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HelloFresh: My Experience with this Meal Kit Service

KayLynn · September 16, 2015 · 33 Comments

Cooking is not my thing.  I know how to cook and think I’m pretty good at it but just don’t enjoy it.  This is why I’m always looking for the perfect balance between healthy, easy and tasty meals.

That quest led me to HelloFresh.  I took advantage of a Groupon for two weeks (six meals total) of meals delivered right to my door.  The regular price is $69 per week for 3 meals for two and the family plan (for four people) is $129.  More than I would normally spend on three dinners but less than restaurant meals.

Meal Delivery

meal-kit-box

HelloFresh has a website where you place orders.  With the classic plan (meaning meat/fish) you can select which three meals you want from five options every week.    Another feature I like is that it’s easy to indicate which weeks you want to skip delivery for those vacations or weeks when you have other plans.

The meals arrive each week in a box from UPS.  In the box the meals are packed in separate boxes containing all the ingredients except for the protein.  They are packaged under ice packs.  I almost threw them out the first week but fortunately my husband realized the box still had something in it!

curated-offers

Lastly, the box contained recipe cards, an ingredient spotlight card and and envelope with curated offers from other subscription box companies including gwynnie bee, Carnivore Club and urthbox.

Meal Preparation

recipe-cards

The recipe cards are visually appealing and contain much more information than directions.  As you can see the first page is an image of the finished dish, images of all the included ingredients along with cooking times and level of difficulty.  Warning: Level 2 is not easy; I don’t know if there is a level 3 but I imagine it would have you deboning the fish or chicken!

ingredients

The back of the card included nutritional information as well as ingredient measurements and the directions.  Speaking of nutrition, 741 calories is more than I want in a fish meal of tacos and a slaw.

I was able to prepare the meals pretty closely to the image provided by HelloFresh but was very unhappy at times with the amount of prep work required.  Our last meal was chicken fajitas, I made homemade salsa, guacamole and fajitas.  It was 30 minutes before I started cooking anything and took an hour to finish.  Not what I want to do after a long day.

End Result – The Meals

The end result was five great tasting, fresh meals.  I say five because one of them, the grilled steak and nectarine salad, had ingredients go bad before the week was up.  The salad was slimy and starting to rot when I went to prepare it. We did grill the steak and have sandwiches instead.

zucchini-lasagna

This Zucchini noodle lasagna was so good my vegetable-adverse husband enjoyed it.

catfish

I would never pick up catfish at the store but this blackened catfish with roasted potatoes and summer vegetables was delicious.

parmesan-crusted-chicken

I changed up the potatoes included in the Parmesan crusted chicken meal and added the green beans.  The chicken was a big hit with my husband.

tuna-tacos

We both enjoyed the tuna tartar tacos (which I cooked more based on our preferences) and the chicken fajitas.  I didn’t take pictures of the latter because it wasn’t pretty but I got to admit homemade salsa is awesome!

Findings

For empty nesters or singles, the subscription service is a great idea to add variety to your home cooked meals.  I am open to trying competitors of Blue Apron for comparison purposes.  Whichever meal kit delivery service you use, they offer discounts for new customers via deal sites or coupons so be on the lookout.

What’s your experience with meal delivery kits?

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Related

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: HelloFresh, meal delivery, meal kits

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jen says

    September 19, 2015 at 3:41 am

    It sounds like you found some new recipes for your rotation. I would agree with you that an hour and a half of prep/cooking is too much for a weekday, though.

    I have a fridge stuffed with veggies from a CSA because I haven’t found much time for cooking lately. I’m about to post a “Beets, free to good home” ad.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 19, 2015 at 10:05 am

      Jen, I do like trying new recipes; after 40 years of cooking I’m bored with same-old, same-old. I wonder if you can freeze those beets?

      Reply
  2. Carolann says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:05 am

    Wow I must say all that food does look good. I was always leery about food deliveries like those, but after seeing this, I just might consider giving it a try. Thanks for sharing. We both need to get back on our diets and healthy living again!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 18, 2015 at 4:28 am

      Carolann, getting back to healthy living is on my agenda starting today. I put it on hold while my grandson was visiting two weeks.

      Reply
  3. 1010ParkPlace says

    September 16, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    While this sounds like a great service, I like to shop for fresh food and prepare them.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 17, 2015 at 4:48 am

      Understandable. What makes life interesting is that there’s something for all of us.

      Reply
  4. Shelley Zurek says

    September 16, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    I have just eaten a full dinner, never the less I am going to start googling Zucchini noodle lasagna because that does sound and look fab! I have always been curious about HelloFresh, thanks for your opinion.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 17, 2015 at 4:47 am

      I must say it was delicious. Here’s the recipe I used: Zucchini Noodle Lasagna.

