Soulmate Food is a fun, vibrant brand offering innovative tailored chef-prepared healthy menus delivered to your door. Believing in the in mantra that being healthy on the inside is just as important as being healthy on the outside, the brand provides delicious and nutritious gourmet meals and snacks depending on what your health and weight goals are – as their mission statement says, “This is health food, but not as you know it.”
Being a fan of everything Soulmate Food stands for, I was delighted to be invited to try a meal plan for three days, to trial their food and see how I felt over the duration. Since I already follow a low carb, high protein and gluten-free diet alongside my weight and core resistance training, it made sense to go for the Low Carb plan, although I wasn’t necessarily wanting weight loss. After chatting to the lovely guys and submitting my dietary requirements, here’s how my Soulmate Food experience unravelled…
Day 1: MONDAY
Breakfast: Blueberry & Yoghurt Cheesecake Granola – Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and usually consists of some form of post-workout shake made from whey protein, frozen berries, banana, almond milk and nut butter, or a yogurt chia seed pot with protein powder and fruit. This pot of thick, creamy yogurt – a generous amount, I must say! – hit the spot with a tasty blueberry topping. The oaty granola was a nice addition, providing a bit of crunch; I found it a little dry but it worked well when mixed into the pot. Filling and satisfying, this was an enjoyable start to the day.
AM snack: Paprika nuts and seeds – A substantial mixture of pumpkin and sunflower seeds with Brazil and cashew nuts dusted lightly with paprika was an ideal snack. I usually find nuts coated in any sort of flavouring to be too salty and overpowering but this was nice and subtle while adding extra flavour. A great little energy boost mid-morning at my desk!
Lunch: Herbed Chicken Greek Salad – This was delicious, a combination of moist chunks of chicken in an allspice coating with peas, spring onion, cucumber, olives, pomegranate, tomatoes and sunblush tomatoes, plus a small pot of creamy Harissa dressing to give it a bit of spice. An ideal mixture of protein, vegetables and flavour, this was a filling and tasty lunch to keep me going through the afternoon.
PM snack: Basil pesto & sun-blush tomato hummus with crudites – I actually had this as a starter before my main meal, as I was still from lunch throughout the afternoon! One of the tastiest forms of hummus I’ve ever had, the addition of basil and sunblush tomatoes gave this dip plenty of flavour, making it the ideal accompaniment to fresh, crunchy sticks of raw carrot and red pepper. Simple but yummy!
Dinner: Salmon with Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables – Succulent, delicate but chunky piece of pink salmon, this was favourite dish, served with a decent amount of courgette chunks, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, sunblush tomatoes and rocket leaves in a garlic sauce. A simple meal but so tasty and since there was plenty of it, I didn’t miss any carbohydrates. The perfect portion and packed full of goodness, this was an enjoyable dinner.
Day 2: TUESDAY
Breakfast: Spanish Tortilla with Spinach & Tomato – Slices of firm, substantial tortilla slices packed with courgettes, spring onion, new potatoes, peppers and chorizo served with some spinach leaves and tomatoes, I love eggs in the morning and this made a nice savoury option. Enjoyed either hot or cold, I went for the latter option!
AM snack: Super Blue Juice – I’ve been a fan of Savse Smoothies for a while now so it was great to see this bottle of goodness included in my meal plan. The ‘Super Blue Juice’, made from blueberries, kale, beetroot, spinach, blackberry and apple, gave it a wonderful, vibrant blue-purple colour and sweet but zingy taste. Since the breakfast was savoury, this added a nice fruit sweet boost to my morning!
Lunch: Celeriac Salad with Chicken – I personally found this slightly unusual but still enjoyable, a mix of chunky pieces of chicken with celeriac (first time I tried it!), carrot, kale, walnuts and creme fraice. I think it was the taste of horseradish sauce which I wasn’t expecting that give it an extra tang, but apart from that it was filling and hit the spot for lunch.
PM Snack: Deli Pot – A cute little of tub of sunblush tomatoes, green olives and feta cheese was waiting for me mid-afternoon and although I was still feeling full, it was nice to enjoy the taste of a deli before leaving work and walking the long way home before dinner. You can’t beat the simplicity of feta chunks, tomatoes and fresh olives!
