For those that don’t know, Hello Fresh is a meal plan service that delivers boxes of food and recipes to your doorstep as often as you need each week. You simply choose your meals from a selection of curated, easy-to-follow recipes every week and the ingredients and recipe cards get sent to you.
They often run deals for new customers, such as 50% off your first few boxes, which works out as a great deal!
Week One
I went onto the Hello Fresh website to make my choices. I selected four meals per week, for four people. There are a lot of options to choose from, as well as some ‘premium’ options which cost a few quid extra.
I chose Herby Chicken with Red Onion Mash and Garlicky Beans, Hoisin Sticky Baked Chicken Thighs, Bacon Penne Arrabiata and Cheeseburger with Wedges and Slaw.
The box was delivered to my house. The food was sealed with insulation and ice blocks to keep everything cool and fresh. Each meal’s ingredients are separated into paper bags which are labelled, so you know which item is for what meal. All ingredients are pre-measured so there’s no weighing or measuring and, most importantly, no waste! There is also a recipe card for each meal showing ingredients with images and step by step instructions.
As the meals looked so simple to make, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get the kids in the kitchen to help. My son (accompanied by my husband) cooked the first meal, which was Cheeseburgers with potato wedges and coleslaw.
The meal was delicious! Five stars all round.
On the second day, we had Arrabiata with bacon and chives a garlic ciabatta. This time, it was my daughter’s time to cook.
Empty plates for everyone, the high point being the garlic ciabatta. Another success!
Meal three meant my turn. I cooked chicken thighs with a sticky hoisin glaze, with roasted broccoli, sesame seeds, jasmine rice and red onion. I’ve never roasted broccoli before, but it was delicious. It looked amazing on the plate, too.
For the final meal of the week, my daughter and I made the herby chicken, which we had with red onion mash and garlicky beans. I’m not a huge fan of green beans but these were delicious cooked in garlic, salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
It was four five-star meals for our first week, which was an excellent first impression.
Week Two and Beyond
Recipes we’ve had recently include Chicken Chow Mein, Mexican Chilli on Wedges, Speedy Sausage Pasta, Pork and Oregano Sausages, and a Lamb Linguine.
The last box we received had a very welcome freebie – Costa Instant Coffee! Thanks HelloFresh!Once again, the recipes have been a hit all round with empty plates. The Mexican Chilli made so much we probably could have fed 6 of us. The portion sizes have been generous, which means we’re not wandering around the kitchen afterwards looking for a snack.
I think my favourite meal so far has to be the Pork and Oregano Sausages, which we had with a spring onion mash and apple sauce.
Final Thoughts
Apart from the delicious food, what I liked about Hello Fresh is just the total convenience. No need to go to the supermarket to find that one obscure ingredient for a pasta dish!
Every single ingredient is used, so there is no food waste at all. Measured-out spices means there’s no need to buy several jars that clutter up the kitchen and never get used.
All our ingredients have been fresh and had plenty of days left on Best Before/Use By Dates, however, in my Facebook group one of our members has said her ingredients haven’t been great.
I love that the outer packaging is recyclable and the PET liner that insulates to keep the contents cool is made from old plastic bottles. There is still quite a lot of plastic packaging for the food items. Looking on the Hello Fresh website they are conscious of reducing their plastic waste and have already made some changes, such as replacing larger plastic trays for certain vegetables and meat with ‘skin packs’ that use less material.
