I love receiving food boxes and Hello Fresh is one of the best. Hello Fresh is a recipe box that is delivered to your door on a weekly basis. Firstly you choose the recipes, secondly, the box is packed for you, the freshest ingredients with everything measured out, thirdly the box is delivered to your door on a day chosen by you. 

Kitchen Trotter is a new monthly food box that gives you 5-6 ingredients per box and recipe inspiration with a little cookbook. 

The kit I received to review was themed as an Indonesian kit, each kit will be different and would be themed around a country and a cuisine. The idea is a culinary trip around the world.


In my kit came the following ingredients:-

Gado Gado Mix - a peanut base mix
Kecap Manis - a sweet and slightly thick soy sauce 
Terasi - a fermented prawn paste
Combava leaves - a leaf with a citrus fruit aroma
Lemon Grass Powder - which has a very characteristic taste
Pandan aroma - a plant based substance with a vibrant green colour
Kemiri nuts - which look like hazelnuts but have a different taste


There is an hourglass in the kit you order as well but I didn't receive one. The idea of the food boxes is that it gives you the specialist ethnic ingredients to which you add fresh produce. Now I really like this idea. I live in a small town and I could never find these ingredients in the one small supermarket here. To receive ALL the specialist ingredients in one box really is a lifesaver, no hunting around for the one illusive ingredient you can never find.

The booklet that came with the ingredients was interesting to read. At the beginning was a section 'Welcome to Indonesia', with some fun facts about the country and also some local vocabulary. Did you know that badminton is one of the most popular sports in Indonesia? Then there is a section about the chef that concocted the recipes and a list of the specialist ingredients. You do have to buy fresh produce for the recipes so a shopping list in included. Then the rest of the booklet is the recipes - Gado-Gado, Mie Goreng, Ayam Areh, and Kue Dadar Gulung. 
As you can see I guess you have to be a little adventurous to try these dishes, and I have never tried any of these before, but they were all either vegetarian, chicken based or had prawn paste in and were basically salad, stir-fry, a chicken dish in a coconut and garlic sauce and a coconut crepe. If you do not like coconut this isn't the box for you!


The plate of food I cooked Mie Goreng was tasty and we both enjoyed it. It had brown sugar in the recipe and I was concerned it would be too sweet but it wasn't. You make an omelette as part of the dish and  I wouldn't have thought of adding an omelette to a stir fry type dish but this is a classic Indonesian dish and it does work. I have to admit, I did adapt it slightly for my husband by adding a little chilli, which I thought added to the flavour. This wasn't strictly correct for the dish, but still that's the beauty of a box you cook at home, you can adapt it to suit your needs.

Some constructive criticism  - the instructions could be clearer.  For example the recipe I tried Mie Goreng had no mention of carrots in the ingredients but when you turned the next page, it said to add carrots.

Also the ingredients were in French and they didn't exactly match up - I had to Google what they were to be on the safe side. For example the lemon grass powder was called Citronelle powder. There are photos of the ingredients from the box at the beginning of the booklet with descriptions, I would suggest these are bigger so you can match the product to the ingredient as these would not be familiar products to some people.

All in all I think this food box would be an interesting box for those that are foodies, adventurous but still need some recipe inspiration. The convenience of having all these specialist ingredients delivered to your door is the major plus point. The recipe booklet has interesting information at the beginning about the country and cuisine and it is useful to have the recipes all in one place.

The company are just starting in the UK so if you sign up to their website, you will be one of the first to find out about their food boxes.

Tell me would you try Kitchen Trotter?

I liked being able to choose my meals in advance, and for this box I chose Sticky Hoisin Pork, Cheaty Chicken Kieve and Meera's Chicken Curry. Everything is delivered in an insulated box to keep your food fresh. 
The first dish I tried this week was the Sticky Hoisin Pork. We both found this dish very tasty and different to what we would normally cook. Although we do enjoy Chinese food I never make it from scratch so this was nice to try.

