It seems like just about every influencer is sponsored by a meal kit company. And on top of seeing people post about them all the time, I get a lot of coupons from them in the mail. And I don’t know about you, but I hardly see anyone use services like Hello Fresh that actually paid for it. Only influencers who are paid to give you their reviews. So I often wonder if it’s actually worth it. I finally decided to give it a try a few weeks back so I could share my thoughts with you.
We ordered a 3 meal box for 4 servings. I ordered the box with a discount code (I believe it was the Black Friday Sale). With the discount, I received 53% off my first box with free shipping. I’ll receive 27% off for my second delivery, 15% off for deliveries 3-6, and 14% off of deliveries 7 and 8. So far, I’ve only done one box, and paid $47.88 with the discount.
What is the cost?
I saw a lot of Instagrammers say that it was cheaper than the grocery store to get a meal kit like this. And for our family, that’s completely false. If you are buying without a discount, it comes out to just over $8 per serving. The meals that include more expensive meats cost more per serving. The cost of shipping for us was $10.99. So a box with 3 meals (12 servings total) without any discount would cost us $112.87. That’s just for 3 dinners. I typically spend at most $175 each week at the grocery store for an entire week of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks for our family of 5. So for our family, it is definitely not cheaper than the grocery store. This could be different for your family and budget though.
Are the meals good?
Yes! Of the three meals we got, they were so good. We picked pork sausage rigatoni in a creamy sauce, brown sugar bourbon pork chops, and citrus pork tacos. Each of them were amazing. My husband and I both enjoyed them all. I will definitely keep the recipes and make them over and over again.
The meals change each week, so you might have different options when you sign up. When I signed up, each week had over 30 meals to choose from. The most popular dishes are listed under “Hall of Fame.” They also had some brunch and lunch options available. Our plan showed several vegan and vegetarian options as well.
Are the meals difficult to cook? Are the estimated cook times correct?
The difficulty of the meals will really depend on how comfortable you are in the kitchen. I like to cook and feel comfortable cooking, and I found the recipes to be pretty straightforward. They have pictures to go along with each step as well. I also liked that each recipe card included a little tip, so I learned a cool new trick each night.
As for the cook times – I found that they took me probably 20 minutes longer than the recipe card said. During each night, I did have a lot of distractions from kids, so that was a factor. And it took me a lot longer to wash, chop and prep the ingredients than expected. But I am usually pretty slow with chopping anyway. I did find it helpful to read through the full recipe a couple times before I began cooking.
Is it hard to skip weeks or cancel?
You can easily skip a box in the app. In the app, go to the delivery date you wish to skip, and click on “edit delivery.” From here you will be able to reschedule your delivery date, change the size of your box, donate the box, or skip the week. However, no changes to your delivery can be made within 5 days of your delivery date. So just be sure you skip boxes in advance. Right now, I am able to skip up to 5 weeks out in my app.
If you want to cancel all together, you will need to log into your account in your browser (not in the app). Once you’re logged in, go to Account Settings. There will be an option under Plan Settings to cancel the plan.
Would you do it again? Was it worth it?
I would do it again! This definitely wouldn’t be a weekly thing for us because of the cost. But I think on busy weeks or vacations, I will keep this as an option. One thing I loved about this was that I picked which meals I wanted, but I didn’t have to think at all about what I needed at the store to make those meals. The convenience was amazing. I actually wished that I had thought of using a meal kit service like Hello Fresh when my husband and I were first married. We both worked full time and cutting the grocery shopping out would have been so helpful!
In fact, there were several scenarios where I think this would be an amazing option:
- Couples or young families with busy schedules. All you have to do is pick your meals, and the ingredients show up at your door. The meals are delicious without taking hours of your time.
- If you are learning to cook and aren’t sure where to start. I think this would be so good for someone who is learning to cook. The recipes are straightforward. They have made it as easy as possible to make each meal. They also include a helpful tip on each recipe card so you will learn something new. I actually picked the pork chop meal because I hardly ever cook them and don’t know what to do with them.
- On vacation. If you are staying in an Airbnb, and you still want to eat well, I think something like Hello Fresh would be so smart. Have it sent to your rental, and you don’t have to run to the store. You will get delicious meals on vacation, without spending all that money on eating out every night.
- College Students. Okay, the cost is high. But how great would this be as a ‘care package’ to a college student. Send them a gift card to Hello Fresh, and they won’t have to eat ramen or cereal every night after class. If you have a college student, and you want to make sure they are eating well, this is such a great gift.
- Postpartum. After each of my babies were born, I went through a phase where I just didn’t want to cook anything for a few months. I love actually being in the kitchen and cooking, but trying to plan out meals and grocery lists and everything was just too much postpartum. I will definitely keep this in mind after our next baby.
If you have had other questions about our experience with Hello Fresh, comment below! Or if you have tried it, let me know which meals were your favorite so I can keep an eye out for them!
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