Tovala Review: Is This $300 Smart Oven Worth the Cost?

Tovala is a smart oven and meal service. Today I'm testing it out to see how it works and if it's worth the $300 price tag.
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0:00 Intro, Unboxing, Overview
3:26 Tovala Meal #1
5:57 Tovala Meal #2
8:11 About the Meal Service
8:36 Tovala Meal #3
9:52 Making Toast
11:00 Scan to Cook Feature
13:19 Tovala App
13:50 Chicken Breast
15:24 Pros and Cons
Music by Epidemic Sound: bit.ly/3NY1IiM
"Woodpecker (Call Me)" by Duckmaw
#tovala #smartoven #countertopoven

[@FawnhillFarmhouse]

My sister in law has some disability issues and has a hard time reaching her stove top to cook. She decided to purchase this oven and the meal service to make her life easier and have healthy meals. She LOVES it!!! I do think the meal subscription is pricey but for her it's a life gamer changer. Just wanted to share her positive experience! She calls this her Tovala-lalala oven that she loves so much!!

[@dandychiggins6802]

Guessing she doesn't have it on the countertop then? On a stand or something

[@link6397]

OK shill

[@link6397]

Guessing your a oven sheister???

[@United_Kangaroo1992]

My mental disability causes issues with food texture and clean up. I just got this in the mail. I'm looking forward to it doing the work for me and less cleanup needed

[@YashaHika]

Everyone is focused on the subscription but I am literally crying that I can scan frozen food and it just cooks it. I'm so impressed.

[@JaredConnell]

I wonder how well it actually works. Like does it work perfectly every time or do you have to pull it out and out it back in for a few minutes a lot of the time. If thats the case then why bother cuz i can just read the instructions and do it myself

[@192venom]

I was thinking the same thing! That alone is super cool and makes me want one lol

[@marymotch]

I think it makes sense if you’re single and super busy or a college student. However… for $12 you can get takeout/fast casual at most restaurants. Why would I pay the same price for something that requires more work and gives you so much less!

[@scarffoxandfriends9401]

It will depend on if you want healthier food or not, I personally don't care too much, but I can see people who would.

[@Dylanophoto115]

My wife and I use the Tovala service for about 8 meals a week, the thing we like about it is the food is a little healthier but also just higher quality than takeout or fast food. I liken it to the quality of a chain restaurant like Applebee’s, not bad for the price. They also offer some meals that at a small upcharge that are very good. But at the end of the day it’s just if you have enough in your food budget for some convenient high quality albeit smaller meals. And I got the oven for $50 not $300 and agreed to order 6 weeks of meals over 6 months, but we actually just get the meals every week because we like them and the convenience factor for the price.

[@mrdestro7283]

It’s just another silly toy for lazy people

[@joemoe05]

@@mrdestro7283 not necessarily some people may have time constraints

[@mrdestro7283]

@@joemoe05 well then they can either cook faster or eat later either way that oven is a ripoff forlazypeople

[@SilentHonor2012]

I just ordered this oven because they were having a Labor Day sale that gives you the oven for $49 dollars, provided that you order 5 weeks of their meals (doesn’t have to be consecutive weeks either, which was a plus for me). I’m hoping that I love the way it works and I want to thank you for this video. It was very clear and helped me to better understand how this whole system works. Excellent job!

[@herbyragan8686]

I got mine off Amazon for $200 without the meal service. Not all grocery meals scan, but many Trader Joe’s meals does. I absolutely love my oven.

[@jasonsosnick8669]

My GE microwave from 2005 finally crapped out. At first kzbin.infoUgkxO_Bc204MGjxDl87cOKcdgaRhzSqGmv_g I was unsure because I was looking for something with the exact same features. Found it with this one. Interior space cavity was large, but the outside was smaller than my old one. I love the one-button push for 1-6 minutes, and the 30 second add or 30 second start. and MOST IMPORTANTLY, I love how you can adjust the power level during cooking. The reviews said it could not be done, but this marked all the other boxes. and happy to say, it does. I can hit 1 minute start, and change the power level from 10 to 5, 30 seconds in, without interruption. my favorite feature!

[@AndreJHoward]

I've had one since it came out (both the Gen 1 and then they upgraded me to a gen 2) and I've never regretted it. Great meals, super easy for someone like me working long hours. Anyone who is interested in the oven can be had for 99 bucks they put it on sale several times a year. WAIT for the sale or call and ask about it. Don't pay 300, they make money off the meals not the hardware.

[@Houze968]

This is true.... it's same principle as videogame consoles where they make little to no money and often lose it on the console itself especially early in its cycle - for example, Sony's PS5 cost an estimated $450 for them to produce at launch (meaning the $399 disc-less version is a $50 loss and the $499 disc version only $50 profit). With consoles, it's typical that naturally they become cheaper to produce over time as the components get cheaper and hardware revisions take place (as is the case with most technology) so the profit margin gets better over time - with the global silicon shortage, it's taken the PS5 a little longer to get to a break-even point than the PS4 but either way, they make the bulk of their money off of software licensing mostly. So, I'm not surprised that Tovala has adopted a similar model, the meal service being their "software" and using the anticipated money they'd make off someone on that subscription to sell the oven at a lower price to offset the profit loss. Though, that's a good tip on waiting for the sale though and I'd be highly tempted to jump on one of those 99 buck specials in a heartbeat. Also, I could be wrong since I don't have one of these and didn't hear James didn't talk about it but I'm surprised the app itself doesn't have some sort of notification for the low water level if it can communicate with the oven like it seems it does.

[@ivermectin7928]

@@Houze968 I just got an offer for the oven at $49.99.

[@ItsJustLisa]

How many meals a week do you get? I’m genuinely curious. Also, have you ever done an afternoon of some basic meal prepping to use in your oven over the week? I’d think pre-marinating proteins and having some vegetables ready to be roasted would be pretty simple for those long work days. Add some frozen dinner rolls or biscuits that you can pull out and bake would complete the meal.

[@AndreJHoward]

@@ItsJustLisa 10 meals a week for the weekdays. On the weekends I usually cook. I've taken a couple months off their meals and made my own, ordered etc.

