A Return to HelloFresh

I thought about trying a meal delivery service for months before I finally took the leap a few years ago. I spent a lot of time looking at various websites, comparing the prices and menus. But I never clicked Order Now. 

Why not? It didn’t feel completely necessary, for one thing. I like to cook. I enjoy looking for and trying out new recipes. And Mike isn’t a picky eater–he’d gladly have salmon, rice, and broccoli for dinner once a week. So coming up with options wasn’t too much of a chore. 

Nevertheless, I found myself in a cooking rut. In spite of the fact that I claimed to like trying new recipes, I wasn’t doing it;  I found myself making the same meals week after week. I was bored, but not ambitious enough to solve that problem. And I dreaded thinking about what to make for dinner, even though I use a terrific meal-planning app called Plant to Eat that helps to settle this question–I always have a meal scheduled.

But what to do when that meal no longer sounds remotely appealing? That was my dilemma. And thus I decided to take a chance on HelloFresh.

The Basics

Most meal kit services are pretty similar: you go online and select the number of meals you want to receive each week. Then you select the recipes you’d like to try. After that, all the components (including necessary spices) are packaged and sent to your home.

But there are lots of things I like about HelloFresh in particular.

They have a good selection of gluten-free recipes. I’m gluten sensitive, but I don’t have Celiac Disease–so these meal kits work for me. And many of the recipes that don’t feature gluten-free ingredients are easy to swap out (for instance, using gluten-free soy sauce in place of whatever packet comes with the meal kit.)

HelloFresh offers a 2-person meal plan. That’s the option Mike and I need. There’s also a family plan for people with small children, a 4-person meal plan for couples with older children, a vegetarian plan, and some other options.

The variety of recipes is impressive. You’d have to try pretty hard to fall into a rut while subscribing to HelloFresh.

If it’s so great, why is this post called A Return to HelloFresh? Why did you leave the first time?

The short answer to that question is that my life was very different a few years ago. My adult son was still living at home while he went to college, for one thing. That meant I either had to make a two-person meal stretch (usually by making an additional side) or move up to the four-person meal plan–which we didn’t always need. I also had to select meals I thought my son would eat. Unlike his dad, my son most definitely is a picky eater.  But we’ve always been big on family dinners, so making meals that didn’t take his tastes into consideration just didn’t feel right to me. If my son was home at dinnertime, I wanted him to feel welcome at the table.

Not always knowing when he’d be home for dinner led me to choose meals that were less adventurous than what Mike and I would have tried on our own, though. And generally speaking, those were things I could easily make without a meal kit.

All those factors left me thinking HelloFresh wasn’t our best option, at the time. But now that Mike and I are officially empty-nesters, I decided it was time to give HelloFresh another shot.

A Week’s Worth of Meals

I subscribed to the 3-meals-per-week plan, the most popular option. (Changing, pausing, or canceling your subscription at any time is as simple as clicking a few boxes on your account page.) As you’re choosing your meal kits for each week, you also have the opportunity to purchase additional meals, sides, and desserts. This was a change from the last time I tried HelloFresh, when meal kits were their only offering.

I also noted that there are now far more recipe options each week, and it’s possible to view menu options several weeks in advance. This is handy for those weeks when you’re not completel delighted with your options: just buy additional meals ahead of time, skip delivery for that not-so-great week, and resume when the meal options are more to your liking.  

Out for Delivery

Every HelloFresh order appears at your house in an insulated box with cold packs to keep things fresh–if you aren’t home to receive your delivery, it’ll wait for you. (I live in South Texas, so a day on my front porch is an excellent test of whether this system works. So far, it does.)

Each meal kit is packaged and labeled in its own brown paper bag, so you won’t get confused about which ingredients to use in each recipe. Proteins are packed separately from produce. And here’s a big bonus: nearly all the packaging is recyclable. 

Also inside your delivery box is a stack of large, illustrated recipe cards that include step-by-step instructions and photos for each recipe. Even if you aren’t an experienced cook, you’ll be able to figure out what you need to do. (This is a little-mentioned benefit of HelloFresh: you’ll learn new food preparation and cooking techniques that you can use elsewhere.)

Let’s Eat

Honestly, I’m a bit of a produce snob. The first time I subscribed to HelloFresh, I worried the produce would be damaged in transit or of questionable quality. But that hasn’t proven to be a problem–everything has been fresh, crisp, and appealing to the eye. 

I also worried that portion sizes would be skimpy, especially in relation to the cost per serving. That has definitely not been the case. HelloFresh often sends a little extra of certain components, anticipating that you’ll want to season your food to taste, and we’ve generally had some leftovers for lunch the next day.  This may not be true for you, if you have a family of hearty eaters. For Mike and I, though, the quanitity of food (including proteins) has been more than adequate.

Here’s a sample of the HelloFresh meals we’ve enjoyed or are looking forward to:

Steakhouse Pork Chops with Creamy Shallot Pan Sauce and Lemony Green Beans

Middle Eastern Chickpea Bowl with Savory Pistachio Rice & Garlicky White Sauce

Tex-Mex Beef Enchilada Bowl

Chicken Ramen in Shoyu-Style Broth

A Few More Things I Really Like About HelloFresh

The customer interface is easy to navigate. Last time I subscribed to HelloFresh, I used their website. This time, I’m using their Android app. I’ve found both very easy to use, and I’m not especially tech-savvy. It’s simple to choose meals, revise my choices before the delivery cutoff, or skip delivery for a week.

A chance to try new things. HelloFresh recipes have encouraged me to try some things I was pretty sure I didn’t like–for instance, radishes and green olives. In both cases, I was surprised to find that I loved what I made with those ingredients. The recipes have also introduced me to new spices and cooking techniques, like “quick pickling” vegetables. 

How do you know if HelloFresh is right for you?

You like to cook. Generally speaking, these are not prepared meals that you can pop in the oven–although some of those are available on the HelloFresh website, too. The skill level for these recipes is pretty basic: if you can chop, stir, and measure, you’ll be fine. 

You can afford to spend a little extra. Obviously, two people can eat dinner for less than the cost of these meal kits. But a HelloFresh meal is cheaper than going out to dinner at a restaurant (once you factor in drinks, a tip, and the cost of transportation) and healthier than takeout. Personally, if having a meal kit in the refrigerator keeps me from ordering takeout, I think it’s worth the expense. If you’re on a tight budget, however, you might take a look at EveryPlate, another meal service owned by HelloFresh. It’s aimed at providing more afforable, family-style meals.

You like variety. HelloFresh doesn’t repeat recipes from week to week, so you’ll need to be comfortable with trying new entrees on a regular basis. That’s one of my favorite parts of the HelloFresh experience.

If you’d like to try out HelloFresh, click here for a discount!

If you click on this link, I’ll receive a small referral credit. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have!

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