Cook - is it a good and healthy option for poor cooks? Post Reply

[Truffle loving mum]

Trying to have at least 3 healthy family meals together. Neither my husband or I are great cooks. We have tried Hello Fresh and Al Gusto which are both very good but I do find that I am left with something that I haven't used most week so for us it ends up being wasteful. Thinking about Cook? Does anyone more in tune with food and health know if this would be a good option given the poor base that we are starting from. Thanks a lot.

[chorister]

We have always found Cook really excellent, supplying generous portions of very tasty food. And in addition the company has a wonderful programme of employing ex convicts. Definitely try them and if you like it then keep supporting a decent company. And to be clear I have no connection with them except as a customer.

[sunnyjan]

Mainly use Cook at Christmas always excellent!

[Welovecook]

We have used cook for around 10 years now, both for regular eating and for Christmas. They are really excellent to have in the freezer. If you need to have a last minute meal cooking time for meals for a family takes around one hour, so perhaps not ideal if you run in from the house after a day of work and your children are ravenous and need to be fed immediately.

If you are planning to use them as a healthy meal, I would flag that there is quite a lot of salt in all of their food. They do have healthier options, but tend to be in smaller portions. Having said that there is a really good range and if you quickly boil up a pot of mixed frozen veg to serve an alongside them, they can be very healthy.

We often get this steak, pie or beef, bourguignon, and quickly make up mesh to serve alongside those too.

Bon appetite!

[SW13twinsmum]

I am a Cook customer too and love their food, but I have to say I was a little surprised at some of the ingredients. It's very much marketed as home cooked food (it's founding statement from 1997 on the packaging says "to COOK using the same ingredients and techniques you would at home, so everything looks and tastes homemade". However, looking at some of the Cook packages I currently have in my freezer, I have never used malto dextrin, glucose/sugar/molasses (in savoury dishes), gelling agent, dextrose etc in my home cooking.

So I would definitely recommend Cook for occasional treat meals and catering for a large group, but I wouldn't be giving this on a weekly basis to my kids thinking it was as healthy as cooking from scratch.

[Cooksw19]

Hiya

I am the store leader here in Southfields COOK. Just to let you know we definitely have healthier options alongside our indulgent treats! We currently have a promotion on our pots for one range which are all 3 for £12. In addition we have a love eating well range which all sit at under 600 calories per portion.

Our meals are hand prepped in our kitchens in Kent by the team of chefs. Whole ingredients are sourced and prepped and the meals are then blast frozen.

We don’t add any preservatives to our meals directly but have to list any preservatives that are found in store cupboard ingredients that have been used in a recipe.

I hope that helps and anyone that comes in before next weeks NVN newsletter on Monday and mentions this post will get 10% off!

Take care

[ShahAbbles61]

Hey, it's awesome that you're committed to having more healthy family meals together! Cooking as a team can be a fun journey, especially if you're starting from scratch. Considering options like Cook sounds like a smart move – it could really simplify things for you guys. And hey, don't worry about being master chefs right away; everyone starts somewhere! By the way, have you checked out CooksCrafter? They're all about making cooking accessible and enjoyable, even for beginners.