We all know I like to talk meal planning and how to make that work for your family. There are many different ways to tackle meal planning and trying to get a healthy meal on the table each night. What if the ingredients and recipes were delivered…like right to your door? I’d like for you to say “Hello” to Hello Fresh!
Every week or so, someone in your house is responsible for getting to the grocery store, deciding what you are eating and then getting out a recipe and cooking it. What if there was another way? What if someone ELSE did the recipe planning, shopping and even some of the prep work? What if a BOX of healthy, seasonal, farm fresh ingredients was delivered…right to your door? This could be a game-changer for some people!
Last week one of those boxes was delivered to my door and I’m not going to lie, it was pretty darn exciting! I had done a freezer meal cook the week before, so knowing I had the rest of this week’s meals now covered without even going to the grocery store, was a big relief. I had gone to their website and looked at their different meal plans. They have a Pronto Plan, which is quick and easy meals, a Veggie Plan focused on grains and vegetarian options, and then a Family Plan, which is the one I chose.
When you open up your insulated box you will find each meal has its own individual box with the ingredients in each. Also included was a detailed recipe card with step by step instructions. Underneath the three boxes, was another layer of ice packs and the frozen meat and fish.
Once you have an account set up, you can choose your meals from that week’s offerings according to your selected plan. I went with Classic Beef Pie with Crunchy Phyllo Pastry, Pan Seared Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Creamy Dill Sauce and Salmon Cakes with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Tomato Salad. These are all meals I knew my family would enjoy, and enjoy we did!
I noticed a couple of things from the Hello Fresh meal kits. The first is that you are actually “cooking”. Even though a box with groceries and recipes shows up…you still have to actually cook! Most of the prep work is done, which does save some time, and there are step by step instructions so these would be great for people who want to learn how cook or even for teenagers you may be trying to teach some kitchen skills to. All the ingredients are included, with the exception in my plan being a little olive oil and salt and pepper.
There is little to no food waste with the Hello Fresh meal delivery. Even with my typical meal planning that I do, I sometimes feel like I am wasting a fair bit of food. Their pre-portioned meals helps reduce waste by 47%! I will say I struggled with what looked like a lot of packaging waste, but in reading through their literature, I know some of it is to ensure freshness of ingredients. They also include a brochure of information on their sustainable packaging and their commitment to reducing food and packaging waste. I still think there are ways to improve on this and have already sent them my thoughts. 😉
One other thing I noticed right away….the meals were delicious! They were actually a bit “fancy” compared to our usual family fare, but it actually inspired me to branch out a bit more in my meal planning. The Classic Beef Pie was really tasty and had a phyllo pastry top that actually made it look really beautiful! I typically top my Beef/Shepherd’s Pie, with mashed potatoes…but I’m definitely going to try phyllo pastry again!
The Pan Seared Chicken with Creamy Dill Sauce was also so flavourful! This was my son’s favourite. Very easy to prepare served with roasted potatoes and green beans, but it was the dill sauce that made this extra special.
We also tried the Salmon Cakes with Roasted Sweet Potato and Tomato Salad. This one might have been my personal favourite. I love fish cakes and have never thought to make them with salmon. It was delicious and just right with the roasted sweet potato and salad. The sweet potatoes were already diced and prepared and I found they were small for the roasting time suggested, so you have to watch that one for not burning or cooking too quickly. Other than that all the instructions that were included were very easy to complete and understand.
After trying the Hello Fresh meal delivery, I can easily see who this could work well for, people who don’t have a lot of time, people who like to cook and try new things, people who want to learn how to cook, empty-nesters who are only cooking for 2 people, etc. I could totally see this working for my family during a busy week, with having all the ingredients prepped and the step by instructions that are included, the first one home could get supper started. Ahhhh….;)
You can check Hello Fresh out Eat Fresh & Healthy – Shop Now for our Meal Plans at HelloFresh.ca! and you can also use the code Jennifer50 to get 50% off your first purchase! What a great way to try it out and say “hello” to “Hello Fresh”. 🙂
I was provided a meal delivery kit from Hello Fresh to review, but all opinions are my own.
