A review…
I know! I know! You’re probably all really shocked that I would do a review of something like food! With rising food prices and being on a fixed income like we are, I wanted to try a subscription food box. I hope this helps some of you. If you have any questions, you can always email me. This review is not sponsored by Hello Fresh® so I didn’t get anything for free. My opinions are my own (well, Nigel had some, too).
A little history…
As many of you know, I don’t like to cook. I love to bake, but cookies and cakes aren’t all that nutritious. I really would like to talk to the manager about that! Anyway, meals are always a struggle. In fact, we’ve found ourselves eating out quite often lately. I think part of that is because Nigel recognizes how down and tired I’ve been. I, of course, am not going to turn down not having to cook.
Not the worst, certainly not the best…
Let me clarify this. I don’t mind cooking. It’s the coming up with what to cook that I dislike. Nigel doesn’t mind eating leftovers for a few days in a row, but I get tired of that. For some reason, I don’t mind making up a big pot of soup in the winter and eating that for a bit. In the summer, I want more variety, I guess. I know I could look on Pinterest for ideas, but I thought I’d take the easy way out.
Starting the search…
With all that in mind, I started looking at meal subscription plans. I really didn’t want one that was premade meals. I can buy those at the grocery store. I wanted fresh ingredients, easily understood directions, and variety. In the end, we went with Hello Fresh®. I had looked at it a few months ago and started getting emails from them with new offers all the time. So, I signed up for three high protein meals per week for two. We would get 12 free meals.
First impressions…
Our first week’s delivery came in a large cardboard box with lots of insulation and two of those big cold insulation packs. The card inside the box said to just empty the contents of the cold packs (after they thawed) into the trash and recycle the bags. I was very hesitant to do that so I kept them frozen until trash day. Then, I put the entire thing in the trash. Our recycling program doesn’t recycle that kind of plastic. Inside the box were recipe “cards,” paper bags for each meal, and the proteins in plastic. All in all, I wasn’t impressed with the way the meals were sent. I’m not sure how I’d improve it, though, other than to put the recipe “cards” somewhere where they don’t get wet and soggy.
Getting started…
The recipe “cards” were large heavy cardstock upon which the ingredients included and the ingredients needed were listed. The list of included ingredients was on the same side as the “recipe.” Here is where it started to fall apart for me. Those cards were often soggy from having been packed against those cold packs. And, the directions weren’t always in the right order. There were times I needed to be doing two or three things at the same time. I was wrong in my expectations as far as preparation. I thought, if a meal called for sliced carrots, that’s what I would get. But, if I’d thought about it, I would have realized that wouldn’t be “fresh.” So, I had lots of meal prep to do for each meal. I’m not sure that they don’t get their produce from those “ugly produce” places! The first time we had roasted carrots, the carrot was maybe four inches long but quite large in girth. I had to get out my super duper sharp and big knife to slice them. If I were a cook who enjoyed it, I’d invest in a mandolin!
At first…
In the beginning, we really liked the meals. The chicken breasts didn’t look very big until I took them out of the plastic. They weren’t exactly shrink-wrapped, but they sure seemed to grow! Usually, the chicken had some kind of rub to put on it and then was fried in olive oil. I am not a fan of frying things. But, a couple of years ago, I splurged and bought an Always Pan. You can fry with just the barest dribble of olive oil. The chicken still came out crispy and juicy. I did find, however, my stovetop was a mess as well as the microwave above it. I think the exhaust fan (which is part of the microwave) was pulling that greasy air up and coating my microwave. I’m a bit of a neat freak when it comes to my microwave and stove top so that meant additional cleaning.
The review…
We had several good meals, but we began to notice a couple of things. While there was plenty to eat, and the chicken breasts were quite large, there was rarely a green vegetable included. If there was, it was usually green beans. There was always plenty of rice or couscous. The couscous was pearl couscous rather than Moroccan couscous. I liked it, but Nigel prefers the smaller version. The rice or couscous would often cover more than half of the plate. There were many different meals to choose from, but some of these came with a premium attached…some as much as $9.99 a person.
More review…
In the end, we, meaning I, decided to cancel our subscription. I had gained some experience in cooking different foods. I now had some meal ideas. But, what I didn’t have was a smaller grocery bill. We were still spending the same amount of money each week at the grocery store. Now, one week, I did have to buy Jack’s food. But, we were paying out about $80 a week for Hello Fresh© and about the same, if not more, for our grocery pick up. I soon realized we were paying about $25 per meal (for both of us). I told Nigel we could almost eat out for that! And, we weren’t even getting a complete meal when you consider we weren’t getting many green vegetables. You also need to realize (and I hadn’t) this is one meal for the day. You could buy breakfasts and sign up for additional meals which you could use as lunch. That would be way too much food for us, though.
