Recently I subscribed as a trial to Hello Fresh on a recommendation from my friend Robert Blake. I was definitely skeptical, but with a week’s worth of food for the promo price of $20 , I didn’t have much to lose.
Hello Fresh, like Blue Apron and Plated, is a meal planning & grocery shopping service all-in-one. For this busy professional, the idea of not having to 1. plan meals for the week or 2. go to the grocery store is incredibly appealing. However, I was skeptical about the price at first. As of this week, I’m three boxes in, and I’m 100% sold.
Each box includes 3 different meals for 2 adults. You receive a box on the day of your choosing that includes all of your groceries/ingredients, including meat, freezer packed. The box is beautifully branded.
So far, all of the vegetables & produce we’ve received have been top-notch, and the meat has been amazing. This chicken was probably the best cut of chicken I’ve ever had:
After putting the pen to some paper here, the $60/week price tag is actually great. If you’ve ever tried to cook for two, you know it’s frustrating – it seems you can cook for four just as easily as two, with little-to-no price difference. More so, it’s nearly impossible to eat out and eat anything of quality for less than $20 a meal, and even still, you’re likely loaded with fat and have no clue how the food was prepared.
All of our Hello Fresh recipes have been great. So far, we’ve had:
Parmesan Crusted Chicken – this was my favorite
Sweet & Sour Pork Stir Fry – I liked this more the second day, actually. The leftovers were great – and fed us a total of four meals.
Zucchini Noodle Lasagna – this was a great lighter alternative to lasagna, and was lunch for me on day 2.
Chicken Fajitas – great ingredients here – and the guacamole was great!
Seared Steak and Charred Nectarine Salad – oh my word. Charred nectarines!
Pork & Chinese Eggplant Stir Fry – this is dinner tonight!
…and a box we haven’t cooked from yet.
Another pleasant surprise for me here: while I expected the portions to be be rather small, almost every recipe has fed at least three meals, if not four. I’ve also realized I’m paying for a service here just as much as I’m paying for food. Usually, meal planning for a week takes me at least an hour, and shopping throughout the week takes a great deal of time, and I’m not guaranteed great ingredients. Hello Fresh is the meal planning service, the grocery shopper, and the great quality groceries all in one. Additionally, there is no contract. I can cancel or pause at any time (so when I’m on vacation I’ll just pause the box for the week), and I get to choose my favorite 3 out of the 5 recipes they choose weekly.
If you’re interested in trying Hello Fresh, you can use my referral code to save $40 off of your first box, and I get a $20 discount on my next box. When you check out, use the promo code M7TNPE at checkout. Here’s to happy cooking!
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