[@TheEmbersFromAshes]

@@Houze968 I'd liken it to printer ink, especially HP printer ink. You can get a really decent all in one printer/copier/fax for under $100 because they know they're going to make a fortune off the customer in ink cartridges. Especially HP whose technology can tell if you try using a generic cartridge and will not function until you insert a genuine HP cartridge (we actually had an HP refuse to ever work again when we tried to use a generic even after we replaced the generic with the OEM cartridges) AND won't let you print just using black ink if you're out of ink in a single color cartridge. Purchasing all 4 cartridges will cost close to $100 and they're darned small and dry out quickly in warmer environments. Epson has a printer that uses big ink wells that last a long time and are refillable with their inexpensive ink from large bottles but the printer itself costs about $450 because they're not subsidizing the hardware with future high priced ink purchases. At least the oven let's you cook non-plan meals in it, am sure HP would see that as a weakness from a financial standpoint 😄

[@sonic2kk]

As with most smart devices, the longevity of it will be tied to the app and its support

[@notavailable9919]

We updated your device today and have determined it is now expired. Please send us $$$.

[@divinewill5027]

@@notavailable9919 lol Too funny...and slightly scary.

[@TheDeathLove]

Not really. An oven would still be an oven. At worst it will run out of ways to look up food instructions online properly but that won't stop it from being an oven. As the oven itself works without ever being connected with your phone app

[@bryan314]

@@notavailable9919 Ford essentially did that with my car. Still works as a car, but I don't get any of the nifty features they included in the app...including remote pre-heat/cool and tracking of my usage statistics.

[@bryan314]

@@TheDeathLove it has to talk to the mother ship when it first initializes. Wouldn't be surprised if it would need to "resync" if you leave it unplugged for a while. Would actually be a good test to see just how internet/company web site dependent it is.

[@Manimal747]

12 dollars a piece is an outrageous price. If the meals were closer to 7-8 bucks a piece like most meal service plans, it'd be a really cool thing to have for anyone that's too busy/lazy to cook for themselves.

[@VampireOnline]

I agree but you could also make this stuff yourself and use the oven after a while I bet. I like the cycle through cook modes as it cooks!

[@prebenkul]

Plus don't forget all that plastic waste! They could of just prepared it for you so you just needed to put it in the oven but instead every component is plastic.

[@perry92964]

if your on a diet and are only going to eat these meals for dinner it might not be that outrageous of a price considering a meal at your local fast food place is about the same price, i took my girt to shake shack and spent 31 dollars on two burgers 1 fries and two small shakes.

[@franktrinidad142]

@@perry92964 if you'r on a diet, then why not simply make your grocery and consume what you need for your diet. that will be less pricey in all ways.

[@AcornElectron]

Even then…. What the fuck? Seems ridiculous

[@Hiiiiiiiiieeee]

I love mine but I would definitely not pay $300 for it. I got a discount code around Memorial Day almost 2 years ago and I paid around $50 I believe. It truly does cook things differently, the water element seems to be the big game changer. Everything comes out moist, reheating food is so easy and it tastes great. I did the mail delivery thing for a little over a year also but in the last few months I have Switched to other meal delivery kits like HelloFresh. The biggest reason, more value for my money. The Tovala is the ultimate convenience, but I really enjoy getting dinner and then lunch the next day when I have the HelloFresh meals. But I would say the quality of the meals were always pretty impressive. So if you have the money and want to save yourself some time and effort on dinners, I would definitely recommend Tovala.

[@VacMaster1991]

Long term durability is what I am interested in. I have had my Breville toster oven for 4 years and it still works like new.

[@Timmycoo]

Breville toasters/ovens earn their price tag. They are some high quality shit.

[@VacMaster1991]

@@Timmycoo yep. It's a tank. Never ceases to impress

[@VacMaster1991]

@Dave C lol yes.

[@divinewill5027]

My thoughts exactly! :)

[@kathyradford7187]

The Breville should last 10 more years. That is a good brand.

[@perochialjoe]

That was a pretty good critique at the end. This is one of the rare "smart" products that I'd actually be interested in. I wouldn't go for the meal service just due to the sheer price of it but the features of the oven that you went over seem pretty great. I'm especially impressed that the scanner will pick up regular products and set itself correctly for them.

[@vaelophisnyx9873]

just buy a dumb toaster oven, and subscribe to Hello Fresh honestly. Cheaper, more control, less scam devices, no forced apps and smart connections to the internet :/

[@R3lyk5605]

@@vaelophisnyx9873 but they said that the meal service part of it was their least favorite part... I agree with OP that the best part of this product is that it can scan regular store products and it has pre-programmed way to cook said product...

[@S1RLANC3]

If more people went for the meal service than the price can be reduced simply because of supply and demand. That's really the biggest problem with America and this is coming from someone who's been living in Japan now for over a year. It's getting nice simple well nutricious proportional meals at a decent price. This product really has the solution for it but sadly, because of the way America is now. More people need to encourage the importance of this product. This is honestly one of those few times where I'd say that this product and service can truly make a significant possitive change in America.

[@sophiophile]

@@S1RLANC3 Buying locally sourced ingredients is probably the most ecologically friendly, and as you said, if more people did that it would be far more affordable.

[@DaftMink]

@@S1RLANC3 Japan's population density helps a lot for regularly unsustainable business practices.

[@laurenmiller4984]

I hope these food subscription things eventually phase out. The plastic/other waste is just insane to me. Might cut down on food waste but at least food waste decomposes. Is a good idea in theory but not sure how they would cut down on the waste produced from having every tiny ingredient in its own plastic pack

[@brendakrieger7000]

Yeah I noticed that too. Very wasteful

[@10191927]

Not to mention the expense, $12 per meal is pretty pricey considering that one meal James showed was just a chicken breast and green beans, and the other was just literally a quesadilla. Over time it’s not cost effective paying for essentially one meal at a time, especially if it’s your main go-to for meals and nothing else. It’s a bit limited in that respect, I’d rather save the money and just buy groceries.

