My Hello Fresh Experience

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My Hello Fresh Experience

I love to cook (my parents taught me at a young age, thankfully) so I cook almost every meal for my family from scratch. As with anything else though, it tends to get repetitive. So when I learned more about home delivery meals, I was super intrigued. The idea is genius, and takes the stress out of planning and shopping for dinner. Instead of standing in the grocery store aisle, staring at items and wondering how to put it all together, you can do it all online and have everything delivered right to your door! 

Enter Hello Fresh

I was given a free week of Hello Fresh meals. When I went online to claim my week of meals, it was really quite easy. However, I was not able to choose my meals and since I do not eat dairy, I was worried that I would get something with dairy in it. There is no option for food intolerances/ restrictions, which I found to be very strange. With so many people that are gluten-free, dairy-free or vegetarian these days, you would think they would take this into consideration. If you choose to continue your subscription though, they do have some of these types of meals, although the selection is quite limited.

I simply chose a day and time frame for the meals to arrive. Pricing ranges for each food home delivery company. With Hello Fresh, my three meals for two people would have cost $69. Most companies stick between $8 – $13 per person, per meal.

The big box was waiting on my doorstep and inside were three smaller boxes with the ingredients. At the bottom of the box was the meat with cooler packs. I will say that this brand of meal deliveries is probably not the best for vegetarians because all my meals had meat (pork, chicken and beef).

The instructions were quite simple and all the ingredients were clean and fresh looking. I received three meals and it said that was enough food for two people. I had leftovers every time. It does make me a little nervous not knowing where the meat came from, and that it comes in a box, even with the cooler packs. I tend to be quite picky about meat and try to only purchase organic grass-fed meats (especially local if possible).

The meals

The first meal I cooked was Thai-spiced pork and rice noodle stir-fry. I was very excited to try this, even though I don’t usually eat pork. The directions were very easy to follow with each ingredient being labeled and clear instructions on how to use them. It stated that most meals would take ten minutes to prep, and thirty minutes to cook. Cooking the noodles via the directions didn’t turn out great. They were still quite hard, even though I set them in very hot water as the directions called for. If they had been softer this would have been my favorite meal by far. 

My second meal was the steak tagliata with sweet potato wedges and arugula salad. This was a very light and delicious meal, and probably the easiest to cook. It only took the actual thirty minutes to cook, as the directions said it would. The third meal was the sweet and spicy apricot chicken with couscous and green beans. This was my least favorite meal because the directions were much more difficult than the other two dishes. The sauce simply did not thicken the way they described it would. It also seemed to take quite a bit more time than the other two. In terms of quantity, even though it stated that the meals were meant for two people, we had plenty of food for my husband, myself, and my toddler, with leftovers to spare.

There are many options available for meal delivery (too many, in my honest opinion). Did you know there are even smoothie delivery companies?!

Other meal delivery options

There are many options available for meal delivery (too many, in my honest opinion). Did you know there are even smoothie delivery companies?! Here are a few other ones that you might want to check out.

Meal delivery services are a great option for families who are super busy and need help with cooking and meal planning. One of these meal delivery options may be an easy way for you to put a home cooked, healthy meal on the table in less time, giving you more time to spend with the family.

As a bonus, you can also get the whole family involved in the food preparation. While I was cooking, my husband was able to take over using the directions while I tended to the baby. I’m sure many families have kids who would love to help in the kitchen and teaching children to cook is such a great skill and bonding experience, even if things get a little messy. I know it can be difficult to plan healthy and filling meals, so maybe one of these companies is worth a try for you!

Have you tried a meal delivery service? We are all busy moms and would love to hear about your experience!

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Elizabeth O
Elizabeth resides on Johns Island with her husband and two daughters, Emma (3) and Rowen (baby). A native to South Carolina, originally from Hilton Head Island, she moved to Charleston in 2012 to be closer to family. The four of them love to travel (mostly to Puerto Rico where her husband works) and thrive on learning and educated themselves on any and all health issues. She loves teaching her daughters to garden, going to the beach, surfing and planning their next family adventure. Elizabeth is very naturally minded, having had a successful home birth with her most recent baby girl. In 2016 she went back to school to complete her certification in Holistic Nutrition for which she is very passionate about (she already has a BA in Public Relations from USC). She looks forward to working with other moms and families to help them with their health and nutrition needs.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I also did the Hello Fresh thing when we visited my parents. It was awesome that we didn’t need to shop, could bond over cooking something new, and didn’t have to rely on dining out (as the options were limited). I cancelled the subscription when we left–but about a month later they kept sending meals to my parents! It was a little too much for my parents to keep up with their busy schedules, but the recipes were fun.

  2. I love Hello Fresh – it does have a vegetarian option, which is what I always get. I’ve also tried Blue Apron (but they don’t have a totally vegetarian option, which is annoying) and Purple Carrot. And for smoothies, I’ve tried Daily Harvest. I’m a fan.

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