Lockdown has taught us many valuable lessons. Gratitude and family are at the top of that list. Somewhere in the middle is patience for the things we can’t control. More toward the bottom is the crazy amount of flour one can go through in just one week.
The lockdown has also brought my little family closer together to share breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same table daily – something that was near impossible outside of weekends. Understandably so, the kids are at school, parents at work and between preparing supper, homework and catch up work, dinners were rushed, and the easiest meal won on most week nights.
Lockdown has slowed down our lives, for the better in many instances. Meals are now shared experiences and so is cooking. With all of that said, there’s space on the gratitude list for heat and eat meals, especially those that require no preparation and give you the comfort of home.
Seasoned cook and owner of Gia’s Kitchen – Gia Kramer has solved the dilemma of nutritious home-cooked meals without actually cooking them at home. She has come up with a range of frozen meals that you literally heat and eat.
Whether you’re a vegan, pescatarian, vegetarian or someone who eats just about anything, there is a huge variety of foods you can choose from. Ordering frozen meals has its advantages, you can order a range of different choices and have it readily available at any time.
If you have kids this is especially a good idea, they are hungry at the strangest hours of the day. The meals arrived neatly packaged with quick and easy instructions to follow which include heating method and time.
The sticky sesame chicken was a winner. The chicken managed to retain it’s juiciness and the sauce was sweet, which went down a treat with my five-year-old. She is the toughest food critic in our house right now. Served with a side of chips to mop up every last morsel, it was filling and delicious. The portion size is perfect for a family of four, if you are big eaters possibly order a bigger portion.
The chicken pot pie is a revelation. The pastry is flaky and not too dense, but the real winner is the filling. Succulent shredded chicken, carrots, celery, onion and peas ooze from between the pastry. It is rich in flavour and you can clearly taste that all the ingredients have kept their integrity intact, devoid of any preservatives. A quick and easy salad is the perfect pairing, along with a glass of crisp rosè.
I would also definitely reorder the sweet chilli lamb. It was more sweet than chilli but it had a depth of flavouring because the tender lashings of lamb were left soaking in the sauce. A side of creamy mash potatoes offsets the lamb’s richness and perfectly compliments it at the same time.
The ordering process is simplified into portion size options and a full list of ingredients is available just in case there are dietary restrictions. Find out more about the delivery areas here.
Another addition to my list of lockdown gratitudes is discovering places likes Gia’s. It took being locked away for months on end to appreciate a good home-cooked meal NOT made from scratch by me, and the convenience of healthy, nutrious, delicious food on delivery demand is another plus for sure.
Pictures: Supplied