[@ayajade6683]

@@10191927 like at least services like hungry root you order the ingredients of what recipes you're selecting but it's like $5-6 max a plate. $12 for a single meal is ridiculous unless eating out

[@minex2005]

i highly doubt they phase out, companys have just found more ways to make people pay higher for t.v. dinners with some being a lil better quality foods...but look how long and far t.v. dinners have come and are not slowing down

[@bilindalaw-morley161]

Agree!

[@lilkcceleb]

I have this and I do love the oven. It cooks a lot of things really well. I have a issue with their menu. It’s the same things over and over, and not much of a variety. I’ve cooked a lot of foods in it by buying the ingredients and doing it myself instead of using their meals. I’ve been pretty happy with it.

[@lowen4231]

I bought mine back in November, do love the meals but yes, not much variety & all the cardboard! I stopped my subscription for the meals a couple of months ago & use it as my oven, just me, not a whole family. I did not know about scanning bar codes, that's a nice surprise!

[@lilkcceleb]

@@lowen4231 I made my own barcodes for the meals I eat on a regular basis lol. Everything has been fine this way. They need a better meal variety. I’ve seen the same meals offered since I’ve had it. I do make a egg McMuffin almost every morning with it though 😂

[@hannakinn]

Perhaps people can create their own recipes and create barcodes for those recipes making cooking those grocery store homemade meals simple to cook. The meals from them are way too pricey and the waste per meal excessive. I'd never buy this oven and meals as is, big nope.

[@bryan314]

Can it be programmed and used without the app?

[@lilkcceleb]

@@bryan314 you can use it without the app for the regular functions like baking, toasting, broiling, reheating and steaming but it needs the app for switching cycles on the fly/for the food recipes in the app.

[@amarple424]

I am glad you reviewed this product. I was wondering how well it worked. For 12 bucks, portion size a little small. I have ninja flip. Its difficult to clean. I wonder how hard this one is to clean. Thanks for another great review.

[@AndreJHoward]

You let it steam an then wipe it out with a sponge. Pretty reasonable to clean. I do mine once a month.

[@sleepingterror7]

I wanted to answer something about the portion sizes they seem small on camera but don't be fooled they are a large ass portions even fully grown men struggle to finish sometimes. I have never once found my oven to be difficult to clean a lot of the parts are removable and nothing really stick to it.

[@myNEONCITY]

@@sleepingterror7 I can literally see with my eyes in this video that the portions are tiny.

[@rhondamastropoalo2237]

For 12$ a meal and it’s a small meal at that , I’d rather order out and delivered . The whole thing is Super overpriced ! Great review and looking forward to the next ones , hopefully a little more affordable. 😉

[@Hathur]

That's an insane price per meal.. I'm a middle class earner but my average meal home-made is $2 to $4 in materials but sometimes as cheap as $1.50 (breakfast usually). Once in awhile or so I'll splurge and spent $15 to $20 for a steak etc. I agree with you that if I'm going to spend $12 per meal, I might as well go to a small restaurant and get a nice big banquet burger and home fries. The whole point of home-cooking is it's supposed to be more affordable.. if I'm paying the cost of going out, I'm going to let someone else cook my meal.

[@shaymorcormick8743]

12 bucks for a cheap tortilla and about .59 cents of filling

[@BuckMcAntlerson]

$12. Not 12$.

[@rhondamastropoalo2237]

@@BuckMcAntlerson 🙄

[@bilindalaw-morley161]

@@BuckMcAntlerson good grief...*why* ?? From a linguistic Pov the unit indicator after the amount is correct. You must be a problematic and tension inducing person with whom to engage in conversation.

[@bedast]

I used Tovala for a couple of years. One of the best quick prep meal kit services. Convenience of microwaving without the microwave taste. I really liked it at first. But there was something about their meals that made me get super bored with it and I stopped looking forward to it. An issue I did run into was if the chicken breast or pork cut were particularly thick you’d have to add more cooking time as it wouldn’t cook thoroughly. Which is something you don’t want with your chicken and pork. I used my oven for all kinds of things, not just the meal kits. The oven actually does tamales really well in steam mode. Honestly I’d recommend it to anyone who wants simplicity with better quality than microwave meals.

[@flobrez2470]

When my 25-year-old wall oven suddenly quit I had to buy a counter top oven. I chose this one with the meal options. I liked them at first for about three months but then they started getting monotonous and tasting the same. So I quit the service but I still like the oven.

[@John-mu2js]

The oven is a good value having it to try out the meal service is a plus to get it. I'm going to explore more about the product.

[@lanthom4492]

I love my Tovala oven. I work from home and this is perfect for a quick lunch during the day. The price is higher but it's so much better than eating something frozen from the grocery store or having something delivered.

[@ciddire]

I'm in the same use case. I own a business and WFH w/ basically 24/7 on call potential so I'm all over the place. I've been spending $350-400+ a week on Door Dash. Even w/ the 16 meal plan I end up saving money vs DD lol.

[@TheBlueArcher]

The thing is with most ovens even with the same make and model, the heating, and accuracy is all over the place... If they are cooking by codes it seems like they are marketing this as if it's really consistent... so if it cooking and heating and temperature accuracy is consistent across them all.... This actually may be worth it. Especially with the mode switching. But hopefully someone will test that if this gets somewhat popular.

[@Volaths]

not everything needs to be smart. Also my problem with stuff like this is DRM, if for whatever reason the company goes under, there goes your fancy expensive cooker and app combo, no longer useful, except for regular oven cooking, so maybe idk just buy an oven instead?

[@BriBCG]

You're right, not everything needs to be smart and a lot of smart devices are completely stupid. But in this case it being smart actually makes sense. That said, if you don't want a smart oven you can easily buy one.

[@lilkcceleb]

You can use it without WiFi. All of the functions work offline.

[@beez1717]

I think a good feature would be to have the app have an option that says "I'm not done" or something like that, and the oven would add the recommended amount of time needed to finish what you're cooking.

[@ruet.]

Yes.It's not a very "smart" oven if I'm being honest. What it does it does great though.

