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Seasonally-inspired meal kits delivered to your door, what a fabulous concept! When I was contacted by Hello Fresh to review their meals, I graciously accepted. I don’t do many reviews anymore, I just don’t have the time. However, I love this company’s mission to make healthy eating easy and hassle-free for busy families. If I can raise awareness and help families put tasty, nutritious meals on the table (without stress), then I am doing my part as a healthy living advocate. I have a voice and will use it to spread good things. It’s just good karma, ya’ll.
When I received my package, it came in a styrofoam cooler packed with ice. I loved the beautiful packaging! They get an A+ for presentation.
I tried two different weeks worth of meals. I was really impressed with the overall produce and meat quality. I preferred the carnivore options, you can choose between The Classic Box (with meat for Omnivores) or The Veggie Box (for Herbivores). You can pick 3 meals out of a selection of 5 different recipes. You also have the option of 2 or 4 people.
The recipe directions are well written and simple to follow. Most of the ones I tried (we sampled 5 recipes/meals) took at least 40-45 min to prepare and cook, so they aren’t necessarily fast. However, you are eating fresh ingredients so washing, chopping, and cooking goes along with that territory. I love the use of fresh herbs and spices in their dishes, but if you have young children (or just picky children, for that matter) these recipes may be a bit exotic for them. I can honestly say that I loved all but one of the dishes and I really enjoyed all of the fresh herbs and spices. The Cherry Lime Rickey Chicken was our least favorite, not that it was bad, we just thought the herbs were a little overpowering that dish and it was lacking something in flavor. My absolute favorite recipes were the Lemongrass Chicken Skewers with Coconut Rice and Cucumber-Carrot Slaw and the Reuben Steak with Tangy Braised Cabbage. They were both delicious and I would look forward to making them again.
If you are pretty creative in the kitchen, you can always put your own spin on these dishes by using your own spices, fewer herbs, etc. It’s so nice to not have to worry about what to make for dinner, these guys have taken that stress away from your busy schedule. They offer a great special for your first order, so head over to HelloFresh.com and give them a try. The menu changes weekly, so you get a great variety of options.
One thing I would love to see is more gluten-free options for people with allergies or sensitivities or even a gluten-free menu category to choose from. However, overall, I was pretty impressed with this service.
Reuben Steak with Tangy Braised Cabbage and Russian Pan Dressing…
Hello Fresh has their own app for your smartphones, so you can order, check delivery times, and manage your account. You can’t beat that convenience! You can visit their website for more information.
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Richard
What are the costs?
Amee Livingston
Hi Richard! They are pretty reasonable. You can get pricing on their website at hellofresh.com.
Christy
I just prepared my second meal. This is so good and easy.
The portions have been good for husband and I. We are on the veggie plan. It’s a good way to cut back on the meat in our diet.
Amee Livingston
I’m glad you are enjoying them Christy! It’s really a great to have someone else plan the meals for you!
Samantha
My husband and I just signed up for Hello Fresh and have made 2 meals out of the 3 received this week. So far we are 50/50 – one was delicious, flavorful and fresh, the other awful. The good one was Herbs de Provence Chicken. “Restaurant quality” said my husband. It had lots of bright flavors. This is a dish I’d make again. The thumbs down dish was Zesty Crusted Catfish, for two reasons. The quality of the Catfish was poor – it tasted old, like it had been frozen for ages. The other reason we didn’t care for the recipe is that it was, frankly, boring. They tried to jazz stuff up with lemon zest, but it seemed unimaginative. I’m not a beginner cook, so this recipe to me was boring. We are giving Very Teriyaki Pork a try tonight. One other thing to note is that when my Box arrived, I looked through everything and noticed the asparagus was mushy and spoiled. I contacted Hello Fresh and they promptly gave me a credit towards my next order. That was nice. We are still on the fence, but willing to try HF for another week.
Amee Livingston
Samantha, thank you for the honest review! I’m sure that Hello Fresh will do whatever they can to make you a happy customer.