MF Tests: STOCKED Food

STOCKED Food review: How do these frozen blocks of ready-made meals compare to other meal delivery services?

STOCKED Food

BUY IT NOW:

From £2.65 per meal (not available in the US), stockedfood.com

Pros:

• Couldn’t be easier to cook: from packet to pan and ready to eat in less than 10 minutes.
• Tasty meals.
• High in protein and fibre; low in fat.
• Portioned blocks mean less food waste

Cons:

• Not a huge variety of meals.
• Not a complete meal for most. While perfectly suitable for eating as they are, most people will want to add rice or similar carbohydrate base.
• Minimum order is 4 blocks of 8 packs, which is £42.
• Packs are not currently recyclable.

Taste: 4/5
Variety: 3/5
Nutrition: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

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STOCKED’s frozen meal blocks come in easy-to-store packs

STOCKED’s USP is the unique ‘block’ format its meals are frozen and condensed into. While that doesn’t necessarily scream ‘appetising’, there are some key advantages to STOCKED’s approach.

The blocks are portioned out, for a start. Eight blocks to a pack means up to four separate meals (two blocks per meal). However, for heartier post-workout meals, four blocks per serving is probably going to suit you better. Still, the packaging couldn’t be more straightforward and the cooking process follows suit. Simply cut the top off the pack, tip your desired number of frozen blocks into a saucepan, turn the heat to medium, put the lid on the pan and simmer away until piping hot.

That block shape has another benefit, too: space-efficiency. Unlike bulkier meal delivery options – which tend to arrive in circular bowls – you can easily stack STOCKED packs on top of each other in the freezer.

Does STOCKED taste nice?

Short answer: yes. We tried four of the options: Chicken Tinga, Harissa Jackfruit, Curried Chickpeas, and Smoky No’rizo. Of those, Chicken Tinga and Smoky No’rizo were our favourites, but all made for tasty lunch or evening meals.

The ingredients are high quality and entirely natural. A scan of the ingredients list for Beef Chilli, for example, reveals nothing but good stuff – not a chemical or artificial flavouring in sight. Also, an impressive note is that half of the meals are plant-based. Of those that we tried, unsurprisingly the Chicken Tinga contained the most protein (a decent 6.5g per block), while the Harissa Jackfruit was a less notable 1.2g per block.

Is STOCKED worth it?

Being a relatively small company – founded by two mates, Sam and Charlie – there isn’t yet the variety of meals you’ll find on the sites of the bigger brands (think Gousto, Hello Fresh etc.). The convenience of the cooking process is also slightly tempered by the fact that you’re probably going to want to add to the blocks. Curried Chickpeas, for instance, wouldn’t be many people’s ideas of a standalone meal.

That said, STOCKED has got a fan in Men’s Fitness. Perfect for time-poor men, the packs couldn’t be easier to cook and, though ‘frozen food block’ might not get your tastebuds tingling, the use quality ingredients means full flavours shine through.

And if you do want to pair the blocks with some extras, you can find some handy recipes at stockedfood.com.