[@TappanZee1234]

So glad you’re reviewing this. Bought this, with the meal service for $99, to replace a Breville convection oven that is 10 years old. Was going to get another Breville, but wanted to try the steam function. Note: with Tovala, the add water notice comes on when water is low, but there’s enough to finish the current meal. Also, with the app, you’ll be notified when your meal is ready, even without having the app open. (BTW: scan by pressing the scan button, then placing the QR code anywhere below the scanner.) I agree that the features of the oven are overlooked as they focus on the meal service. I get two deliveries a month, as I like more variety, but their meals have never disappointed. On the Tovala website, there is more info on what store-packaged foods it has instructions for, and there is a way to tell them what foods you want them to add; many choices already from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, etc. The website also has recipes/instructions so you can cook your own foods. I would them to have how-to overview videos of the features, and how to build your own cooking sequences. The steam feature is a plus as I’ve lived in arid western climates all my life, and the steam keeps meats and veggies moist. I still use my microwave for reheating, usually, though the Tovala does a better job even though it takes only another 5-10 minutes to reheat, and with steam so the reheated food is not dried out. I give this oven a 4.5 out of 5 only because it doesn’t have enough instructions, video or printed, on how to use all the features.

[@tarstarkusz]

Their food is massively overpriced. The stove is massively overpriced without the massively overpriced food subscription. It's just a racket.

[@JessyJess04]

It seems like a fair price to me honestly I saw that toast and I was jealous lol my breville sucks at it's simplest application, which is making toast. I also like it's footprint toaster ovens can be really big, but it doesn't look like it takes up much space on the counter.

[@tarstarkusz]

@@JessyJess04 300 dollars (non subsidized pric4e) is way too much money for this. The food is highly overpriced as well. These are small single servings at 12 something a piece. TOO MUCH. Why does it need an application? That's ridiculous. You KNOW the app is going to say it needs access to everything on the phone. Contact list, camera, microphone, my documents etc etc etc.

[@ciddire]

@@tarstarkusz App doesn't require that. It only requires camera access if you want to use your phone instead of the oven to scan. You are not required to do so. As far as device cost - it's not bad. It replaced my air fryer and oven and does both things better than the devices I had. This thing targets a niche and does it well.

[@danielledahl8934]

I thought it was stupid at first and laughed at my husband for getting it while I was gone on travel for an extended period…now I love it!

[@anthonycastanon6281]

Like you mentioned, the meal service generates too much waste. So much single use plastic, cardboard, and aluminum.

[@Kingcloudii]

atleast cardboard and aluminium are fully recyclable

[@tarstarkusz]

They don't want you to buy the stove by itself. The stove is just a gimmick to get you to buy the subscription service. That is why there is such an enormous price difference between the stove with and without the subscription. 12 dollar for a single serve meal is insane. This is low end diner eat out money!

[@TheGambleGame]

I also don't know about most people but that serving size isn't going to last my through the night

[@tarstarkusz]

@@TheGambleGame That chickenbreast and string beans did look like a skimpy meal, totally inadequate.

[@waqasahmed939]

The food looks like ready meals too. Cheaper to just go to your local supermarket and grab some ready meals

[@cindyg1125]

I absolutely love my Tovala. I was able to get one with a Black Friday sale last year for $50. Purchased a few weeks of the meal plan but quickly stopped due to expense and lack of variety. The oven however is awesome. It cooks food amazingly well. I typically start with a menu plan in the app and adjust the times if needed. I can’t remember the last time I used my regular oven.

[@mickeyn.5059]

I'm surprised you felt they lacked variety as they are the only ones offering 22 unique meals each week.

[@nrusso967]

Thank you for your review, James! Your forthright approach is very refreshing in all your videos!

[@123Puke]

James - your reviews are so informative, entertaining, & professional. Really enjoy watching, AND I honor your honest opinions. Thank you - so glad I found your channel !

[@chuckw2236]

Since you weren't sure if that chicken was cooked thoroughly it would have been wiser to use an instant-read thermometer on it, just in case.

[@TamarLitvot]

I was thinking the tovala should have a built in probe thermometer that would automatically add a couple of minutes of cooking time if the temperature was too low

[@rogerszmodis]

That chicken looked done the first time. Looked dry after it came out the second time.

[@richardadams3218]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to do the review!

[@josips4281]

I love the theme with smart appliances testing. Hard to find good content on those. Keep it up!

[@biffwellington6144]

I appreciate you showing some other uses of the oven! I've just been using it for the meal subscription. I may have to change that. I tried a couple of Stouffer's family-sized meals early on, but the oven didn't recognize the code. I then saw a note on the box, "Do not prepare in a toaster oven," and I figured that was the issue. But now I see you were scanning the bar codes, not the QR codes that I was trying. It might be worth another try, then; I can't remember if I actually tried the bar code. I may have just figured the meal cards have QR codes, so QR codes were what was needed. I just ended up putting those Stouffer's meals in my regular oven instead. I do have one minor correction to point out. The minimum subscription is three meals, not four. I got my oven for $99 with a three-meal subscription. They also use a smaller box to ship three meals, so there is at least slightly less waste that way, if that's a concern for you. The meals are good! Also ridiculously easy to prepare. This is great for those nights when I just don't feel like cooking or leaving the house to eat at a restaurant. My one real issue has been with shipping. Their default shipper just couldn't seem to get the meals to me on time. If your delivery is more than two days late, Tovala tells you to throw it out and contact them for a credit. Customer service has always been great about that. And if, like me, you consistently have trouble getting your meals in time, they will offer to change your shipper to UPS or FedEx. That took care of that problem! I now always get my meals within that two-day window, with the lone exception being when we had a sudden, fairly nasty blizzard.

[@danholmesfilm]

don't those come in plastic containers that would melt in a toaster oven?

[@biffwellington6144]

@@danholmesfilm They used to, but it's cardboard now. Come to think of it, though, if the oven's temperature gets above 450 degrees while cooking it, then I guess fire could become a problem...

