As a Continuous Improvement professional, I am used to looking at a process and attempting to squeeze out an extra few per cent of performance.
But, as with all things lean, we must, at some point, put people back in the centre of our thinking. When we do this, it soon becomes clear that we must start where we stand and begin from the inside out.
Take Paul Akers for example, he of Two-Second Lean. The man is simply full of energy and vitality. Is this just a character trait? Possibly. But maybe he is running on higher octane fuel – his engine is driven from the foundation of his diet.
So, I looked within. Could I honestly state that my diet enhanced my performance in the workplace? If anything, the way I was eating was having a detrimental effect. If I wanted to find that extra few per cent, I had to look at how I was feeding my energy.
With this minor epiphany, I looked up a company called Allplants. As I remember, an advert appeared on my Facebook timeline. For some reason, Mr Zuckerburg seems to know what products I need before I know – so I followed the link.
Arriving at the website, it seemed clean, bright and intuitive – so I had a further look around. The scheme works a little like this. You chose six meals and a subscription plan. The plan enables you to have a box of meals delivered at a time-frequency of your choice. You can have a box every week, every couple of weeks, or even once a month. The option is yours.
As this was an experiment, I chose monthly, but then found it easy to cancel the recurring subscription plan – so you have need have no fear of being locked into something you might not want.
Next comes the difficult bit.
From a list of over thirty meals, you have to choose just six. I navigated this challenge eventually and waited a couple of days for delivery. (It should be noted that I ordered on a Bank Holiday Weekend, so delivery really is rapid.)
What struck me first is how beautifully packaged the meals were. They arrive frozen, in a remarkable thermal box. You are provided with a return label for the packaging, and this can be dropped off at a convenient location near you. Mine was left outside in a safe place for a few hours and were still beautifully frozen when I unpacked them.
The meals themselves are also strikingly packaged and come in natty cardboard sleeves, so there is no doubt as to what meal you have. One pleasing aspect of the sleeve is the autograph of your chef on the side. I felt this small touch connected the customer with the business. It was clear that somebody had taken pride in the preparation, and cared about the customer experience.
One thing to mention here. Do you know how ready meals often have tiny portions? Well, I attempted to alleviate this by ordering the two-person size. I needn’t have worried. The two-person size is very much as described! If there is just one of you, a single portion will be sufficient!
Also, know that all meals cook from frozen. This feature is great for me because I often forget to take food out of the freezer before I go to work. It was nice to know that I was always going to have a hot, nutritious meal to eat when I got in after a hard day in the automotive world.
Now onto the important bit – the meals I chose:
- Smoky Soul Chilli – This was delicious! The chipotle chills were a bit hotter than I was expecting, but this was a welcome surprise. A striking addition was the crunchy coconut cornbreads. I felt they were remarkably innovative and underlined a theme for all of the dishes. As flavoursome as all the food was, the chefs also worked hard to add different textures. That bit of crunch elevated the dish.
- Shepherd’s Pie – Now, between you and me, I am something of a Shepherd’s Pie connoisseur, but this was wonderful! That sweet potato topping complimented the rest of the dish and the addition of the paprika crumb, for texture was glorious.
- Lasagne Noci – The winner here was the butternut squash bechamel. Accompanied by walnut ragu and mined mushroom, it was as good as any lasagne that I have tasted.
- Super Green Risotto – Again, this was a very textured dish, with complimentary and fresh flavours. The seasonal greens tasted as if they were picked yesterday, and you could just feel that they were doing you good. I would say this was a summery dish, but I could equally see myself eating this on a dark winter’s night.
- Nacho Bean Chilli – My second chilli dish on the list and equally as good as the first. With so many ingredients, I guess it would be easy to produce something where flavours were battling. However, some serious R&D has clearly been done by the good people of Allplants, as this meal was awesome! Add in the tortilla chips for texture, and we have another winner.
- Teriyaki Udon – Not my favourite of the dishes, but this is because I am not at all adept at eating noodles! I was still able to recognise a beautifully textured and balanced piece of cooking, put together with craft and love.
To conclude, I think this was an experiment that I will definitely be repeating. With all those other options to try, it would be churlish not to! I am recognising that diet, hydration, exercise, and quality sleep are vital ingredients to finding that little bit extra. Therefore, these meals can be certainly described as adding value to my life, while saving time and helping me cut out junk food.
I’m off back to https://allplants.com/ to have a look at what my next order will consist of. Perhaps you will join me there?
Simon D. Gary is the author of “Kaizen Your Life” – the book that describes how you can apply the techniques of the Japanese Business Masters in your day to day living.