Raisingkids.co.uk's editor, Catherine, road tests a service which promises weary cooks a holiday from the stove.

Like most working mums whose children spend part of the week in childcare, I'm probably a little bit obsessed with ensuring that when my daughter eats at home, she eats healthy home-cooked food. When she was a baby I regularly spent my evenings elbow-deep in butternut squash puree, worshipping the cult of Annabel Karmel.

Now that she's three, I'm probably slightly more relaxed about what she eats – and honest enough to admit that I'd love a break from cooking and baking. So I was interested in the news of a new food delivery service promising ready made meals that were free of additives and tasted just like you'd made them yourself.

To test the company's offering, I ordered a selection of their meals including several items from their kids meals range. It arrived on my doorstep the next day, neatly packaged in individual frozen portions. I have to say I was impressed.

Child's Play
Over two weeks my daughter happily munched her way through shepherd pie and meatballs with spaghetti, while I was able to spend the time I would normally be cooking, playing with her instead.

The children's food is low in salt (they promise none of their kids range contains more than 1g of salt) but tastes just as good – and sometimes better – than I'd cook it myself. What's more, Cook has also brought out a range of baby food including purees, to give mums a break from the blender.

Meanwhile, my husband and I enjoyed the company's grown up range, such as beef in brandy and mushroom sauce and hearty fisherman's pie - allowing us more time to veg out in the evenings. And any opportunity to do that with a toddler in the house is extremely welcome!

Information
For more information, and to order from Cook online, click here.

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