[@angusmacduff3471]

@@danholmesfilm They have two aluminum trays - no cardboard or plastic

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

Awesome review. This looks like a solid product, even a solid service, unfortunately both are a little too pricey.

[@xkboxer]

Awesome review, the best I've seen on this oven yet on KZbin. Thanks so much, just subscribed.

[@margeebechyne8642]

I've been wondering about these and found your analysis interesting and helpful. Thank you.

[@xkewl19]

$12 per meal if that's just one serving seems pretty high

[@mamb70]

Very good presentation!! I'm interested tho not yet. Hopefully the price will come down eventually. Highly doubt if I'll buy the meals. Appreciate you testing this cool product.

[@jasonwilliam2125]

This gut does the best reviews for home gear i have seen. A channel that i actually like to see ads on cause it means he is getting paid for the effort he puts in, and EFFORT is exactly what you see. He covers pretty much all questions i have when testing items which is pretty handy.

[@Honkey-Donkey]

I absolutely love my current toaster oven and use it at least once a day. When it goes, my next one will be a smart oven. I really like the features on this one and hadn't even realized it was a thing. Looking forward to other oven reviews.

[@chisquared03]

I was hoping this review would make me not want it, but now I want it even more 🤣

[@miscl_anon]

if you want to not want it, just think about how much money you might waste if the company goes down. considering how much the service seems to depend on an internet connection and all, at any rate

[@chisquared03]

@@miscl_anon I mean, it’s still a neat toaster oven. I probably wouldn’t even use the meal service

[@miscl_anon]

@@chisquared03 fair point

[@Dreamwriter4242]

When it comes to meal plans, this one's is quite pricey, but the food quality is some of the best, because the meals are all raw refrigerated ingredients, steam-cooked. Much better than any microwaved meal plan, and doesn't require a lot of preparation; when you don't like to cook it's great. Fast food is a lot cheaper, but this is healthier. I only get 4 meals per week so I can have more variety without wasting food (the meals are only supposedly good for a week, since they aren't intended to be frozen). Note, he thought the chicken fell out the bottom of the meal boxes, that's actually on purpose, they try to place the meat in the package directly on the ice during shipment

[@GaleC69]

I've been waiting to see a review on this. Thanks for the great review.

[@elainecogar9071]

I bought these foods for about 2 months now, and so far i loved every meal.

[@David-wo9un]

Nice review; would have been cool if you reviewed a couple two serving meals to get Brandon’s opinion on the taste as well. My biggest issue is the price of the meals.

[@mattblank4402]

I'm going to assume these Text me+ thing is a scam right?

[@Kingcloudii]

@@mattblank4402 yup

[@pkshere0]

Glad you mentioned the waste with the meals...that made me crazie! A bit pricey but I'm in the market for a new toaster oven....we'll see...

[@kskollections2142]

Thanks for sharing this! I have been pondering getting one. Really makes me think!

[@John-mu2js]

I think it's worth thinking about overall with the meal plans or alone. Properly cooked food is a great value especially for people who don't like cooking. Great video.

[@9999crazymonkey]

That barcode scanning for any product is really impressive. Did you find any products that it DIDN'T work for, and how exactly are new cooking instructions added to the database? I could see some sort of user submissions and scoring ratings would quickly increase their database. Also how does it work with something that changes based on the amount you put in. For example pizza rolls cooking times gets longer when you do 40 rolls at a time vs 10-20

[@andreseriliano1761]

Side note, I was happy that he noticed that the meal packaging was quite wasteful. On the other hand, I am not sure if I am going to spend 299 for an oven which does what a conventional oven can do.

[@JechtAruon]

I think one big feature is the steaming that it does. I know my air fryer tends to dry out a lot of meat products I cook in it. It’s interesting product and I’m sure more companies will be adding the steaming option to their ovens. I think I paid like 249 for my power xl air fryer. So the price is right in that range of more higher range air fryers. A big plus is you can scan barcodes of food you have. It seems to be pretty spot on with the cooking time from his video. I’m sure the price will come down if they start to sell in store. I think with their meal subscription they should look at having the food sold in grocery stores. That would cut down on some of the costs of the meals.

[@andreseriliano1761]

@@JechtAruon yeah, this automatic switching from one mode to another, and the steam feature is fantastic.

[@Voshana]

Thank you for this one. I have been eyeing it but, for me that is very expensive for 2 people. I'm looking forward to seeing your other smart oven reviews.

[@nancypickering8217]

I think this would be great for an older person who does not know how to cook. I remember my grandfather who would starve to death rather than enter a grocery store. All you would need is a once every week or two online grocery delivery service, and he would be set.

[@DavidDavis311]

The steaming function is major. Not sure if that’s a standard these days in this type of oven but adding moisture when cooking chicken breast or pork may be a game changer.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I've not seen the steaming function on any toaster oven in Walmart, or Target in store, so that is unique, and I think it would help. My biggest concerns with this is are the fact it's tied to an expensive meal wasteful service with limited options, the oven is expensive without it, it's tied to a phone app, what if they just decided at some point to stop supporting that model to push a new one, and mostly importantly what if company goes out of business, and the servers go offline, does it make the toaster useless?

[@TheEmbersFromAshes]

@@CommodoreFan64 I would think the codes for the non-plan foodstuffs are programmed into a chip on the motherboard and the codes get added to as requested by customers. If the company goes under the biggest issue would likely be no further code updates or warranty repairs.

[@JC-fj7oo]

I was curious about that suvie oven. Seems like a scam, but I'm waiting to see someone test it.

[@biffwellington6144]

I was curious about that one, myself! The ads do make it seem nice.

[@Sheena5212]

I remember suggesting this to you around a year ago cause it seemed futuristic! 😄. Happy to see you tried it!

[@ladybug2899]

My son had one of these when he was first out on his own and stationed all the way across the country. I'm not sure if he's still using it but he loved it for eating better after work and eating real food and not take out.

