Tempo Ready-to-Heat Meals Are the Perfect Dinner Option for Your Lazy Girl Routine
As someone practically allergic to cooking, I always look for new takeout spots or high-quality frozen food brands. Ready-to-heat delivery service Tempo might be the answer to all my problems.
Tempo offers chef-designed recipes to your doorstep, without the frustration of complex cookbooks and lukewarm takeout. It's a rotating menu of more than 20 delicious dishes, from Hawaiian-style pulled pork to farmer's market chicken, that you pop into your oven or microwave to serve for lunch and dinner.
(via Tempo)
The nice thing about Tempo meals is that you never have to worry about processed ingredients or high-calorie counts. You can choose from protein-packed, fiber-rich, carb-conscious and more. It's perfect for anyone who needs a lazy girl (that also wants to be healthy) routine, like me.
The brand was kind enough to share a starter pack of six meals. Continue reading to discover my honest thoughts on every dish I tried and the overall service.
How It Works
Tempo is fully customizable to your preferences. Before registering, you'll take a quiz to decide which menu items align with your taste. I don't include seafood in my diet, so it was comforting to know I didn't have to worry about a wasted order of salmon or something similar.
Likewise, you can decide when and how many orders you'd like to receive. For example, I received six meals, which would be $13.48 per serving. The larger your plan, the cheaper the meals will be per serving.
You can set your Tempo meals to delivery monthly (and order more than 16 meals), or you can do a smaller, weekly size (minimum of four). It's completely up to you and your needs.
Each delivery will arrive in a box with ice packs to keep them cold during transit. Make sure you properly refrigerate them in your fridge. When you're ready to eat, you can heat them in less than four minutes. It's truly as simple as it sounds.
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The Meals
BBQ Pork and Farro Bowl
If you give me anything with barbecue pork, I'm going to enjoy it. Unsurprisingly, the BBQ Pork and Farro Bowl was no exception.
I'm often wary of reheating meat because it starts to have that off, rubbery texture, but I thought this bowl held its weight. The pork was slightly crispy, like it had seen a few seconds on the grill. Meanwhile, its interior was still tender.
I'd never had farro before, but it worked perfectly with the barbecue sauce and was a glue between the varying textures of carrots, cabbage and pork.
(via Tempo)
Beef Meatballs au Vin
I'm not someone who usually likes meatballs, but I went into this dish with an open mind. I liked their texture—they weren't soggy, as I expected them to be. They also arrived with a side of carrots and green beans. All in all, it was okay dish, simply because I'm ambivalent about all the ingredients. Yet, I think I'd choose these over IKEA meatballs.
(via Tempo)
Greek-Style Lemon and Feta Chicken
In the middle of my tasting test week, I was under the weather. So, I wasn't looking for something with bursting flavors. Instead, I decided to go with one of the most tame meals, Greek-Style Lemon and Feta Chicken. It was exactly what I needed.
It's your no-frills baked chicken and veggies. The chicken has the prime texture without having too many additional spices. Meanwhile, the broccoli and potatoes only had salt and pepper.
(via Tempo)
Orange-Glazed Pulled Pork
As I mentioned earlier, pork is probably my favorite meat (if not chicken), and I appreciate it even more with a sauce drizzled on top. Again, the pork was so tender and delicious. The spicy orange sauce had a citrusy zest and was, literally, the icing on the cake. I always prefer rice (and some type of green) on the side, so this was pretty much my perfect option on their menu and my No. 1 of the six.
(via Tempo)
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Roasted Garlic Filet Mignon
I love steak, but I don't love paying steak prices when I eat at a restaurant or buy meat at my local market. Tempo's Roasted Garlic Filet Mignon rivals your favorite chain steaks, like Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse. The mashed potatoes flawlessly compliment the garlicky topping on the steak. Honestly, you'll probably forget you didn't get $30 takeout from your favorite spot.
(via Tempo)
Sweet Saucy Chicken Breast
You can never go wrong with a classic chicken breast. Sometimes, chicken can taste too much like chicken (honestly, I'm not sure how to explain it), but this one is chicken at its peak. If you can't tell, I crave a lot of spice, so the barbecue sauce topping was fine but underwhelming. In the future, I'd probably switch it with a chili or sriracha sauce.
With that said, I think this had some of the best sides: broccoli (my favorite) with corn and peppers. I'll take this with every meal.
(via Tempo)
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Bottom Line
Tempo is a viable option for someone who doesn't have an interest in cooking dinner every night but is searching for something more hearty and complex than a McDonald's combo meal. As you can tell, you will receive unique, creative dishes you won't find at your local restaurant.
There's no learning curve in heating the meals. If you know how to use a microwave, you can use Tempo, with no issue.
(via Tempo)
Thankfully, I don't think there are any bad options on their menu. If you think it sounds good, you'll probably enjoy it because each dish has tons of flavor that doesn't dissipate while heating.
For anyone who typically makes their own meals—Tempo won't disappoint you either. It has those home-cooked qualities from the smooth texture and precise seasoning. Think of Tempo as a break from the chaos of everyday cooking.
You can start your journey with Tempo HERE.
Curious about our other favorite dishes? Click HERE to discover the best food and drinks we tried in September 2024.