The food itself comes in paper bowls with a plastic seal. The plastic isn’t sustainable or recyclable, but the bowls can be recycled with soft plastics. The ice packs can be also reused – I’ve stuffed mine into the freezer ready for a summer picnic – or emptied and recycled.
What are the recipes like?
I have to confess – I love cooking and can sometimes feel funny about pre-prepared food, especially if it’s sat in my fridge for more than a day or so. So I was pleasantly surprised with the Frive meals, which all stayed perfectly fresh and tasted just-cooked when reheating.
As mentioned, I used my air fryer rather than the microwave to reheat some ingredients like potatoes and any meat that wasn’t covered in sauce to keep things crispy (I simply removed them from the Frive packaging and placed them in an air fryer at around 180°C, keeping a close eye on it until it was piping hot). But even the foods that were microwaved were delicious and, crucially, not soggy.
I liked that there was a load of variation in the meals and that all elements of the dish had been considered – for example, most came with a perfect portion of sauce. It’s all well seasoned and the flavours are brilliant: I’m someone who always adds more salt and pepper, hot sauce or squeeze of lemon to most meals but didn’t feel the need to add any extra zing to my Frive meals.
Who is Frive most suited to?
Frive can be for anyone who wants to eat well without cooking. I shared one of the meals with my CrossFit-ing boyfriend with a big appetite and the portion sizes weren’t enough for him (we cooked some extra rice to serve his with), but for me, a small but very active woman, they worked well.
Frive is also a great option for anyone who simply wants to look after their health but feels too busy to consider their nutrition.
Are there any negatives to Frive?
Personally, I love cooking, so I wouldn’t want to eat Frive for every meal, all of the time. I can imagine some of the recipes may get a bit same-y too – a lot of the food is meat and rice, albeit with different sauces and veggies – so it’s worth keeping in mind if you are someone who loved variety. But these things are only minor complaints, and I enjoyed eating all of the meals.
The only other negative is that my first box was delivered to my block of flats and seemed to go missing. This might be due to chancing neighbours whisking the box away or a lost delivery driver, but it’s something to keep in mind if you live in a flat.
Is Frive worth it?
Whether Frive is worth it or not depends on your income, how hard you find cooking fresh food and what healthy means to you. The meals are pretty expensive per portion, but that price also factors in a chef preparing them and the delivery, so the cost does make sense.
If you’re someone with spare income who lives a busy life and wants to eat well without effort, it makes total sense to order Frive as a long term solution. Alternatively, if you’re someone who doesn’t have a load of spare cash but wants a few meals ready to support your health to eat throughout the week, a smaller Frive order would work.
After more content like this? Read our honest HelloFresh review and our honest Gousto review.