My final review…
Would I recommend Hello Fresh? Hmmm…I think so for a short period of time. It’s convenient to have meals delivered right to your door. The ingredients were fresh except maybe the dill. It looked a little wilted the few times we received it. The proteins (we got chicken breasts and pork chops once) were large portions. Neither of us was ever left wanting additional food. In the long run, I wouldn’t recommend this service for a couple of reasons. One is the cost. They get you with that “free meals” thing. The way it works is that they take the cost of a meal off your bill until you’ve received the number of boxes equal to the number of free meals you bought (does that make sense). Another is the lack of green vegetables. I realize I have been going on and on about that, and it’s not like I even like vegetables that much. But, I do want them at my meals. I think there’s an option to add those to each meal for an additional cost. I never really looked closely at that. Another reason is the lack of variety. I thought there would be several different options that I could combine. Usually, the only thing you could change out was the protein. The last reason is just the sheer amount of packing. Those cold packs really bothered me though I did keep one for future use whenever we might need to keep something cold.
The outfit…
I wasn’t sure about the color of this dress, and I’m still not sure it’s for me. But, I really like the Clover Tunic Dress from April Cornell. It’s also on sale, but I’m not sure my code would work. I really like the print and the sleeves. There is a little bit of smocking right at the side. I think you can see it in the dress where there seem to be pleats. What I really like is the embroidery at the neckline. It’s made from modal. “Modal is a fabric with flattering drape and superb color saturation; it is derived from birch trees, harvested from a sustainable forest! It is created through a spinning process, much like rayon. Modal needs a fraction of the water of other fabrics in its processing – making it a sustainable and environmentally friendly fabric (taken from the dress description).” I think, perhaps, it’s just a titch too long and would be better an inch or two shorter. And, of course, it has pockets!!
The Lewk!
These are my L’Artiste Astarr sandals. They’re only available in a size 5, but they’re also on sale! I don’t have a clue what earrings these are! I don’t own a pair of plain hoops so I wonder if I borrowed them from my granddaughter! The necklace is an old Stella & Dot, and the bracelets are from my drawer. I tell you, I’m just drawing a blank today!
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I bet you were surprised to read a food review, right? I was curious about Hello Fresh® and thought I’d share my experience. If I were only cooking for myself, I might consider staying with it. Oh, who am I kidding? This is an expensive meal plan because it’s one meal a day. I suppose, if you were cooking only for yourself, you could do it for two people and have one serving for lunch and the other for dinner. But, who wants to eat the same thing for both meals? And, there’s also the overload of carbohydrates. So, can we talk? Have you tried a meal subscription plan? If so, which one and how did you like it? Do you have any special recipes you’d care to share? How well does Pinterest work for recipes? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
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Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
I love love love those adorable sandals!!! Too bad they only have a size 5 left. Oh well. I love to cook and I don’t mind food shopping, so I wouldn’t do a meal subscription. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading about your experience with Hello Fresh.
Thanks, Allison! You could try Zappos or 6Pm. I thought I would give Hello Fresh a try, and I’m glad I did it. I picked up a couple of ideas from it!
I get my groceries delivered by a company. On their site they have suggestions for recipes. You can choose gosh, meat, vegetarian. And they are almost always good meals, very good meals. Everything is fresh, nothing pre cooked. That’s great. I also tried Hello Fresh, but to little vegetables and no organic meat. So it was a no to us. You could try recipes by Jamie Oliver. The 15 and 30 minute meals. Easy, lots of veggies and delicious. I’m a fan of him.
I think that would be really good…to pick and choose from so many different things. Yes, the vegetables are sadly lacking or the same old thing. I am going to look for a Jamie Oliver cookbook! Thanks, Nancy, for the suggestion.
Thank you Marsha, I have never wanted to try this. I have a fortnightly delivery of fruit and veg from a company called Oddbox that sources odd shapes and surplus fruit and veg which the supermarkets reject. I can even choose what I get. They deliver it overnight in a cardboard box. The odd item is in plastic like blueberries or grapes, but mainly there is no other packaging and they will take back the box if you want them to the next time. The quality and quantity is usually really good too.
Thanks, Rosie! We have something here in the States that you can subscribe to. I can’t think of the name right now, though. We can recycle the cardboard boxes, but it would be nice to just give them back and reuse them.
I don’t think I’d like the lack of green vegetables. We cook meals that are very vegetable heavy, especially green veg, and eat meat maybe just once a week, fish twice and the rest is entirely vegetable plus a small portion of protein such as cheese or eggs – I don’t like beans as the substitute protein. If I ever got a box (and actually I have had them some years ago) it would be a fresh fruit and veg box.