[@mtiller2006]

I agree, $12 a piece is a little outrageous. It kind of reminds me of HelloFresh, which my family and I used for a couple of weeks. I'm not saying anything against them because their meals were good, but the boxes are huge and that has to be taken into account, so I agree on that James. $12 a meal does seem a bit steep, so I think if it was a little more manageable, then yeah. Overall though, this Tovala doesn't look like a bad product, and I like how you can scan a product and it manages to program a time and temperature in, that's pretty cool! It works, it just needs a little management in terms of pricing and so on. But overall, not a bad product and concept

[@bearwonder1]

The trays that come with the meal plan are super useful. I clean the tray from the previous meal and refuse the tray for the next meal. Then I have a stack of clean new trays. The clean up is super easy. But really pricey. Q: will the scanner work if you cancel the subscription?

[@conanobrien1]

Is oven connected to the internet?

[@bearwonder1]

@@conanobrien1 yes... needs your wifi

[@kittymcmeowmeow1]

It should because you can scan grocery store items and purchase the oven without the meal service

[@VeganAtheistWeirdo]

@@kittymcmeowmeow1 This brings up an important point. What's to stop the company from deciding, _after_ some customers grudgingly paid the ridiculous no-plan premium for this smart gizmo, to implement a subscription fee for the scanning/auto-set ability at a later date? *Nothing,* that's what.

[@divinewill5027]

@@VeganAtheistWeirdo if they ever did that sales of the oven would cease as soon as the public found out. It would cost them too much to that.

[@ritasanders7499]

I have two Brevelle ovens and they were pricey and well worth it. This might have been an option I would have examined. Not the food but the oven itself. Great review.

[@laurahubbard6906]

Been waiting for you to do this!

[@alexkarout1586]

I imagine it won’t be long before a company invents a meal service plan with a pod like a Keurig coffee pod machine

[@divinewill5027]

That's pretty much here already. My meals with at least 3 different foods come in a sealed tray with divided compartments. Take the meal out of the freezer, peel off the clear plastic cover, place it in my countertop oven and set the time and temp on the container. When I hear the "bing" over my Alexa in my kitchen I go take it out. If I miss the sound Alexa had sent me a text on my smart phone as well as announcing that my meal was ready. It's pretty darn close to what you suggested. The meals are really good, there's very little waste, the trays are completely recyclable as is the box and ice bricks that keep my meals cold during delivery. And I spend $7 a day for my primary meal, usually supper. Oh...they arrive every 14 days and the menu is 4 pages long with offerings for every kind of eating concern. The menu changes up seasonally too. It's pretty sweet! Hope this helps out someone. "Mom's Meals" First time Ive ever publicly endorsed any product or service.

[@srupshaw]

Another great video...I was entertained.

[@brookenpollard]

I’ve had mine for 2 years now I had the food service for 4-5months. The meals are nice, but yes a bit pricy. But the tins are reusable and most of the other packaging is either pre-recycled, can be or both. Now I use it all the time instead of my normal oven as it cooks much quicker and when making air fried fries/chips the steam function is a godsend

[@retluoc]

Thanks, I knew you'd get around to the Tovala eventually. I thought the review was perfect. The best part is, it really is best for home cooking, not pre-packaged meals (even though it's designed for them). The best feature is that it can automatically switch cooking modes depending on what stage the food is at. As for the add water alert, I agree...it should sound an audible or phone alert. I already bought a Ninja air fry oven because you endorse their products. I must say, it cooks like a dream, but it doesn't have the automation of the Tovala. Thanks again for the review.

[@happysunflower4586]

Do you feel the pre made meals are enough food to fill you up? For instance the quesadilla I may have added a salad on the side. How is the sodium levels?

[@justmartin4421]

I went to their website for nutrition facts many of the entrees have more than 50% of daily sodium intake. Certainly not healthy.

[@j9670]

Would love to hear how it does with seafood, Portobello mushrooms, etc. Burned out on chicken & pork as a kid!🙂

[@6874judas]

Love the channel and subscribed, great content👍

[@Sunshine-and-lollipops]

Thank you so much, very interesting. I don't think we have that unit in Australia. Will be really interested in the bench oven reviews as I want to buy one, but so undecided on what one will do the job. Your reviews have help me in a few buys, saved me some bad choices. Thank you 😊 💓

[@Sunshine-and-lollipops]

Ok had a look and it looks like you can buy the Tovala Gen 2 oven here in Oz. 😃 The meals are expensive, we can buy frozen meals that are pub style of $6 -$8 each.

[@theanalogkid7]

I've had a Tovala for almost 6 months now and I love it. The meal service is great too and the price isn't too bad. Saves me the time of having to do shop and cook when I'm busy with other things. Also the option to scan in other foods from the store makes it so nice. 10/10 would buy again.

[@garygwhicks5856]

Hi James! Tovala is a meal service not an oven company. The oven sells their meal service. Meals seemed too expensive for me. The convenience this offers is comes with waste. I don't want to have to manage deliveries. Plus, I actually enjoy cooking. This kind of service is definitely not for me. THANKS AGAIN for an excellent review. 😷STAY😷SAFE😷 🐧STAY⛄COOL🐧 👁

[@jrevolution4583]

This thing is so cool I've never experienced one that actually cycles through different modes while it's cooking That's actually really brilliant

[@valerief1231]

Great review, I am curious, what are the options for freezing the meals that come with the plan? Does scanning the item allow for selecting “frozen”?

[@barcham]

Great video, as usual! Being a very experienced home cook, I would never bother with the meal plan, as I find all of those to be way more costly than they are worth. And being Canadian, this oven sells for $640 on Amazon Canada, which is totally ridiculous. To me, it seems like the inventor is a great fan of sci-fi, because this looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie or TV series more than on the average person's kitchen counter. Oh! If I could make one constructive criticism that I would like to see you apply to just about any video you do involving cooking, that would be to use a quality instant read thermometer to verify the temperature of the food, especially things such as chicken breasts. People tend to overcook them out of caution, leading to a dry result. A check with a good cooking probe will only take 5 seconds or so to verify if a particular dish is properly cooked. That's all, folks! Can't wait for the next video!

