Gousto - Everything you need to cook delicious recipes delivered!

As I mentioned back in the fall, I decided to try a meal delivery service, Hello Fresh.  I stayed with them for about six months and for the most part really enjoyed the meals and the convenience.  I had a few blips with missing ingredients, and one missed delivery (total bummer), but for the past six months, I got increasingly aggravated by the fact that they would show me 5 available options, but really only let me choose from four of them. But, of course, you can't tell which one you can't have until you decide you want it and try to choose it.  I have contacted them a few times and got the same answer each time - they know about the issue and their IT department is working on it.  Ugh! So, I decided to give a competitor a try.  The new company I am trying is called Guosto.  I received my first box this week.

My first impression, very similar to Hello Fresh, the cardboard box is neatly packed, and well insulated.  A surprise was the nifty wooden spoon that they included with my first order! Yay - love free stuff!

I laid out the ingredients and perused the recipes that I had chosen this week.  One point for Hello Fresh is that each recipe's cupboard ingredients are packed in their own brown bag. So, I can just grab one from the fridge and know that everything I need is inside (unless they forgot something again!).  With Guosto, I had to sort all the ingredients into two piles.  Took a minute or two, not a big deal.

Tonight's meal is Miso & Sesame Chicken Noodles.

The recipe card is vey similar in layout to the ones I received from Hello Fresh.  One notable difference was that often with Hello Fresh (although this was not consistent), they would include measurements for items  - for example "cut peppers into 1cm slices". I didn't break out a ruler, but it did give me an idea about the ballpark thickness I should aim for.

My ingredients were all fresh and of good quality.  Although one of my girls asked me "why did they give you a bunch of rubber bands?".  Um, those are the noodle nests!

Here is my meal all assembled:

Overall, it was easy to prepare, but like Hello Fresh, the 35 minutes prep time was a bit optimistic!  I would say it was closer to 45-50 minutes.

But, worth it! And the girls all gave it a thumbs up!