But like you, I do rack my brains for what to cook tonight and we do get into a rut of me just churning out the same rota of (probably 10) meals on different days. I have a load of cook books,, but do I use them? No! Btw, I agree with Nancy – look for Jamie Oliver cookbooks, all are good but he does do some quick cook recipes – maybe I should get that book too!
Thanks for the blog as that was an interesting insight into these boxes – and kind of makes me think they’re not for me!
Love the dress btw and those gorgeous sandals.
Thanks Penny! I would love to hear more about your veggie heavy meals. I know you’ve said you eat the rainbow, and I’m just not sure what veggies you include. We do eat a lot of protein. I try to get 100 grams in each day…I love legumes and use them a lot. I am going to look for a Jamie Oliver cookbook and go from there!
That is such a pretty dress! I love the peach color for summer. We’ve never tried a subscription meal plan like this though I have toyed with the idea before. We tend to eat very veggie heavy meals and I’ve never found one that satisfied that requirement for me. And while I get your only shopping for 2 I am jealous of your grocery bill! I’m thrilled if I can keep ours around/under $400 for the week but if we need meat it’s usually closer to $500! I do find lots of recipes on Pinterest and through link parties around the blog. I keep note of new ideas and try to add them to the next week’s menu while the idea is still fresh (plus I make a note on our menu which blog I was looking at so I can find it again!).
Thank you, Joanne! Hahaha!! My daughter would agree with you on the grocery bill. I do need to get more veggies into our meals. You do such a good job doing that. I will have to look for ideas on Pinterest and on your link ups!
You look so pretty Marsha! I really like that dress with those shoes, they really stand out.
I have never tried a subscription food plan but my brother and SIL had Hello Fresh for awhile. You make some good points and I’m glad you tried it. I don’t mind cooking but I get tired of coming up with things too!
xo,
Kellyann
Thank you so much, Kellyann! I do love these shoes (and have them in another color). I did keep the recipe cards so I have those to refer back to now. It was a learning experience, and I’m glad I tried it.
I tried Hello Fresh many years ago but the recipes were too fancy, they were more like things you’d serve at a dinner party and not good old family meals. I think they are more family friendly now but I prefer to use their rival here in the UK, Gousto. It’s slightly cheaper, not short on vegetables and the meals are simple to make.
I love the dress and the shoes are so pretty!
Thanks, Kim! There were sauces you could put on the chicken, but Mike doesn’t really like those. So, I’d put them in a small serving bowl and use them as I wanted. I made a meal today that literally had me sweating! I was running from one side of the kitchen to the other. I’m glad you found a service that works for you.
Hello Marsha,
I’ve never tried a meal subscription service but our has and didn’t like it.
I do enjoy cooking and baking but will often batch cook – say a big veg chilli and then turn it into other meals, like spicy cottage pie, baked wraps, filling for jacket potatoes.
Jamie Oliver is very good for inspiration and does have a good online site.
Love the dress and your grand dog.
Thank you, Linda! Someone else suggested Jamie Oliver so I shall look for one of his cookbooks. And, thank you for the compliments! Charlie is just a big goofball, but he’s a really good dog.
WordPress denied me and my long reply access the first time, so I’ll make it short this time before I have to throw another tantrum 😉
You know I don’t like cooking just for myself, so it wouldn’t be for me.
That’s a cute outfit!
https://catswire.blogspot.com/
I have been hearing from others they’re having problems commenting. I don’t know what’s going on. Anyway, I am in good company with the dislike of cooking! And, thanks, Cat, for the compliment.
We tried one of these meal boxes years ago, but they couldn’t figure out how to keep the meat frozen in the AZ summers.
There’s always a pro and con, right?? But it can be helpful to get some ideas. In the end at this stage of life, we tend to have so many preferences, that what ONE company can get it right??
Heck, I even hired a personal chef for Rob’s birthday one year, and it wasn’t any better than what we do.
But at least you tried it and I’m sure they aren’t all created equally. My stepmom is using Green Chef right now…
XOOX
Jodie
Thanks, Jodie! I think you’re right. There are so many of them out there now. I’m glad we tried it. One of my goals was to get some ideas/recipes, and I accomplished that. The meat isn’t frozen in our boxes, and that was another thing I didn’t like. There weren’t any directions in case you wanted to freeze the food should you not have time to use it soon.
The price is why I’ve always held off on any of the boxed meal stuff. We save money by shopping at Aldis and making our own meals so far. Even that is hard some weeks though.
I love the outfit!
Thanks, Lisa! We do have an Aldi now, but I haven’t gone there yet. I am so lazy that I order my groceries online and then pick them up. My son swears by their produce. I honestly just need to go in and check them out.
We do Every Plate which is part of Hello Fresh. My hubby picks the meals and we have learned what works for us. Sorry it didn’t work for you but we have kept the recipes that we loved and then make them on our own later. Love this pretty summer dress!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thanks, Kathrine! Oh, I haven’t seen that. I did keep the recipes as that was part of my reasoning. I knew I wasn’t going to do it for the long term, but I thought we’d go longer than we did.
