We have been in a major food rut here. I’ve pretty much been cooking the same things over and over again, despite the beautiful recipes I have pinned over on Pinterest.
So, when Hello Fresh agreed to send me a box to review, I was happy to take the opportunity.
Hello Fresh is one of a number of delivery services that have popped up that provide you with recipes and all of the ingredients that you need to cook them. In this case, you get three meals, all selected by Hello Fresh. You can choose between the Classic box, which has meat, and the Veggie box, which does not. Prices start at approximately $9 per meal for Veggie and $10.75 for Classic. While we do eat some vegetarian meals, both Beer Geek and I like meat, so I opted for the Classic box.
Most important conclusion: the food was fresh and all of the recipes tasted good.
Our three meals included a shrimp pasta dish, a chicken dish, and a beef stir fry. All of the ingredients and the recipes were shipped to us in a cooler box and everything arrived cold and in perfect condition. In fact, the freezer packs were still completely solid.
Meal 1: Lemony Shrimp Linguine – This was my favorite of the meals. It was quick and easy to prepare and was more than enough for both Beer Geek and myself. I was impressed by the generosity with the spices. We like things hot and there were plenty of hot pepper flakes to give it flavor. Sadly, our red pepper was tiny, so I ended up supplementing it in order to feel like we had a full vegetable serving.
Meal 2: Sauteed Chicken – This meal consisted of sauteed chicken, covered in a mushroom sauce, over mashed potatoes. It was good, but mashed potatoes are not something we usually include in our meals plus the dish just screamed out for more vegetables.
Meal 3: Steak & Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry – You’ll notice immediately that there are no Brussels sprouts in the picture. Beer Geek can’t stand them, so I subbed in broccoli (not a problem, more for me for lunch). I also could not resist adding in mushrooms because I like a lot of veggies in my stir fry. We used the whole jalapeno and it made it nice and spicy. This was Beer Geek’s favorite meal and we had plenty leftover for my lunch the next day.
What I liked:
- I didn’t have to think. All the food was delivered, I didn’t have to figure out what I wanted to make, I didn’t have to go to the grocery store, I just had to cook it. This is actually huge for me. I love to cook, but I’m not a fan of grocery shopping (and often forget things) and after 20 years of cooking for Beer Geek and myself, I’m tired of coming up with dinner ideas.
- The quality, freshness, and taste was all very good to excellent. Even the ingredients for the stir fry meal that wasn’t made until five days later (I did freeze the meat for that) were still fresh and full of taste.
- The recipes were relatively simple. The directions were clear and I was able to finish them in my normal allotted cooking time. This is key. I have a flexible schedule usually, but not everyone has that luxury.
What I didn’t like:
- Not enough veggies for two of the meals. There was plenty of food, we just felt like we needed more produce, so we had cucumber slices with the shrimp pasta and carrot sticks with the chicken.
- The recipes were really good, but there was nothing that challenged our palates or really took us out of our food rut. Each meal we had was similar to something we eat regularly. I’m sure this is part of the recipes being simple. It’s a hard line to walk.
Would I do it again if I had to pay for it? I might. It’s a little on the pricey side, but the quality of the food was good and we did really enjoy the recipes. It was kind of nice to have someone else tell me what to cook for dinner and make sure I had it all there at my fingertips. I know if I worked full-time, I would be much more likely to use a service like this.
Want to try it for yourself? HelloFresh has generously provided me with a discount code for my readers: 25% off your first box! Use code MCMMAMA by January 30th to try it out.
Thanks, Jenn, for another week of WIAW!
Disclaimer: I was provided the meals for free from HelloFresh. All opinions are my own.
Good review! I have a lot of the same thoughts on the service.
Deborah Brooks recently posted…Jingle All The Way 5k
HELLO WANT THIS IN AUSTIN!!!
CARLA recently posted…#4 reason I’ll always love Oakland.
I tried out a box last month and I agree that I was really impressed with the freshness and quality of ingredients. But I didn’t feel like it saved me enough time to justify the price. I still have to get groceries for lunches and breakfasts so have to go to the store anyway. And the time it took to prepare and cook the meals was the same or longer than my usual meals since several of the recipes involved a lot of chopping veggies (I had the vegetarian box). And I agree that the meals weren’t adventurous or new. Two of them were things I make similar items to all the time.
Chaitali recently posted…Jingle All the Way 5k
This does look like something fun that I would try. I love that it does the thinking for you and seems to be easy to make. Thanks for the coupon…very tempted to try it out!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…City Fit Girls SHIFT: Week 1 Workouts
This sounds like it would be a treat during soccer season when our family has little to no time in the evenings… I like that I wouldn’t have to think too much to provide a good meal. Thanks for the info. I’ll have to check them out!
all of those meals look really delcious!
Athletic Avocado recently posted…Kickers Powdered Food Enhancer Product Review
So many different meal delivery services popping up! I have only tried Blue Apron – I loved the freshness of products and the unique ingredients they used, but sometimes the meal prep was too much for a quick weeknight meal.
Sara @ Lake Shore Runner recently posted…How to Become a Morning Workout Person
Yep, I had the exact same problem with the Blue Apron meals. I allot 40 minutes to cook dinner and those meals took at least an hour.
Love this idea but I’d definitely like to see some more adventurous meals in there as well. Thanks for sharing! #wowlinkup
Amanda H recently posted…WIN Detergent Review and GIVEAWAY
Yeah, I want recipes I might not try anyways. Blue Apron was better in that way, but it took longer to prep, so I guess there’s the trade off…
OHhh, this would be my dream to use a service like this. With two little boys I have no time to think about dinner it feels like. I have great intentions and meal plan sometimes and then I fall off the wagon. I would love someone to gift me a year subscription!
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes recently posted…12 Days of Christmas Giveaway: Day 4–Racedots
Awesome review. I would love to just come home and have everything already spelled out for me b/c I have a picky family and sometimes I come home exhausted!!! Thanks for the review. #wowlinkup
Diatta @ Femme Fitale Fit Club recently posted…Give Icebreaker Merino During the Holidays
good review- I tried the service I think 3 times- and it is just so so for me. Some of the dishes were just a little bland and some of the herbs were really beat up. I like the concept but I too thought it was just a tad pricey.
Mary Beth Jackson recently posted…Hot Chocolate 15K Phoenix- desert style
How cool 🙂 It’s always good to know about these services and really appreciate you sharing the pics and your feedback. #wowlinkup
Catherine | Fit Armadillo recently posted…Grilled Flank Steak, Green Beans, and Brown Rice
Enjoyed reading your review. I’ve never done one of the meal delivery services because they always seem a bit pricey to me and I like to take liberties with recipes. I’d hate to feel like I was wasting anything. Sounds like they’d be a good fit for a week you were really busy & didn’t want to think about dinner.
Dana | fresh simple five recently posted…What I Ate Wednesday