[@divinewill5027]

Barcham...that is a great point about checking the temperature. I was wondering that very thing when I looked at the chicken before he cooked it further. It looked perfect too me the first time, but knowing the internal temp would have taken all doubt away. Few things worse than over cooked chicken. It's how I'd imagine what chewing leather would be like. ;)

[@Magical_Thinking]

I was thinking about a quick read thermometer 🌡 when he cut the second chicken breast. I had a feeling that it was done but one would never truly know without a thermometer. Plus it’s nice not having to cut food in half in order to decide if it’s safe. The chicken looked moist, which is always difficult for me to accomplish in my regular oven. I wonder if I placed a (oven safe) pot with water in the oven, if it would help when I bake boneless skinless chicken breasts❓🤨.

[@barcham]

@@divinewill5027 It is something I have noticed with many tests of appliances and such on KZbin from many people. The ONLY way to tell if something is properly cooked is by checking the temperature, it is amazing how even a few degrees can take a dish from sublime to inedible. I have another pet peeve with cooking sites that never post weights of ingredients in grams, preferring to use volume measurements for things such as flour and especially salt. One teaspoon of table salt can result in a ruined recipe when the recipe actually called for kosher salt, but many people are not aware of the difference between the two. :)

[@barcham]

@@Magical_Thinking Try brining your boneless breasts for an hour, or so, before cooking. Works wonders with thick pork chops as well!

[@TheDeathLove]

@@barcham You can google the density of the ingredient and just calculate "mass" (not weight) by multiplying volume with density. Simple mathematics and saves unnecessary time waste on measuring small amounts. Scales are great only for large amount of cooking or baking.

[@jenniferwellman5311]

Between the size and the price, I wouldn’t even touch that. But, I appreciate your honest opinions on items like this. My mom always taught me, “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”

[@jbs256]

Great review, James. I want to make one note on the fan. I have a Breville Air Which is an air fryer/toaster oven. It also runs a fan after the fact to cool the electronics. It mentioned it in the docs. It’s not overly noisy as the convection fan is louder but that stops and the auxiliary fan by the control panel keeps going for awhile. I’m used to it now and it’s a very good combo unit. The bar code feature is pretty cool and I don’t think $300 is out of range for all that one does. The selling of the meals is a bit of an annoyance.

[@JechtAruon]

I was wondering if you can add time while it’s cooking? It’s sad they don’t talk in-depth about the oven features. Yet I see why as if people knew what all they can do with it they wouldn’t sell as much meal subscriptions. It’s their bread and butter at 12 bucks a pop. Great video and I think your final thoughts on it was spot on. You’re reviews saves a lot of people money on junk but at the same time when you get a winner people can buy without hesitation.

[@Utriedit215]

Anybody notice that we have so many meal subscriptions popping up in the middle of a food shortage🤔

[@jayman4566]

My wife and I were just wondering the same thing. Quite litterally the stores in our area are 1/3 empty right now.

[@Utriedit215]

@@jayman4566 My husband works at a major supermarket and believe me they’re only getting a quarter of the loads they normally get here I am Pennsylvania They are strategically placing stuff to try to make it not look as scarce as it really is

[@crittermetimbers]

I decided to buy this after watching this video and Tovala had it for $49 with purchase of 6 weeks of meals over 6 months. I love it! No regrets! Yes the meals are WAAAY over priced and hit or miss but it’s nice on weeknights because I work lots of overtime.

[@pkwork]

Going to be using this for the days when I would order food in rather than cook. So at $98 ($112w/shipping) for the Tavala Pro oven and a 6wks in 6mo contract, with a 4 meal/week (under $92/wk w/shipping) contract, it comes to $532+112= $644 for the oven and 24 meals. That averages to $22 per meal, not $12.50, but might be possible to carefully pick out double meals at $9.99 each so the w/s&h price might be more like $12.50 per. Problem is, there are not too many of those choices.

[@sandybruce9092]

Several years ago - after going through an inexpensive toaster oven - I finally,splurged on a Breville Toaster/Convection oven. Best thing I’ve spent this money on!! It does everything that a full-size oven does - and quicker. I just needed to learn that I had to reduce the cooking temperature about 25 degrees lower. Why would I spend $300 plus meals on food I probably don’t or couldn’t eat - and I had to,prepare it beforehand. I rather get a good take-out from a local restaurant for around the same or less $12 and have plenty for a second meal as I’m not a big eater. I do love your reviews, especially ones that aren’t good to purchase. Keep up the good work👍👍👍👍

[@Jo-kg2nr]

The only take out for 12.00 is at Burger King not in restaurants

[@cupcake_whale]

The fact that it can recognize barcodes and translate the cooking instructions is really cool. Ignoring the meal plans, I think it's awesome. Great for someone who lives alone and hates cooking! The meals being overpriced, I agree with, but I think the oven itself could potentially be worth it

[@Aquelll]

This seems needlessly complicated for something that is meant to make your life easier. Also the $300 entry fee is pretty damn steep. If you went to oder your food as a subcription just use Hello Fresh or similar service. That oven is totally useless if you have oven in your house.

[@a-b0t633]

I could see the scan feature being cool at first but it just looks lazy to me. Who's too busy to read temperature and time on the back if a package and push a couple buttons? My Panasonic oven is about the same size and has all but the steam and scan functions. And it was on clearance for like $80. Just another flex for people who've got the money for novelties.

[@ciddire]

@@a-b0t633 Basically me. I'm a terrible cook and my schedule makes cooking / meal planning horrible. I was using DD daily at ~$350-400 /week and getting meh food (i'm big into eating healthy / exercise.) This thing w/ it's meal service I can do the 1-2mins of meal prep, scan the meal code and it'll do all the things and message me when it's done. The meals aren't full of crap and come out better than frozen.

[@redbeard36]

I just bought the Breville Joule Smart Oven. It doesn't do meals, but it has pre-set recips from Chef Steps that work with their app. It's also got really nice buttons and dials and great digital displays and presets for things like toast and broiling. It was a splurge after getting my annual bonus, but it's really worth the money.

