My HelloFresh experience so far

I recently subscribed to HelloFresh for my husband and I. We chose the 2 person/ 3 meal per week Classic plan. I thought writing this post would be helpful and informative to those who are interested in the service and want to learn more about it.

Food boxes are relatively new nowadays, although it seems that they are popping up everywhere. There are so many to choose from- they vary from recipes, to snack boxes, and even already prepped meals! Unfortunately this post will only be discussing one brand and type of box, as I do not have any experience with other companies. The main reason I chose HelloFresh over other brands was because my good friend had given me a free box to trial. Apart from her and some coworkers, I actually don't know anyone else personally who uses this service. And honestly, I don't know why. I really like it so far!

What is HelloFresh?

It is essentially a subscription service that delivers to your home all the ingredients you need to prepare 2-5 pre-chosen meals from scratch. You enter your credit/debit card information and each week you are charged automatically. You are able to skip weeks or cancel the service at any time.

Every week, you receive a box at your doorstep that is fully insulated and filled with fresh ingredients based on the recipes you chose the previous week- including the meats, side dishes, any herbs or special seasonings, ingredients for sauces, and even garlic cloves if the recipe calls for it. There is no need to go to the grocery store, as the box comes with everything you need (besides butter/ margarine, salt, pepper, and olive oil) to cook a delicious and healthy meal.  The box also comes with recipe cards and nutritional information.

Why did I sign up for HelloFresh? 

Well, let's see...

• I was curious about the service
• The first box was free, so why not? 
• My long hours made it difficult to cook dinner for my family, and I felt bad that my husband was doing all the cooking
• I was sick of eating the same meals over and over again 
• I wanted to work on portion control

... and those are just some of the reasons. I really liked the convenience aspect as well!

Accessibility

Signing up for the my first box was really easy. My friend, who is a long time subscriber of the service, had a free box to give so I just asked if I could have it. She agreed and sent me the link, which came as an email. It was really easy to subscribe after that- just follow the prompts, select your plan, etc.-  and the great part was that I didn't have to pay for it.

I really enjoy the HelloFresh app, which is where I pick all our meals- it is super user friendly! A great feature is that you will get sent reminders to pick your meals via email, which I appreciate. What I usually do is pick my meals several weeks ahead- then before the box ships out, I double check to make sure I didn't change my mind.

Packaging, Delivery, & Ingredient Freshness

So far delivery has been going really well. There were a couple times that it was raining and the box got wet, but the food inside the box was fine- the ingredients are in a sealed, insulated freezer bag. Each "meal" is separated into its own paper bag and labeled so there is no confusion as to which meal you are reaching for. Under the bags there is a cardboard divider, a large gel ice pack, and the meats underneath the ice pack. The meats are also pre-packaged and sealed. I usually put the meats in the freezer and throw the bags in the fridge. There have been no problems with freshness of ingredients since we have started the service, which is really appreciated.

Portions 

I don't think that I am the person to review or discuss portion sizes, as I tend to eat way more than I should. The good thing is that the meals are usually filling, so I don't notice if the portions are small--- well, in reality they are normal sized, I swear. For any meals on the "smaller" side I usually just pull what I want out of the freezer stash as supplement- for instance, the other day our burgers only came with an arugula side salad, which I knew would not cut it for my husband. That night I just threw in the oven some freezer fries and baked those up. Problem solved! I have only had to do that a couple times though. The pasta and rice meals come with a lot of food, which is good. The only downside is that there is only enough food for 1 dinner for 2 people- so there are no leftovers for lunch the next day. However, that could be easily remedied if I chose a different plan that includes more servings.

Pricing- and is it worth it?

As subscribers of the Classic 2 people-3 meals plan, we pay $60.00 per week. Let's be real, this is not the cheapest option if you are trying to save money. But, if you go out to eat even once a week and replace the money spent there with the HelloFresh service, then I think it is definitely worth it. It is a healthy option and you get more for your money. The service is all about convenience, and I have no problem paying for that in this season of my life. Another great part is that you don't have to buy full size products for recipes that require only a little bit of that product. For example, if you don't often use ginger in meals but your HelloFresh meal for a chicken dish incorporates ginger as a spice, they provide you only what you need- you won't have an extra 6 ginger cloves sitting in your pantry for eternity. I guess in that respect, you may be saving a bit of money.

What do I do with all the recipe cards?

I created a recipe binder! I used dividers to separate dishes based on the main protein of the meal: chicken, pork, beef/steak, seafood, etc. I also have a "pasta" tab for more casserole type meals, a tab for nutrition facts, and also a tab to note my (very picky) hubby's favorites so we (or he) can recreate the recipe. As a cover page, I searched Pinterest for a recipe binder template and printed out a really cute floral cover page. I really like how easily accessible my recipes are now! I plan to add to the binder with any recipes I find online outside of HelloFresh as well. The binder sits on a frame stand on my kitchen counter, and I really love it. :-)

Our favorites so far

Presto Pesto Panko Chicken 

Meatloaf a la Mom

Moo Shu Pork Tacos

Amazing Apricot Chicken 

Sweet As Honey Chicken 

Overall review: 
Overall, I really enjoy the service and will continue to order from it, at least for the time being. It's great for busy people who work long hours or like my husband and I, who work opposite schedules yet still want to eat a simple, delicious, and nutritious dinner together.

I hope this helps anyone debating on whether or not to sign up for a delivery service like HelloFresh. If you do choose to go this rout, I truly hope you enjoy the experience!