I tried Hello Fresh, but it was a long time ago, and before they changed what free meant for the promo. I agree it’s a little pricy but the convenience was great. There are so many meal services out there I’d like to try a few others. Love your dress so much! Such a pretty print!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Thanks, Jill! I agree the convenience was definitely a good thing. If there had been more variety in the sides and more vegetables, we may have stuck with it. But, the other part was I wanted some meal ideas, and I got a few of those. Thanks for the compliments!
I’ve always wondered about Hello Fresh. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and honest review, Marsha! Since my hubby has needed to change his diet (we’re on Day 483 of gluten, sugar and dairy free!), I’ve struggled at times with what to cook! Thankfully, we’ve both grown accustomed to these changes and we now are in a good routine and I’m even branching out a bit. He’s hoping to reintroduce a few foods but that hasn’t always been successful so time will tell! Have a good week!
Congratulations on day 483 (or maybe 484 by now). That’s a lot to give up at first. The internet probably helped quite a bit in finding recipes, but it still had to be difficult. I was really hopeful Hello Fresh would work for us. It’s not that the food was bad, but it wasn’t what I wanted. I hope your husband is able to reintroduce some things. Have a fabulous weekend and coming week!
Love how easy-breezy this look is! Sadly, doesn’t sound like Hello Fresh was that easy-breezy. I did it for a while in the past, and while appreciating not having to figure out the meals, ran into what you did. There are some decent local options where the meals are prepared already!
Thanks, Edi! I know there’s one in Avon that I think you actually do all the meal prep there. That’s something I’ve thought about. It’s just not easy figuring dinner out! And, thank you for the compliment!
I haven’t tried Hello Fresh, but with some influencer collaborations I have tried some similar things. I didn’t learn new recipes and techniques, but I can’t imagine paying for all that. Learning new recipes and all that prep takes a lot of time! I need to save time, not add to my figurative plate! Glad I’m not the only one!
Thanks, Laura! I wouldn’t say I learned anything as much as picked up on some new combinations. Oh, my goodness! It took so much more time than I’m used to doing! And, I felt like I had to do it in the exact order so I was really stressed out. I am glad we tried it, but I’m also OK with canceling it.
This is interesting. We’ve never bothered with this and especially now my husband is type 2 diabetic (nearly reversed but that’s because he’s careful) and I eat low saturated fat for my cholesterol, it’s impossible to find meals to share! I don’t really care about food so I’m happy making up batches of a couple of different sauces then having them a few times a week with pasta, rice, as a burrito, etc. Husband makes his own food. But it’s useful to know how these things shape up. We used to get OddBox but there’s a lot of starches which are not good for husband and there’s always some giant leek or something to hack through! I like the dress but wouldn’t be keen on the colour for myself. You are good at accessorising!
Thanks, Liz! I am still on the fence about the dress. It’s a little more orange IRL than it appears in the photos. Luckily, I don’t have to cook two different meals. My husband would probably just eat peanut butter sandwiches if he had to “cook” for himself! I do watch the carbs for him because his family tends toward type 2 diabetes, too.
Hi, Marsha – We got vegetarian meals for my husband and I from Hello Fresh in the past and loved it. The food was amazing and my husband loved the ice packs because he could reuse them for events. At some point, I didn’t feel I could continue to put as much time into the cooking; I was falling behind on the prep while new meals came before I could postpone. After awhile, I decided to restart using their great Free Meals offer; only I discovered that the offer was not that great. As you explained, it is confusing and you don’t actually get “free meals”; you get a gradually phased in discount over time that amounts to the total of the free meals. I was upset with their sneaky marketing ploy and discontinued them once again. At that point, we discovered that my husband needed a gluten-free diet anyway and they didn’t have anything of that sort. It’s been awhile and I’m thinking of subscribing to a new premade meal plan now that there are more options. Now that I’ve read your review, I’m reminded to check into that. Thanks – Angie, http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
Thanks, Angie! I’m glad I could help. I have heard really good things about Hungryroot which may work for your vegetarian lifestyle. I thought the food was good, but there was so little variety when it came to the side dishes. And, the carbs were truly half the plate. Oh, and they really are sneaky in their marketing. Oh, and that prep work just about did me in! I’m used to prepping, but when you’re making something for the first time, it’s tough. I got what I wanted out of it. I tried it for the convenience (that was true), the price (not so true), and the recipes (ideas I can use again). I don’t know if we will ever try another one, though. Good luck!
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A very helpful post Marsha, well done for sharing and do join my linkup this week xx
Jacqui
Thanks, Jacqui! I’m always glad to link up with you!