      Reply
  5. Doreen McGettigan says

    September 16, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    We have a local business called ‘What the Crock’ they sell complete, fresh frozen meals that you simply put in your crock pot. It is between 6.99 and 11.99 per person and so far the 2-person meal gets us 2 dinners and 2 lunches. I love it! Our grocery store delivers too. I will have to check out Hello Fresh, it sounds good!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      Doreen, that sounds like a great business. The pricing seems like a good value for what you’re getting. I wish Trader Joe’s delivered. Most of my grocery purchases come from there.

      Reply
  6. Mona (aka Moxie-Dude) says

    September 16, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    I’ve never heard of such a service but AM SO EXCITED! Anyone who’s ever come over for dinner (or breakfast or lunch) KNOWS that I’m a disaster in the kitchen. Can’t wait to check this out!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Mona, glad to be of service! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Kim Tackett says

    September 16, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    My husband has a very prolific vegetable garden, so as long as we have chicken breasts in the house, we have a dinner. But this sounds good for someone who doesn’t have their own farmer!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Kim, how fortunate that you live with a gardener! We both have brown thumbs so buy it all.

      Reply
  8. Elaine Ambrose says

    September 16, 2015 at 11:34 am

    This convenient service would have been perfect for my mother – but it wasn’t offered where she lived. I might try it some day.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:16 pm

      Elaine, it is very convenient.

      Reply
  9. michelle says

    September 16, 2015 at 10:18 am

    I tried Hello Fresh from a Groupon. I LIKED it…but the full price service is just too expensive for me.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:15 pm

      Michelle, I agree it is expensive. I would do it one or two weeks a month if I enjoyed making the meals more.

      Reply
  10. Lisha Fink says

    September 16, 2015 at 9:01 am

    I’ve been curious about trying one of these services. You’ve just given me the push I needed!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:15 pm

      Lisha, I like trying them. Otherwise we get into a rut of “if it’s Tuesday we must be having cobb salad”.

      Reply
  11. Julie Jo Severson says

    September 16, 2015 at 8:56 am

    I soooooo want something like this to work for me and my family of 5. Getting balanced meals reading on time before they all head off to sports is a major downfall of mine as a mother. Thanks for pointing out an option. Recipes look more complicated than I’d want, though, but something to consider.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 1:14 pm

      I forgot to mention in my post that they have their recipes on the website that can be downloaded for free.

      Reply
  12. Corinne Rodrigues says

    September 16, 2015 at 8:23 am

    These seems to such a convenient service for people living alone. We have something called a ‘tiffin services’ in India where fresh, home cooked food is delivered regularly. This works well for singles and the elderly.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 8:32 am

      Corinne, I think I saw a story about the tiffin services on TV. Fascinating!

      Reply
  13. Paula Kiger says

    September 16, 2015 at 7:41 am

    I haven’t tried, partially because my spouse is SO WEIRD about food freshness issues, especially bagged salads. But I think it’s a fascinating idea, and very useful for the times in which we live!

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 8:32 am

      It is a great idea and I’m looking for the best one for us.

      Reply
  14. Susan Williams says

    September 16, 2015 at 6:57 am

    I have no experience with meal planning/delivery services. I can see the value in them, in terms of saving time in regard to grocery shopping, but if time savings is the main issue, I can certainly understand why you would object to 30 minutes of prep time before you begin the recipe.
    We buy our veggies from a CSA, and we get what we get in our box.
    So, I am familiar with the idea of needing to eat a whole bunch of the produce in the first few days, or risking having veggies that are past their prime. Food waste makes me sad, and as hard as I try, I do seem to end up wasting some veggies, each time. It’s not optimal, but the produce IS generally better than what I get at the store, and I do feel good about supporting local organic farmers.
    Because I live 25 minutes away from a grocery store, it’s difficult to find the perfect solution to buying a lot at once to avoid trips out, and buying only what I need, but having to make more trips out to procure more.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 7:14 am

      Susan, we did subscribe to a CSA previously and I got out of the habit. I may go back to that once things settle down in a couple of weeks.

      Reply
  15. Carol Cassara says

    September 16, 2015 at 6:50 am

    I think these are great services, as long as you consume quickly, as you point out. But a great way to get a balanced meal.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 7:14 am

      Carol, good point about the balanced meal. We tend to eat too many frozen meals left to our own devices and don’t supplement with enough vegetables.

      Reply
  16. Theresa Wiza says

    September 16, 2015 at 6:30 am

    I had considered meal delivery, but I was afraid of what you just mentioned – that the food would spoil easily. I might consider it at some point again though.

    Reply
    • Kay Lynn says

      September 16, 2015 at 6:33 am

      It is an important consideration. Meals need to be cooked/consumed fairly quickly after delivery.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. FitBloggin' Link Love: Best of September Blogs - FitBloggin says:
    September 18, 2015 at 2:01 am

    […] HelloFresh: My Experience with Meal Kit Delivery — Weight Chronicles […]

    Reply

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