(source – photographer)
(This post is mostly applicable to the Rotterdam Area. Therefore, to make it more applicable to everyone: if you know of an organic healthy food delivery service in your local area, let me know in the comments and maybe you’ll help out someone else!)
It was a droopy Sunday evening when I came home from a day at my family’s, about two weeks back. Boyfriend was at his dad’s for dinner, so apart from a few fruit flies who have taken up residence in my basil plant I would be eating alone. I had absolutely no desire to cook, so I do what I do approximately once every three months: I ordered take out food.
Last time I ordered take out food it turned out to be a heaping pile of grease, which is fine if you’re in the mood for it, but I wanted something healthy this time. Without being the one slaving away in the kitchen for it.
Luckily, I entered my zipcode on thuisbezorgd.nl and next thing you now a little link popped up for a healthy food delivery service called ‘Beter’. Healthy foods, using organic fruits and vegetables, fair trade products and with plenty delicious dishes on the menu. Sounds awesome. Let’s give it a whirl.
I placed my first order, to be delivered at 18:45*: avocado-cucumber soup with shrimp and tomatoes, egg plant lasagna and date-coconut squares for dessert. I’m nothing if not throrough when it comes to food-testing.
At 18:40 the doorbell rang so I ran downstairs like an excited little pup, as the only thing I love more than my food being on time is it being early. They deliver on bike (eco-friendly!) and the girl was very nice. I set it up and dove right in.
The soup was wonderful: I’d never had cold soup before but it was very nice. The avocado made it rich and creamy but the fresh of the cucumber, tomatoes and shrimps complemented it very well.
I’m like a Vegetarian Garfield so I LOVED the lasagna. I’m a sucker for eggplant in anything, but in this lasagna it really worked. It didn’t look like a lot but after my soup entree it was quite enough for one.
Finally, the date-coconut squares were lovely too: five bite-size snacks, sweet but not overly so, I ate while drinking tea and watching Doctor Who.
You’d think that would be the end of it, but my problem is that once I love something, I can’t let it go. Just ask my ex-boyfriends. Kidding – kind of. So last Friday, my boyfriend was working late and I had only two hours to do work, get ready for my high school reunion and make dinner, I decided to give myself a little more time for work and beautifying by ordering here again. I this time ordered just the brocolli soup and the coconut-pumpkin curry.
The brocolli soup has a touch of goat cheese in it, which was lovely. I added some chopped walnuts to the soup for some extra bite: it really suited the dish. They call it “Health in a bowl” & I agree! Unfortunately, my eyes are bigger than my stomach (in my case, maybe even literally) so I couldn’t fit another bite afterwards. So I kept the pumpkin-coconut curry as left-overs, eating it as lunch at work two days later.
Now, I know this is their favorite dish, but it’s definitely not mine (LASAGNA FOREVER!). Not just because I like the lasagna better, but apparently I myself make Curry For Little Girls and Cry Babies, because holy shit that was spicy. After I ate it, I had a runny nose and hot flashes for about two hours. So, if you don’t like super-spicy food, I wouldn’t recommend the curry. If you’re secretly a dragon’s child, this curry is perfect for you and I’d like to hire you for my next birthday party so we can roast marshmallows on your fire breath.
So basically: Good, healthy, freshly prepared foods delivered at my doorstep? I’m a big fan. Although serving smaller dishes, I don’t think they’re more expensive than most other take-out foods and they come with a lot more benefits in terms of health and nutrients. Plus, these dishes leave you satisfied without feeling overly bloated from all the extra fats and salts. I know where my next take-out orders will be coming from.
*I wish hungry & when it comes to food, I’m a total senior. I like eating at Early Bird Special times.
Klinkt heel erg lekker zeg! En zo ziet het er ook uit, alleen in Leeuwarden kan ik alleen maar eten vinden wat nou niet zo heeeel erg gezond is. Dan maar toch gewoon zelf koken ;p
Oh this is awesome!!
I wish we had something like this in Nijmegen, it sounds awesome. The best I found was Artra. Most of their vegetables are from their own garden and all their meat is organic, but unfortunately not all their ingredients are completely organic. I think it’s a rather new company, and still quite small. You have to order before 12.00 and they only deliver between 17.30-18.30, so you can’t really order there on a whim. I looked at their menu and they do have a vegetarian spinach-lasagna (my fave!), so maybe I’ll try that, on the rare occasion that I allready know in the morning that I don’t want to cook in the evening…
oeh, jum! In Utrecht heb je Maria’s biologische eetwinkel en catering, ook erg lekker en 100% biologisch. Geen bezorging, maar wel afhaal!
En Doctor Who ftw! Vorig jaar alle seizoenen in een paar maanden gekeken. Echt bummer dat ze dit jaar geen paasaflevering hadden 🙁 kan bijna niet wachten tot het najaar!
Nog een vraagje, meer op self-help gebied. Heb je weleens van synchronicity gehoord? Ik ben nu de essay van Jung hierover aan het lezen, en kwam op internet een paar keer tegen dat mensen zeggen dat zijn theorie hierover eigenlijk de basis van law of attraction e.d. is, of dat hij in ieder geval op hetzelfde spoor zat. Ik heb het nog niet uit, maar tot nu toe is het wel interessant om te lezen!
Hello, it’s the cook speaking 🙂
Thanks for your really nice blog. I always get happy when I can make people happy with my food!
I love cooking and it’s good to hear it’s appreciated!
My personal favourite is the lasagne too, you really don’t want to be in the house while it’s in the oven (you’ll start nibbling at the furniture) The whole house is filled with that smell! Even the neigbors sometimes ask what i’m cooking….
Sorry for setting you on fire. Being the daughter of a Dutch mom but Indonesian father (who was the one who used to do the cooking around the house when my brother and I where young) the level of spiciness so to say i guess slightly shifted from mild in my book, to sh*t’s on fire yo!!! for most people.
I think this batch should be less spicy.
If you like deserts, i recommend you the chocolate figs (especially with yoghurt and mint). I’m also working on a new sweet called (and you will be the first to know) “Chockrocks”. 85% pure chocolate with mixed nuts, cranberries and biological muesli.
Keep up the good work with your really entertaining blog! keep writing and eating!
Till the next delivery or blogpost 🙂
Hmm lekker hoor! En lekker, die dadelhapjes…ik maak geregeld een dadeltaart, de meeste mensen vinden het niet aantrekkelijk klinken, maar ik ben er dol op!
This sounds great and delicious! I wish we had a healthy delivery option here in Lelystad. It all pizza, fries and chinese food unfortunately. I would love to try that lasagna!