RAWvolution for Mother’s Day – Mom Reports Back
cafe gratitude, gourmet raw food, matt amsden, mom, raw food chef, raw food delivery, raw food restaurant, rawvolution, the box
As my Mom has recently gotten into the raw food diet, for this past Mother’s Day I decided to order her “The Box” from raw food chef Matt Amsden’s RAWvolution.com.
The Box is basically a package of gourmet raw foods delivered to your door. It was $120 plus $30 for 2-day shipping to Arizona where my Mom lives. (RAWvolution is located in the Los Angeles area.) The package was large and hefty. At first I thought $30 for shipping was a bit steep, but after hearing the description of the box it may actually be a bargain. Definite “thud factor” there.
The box was insulated and included an ice pack to keep things cool. The food arrived on schedule and survived the trip well — nothing was spoiled, spilled, or squashed during the 2-day journey. I had ordered the May 11 menu, which included these items:
- Tomato Basil Soup.
- Cream of Celery Soup.
- No-Bean Hummus.
- Mediterranean Tabouli.
- Broccolini Salad.
- Stir-Not-Fry.
- Big Matt with Cheese.
- Nut Loaf with BBQ Sauce.
- Pizza Italiano.
- Nut & Veggie Pate wrap.
- Pecan Crumble.
- Apple Raisin Cookies.
Portion sizes were reasonable; not skimpy like you might expect from something “gourmet.” Enough so that she was able to share with Dad, too. 
Now my Mom is relatively new to raw foods to begin with, and this was her first experience with gourmet raw foods, or pretty much any raw foods prepared outside of her own home for that matter. So she is admittedly a beginner, not used to some of the more unusual raw food specialty ingredients, and even non-hot preparations of some styles of foods.
Here’s what she says:
- Tomato Basil Soup and Cream of Celery Soup. The soups were not bad. I think my main objection is that they’re supposed to be served cold or cool, or even room temp. I like soup hot.
- No-Bean Hummus. At first taste, we thought it was good. It became quickly apparent that there was a very bitter aftertaste (not sure what would cause that).
- Mediterranean Tabouli. I think I would have liked it better if it had been made with spinach, rather than parsley; good flavor, though.
- Broccolini Salad. It was pretty good; nothing strange-tasting or too hard to chew.
- Stir-Not-Fry. Again, one or more ingredients that perhaps I’m not used to that in my opinion, do not enhance the overall flavor of the dish.
- Big Matt with Cheese. Of course, I compare this with a veggie burger, which is akin to a hamburger (substitute). It just seemed strange to me to eat a burger (veggie or not) that wasn’t warm. Flavors were okay, though. (A cleverly-named play on a well-known sandwich, modified to be named after the chef.)
- Nut Loaf with BBQ Sauce. Dad didn’t like it. I did not find it objectionable. Actually, I like it better without the BBQ sauce.
- Pizza Italiano. Bears no resemblance to pizza, in my opinion, in appearance or taste. Very close to the Big Matt in flavor — with slight differences. Not sure about collard greens, never ate them before, but overall, not too bad.
- Nut & Veggie Pate wrap. Nuts and veggies, together at last! It was okay, but I’m not sure how I feel about “collard greens.”
- Pecan Crumble. The ingredients are pecans, almonds, raisins, coconut water — must be the coconut water I’m not used to, because I’ve certainly eaten enough of the other ingredients. Overall, not too bad, but I wouldn’t really endorse it either.
- Apple Raisin Cookies. Yummy! Very apple-y, raisin-y, and cinnamon-y. DEEEE-LISH!
Alas, this has not dissuaded me — some day I shall try The Box experience for myself. I’m curious what a more “professional” raw foodie would make of it. Some day, I also hope to take Mom to my favorite raw food restaurant of all time, Café Gratitude — which I will promptly do the next time she visits me here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Have you tried RAWvolution’s The Box? Yes or no, share your thoughts below!
Raw Food Meals, Raw Food Resources | Chuck May 28, 2009
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By Dawn, May 29, 2009 @ 7:50 am
Chuck,
I went to Matt’s site to order The Box, and then looked at the ingredient list. Most of the recipes include tamari, which for me is a big no-no. I do have his book, though, and if I make the recipes at home, I can exclude the tamari. Maybe that was the flavor your mom didn’t like very much.
Dawn
By Chuck, May 31, 2009 @ 9:02 pm
Maybe that’s it Dawn — thanks for the tip!
By James, February 15, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
Another place I found that has an awesome weekly raw food meal service is: PJSrawcuisine.com I haven’t gone 100% raw yet but have ordered from PJ’s for about 6 months now. They ship anywhere in the U.S. Most of the items are delicious and
the service is reasonably priced.
Peace & Health!