(click on photos to enlarge)
What is Hello Fresh?
Hello Fresh is a company that sends out boxes of food weekly that contain almost all of the ingredients you need to make 3 mouth-watering meals. They do the work for you of coming up with creative recipes that are good for you & use fresh food, all delivered right to your front door!
How does this work?
First, you want to check out their page to find out if they deliver in your area. If they don't but you have a near by Fed-Ex office that accepts ground shipment, you could have your box delivered there for you to pick up. From there, set up your own account then take a look at the upcoming weeks meal choices and see if it is something you would enjoy. They offer 2 types of boxes, the Classic box & the Veggie box (for those who may prefer meat-free meals). Select which kind of box you prefer. Then you can choose if you want your box to be for 2 or 4 people. If you selected the Classic box and you see a recipe you don't care for, Hello Fresh offers 2 different meals you can swap them with (not offered for the Veggie box at this time). Your order has to be placed by Wednesday night for delivery for the following Wednesday.
Speaking of delivery, no worries if you aren't home when your box of food is delivered. Those boxes are packed exceptionally well and can stay cold for a long period of time!
A keypoint about this company is just because you ordered a box one week, does not lock you into a certain number of boxes you have to have delivered. If you don't like any of the upcoming recipes for the next week, or you are going on vacation, simply pause the delivery service. You can even cancel at any point with no problem or added cost!
How we used it:
My kids were anxiously awaiting for Fed-Ex to arrive as I had shown them the recipes online we were expecting and they were drooling!! The meals we were expecting were chili dusted shrimp with corn relish, steak & brussels sprouts stir-fry and chicken quinoa stew. The box was securely wrapped and was evident it could not have been tampered with. On top were the 3 large recipe cards and then inside was all the ingredients bagged & labeled according to which meal each bag was. It was amazing how cold the inside of the box was. The large, reusable ice packs were still frozen solid!
Since the food box was delivered around supper time, we waited until the next day before we dove into making our first meal which was the chili dusted shrimp with corn relish. I love the large, colorful recipe cards that they include for each recipe. Not only does it include the list of ingredients & measurements but it also includes the nutritional info! Then on the other side, it shows pictures along with the step by step instructions of how to make this recipe. So the guess work is taken out of it for even the most novice cook.
All seasonings were pre-measured, even the garlic cloves were peeled & ready to chop up!
My kids love to cook so they really enjoyed taking over a lot of the food prep & cooking. They felt the recipe cards made it easy to know exactly what to do & they didn't think the recipes were very complicated at all to prepare.
Occasionally, there are one or 2 minor things you need to add to the dish that isn't included, like a 1 tsp of sugar but this is noted on the recipe card with an asterisk.
The second meal we made was steak & brussels sprouts stir-fry over basmati rice.
I never would've thought to put brussels sprouts in a stir-fry but let me tell ya, it was amazing!!! Browning them in the pan with a little olive oil (after quartering them up) really gave these veggies awesome flavor (I hated them as a kid). We loved the kick of heat that the jalapeno added to it.
The pic isn't smudged, that's steam coming off this yummy dish!
The third recipe we made was chicken quinoa stew. I have been cooking with quinoa for awhile so I knew we would love this recipe!
We enjoyed this soup and found it very filling, perfect for a cold, winter day!
Each meal we made was meant for 2 people but let me tell ya, those portion sizes were very generous and easily fed my older 4 kids & I for a lunch. In fact, we had some of the stew leftover for another day. All the veggies were fresh and things like the scallions & garlic were in sealed baggies so no worries of the other food all tasting like them. The meat was vacuum packed. We loved the steak & brussels sprouts stir-fry so much, I went out & got some meat & brussels sprouts to make it for another meal this week!
All in all, this was such a treat having someone come up with tasty meals AND put the food on my doorstep! I definitely felt spoiled! I think Hello Fresh would be perfect for the busy family who doesn't have time to come up with & shop for healthy food & recipes. It would also make a great gift for new parents! How about a friend or family member who lives in another state and since you can't take them a meal when they need a hand, this would make a great gift as well.
Classic Box Price (3 meals):
2 people- $69
4 people- $129
Veggie Box Prices (3 meals):
2 people- $59
4 people- $109
Pricing includes shipping!
If this sounds like something you'd like to try or to treat yourself to one week, use the code MBDSX9 to receive $40 off your first box!!!
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