As someone with an autoimmune disease, it’s important to me to eat healthier, which in turn helps keep my pain and inflammation lower and makes me feel better in general. The less processed, junky, and sugary, and the more natural and healthier, the better. There’s also the waistline to think about.
As my schedule got busier, I had less time to cook my usual favorite healthy meals, and the holidays came around, and I found myself eating more and more, shall we say, “not so healthy” meals. Our habits and routines can shift over time, so I wanted to try meal kits like HelloFresh to see if they could help me eat more wholesome, natural foods despite my limited time.
What is HelloFresh?
HelloFresh delivers boxes of groceries to your door. The fresh ingredients come with recipe cards that tell you how to make home-cooked meals in your own kitchen. You can choose from over 2,500 dinner recipes and different plans, like quick meals ready in less than 30 minutes and kid-friendly recipes for picky eaters.
The delivery
The ingredients and recipe cards were delivered together in a neat little package and a HelloFresh box. The step-by-step recipe cards come with nutritional information. The ingredients come sandwiched between big ice blocks, so the food arrived nice and cold with everything intact. Overall, the groceries were pretty fresh on arrival. The meat comes packaged separately, like ground beef packets and chicken cutlets.
There isn’t excessive packaging, and HelloFresh encourages you to fold your box and place it with your curbside recyclables.
Following the recipes
The first step is the prep. I washed and dried the produce before doing the chopping, which was pretty quick and straightforward. In my experience, the timing of the recipes overall is fairly accurate, though there were some steps that took a few minutes longer, but that depends on your stove, appliances, and other factors. I used an electric cooktop for the mango pork salsa, for example.
I didn’t have any sugar because I’d run out, and I don’t usually have much sugar at home anyway. HelloFresh expects you to have certain ingredients on hand, like salt, pepper, and sugar. It isn’t a big deal because, in this case, I made do with some maple syrup instead of sugar, and my caramelized onions turned out perfect.
Are the dishes delicious?
Honestly, the pork mango salsa really did make me want to dance like the song because it was rewarding and delicious. The garlic aioli Swiss cheeseburger really did taste like I had visited a gourmet restaurant or gastro bar with quality ingredients.
More sour cream, anyone?
The sour cream packet was a little small for the two-person dinner, and having two packets would have been preferable, especially if you like to go heavy on the sour cream. Some dishes could use a little more herbs, depending on your preference. For example, there were only a few small sprigs of cilantro for the two-person mango pork salsa dish. The cheeseburger aioli dinner had one slice of cheese per burger.
Are there leftovers?
I didn’t have any leftovers, which would have been nice for my efforts and making a mess in the kitchen. That being said, the recipes did aim to include limited pots, pans, and cutting boards. I like to cook bigger portions and have leftovers, but with the “two-person box,” we were out of luck. While the portion sizes are reasonable, it might not be enough if you or your family member is a big eater.
In summary
HelloFresh might not be ideal for the big eaters, those who want lots of meat or lots of leftovers, and those trying to avoid the chopping and much of the prepping. Some people say it’s more affordable to shop for groceries yourself; we have to keep in mind that we’re also paying for the convenience, the delivery, and the chef-created recipes (which are especially palatable, and I’m still thinking about that garlic aioli Swiss cheeseburger). In addition, it’s a learning experience, where you get to learn how to make tasty new dishes.
In my experience, here are the many positives of the HelloFresh meal kits:
- You don’t have to scour recipes and pick out all the groceries. If you want to choose specific recipes, you can easily do so online, where you have access to a menu of over 60 weekly recipes.
- The chef-created recipe cards are user-friendly and fairly easy to follow.
- The meal kits are delicious.
- Most portion sizes are reasonable.
- HelloFresh allows you to cancel, change meals, or skip a week at any time, as long as you do so by your cutoff of 11:59 p.m. PST five days before your delivery. You can also manage everything on the mobile app if you’d like.
- Delivery times are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the day of your choice, and you have a good few days to cook the food, so you’re not in a major rush to cook everything the night it arrives.
- At the time of writing, HelloFresh accommodates specific allergies, dietary preferences, and restrictions, including gluten-free, low-carb, and vegetarian. You can also choose from two to six people and options for teams and employees.
Concluding thoughts
HelloFresh provides convenience, and for many people, it’s probably easier than choosing a recipe and hoping it’s a good one, going to the store, picking out all of the ingredients, and measuring them. You still have to chop, do some prepping, and cook the food, but the final result is a tasty meal that feels like you went to a snazzy restaurant, which gives you a sense of pride and satisfies your palate.
