I was recently introduced to HelloFresh, a home food-delivery service that sends you all the necessities to pull together a fresh, delicious, nutritious and well-balanced home cooked meal. For subscribers, your weekly box contains 3 meals per week and can be meals for 2 or 4 people.
I gave the service a whirl a couple of weeks ago. You can go online to select your 3 meals from 5 choices (here’s a look at next week’s options) and then on Monday you can expect your box to arrive with all the necessary ingredients and recipe cards.
[thought this veggie highlight card was fun, although none of my recipes actually contained the beloved acorn squash!]
I strategically had the box delivered the Monday after the Chicago marathon, a week that I knew I’d have low energy and zero desire to go grocery shopping.
For my three meals I selected Panko-Crusted Trout with Lemon-Butter Sauce, Parsnip Mash and Crispy Broccoli, Homestyle Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Gravy, and Brussels Sprout Prosciutto Flatbread with Fresh Pesto and Mozzarella (all recipes are available online HERE).
What I like about this box is that within the large box are smaller boxes containing all the ingredients for each meal, this makes it easy to know what you need for each meal and also keeps your fridge nice and tidy.
First I made the panko-crusted trout. I don’t think I’ve ever made trout and this one was delicious. I was a little turned off because the fish came with a tail (ew!), but other than that ick factor from the cooking perspective, it was a tasty meal. My only complaint was that when I cook at home, I tend to amp up the veggie portion and would have liked more broccoli.
[gimmie more!]
[finished product]
The next night I was going to make the chicken fried steak but I was so tired, I made MM make it for me. Aside from exhaustion, I made him cook it because pan frying meat seems messy and I was not in the mood. Two thumbs up for MM’s cooking. I’m not a huge fan of potatoes and peas as my side dish though, they are both too starchy and would have preferred something more nutritiously balanced and interesting.
Onto the next meal! I made the flatbread over the weekend and this was by far my favorite dish. It was super easy and oh-so-good. I had trouble spreading out the dough because when I pulled the dough ball out of the fridge, I then read on the directions that you should take it out a bit before cooking because at room temperature it’s easier to deal with. When I’m hungry I’m not one to wait, so I dealt with the cold dough. This meant that my flatbread was more condensed and therefore piled crazy high with toppings, I’m not complaining! The only one complaining was Ollie because I didn’t share.
[before the final cooking stage]
[football and pizza, yes and yes]
[sorry Ollzies!]
After my week of cooking with HelloFresh I’m ready to share the pros and cons of this delivery service:
Pros: Easy to follow recipes, well-balanced meals, fresh ingredients, solid portions, dietician-approved, makes life easy with no need to grocery shop
Cons: I like to eat Paleo and this isn’t, two pan-fried meals in the same week felt repetitive, the sides could have been more interesting
So what sets HelloFresh apart from the boxed food delivery service? They have a fully licensed R.D. on staff that sets nutritional standards for all recipes. With your box you have access to nutrition panels, giving customers full transparency to the quality of recipes and ingredients.
I recommend giving HelloFresh a try. There are a bunch of different similar food delivery services but each one has its unique attributes and food options so you might as well give this one a go and see if it fits your taste!
Use code SHAPINUP30 for 30% off your order!
Thank you to HelloFresh for this complimentary box! All opinions are my own.
