SimplyCook

Simply Cook Military Discount

Simply Cook offers 50% off your first box for Armed Forces personnel and their families. It's a straightforward deal—half price to try it out, no messing about.

Simply Cook isn't a full meal kit service. You buy your own fresh ingredients from the supermarket, and they send you little pots of spices, herbs, and sauces to turn those ingredients into proper meals. Four recipes per box, takes about 20 minutes each to cook.

How It Works

You sign up, pick your box, and they post it through your letterbox. Each box has four recipe cards and four sets of ingredients—the flavourings, basically. You provide the meat, veg, rice, pasta, whatever the recipe needs.

Recipes are simple. Nothing fancy, but a step up from jar sauces. Things like Thai green curry, Korean beef, jerk chicken. Stuff that tastes like you've made an effort, without actually having to make much effort.

Who Can Use the Simply Cook Military Discount?

The 50% discount applies to serving personnel across the Royal Navy, British Army, and RAF. Veterans and Reservists are also covered, along with military families in most cases.

You'll need to verify through Defence Discount Service or a similar scheme when you sign up. Once that's done, the discount gets applied to your first box automatically.

What You Pay

Boxes usually cost around £10, so with 50% off your first one you're paying a fiver. After that it's full price unless you cancel. There's no contract—you can pause or stop deliveries whenever you want.

The fresh ingredients you need to buy separately will cost another £10 to £15 depending on what you're making and where you shop. So four meals for two people works out at roughly £20 to £25 total, which isn't bad.

Why Bother?

If you're sick of cooking the same stuff every week, this sorts that out without much thought. The recipe cards tell you exactly what to do, and the pots have all the flavours measured out. No hunting through the cupboard for random spices you bought once and never used again.

It's also handy if you're rubbish at cooking but don't want to admit it. Follow the steps, and it'll taste decent. Your other half might even be impressed.

Things to Know

The boxes are small—they fit through a letterboard, so no waiting in for a delivery. But that also means there's not much in them. Four little pots and some recipe cards. Don't expect a full meal kit turning up.

You need to do a proper shop for the fresh stuff. The recipe cards list everything, but if you're already doing a weekly shop it's just a few extra bits.

Recipes are for two people. If you're feeding a family, you'll need to scale it up—buy more ingredients and maybe use one and a half pots instead of one.

Questions About Simply Cook

Can I cancel after the first discounted box?

Yes. There's no minimum term. If you just want to try the first box at 50% off and then cancel, that's fine. You can do it online anytime.

Do I need to cook straight away?

No. The recipe kits don't contain fresh ingredients, so they last for months. The pots are dried spices and concentrated sauces. Chuck them in the cupboard and use them when you're ready.

Are the recipes complicated?

Not really. Most take 20 minutes and use one or two pans. The cards walk you through it step by step. If you can follow instructions, you'll be fine.

What if I don't like a recipe in the box?

You can swap recipes before the box ships, or just skip that one and save the kit for later. The pots don't go off, so there's no rush to use them.

Is it worth it after the discount ends?

Depends how much you value the convenience. At full price it's a tenner a box for four meals' worth of flavourings. Some people think that's decent, others would rather just buy their own spices. Try the discounted box first and see what you reckon.