The recipe was easy to follow in all. One tip, after you add the pork to the frying pan, do not leave it unattended like I did - whoops! As it is in a marinade, it is easy to burn. I just managed to rescue it, luckily. My husband is a very fussy eater, and I wasn't sure he would eat the pork as he doesn't as as rule but the flavour of the marinade was delicious and he ate it all up in no time. The wedges were tasty too and I would say don't worry about adding a whole chili to the cucumber relish. As long as you remove the seeds the dish won't be too hot. My only criticism of this dish is the fact that the pork used was neck of pork which was a little fatty. I would use fillet of pork if I was making this dish myself from scratch.

The next dish I made was the Cheaty Chicken Kiev. The chicken for this needs to be cut in half and then dipped in seasoned flour, egg and then breadcrumbs. A tip for you if you are breading chicken like this is to put a food bag over your hand to stop it getting messy when handling the chicken. I then put the chicken in the fridge to firm up. This was a good idea as the breadcrumbs set on the chicken making it easier to handle when cooked. 

The accompaniment for the chicken was potato and broccoli mash. I have to admit I am not a fan of mash at all, as I don't like the smooth texture. What I did when making the mash was to roughly mash it with a fork so it had a rough texture. I seasoned it well with salt and pepper and added a knob of Flora buttery.

Served over the chicken is a garlic butter, which was easy to make. I peeled and then chopped the garlic roughly and used the side of a cook's knife to squash the garlic with a little salt. I then melted some Flora buttery (you can use butter) in the microwave and added the garlic to make a garlic butter.

We both felt this dish was like proper comfort food, really satisfying and tasty. I kept it slightly healthier by using Flora buttery instead of butter but this is up to you. I think this dish would appeal to children too, after all, I don't know any children that doesn't like breaded chicken and this is so much nicer than the chicken nuggets you can buy. 



The last dish we tried was Meera's Chicken Curry. This is where Gousto comes into it's own. I would personally never buy spices myself to make a curry from scratch due to past experience where they just get left in the back of the cupboard, and lose the flavour with age. All the spices with Gousto were perfectly proportioned and weighed out in little packets - no waste here.

The chicken curry was really flavourful without being too hot. You could really pick out the spices such as the cinnamon, and coriander. The coconut milk added to the smooth luxurious flavour of the sauce and the portion size was just right. There is something ultimately satisfying about cooking a curry from scratch and I really enjoyed cooking this dish, and obviously eating it too!

All the dishes I tried were on the table in not much more than 45 minutes and they were suitable for those with little to moderate cooking experience. Portion sizes are generous too. With free nationwide delivery and farm fresh ingredients, get out of your cooking rut and try something new - home cooking made easy from Gousto.

It's time for another Degustabox delivery! The monthly subscription food box is full of new products, perfect for those of us that like a bit of adventure with their food. Every month you get between 9-14 items, and with boxes only £12.99 inclusive of postage you are guaranteed to get much more than that in value.

This month we get all this lovely food.


Schwartz Grill Mates Marinade In A Bag £2.19

This is a no mess way of getting fabulously tasty meat, fish or veg. Pop the food in the bag in the fragrant marinade, leave for 30 minutes and then simply cook. Simples. Available in 6 delicious flavours when you want something different to boring chicken, beef, fish or veg.

Maggi Noodles 2 x £1.49

These noodles with a spice sachet are great to keep in your cupboard. Just add vegetables and some cooked chicken or pork for example for a tasty, super quick and nutritious meal. Great for those that don't like cooking much, from kettle to table in next to no time.

9 Bar £2.00

These bars are packed full of seeds including pumpkin, sun flower and sesame as well as dried apricots and dates and are topped with carob. A great nutritious snack that will full you up and give you energy. When you are craving chocolate but want something healthier.

Slim Pasta £2.49

My food delivery of Degustabox is here again. The monthly subscription food delivery box is perfect when you love to try new things. Every month as you get between 9-14 items, most new to the market and many utterly delicious. Boxes are £12.99 inclusive of postage and you are guaranteed to get much more than that in value.

