May Palacpac, Storyteller

I panicked a little last Tuesday when I suddenly remembered that my good box was due to be delivered that night and I was nowhere near our home.

I signed up to try a day’s set of  The Good Box PH meals through Mommy Blogger Philippines and was told when to expect the delivery but I was at the hospital caring for our son who was admitted for some fierce viral infection that left him weak and dehydrated.

Fortunately for me, there had been an apparent delay of deliveries because of the recent cyclones and I can understand that.  My good box arrived Wednesday evening and my  husband was home to receive the packages.

Love `em cucumbers

Hubby and the two kiddos didn’t make it to the hospital until after lunch the next day so I only got to taste the breakfast a bit . I focused more on the packed lunch and the afternoon snack that I was sent.

We were carefully instructed to warm the food first before we eat them but I was so hungry, I started eating it without heating it.

Here it was:

I like the cucumbers that came with my fish, it gave the meal the flavor it needed.It came in a separate pack and it was dipped in vinaigrette which I love.

I decided to reheat the meal after a few bites and found that it had improved in taste and texture.

Lunch was okay, I grew up on fish and seafood so it would only be expected of me to say that among all of the three major meals, this was the best of them.

The entire meal summed up to 290 calories.

Who doesn’t like crackers and cheese?

Afternoon snack was this:

I’m in and out my no junk food diet and as you may know, crackers are considered “junk food” in that one.

However, I read that The Good Box PH uses all natural and organic ingredients in their food so I checked the site to see if they baked the wheat crackers themselves.

I found nothing on the site on it but I love cheese and outside the no junk food diet, I do love crackers, so I bit into them anyway. In fact, I already devoured one before I remembered to take a picture of them, sorry about that!

The calorie count was at 180 for the crackers and cheese snack.

Dinner was a wrap

One thing you need to know about me is that I’m a stress-eater so it’s no surprise that I’m slightly overweight and having a hard time committing to healthy diets for a long time.

I’m not very picky with food, I’d eat almost anything you set in front of me especially when I’m anxious about something, like one of my children being sick. This explains why this photo of my good box dinner is missing the feta and a couple of potatoes:

Don’t eat it cold.

It’s not how I would normally have my wraps but we’re talking about healthy eating and calorie counting so it shouldn’t be a surprise that you won’t find any meat in it.

The soft whole wheat tortilla was good and the combination of the vegetables was something only someone with a more sophisticated palate would think of putting together.

True enough, when I checked the company site, one of those who conceptualised the meals was a chef named Crissy and not just any entrepreneur selling food for business.

Did I like it? I think it has a lot of potential.

I tasted breakfast

Like I said, the breakfast didn’t arrive on time so I just ate half of it to taste it.

I’m no picky eater but with drinks, it’s a totally different story. I couldn’t get myself to drink the tea not because it was bad but because I can’t come into terms with drinking tea I have to reheat.

The good news is that you can contact the company on your food quirks and medical limitations and make special requests.

Just remember to keep your requests reasonable, after all, the food they serve are already meticulously planned and prepared by the company’s chef and nutritionist.

I would have to say that breakfast was just okay, too. I am not sure if the colors of the onions on it were supposed to be that way and we all know that cooked egg that stayed uneaten for hours doesn’t hold much promise.

For the entire breakfast set, you take in 120 calories.

Fruit Yogurt

This was the morning snack that accompanied the day’s set.

The only yogurt I eat are the ones you find in supermarkets and we all know that they’re not really healthy.

So what do I think about this yogurt? I’m going to have to get used to it if this will be a regular thing for me.

Calorie count for the yogurt if you finish it is 120.

WAIT A MINUTE! READ THIS FIRST

Before you read my recommendations, please take note of the following factors that affected my experience with The Good Box PH food.

First of all, I was  not able to follow the instructions as carefully as I wanted to. The food had to be taken out of the refrigerator the next day and had to travel another 15 minutes before I could refrigerate them again at the hospital.

Secondly, breakfast didn’t make it to me on time because it’s not easy to have to bring two active little kids (boys 5 and 3 years of age), bags of clothes, and a bag of meals by yourself. My husband had to do all that and take the cab, too, because our car isn’t running right now.

Thirdly, choice of food is preferential. I’m one of those who like  food that’s rich in flavors and spices, and I am not much of a bread eater.

Fourth, these are considered meals that promote healthy eating and weight loss.

And lastly, the meals were sent to us the evening before our schedule to try them. I’m assuming that’s to give priority to their clients so that their meals will arrive fresh and on time.

Personal recommendations

1. There’s a lot of room for improvement in packaging and presentation.  The food looked clean and it was assuring to know that a chef and a nutritionist are behind their preparation, but I wish that the meals were presented more creatively.

2. I like my vegetables looking fresh and firm. The food seemed slightly overcooked for me, rice included,  though I am not sure how the factors surrounding my experience affected the quality of the meals.

3. I couldn’t taste the “mint” , the “lime” and the “chili” in the food that they were supposedly included in. I’m a chili girl so when you say chili, I expect to taste the chili.

4. My suggestion for the tea would be to send the tea leaves or bags and just provide instructions. How hard can it be to make yourself a cup of tea anyway?

5. The wrap and the fish meals are potentially great meals and I loved that fruits were included.

Why The Good Box PH?

The Good Box Ph has a lot of good points.

First of all, let me emphasize to you that the meals are conceived and planned out carefully by a real chef and a real nutritionist. That should assure you that your meals are in good hands.

Second point is that with the kind of meals I received, it won’t feel like you’re dieting at all because they’re heavy and included all food groups, plus you get to snack, too.

Third reason is that the ingredients used are all organic and natural, you can’t get any healthier than that.

Fourth is that it spares you of the preparation and the calorie counting. Each meal is packed and labeled separately. They do the calorie counting for you and supply you the information via a piece of paper attached to your good box bag.

They offer different types of menu for different types of diet. You can decide which one of the diet programs you prefer or you can supply them your nutrition and lifestyle data  by filling up a form they have on their site so they can assess you and make suggestions for your meals. That’s the fifth good point.

Another good reason, the sixth, is that it’s ideal for people who go to work 5x in a week. Each set costs about Php 550-800 which is what most people spend for meals everyday anyway, so why not go healthy? These are far better than eating at fast food restaurants everyday.

Don’t just take my word for it, there are many others who have tried The Good Box Ph and have good things to say about them.

Here’s a list of links to blogs about The Good Box Ph:

The Good Box PH Home Delivery Food Service by Flair Candy

The Good Box PH and #MrsC’s Wellness Project at Mrs C’s Sugarcoated Life

The Good Box: Do Good. Look Good. Feel Good at Mamanee’s Nest

Healthy Eating with TheGoodBox at Rollercoaster ride

The good box ph review at Fashion Eggplant

The Good Box Ph at Petite Momma’s World

Or you can simply check out the tweets of The Good Box PH fans.

If you want to find out more about their food and service, visit The Good Box PH’s official website. The Good Box PH is also on Facebook and Twitter.