Cottage Loving

My Experience with Hello Fresh

Food + Recipes

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We tried both Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. Honestly, I wasn’t a fan of Blue Apron, but I’m really liking Hello Fresh!

What is it?

Hello Fresh is a food delivery service that delivers the necessary ingredients for home cooked meals right to your door. Most meals are ready in about 30 minutes.

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(By the way, this is not a sponsorship from Hello Fresh, but if you decide that you do what to try it, you get $40 off your first box and I’ll also get a $20 credit. Just letting you know.)

How it works

Select which plan you want – Vegetarian, Classic, or Family. You can choose how many servings and how many recipes. For example, we chose the classic plan for two people for three recipes per week.

Select the meals you want from their weekly menu. There are plenty to choose from.

They deliver fresh food and ingredients straight to your door. Step-by-step instructions and nutritional info included too!

Here’s what we chose this week:

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Packaging + Quality

I must say, I was very impressed with the packaging. Shipping cold perishable food items? They do it well.

  1. The box is not heavy.
  2. There’s thick insulation that doesn’t leak onto the cardboard box.
  3. The ice packs are reusable. Bonus!

When you first open the box, the recipes (printed on card stock – not flimsy paper) are on top. Below that, there’s thick insulation, then non-perishable items in paper bags, and vacuum-sealed meats are at the bottom closest to the ice packs.

I also like that you don’t have to sort anything. Ingredients for each meal are all in one bag – simple and organized. Also, the bags fit very well in the fridge.

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(a little sneak peak inside our fridge)

I loved pulling the bags from the fridge and having everything right there for me. I left the paper bag on the counter and put all my trash in there as I went for easy cleanup. Most of their packaging is recyclable too and they encourage that.

The quality of ingredients is excellent. Fresh, crisp and some items are even organic. Here’s what came in the bags this week:

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(Spanish One-Pan Chicken Ingredients)

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(Crispy Cheddar Frico Burger Ingredients)

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(Speedy Steak Fajitas Ingredients)

In case you were wondering about the meats:

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WHAT I LIKED:

  • The meals were delicious. Misha was very complimentary on my cooking skills. 😉 WIN.
  • Delivered to my door. You can’t beat that.
  • Quality of ingredients – healthy and fresh.
  • Option to select which meals you want from their menu.
  • Didn’t really have to think about anything besides choosing which meals I wanted for the week.
  • Easy enough to embellish or add to (because y’all know I can’t follow a recipe – haha!)
  • Great way to get out of a cooking rut.
  • Portion control (although there aren’t really any leftovers – con)
  • Very little waste. They send only what you need in the amount you need it.
  • Love the simplicity of it.
  • Minimal prep time.
  • Easy cancellation.
  • You can pause your subscription (like if you go out of town or just want to skip a week).

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Pretty spot-on, right? It looks and tastes good!

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

  • No leftovers.
  • It’s a little pricey ($10 per person per meal) Not terrible though – especially delivered. I’m doing a little experiment of my own to see if it helps save us on our monthly grocery bill long term. I’ll be sure to check back in with an update.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

The reason why I tried it in the first place was because you can get your first box for half the price. At $5 per person per meal…that’s just worth a shot.

We’re going on week four of Hello Fresh. I’ll admit, at first I was very skeptical, but overall I’m loving it. Even at full price. I like cooking and meal planning and all that, but sometimes going to the grocery store with a two year old is just a struggle.

I still come up with a couple of other meals to cook each week (especially in my slow cooker) in addition to the Hello Fresh meals. I just like having the peace of mind that those Hello Fresh meals are there in the fridge without any extra planning on my part.

In this season of my life, I like the simplicity of it. I mean, how much easier does it get?!

Want to give it a try? Get $40 off your first box and let me know what you think.

Missy Signature

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