The box this month had an International theme, with items with an Indian, Mexican, Italian and American influence. It comes in two versions with alcohol and without and they send reviewers both to try.

Wonjo Hibiscus Drink

My food delivery of Degustabox is here again. The monthly food delivery box is perfect when you love trying new things as you get between 9-14 items every month, most new to the market and many utterly delicious.

So lets see what we have in the box this month.

Kabuto Noodles £2.00
I loved these tasty noodles so much. Just add boiling water, stir and cover for three minutes, stir again and wait for a minute and they are ready to eat. Lots of authentic Asian ingredients such as ginger, chilli and coriander pack a flavour punch you can't ignore. Delicious.

This month's Degustabox was an eclectic mix of foodstuffs, with most being new to the market. At only £12.99 per box, it always guarantees value for money and some surprises every month. A subscription makes a great gift for those that love their food, or a little treat for yourself.

This is what I received this month. 




Barbecue Popchips £1.79

I have tried popchips before and was pleased to see these in the box. The barbecue flavour popchips packs a great flavour punch. The are very moorish and the best part is they are baked not fried. This makes them healthier than crisps. Each portion is under 100 calories too!

Pukka Green Tea £2.39

Whilst not a fan of herbal teas myself, I gave these to my Mother-in-Law to try. She enjoyed the lemon flavour and with dandelion roots as well this healthy tea can be used to help detox.

Bahlsen Biscuits £3.58

Bahlsen have been around for a while, and I am already a fan. So often the chocolate on chocolate biscuits doesn't taste nice and is of poor quality, well the chocolate on these biscuits are totally delicious. I would recommend these biscuits to everyone!

Eisburg Alcohol Free Wine £3.49

Personally I am not a fan of alcohol free wine I must admit as the flavour is not to my taste. I prefer a soft drink or water as a substitute to wine. However I can see the place for this in the drinks market, and I think it is an excellent idea to have some of this in the fridge if you are entertaining over the Christmas period. It takes the temptation away from drinking and driving and that can only be a good thing.

Gloworm Drinks £1.50 each

These cans can be drunk on their own or as used as a mixer with an alcoholic drink. Sugar free, my husband tried them before jogging and found them refreshing.

Kent's Kitchen Meal Kit £2.50

Each meal kit contains 3 pots which you simply add to ingredients to create an authentic and tasty quality meal. A great idea to have in the cupboard to add a boost to your normal ingredients.

Frylight Infuse Chilli £2.00

This chilli infused oil is in a dispenser so you can add a very light spray to your pan before cooking. Great to keep in your cupboard, and easy to use, you can impart a chilli heat without having to go through the messy business of preparing and cutting up chillies.

The Chia Co Oats and Seeds £1.70

These sachets are filled with chia seeds which give you omega 3, fibre, protein as well as being packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Add water to make a porridge which is smooth and creamy.

Bonne Maman Marmalade £2.30

Now I love the strawberry conserve Bonne Maman make so it was with interest that I tried the marmalade. Not too sharp but still with a piquant taste this marmalade goes well with toast. Or do a Paddington Bear and make a marmalade sandwich to keep under your hat for later :)




If you would like to subscribe a Degustabox subscription costs £12.99 per month, inclusive of delivery. The value of the items is usually a lot higher. If you would like a discount of £3 enter code MT2ID into checkout when registering.

You can find Degustabox here:-

http://bit.ly/DBhomepage - www

http://bit.ly/DBUKfacebook - Facebook

http://bit.ly/DBUKTwitter - Twitter 

Tell me what do you think of the food this month?

This month's Degustabox was an eclectic mix of foodstuffs as always, with lots of new products. The monthly box scheme, always guarantees to provide value for money, with a number of surprise products every month. The value of the items received this month was just under £25. When you consider the box is only £12.99 to buy it is a great surprise for foodies.

This is what I received this month.



If you would like to subscribe a Degustabox subscription costs £12.99 per month, inclusive of delivery. The value of the items is usually a lot higher. If you would like a discount of £3 enter code SRV6J into checkout when registering.