"Due to my job, I rely on pre-made meals. These are the only ones that actually make me feel good."

Hello, my name is Katie, and I work a night shift.

...Hi Katie…

While it was relatively easy to switch to my night owl schedule, the one thing that fell into a big black hole of unorganised, un-tasty tragedy was my eating.

As it does for so many of us whose schedules go out of whack for different reasons, from work to family (I don't know what it's like to have a newborn, but I imagine you have zero-to-no time to think about living your best gourmet life).

Anyway, I constantly forgot to meal prep my dinner because, frankly, it’s a little odd meal prepping a dinner.

Totally normal for lunch, but it feels super depressing for an evening meal. So instead I’d panic buy a flaccid sushi roll on my speed walk from the train station to the office and then be royally disappointed with it when it came to having my ‘gourmet dinner’ at my desk.

Old me lived this way for far too long (so long, in fact, that I’m pretty sure I was on the cusp of getting scurvy), so I knew I needed to change.

So, when a mate suggested I try Dineamic pre-prepped dishes it was like a light bulb had been flicked on in a very dark and very undernourished room.

via GIPHY

Scrolling through the Dineamic website I felt like I was looking into a vision of future me - a healthier, better, she's-got-her-stuff together version of myself. And I LIKED it.

I ordered a mix of mains for just me and ones that looked like I’d be able to split them with my partner (for the times we work from home), along with some extra sides because who doesn’t want/need sides on a regular basis?

When the box of meals arrived, it was… overwhelming. For someone who had eaten the same sushi roll for dinner for two months, it was a lot of flavour to stare at.

Lots. And lots. Image: Supplied.

Once I became acclimatised to my future flavourful life, I got stuck into eating. 

First meal off the bat: Slow Cooked Mediterranean Beef with a side of Mixed Potato Mash while my partner smashed a giant bowl of Chicken and Corn Soup.

The whole dinner of three different dishes, which I’m pretty sure would have taken about seven and a half hours to prepare, took three minutes in the microwave. And that, my friends, is my kinda gourmet.

The Slow Cooked Mediterranean Beef was so succulent and had that hearty warming-the-cockles-of-your-soul vibe while the Chicken and Corn Soup was hands down the best soup I’ve had in 2020. So creamy, so corny and just chicken-y enough.

For that reason I consumed quite a lot of my partner’s dinner. Sorry, Sam.

Slow Cooked Mediterranean Beef; Mixed Potato Mash. Image: Dineamic.

Our hearty dinners, including the famous Chicken and Corn Soup. Image: Supplied.

For my first in-office dinner, I thought I should ramp up the fancy levels to show off my meals to all of my colleagues.

Oh wait, literally no one is in the office when I’m doing my night shift, so they missed out on beholding the glory that was the Creamy Wild Mushroom and Green Bean Ragu with Gnocchi. Yes, you read that right. Gnocchi.

Gnocchi of the goddesses. Image: Dineamic.

Who the heck takes in fancypants gnocchi for an in-office dinner? FANCY ME, THAT’S WHO.

While I was saving my meals for my shifts, Dineamic saved my skin when I least expected it. I had a bunch of mates over to watch the footy grand final and, as tradition demands, we picked up a whole lot of KFC to watch the game with.

This was all well and good until my pal arrived and politely reminded me that he is a gluten-free guy, meaning fried chicken was a massive no-go. While I briefly panicked and felt like an atrocious host, I then remembered that I had a fridge full of yummy meals ready and raring to be devoured.

He picked out the Chicken and Chorizo Paella and when he walked in with his bowl of yumminess, even the die-hard KFC fans looked jealous. 

Image: Dineamic & supplied.

For my final in-office meal of the week, I went for a classic: Bolognese. 

Dineamic do that sneaky thing that I hated as a kid, where your mum used to chop up vegetables and rudely hide them in delicious dinners. Only thing is, now I actively seek that out. I want everyone to hide vegetables in my food. Make me healthier, please. 

And this is exactly what this spag bol delivered on. Heaps of tomatoes, onions, carrot and celery in the beefy mix and cheeky florets of broccoli tumbled in with the pasta. Genius.

Image: Supplied/Dineamic.

I can honestly say that opting for pre-prepped, delicious food that I would never be able to cook myself has made chaotic shift work way more manageable.

It has also made me feel organised for the first time in 2020, and that kind of satisfaction is something that I will happily heat up for three to four minutes every damn day. 

If you want to try out Dineamic for yourself, check out their meals right here.

Feature Image: Supplied.