for me was not having to worry about what I was going to eat.
I would simply just step up to the fridge when I was hungry, pull one of these meals out, and stick it in the microwave.
This left me with more time during my lunch to chill out or work out and the same in the evening.
I reckon people get put off by costings when it comes to these things as the average dinner works out at about €7.30 depending on the size of your meal plan.
Definitely, a bargain if, like me, you end up dumping a tonne of rotten veg from your crisper every single week.
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The way I was going, I was probably spending €100 on takeaways (that was scary to see written down) and then my week's shop as well.
If you are finding yourself in my shoes or just want to give yourself a break I would highly recommend giving Parallel Nutritions pre-made meals a go.
It's simple, it's very tasty and it'll save you a lot of time.
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A typical day from them would consist of overnight oats in the morning
Then bacon, cabbage, and mash for lunch followed by an energy ball.
Finally for dinner, something like the hearty three-bean chilli like in the above picture.
Staying in? Lovin Dublin's Date Box meal kit is officially available to order. Go on and treat yourself!