Dinner: Beef Tagine with Cauliflower Couscous – This is exactly the sort of meal I love to cook, so it was nice to get home from work and have it all done for me! The result was tender chunks of beef coated in a wonderful mix of sweet spices, along with chickpeas, onions, courgettes, peppers, aubergine and butternut squash. A cheeky addition of dried apricots, raisins and pomegranate made this dish even more of a feast with an added topping of yogurt and flaked almonds. Served with ‘cous cous’ made from cauliflower, I was initially intrigued but pleasantly surprised by how good this tasted, the texture was like normal cous cous but without the fast-releasing carbs.
Day 3: WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Lemon & Ginger Yoatie – I must admit, I’m not usually the biggest fan of lemon and ginger but this combination with a creamy yogurt layer and thick oaty layer was absolutely delicious. With plenty of it in the pot, I was pretty full and didn’t actually use all of the granola topping, saving it for later/another time. Impressed with this breakfast, it’s inspired me to try incorporating oats in my diet more.
AM snack: Tandoori Chicken Bites – See below!
Lunch: Spicy Sweet Potato Soup – You can’t beat a warm bowl of comforting soup, so this thick, vibrant and generous serving was very much welcomed. With the ideal amount of spice, flavouring and seasoning, this soup wasn’t too overpowering or bland like other soups on the market, this was a really enjoyable and convenient lunch in the office. I had a busy afternoon ahead so I ate my AM snack, too – tasty chunks of cooked chicken in a spicy coating, served with spinach leaves and a creamy cucumber and mint yogurt dip to balance out the spice. Filling and full of goodness, this was a good power lunch!
PM snack: Bombay Mix – A mini tub of Bombay mix with puffed quinoa and puffed rice, this snack wasn’t really for me as I don’t really go for savoury snack things, but nevertheless it was a nice crunchy boost for the afternoon. Rather than being laden with fat, salt and all sorts of artificial flavourings, this was a simplified and healthier version which filled the gap but was a bit too fiddly to eat – still a nice idea though.
Dinner: Pork Teriyaki Stir Fry – I love a stir-fry packed with colourful vegetables and a bit of meat, so my final meal was a joy to eat! A colourful mixture of courgettes, broccoli, sugar snap peas, baby corn, red peppers and pak choi with tender slices of pork fillet covered in black sesame seeds plus a small pot of teriyaki sauce made for a simple but tasty dinner – I didn’t want it to end!
Soulmate Food: The verdict!
Overall, I was really impressed with everything about my Soulmate Food experience. The food was fresh, delicious and satisfying thanks to generous portions and the variety of meals made the three days interesting and enjoyable – plus, I tried things I hadn’t before, like celeriac and the concept of a ‘yoatie’. A couple of times I felt a bit hungry so I had a cheeky piece of fruit in between – a low carb option so apples and berries – but overall I found the meals to be filling and hit the spot.
The service was also fantastic; fast and efficient delivery brought straight to my doorstep on Sunday evening in a chilled box, complete with a printed version of my meal plan. All pots and tubs were clearly labelled with what the meal was (although no specific ingredients), and what day and time to have it; being someone who likes things to be clearly communicated, this was important to me and Soulmate Food did a great job of this. I had an email and text confirmation too, so everything was kept up to date and being notified gave me reassurance.
In the future I’d definitely consider experiencing another meal plan from the brand, although the only thing I would say is the price is a little on the high side; in the future more affordable and ‘budget’ plans will be available but for the service and quality of food, it would be worth it. Look out for more exciting plans coming up, alongside Weight-Loss plans, Sports Kitchen packages and Juice Diet deliveries and Honestly Healthy menus. Make sure you’re following the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news…and to drool over the fabulous healthy food photos!
Hey readers, fancy a discount?
If you like the sound of Soulmate Food and fancy giving their service a go, use this cheeky discount code: ‘SPAMELLABFOOD’ to get 10% off all food plans (excluding Trial Menu, Simple Menu and Ultimate Summer detox) – valid until 23:59 31/12/14.
You can also get 50% off all juice plans if you use the discount code: ‘SPAMELLABJUICE’ – valid until 23:59 31/12/14.
Note: Discount codes cannot be redeemed on existing orders- new orders only and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Soulmatefood reserve the right to cancel the offer without prior notice. Enjoy! 🙂