You know that feeling you get as the day is coming to an end and you’re literally scooping up every last bit of energy you have just so you can make it to bedtime and you realise you have to feed your family and another fast food delivery is not an option and you just want to cry? If you are parenting little kids, chances are you know the feeling and you know how horrible it can be. Which is why, when Misfit Union contacted me and told me that they have a new delivery service that has the ability to make those feelings go away, I wanted to know more.
When I first saw the social media posts about Misfit Union I wasn’t sure what they were offering, to be honest, I think it just sounded too good to be true! Healthy, quick meal options? Local produce? Delivered to your door? I had seen similar services available in other countries, ingredients in a box, delivered to your home, so you can prepare a healthy meal for your family. But that wasn’t exactly what Misfit Union was offering. I asked to meet up with the founders, to see their kitchen and find out what they were up to and why I and others should be interested in this concept.
So I took myself down to the Misfit Union kitchen in Nicosia and was given a tour of the premises and the walk-in refrigerator where all the products on their website are stocked. Well, actually some of the products, as the range is divided between pantry items and pre-cooked meals. Pantry items include spreads and nut butters, homemade ketchup, sauces, salsas and chutneys, salad dressings, nuts and oat bites. Pre-cooked meals or meals in 3 minutes, as they’re called on the website, consist of jumbo poached prawns. cooked salmon flakes, basmati rice, lentils and louvi (black-eyed beans) egg and rice noodles, sweet potato pasta, quinoa, chicken bites, pulled chicken, pulled pork and pulled mushrooms, chicken wings, veggie bites, ready-to-serve spaghetti and frozen burgers.
One thing I wanted to know from the get-go was how they defined the word ‘healthy’. We all know that word can be tossed around without any real meaning so how is Misfit Union a healthy option? Well, first of all, they don’t use any processed sugar, in fact I think there is no sugar whatsoever in any of the products unless you count honey and maple syrup as sugar, which are ingredients used in products such as the cocoa/banana/orange bites, the roasted nuts/trail mix and the chocanola, that is granola made with cocoa powder. One of Georgie’s favourites, by the way. Also, there are no preservatives in any of the products and fresh produce is seasonal which means that it’s more nutritious. This is actually one of the reasons I was so excited about this concept, the fresh produce. All fruit and veggies are sourced from small local farmers! How fabulous is that? And you can order regular produce like bananas, ginger, avocados, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, aubergines, bell peppers, beetroots and cabbages, just to mention a few, so you don’t need the hassle of going to the supermarket. That is actually one of the biggest changes I have experienced since trying out Misfit Union, less time wasted in supermarket queues and lugging heavy shopping bags in and out of the car.
Speaking of wasted time, let’s talk about how this concept has drastically limited the food waste in our home. I have been quite diligent about this issue since doing some research, talking about it on the podcast and going through many trials and errors so it was never that bad to begin with, still, once Misfit Union entered my food world, any shred of guilt I had about a single potato and tomato being left in the fridge, has now vanished.
Over the last couple of months, my family and I have tried the majority of what is on the menu. Georgie, who is almost 11, was actually not impressed with the service to begin with because the first time we ordered, I asked to try out the local mix of cut-up veggies and he was so disappointed that he wouldn’t get to use his special chopping knife. Ha! Well, what am I going to do now, he said? I thought that was hilarious. We ended up making fajitas that night with the yummy pre-marinated pulled chicken we got and he literally did everything himself, seeing that all that was required was him pouring the contents into the pan to heat it up. I had some pitta wraps in the pantry, yoghurt and avocados in the fridge so within a matter of ten minutes we had a whole delicious meal going on, enough to feed all five of us.
I absolutely adore the soup range, which was recently launched. Such a massive gap in the food-delivery market and one I had been hoping would be filled soon. The awesome Misfit Union flavours I was becoming accustomed to, translated beautifully to the ramen and stock that are part of the range. I fell head over heels in love with the sweet potato and carrot puree, which I watered down with some olive oil and with it I fed my entire family.
Other favourites include the chicken maple infused nuggets that are simply divine. Yesterday I pulled a packet out of the freezer, tossed a few in the boys’ lunchboxes, saved some for myself to snack on the next day and peace of mind achieved. The sweet and spicy chicken wings are another hit in out household, marinated in cayenne sauce and nowhere near as spicy as I thought they would be, all I had to do was heat them up in the oven for a few minutes. The oat bites have also been going in the kids’ lunchboxes on a regular basis and it was a thumbs up from them when I started adding the turkey breast, that’s real turkey and cut in thin slices, to their sandwiches.
So how does it work and how do I recommend you use this service? First up, currently they can only deliver all products in and around Nicosia, once you visit their website you’ll be asked to add your post code and it will let you know if you are eligible for delivery. I recently spoke with the founders and they said they are gearing up to open something in Limassol and possibly other towns too, so stay tuned. But in the meantime, you can definitely order dry foods such as snacks and other pantry items such as jams and spreads. Oh my god, did I mention that chocolate nutter butter? No? It was one of the first items I tried and I was completely blown away by how similar the taste was to our favourite Nutella, which as we all know contains loads of sugar and that awful palm oil. You have to try this product, trust me! Anyway so, if you live outside the capital, you can contact the guys via email or message them via their website or by calling them.
As for how I would recommend you use the service, here are my tips and advice: It’s very easy to get carried away and order a bunch of items you like, and trust me, you will be tempted to do so when you see the low prices too, but I would recommend giving two or three meals a go first. There are a number of ways you can mix and match, there are recommended ways on the website too. You can also pop quite a few of the products in the freezer too, to save for later. I always have a few soups and some frozen chicken burgers in there. Once you’ve ordered a few times and know what you and your family prefer it will be smooth sailing from there on and you will often find yourself wondering how you existed and survived in a world where healthy, local, tasty food wasn’t delivered to you. I hope you enjoy.
//// I am extremely pleased to announce that Misfit Union is offering a special 20% discount for all readers of the blog, followers of my social media accounts and listeners of the podcast! Head on over to the Misfit Union website, place your order and use the special code georgiesmummymu to receive your discount. ///
Misfit Union were the first official sponsors of the last Mamma Mu podcast series so we also recorded a chat with the founders in Greek about the concept and what they have to offer, so if you speak or understand Greek, please check it out via this link or via any podcast platform.
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