[@gymrat_raquel]

your reviews are great and thorough 👍

[@whysoserious867]

That chicken was your dinner you're going to starve that's not much food

[@laurahubbard6906]

Also, no starch with the meal. Tiny chicken breat and green beans do not a meal make.

[@mrallan8063]

$12 for basically a TV dinner of small chicken breast and green beans... no thank you.

[@PickleJuice604]

For real!

[@BriBCG]

Would love to know what TV dinners you eat that have unfrozen quality chicken and vegetables in it ;) When you consider all the shipping and packaging costs the price is a little more reasonable, but I doubt many people would be willing to pay it.

[@theunknown4645]

@@BriBCG you can't actually believe the food wasn't frozen...

[@BriBCG]

@@theunknown4645 They aren't.. Unless they're lying, but I doubt it as that would be found out pretty quick.

[@mrallan8063]

@@BriBCG Pretty much ALL meats in the US have been frozen at somepoint for food safety and transportation time. Unless you see it alive at the store or restaurant, it was prob frozen. Their website doesn't make any claims on freshness, organic, free range, or antibiotic, etc for any food. This leads me to think this is cheaper quality meat (and same for beans).

[@TheOnlyChrisB]

Ive been tempted to switch back to a toaster oven but nothing beats the Ninja Foodi Grill. I can take two ramekins fill with whatever meat and veg i want, pour sauce on top and close the lid. Ninja grill had my back and if i want to get fancy i use the temp probe to cook the chicken or steak perfectly. Great video!

[@nataliel.5098]

Very thorough review. Thank u! Do you think you could review the Suvie?

[@ganeshh6378]

12 bucks for a low calorie meal that would leave a child hungry.... this will sell great in California

[@KingPK]

$12 for a piece of chicken that small is a ripoff, no matter how good it is.

[@ksavage681]

Half the cost is to pay for the oven. Don't you get it? Its like phone plans.

[@domagojbatinic1526]

steaming phase before baking is for crispiness, usually when baking bread in the oven is good to have a pot with water in the oven to get crispy crust of the bread, same principle is used here

[@valentinevocals]

🌈Whether or Not I decide to try the Tovala system...Pro or Con... Yay or Nay... I think that Your style of reviewing is one of the best ever! I enjoyed your presentation so much! The information you covered is clear and thorough! You remembered to address Every Important aspect of the oven & the meal service! So regardless of my decision, YOU & your terrific style of Reviewing & Revealing all of the Features, Benefits, Pros & Cons as well as the Instructions & Results, everything needed to be known by a potential consumer in order to make an informed decision, is Here! It's Fantastic! YOU are the Winner of my Admiration & Approval... You have won my subscription & me over, as a new follower! Plus, I will happily recommend your Review channel to my Family & Friends! Thanks so much! Great Job!! 🌟💗👏👏🤩

[@ibustanut]

Anything that requires a subscription is always a thumbs down.

[@LittleguyBigReviews]

Why did I watch this before lunch I’m starving now 😂😂😂🤦‍♂️ great review as always James 🤙

[@glennaa11]

I see the ads for this thing on social media all the time. Thanks for the review. $12 a meal does seem crazy. The steam function does like a decent upgrade over a regular toaster oven though

[@TheBlankJoker]

I can speak on the waste part at 16:35. That "waste" is required with how they are currently shipping things out. And by that I mean they are shipped in unrefrigerated cargo trailers and cargo vans to get to your doorstep. All of it is to ensure that the food you ordered is still fresh when you're able to get it into your fridge. Even then I've had food rot in the back of my van... And compared to some of the other food subscription services this isn't really that much more waste. Hello Fresh and Blue Apron use a lot of plastic bags. And at least when I used Blue Apron the installation wasn't recyclable.

[@matthewjbauer1990]

I work at a call center and Tovala is one of our clients. We have 2 of these in corporate office break room and our VP of customer service/experience has one for her personal use. I have used the Tovala oven and like it (but it's not worth $300, get one on sale if you must have it). I think the meals I have seen/tried are OK value given the freshness. I like that they have commercial food items in their scan database (the database is growing weekly). What I don't like is that the meals cost $12 and that is on a mandatory meal plan that you MUST complete out if you want to keep the oven at the discount. There IS NO option to cancel the meal commitment and buy out the oven. I don't like that some "premium" options cost $16. Tovala is a great oven but the meal plan sucks. I'd like to be able to scan anything from the grocery and get the oven automatically set and perfect cooking every time. They aren't there yet.

[@ji3g4j6jo3p]

These type of stuff is like printers, they essentially lure you in with the dirt-cheap printers and then lock you in for buying their “genuine” branded ink. The good thing about this oven is that it can actually do variety of things besides cooking their subscription meals and good at that too (the scan-and-cook feature is actually pretty cool and seems pretty convenient). Too bad we are already subscribing Blue Apron, otherwise I’d be tempted to give this a try! Thanks for the review James!

[@JaredConnell]

$300 is not dirt cheap though

[@captainahab3146]

Just wanna say how much I love seeing Bold and Brash in every video. Absolute masterpiece

[@zuckmedic]

A regular oven can steam, just start with an experiment. Add a quarter cup of water (preferably boiling) to the drip tray and check how long it takes for that to evaporate on your most commonly used setting (usually 280-300°F for me) then adjust depending on how much time you want to steam your food. For me, its 2 tbsp for about 8 mins, so 4 mins / spoon. If you dont have a drip tray, an oven safe container is fine, just find the widest / flattest one that can fit the oven (more surface area to evaporate the steam). If you dont want the drip tray to rust, you can make a makeshift container with foil with the shiny side in, opaque out. Steaming is also a great way to clean your oven making it easier to wipe down baked/dried crumbs or splatters that normally dont come off without scrubbing. Just make sure to use distilled or bottled water cause tap leaves calcium stains. Oh, and steaming bread is the best way to bring back the soft and chewy texture. I find that steaming bread for 5-8 mins brings back the softness of even the centers of small loaves. Toast it another 30 seconds to 2 mins to bring back the crust... I dont like hard crust so I stop at steaming.

[@adamhenwood581]

Very helpful. Thanks