Balance Box Meal Delivery Review

Reviewed by Lucy Gwilliam

Finding a food delivery slot at the moment is a near impossible task. We are 6 weeks into the 2020 lockdown and I am currently working from home, being a home tutor, cook, cleaner, all while trying to survive. So I was delighted to be asked to review Balance Box food delivery service. I’ve heard about many different types of food prep services but have never tried one before. My first task was to visit the website to decide which options I wanted to order. 

They offer two different portion sizes: the lighter plan and the market plan. 

The  lighter plan contains around  1200 calories a day, there are no unnecessary additives or preservatives and you receive breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & 2 Snacks every day. This menu is from £22.99 per day. 

The market plan has around  1800 calories a day, it has no unnecessary additives or preservatives and consists of Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & 2 Snacks every day. This menu is from £27.99 per day. 

Once you have decided on the size of the menu, your next job is to select a meal plan. The options are Classic box, Vegetarian box, Pescatarian box and Free From box. The website explains the meal plans excellently and gives you a sample menu so you can see if that box would suit your dietary needs and personal preferences.

I decided to choose the market plan in the Classic box. I eat a wide variety of different foods, so thought this box would suit my best. I decided on the market plan as wasn’t sure if the  lighter box would be too small portions for my appetite. 

Communication from the company was great and I was given a time slot and day of when my box would arrive. 

Their delivery details are:

Nationwide (that’s really everywhere – almost):

• 3 Day box – Delivered on Tuesdays before 5:30pm by DPD (so in time for dinner). Ordered by midnight on Tuesday to receive a box the following Tuesday.
• 4 Day box – Delivered on Fridays before 5:30pm by DPD (so in time for dinner). Ordered by midnight on Sunday to receive a box the following Friday.

Inside the Capital/big smoke (that’s London):

• 3 Day box – Delivered on Fridays between 10pm & 6:30am (so in time for breakfast). We will leave your box in your requested safe place. Order by midnight on Sunday to receive a box the following Friday.
• 4 Day box – Delivered on Mondays between 10pm & 6:30am (so in time for breakfast). We will leave your box in your requested safe place. Order by midnight on Tuesday to receive a box the following Monday.

My 3 day box came on Tuesday mid afternoon and I was shocked at the size of it. It was perfectly packaged and well cooked with ice packs to keep my food fresh. 

It comes with a sheet with a menu on one side and ingredients/ cooking instructions on the other side. My sheet had no cooking instructions printed but I contacted the company and they sorted this straight away and emailed me over the details promptly. 

We don’t have a microwave, so I was cautious about warming the meals up in the oven. This was no problem at all though.  

My box began with:

Tasty Tuesday, which consisted of:

Dinner: Roasted Cod with Vegetable Ratatouille

Wicked Wednesday, which consisted of:

Breakfast: Hard Boiled Egg with Avocado Butter and Rye Bread

Lunch:  Carrot, Sun-Blushed Tomato and Goats Cheese Salad

Dinner: Balance Box Chicken Korma

Tempting Thursday, which consisted of:

Breakfast: Prune and Vanilla Bircher

Lunch: Pea and Mint Soup served with Oatcakes

Dinner: Spiced Sea Break and Black Bean Salsa

Fab Friday, which consisted of:

Breakfast: Banana Smoothie Muesli Pot

Lunch: Crunchy Vegetable and Tuna Salad

The box came with 3 pieces of fruit and 3 portions of seeds/nuts to see me through for snacks for the duration of the plan. I liked this idea as it completes the full day’s menu. 

I was really impressed with the variety of different foods available and pleased that everything was to my tastebuds. The boxes stacked in neatly into my fridge and I was excited to get started with the plan. 

Having this delivery helped with my routine immensely. I am finding that I’m cooking for the children each meal- they generally don’t eat what I eat- and then I’m neglecting myself as I’m so busy. This delivery service was perfect and it took me having to think about, prep, buy and cook the meals I was having out of the equation. 

I completely enjoyed all of the meals, especially the breakfasts and salads. I was quite surprised at the size of the portions, they are huge! The quality and taste of each of the meals was just great. I really enjoyed the whole experience. If I was to order again I think I would order the lighter option as the portions were too big. I did share some of these with my daughter and she expressed that they were really tasty too. 

This meal prep box is a fantastic idea and during the lockdown, it is literally a lifesaver for people like me. I was actually so fed up of cooking before this arrived and it made me so happy to not have to think about what was next to eat. 

The price of the boxes is very reasonable and their website explains the different offers they have depending on what type of box you order and whether you sign up for a subscription. 

Overall, this is a great concept and really did live up to my expectations. It had a great variety of meals to suit all palates and the portion sizes were very generous. 

Rating: 5/5

RRP: from £22.99

This product can be purchased from balance box here