HelloFresh is one of the many meal-delivery subscription services across the great internet. I can’t tell you what sets it apart from the other services, but I can tell you my friend Katie really wanted me to use her promo code.
Normally, three two-serving meals cost around $60. The code takes $40 off, so this HelloFresh box cost me $20. For six meals, that’s not a bad deal. I figured I should help out Katie, enjoy the fairly cheap week of food, and see what all the hubbub is about.
The HelloFresh Box
The box was delivered on the date I requested, and boy was it big. Couch and scissors included for comparison.
Although meal delivery services are supposed to decrease waste by providing the exact amounts of food needed, this seems incredibly wasteful. A massive amount of cardboard, the individual ingredient wrappings, plus two ice packs per box. I wasn’t sure what to do with the ice packs so I hid them in my living room a la the Afikoman.
The HelloFresh Meals
All the ingredients came in individual meal-boxes, except the “raviolini” which was free floating. Since my roommate does BlueApron every single week, it took a lot of maneuvering to fit all this stuff into the fridge. Personally, I would feel rude taking up this amount of space in a shared refrigerator on a regular basis. I guess I’m just a very caring and compassionate person.
Each meal comes with an instruction page with beautiful photos, setting your expectations nice and high.
The first meal I made was my favorite. Freekah and Lentils “Jumble,” aka Freekah and Lentils and A Bunch Of Other Stuff All Mixed Up On a Plate. I liked it the most because it involved ingredients I’d never used before and it made me feel like a healthy girl.
I’m a sucker for miniatures, so that tahini bottle really got me.
The recipe was easy to follow, although it involved more steps than I’m used to. Personally I like to either saute, bake, or boil, but for this meal you do all three. This also means I used half of our pots and pans. No wonder my BlueApron roommate leaves the sink full of dishes!
The raviolini with vegetables and pesto was pretty good, although nothing I haven’t cooked before. Also, why raviolini when you could just have the clearly superior ravioli? Pasta should dominate any dish it’s in.
Of the three, this one was the dud. Black bean and corn patties (more like jumble), served on arugula?? They would have been better between buns, or on a less spicy green.
In conclusion
Overall I really enjoyed my HelloFresh experience, largely because it encouraged me to cook in ways I don’t normally (re: healthy). It also saved me from going food shopping three times a week. Perhaps if I become very wealthy and have a fridge all to myself I would consider using a meal delivery service regularly. Until then, I will have to be my own meal delivery service.
