Stewed!: Nourish Your Soul

We were sent five "ready meals" by Stewed! from their Nourish Your Soul range to trial. These were not "ready meals" as we all know them.....

Each are crammed full of delicious ingredients and boast credentials like no artificial flavourings or preservatives, Gluten free and use British meats. These are just some of the amazing things that make their home-cooked style meals so awesome! They are so simple and quick: ready in just 3 minutes from chilled or 5 1/2 minutes from frozen, they are absolutely perfect as a quick lunchtime snack or as an on-the-go meal. Here's what we thought.....

Chickpea, Sweet Potato & Feta Stew

Being vegetarian this was the only one that Lexi's Mummy could actually eat but Stewed! have informed me that they are working on more yummy vegetarian recipes for their range soon which I am very excited about! I absolutely loved this chickpea stew. It was crammed full of delicious chunks of vegetables which were cooked to perfection. The stew was so flavoursome and filling - perfect for lunch. I ate it on it's own but it would be great with some bread dipped into the sauce if you are hungry! There is a slight hint of spice but not too overpowering that it took over the flavour. Absolutely delicious!! And as a bonus (like it needs one) each serving is only 234 calories AND is 2 of your five a day!

Hungarian Goulash

Lexi's Daddy ate this one as it contains beef. His verdict was that it was absolutely gorgeous! Definitely his favourite of the three he tried. He said it was really meaty and flavoursome with big chunks of beef which was so tender and melted in the mouth. He loved it and said it would be amazing on a cold, rainy day as a warming lunch to ready you for the rest of a dreary day! It had lots of lovely tender beef, soft juicy vegetables and some bite from the kidney beans. A great thick sauce which was really filling and mouthwatering. All in all; absolutely moorish and delicious!! Also low in calorie at only 234 calories and being 1 of your 5 a day means that there is no guilt from feeling full and nourished!

Chorizo, Chickpea & Pork Stew

Lexi's Daddy took this one to work for his lunch to make a change from Ryvita or sandwiches and thought it was great! He was a little disappointed as he had loved the Goulash so much and this one had only a few very large chunks of pork as oppose to smaller, bite sized pieces but he said the pork was cooked to perfection, really tender and juicy as were the vegetables. A little more watery - more of a broth than a stew but the chorizo was gorgeous and the 'stew' was very warming, filling, wholesome and tasty! Again, no guilt with it being only 338 calories and providing 2 of your 5 a day. A great, quick and easy working lunch!

Thai Green Chicken

Lexi's Daddy had this one as a main meal with rice. Again, he didn't love it as much as the Goulash but did thoroughly enjoy it. The chicken was very tender and juicy, the baby sweetcorn, shitake mushrooms and sweet potato were scrumptious. The sauce was a little thin and watery but full of flavour. I have always found Thai food to be a little watery anyway so I think it goes with the territory. He did really enjoy it though. The blend of aromatic spices meant it smelled gorgeous and was again very moorish. Not quite as filling as the ones containing red meat but definitely satisfied his rumbling tummy. Only 328 calories and providing 1 of your 5 a day it's a perfect meal in a hurry (or if you can't cook like Lexi's Daddy!!).

Bob's British Beef in Ale Stew

Lexi's Grandad is what I'd call a fussy eater, he won't allow anything "foreign or spicy" to pass his lips and is a vehement meat and two veg man, eating only the finest cuts of beef and the best quality vegetables and ingredients; so when he offered to try this one I was delighted yet sceptical of his thoughts... I couldn't have been happier when he said that he really enjoyed it! He had his as a main meal with some mash and calabrese: He thought the portion was very generous and had lots of delicious, very tender and well cooked, good quality beef in it. He wasn't overly enamoured by the potatoes as he felt they were slightly undercooked and would have preferred them slightly softer but I would say this may be personal preference. He also enjoyed the carrots but would've preferred slightly less of them as he was feeling very full after eating it all. All in all a thumbs up from the world's most difficult to please dinner guest so thank you very much Stewed! I will definitely be keeping some of these in the freezer for when Lexi's Grandad comes over for dinner!!

That's three very happy diners thanks to Stewed! I would highly recommend keeping some of these delicious, nutritious meals in the fridge or freezer for either lunch on the go or dinner in a hurry! I will definitely be stocking up on some for next week when I am away with Lexi and Daddy is left to fend for himself!

For more information about the full range of Stewed!'s Nourish Your Soul range, visit: www.steweduk.co.uk
There are also some fantastic recipes for meals you can make yourself which I shall definitely be investigating further and having a go at aswell as recipe books available to purchase! The pots are available to buy online at: www.ocado.com/webshop/ priced between £3.49 and £3.79 each which I think is a very competitive price.

Stewed! are also on Facebook. Why not pop over and say hi at: www.facebook.com/Stewedpots?sk=wall

Thank you Stewed! Your meals are definitely Loved by Lexi's Mummy, Daddy & Grandad! :)