If you know me, then you know I’m not a fan of cooking. Something about being in the kitchen, slaving away (I’m a bit dramatic, I know) over the stove just bores me. I guess I’m just impatient. And I’m definitely not very confident in my cooking abilities, so I’m always having to double check my recipes and it always ends up being the biggest headache. One of my very best friends was nice enough to share a discount code for Hello Fresh (shoutout to you Taylor!!!). I’ve seen Hello Fresh endorsed by a lot of celebrities and bloggers, but I was always a little skeptical. How did they really feel about it? Was it something they used other than the one time? How do you ship products that are supposed to be refrigerated? Taylor’s code allowed me to find out the answers to all these questions for free! Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about Hello Fresh!
What is Hello Fresh?
On their website*, Hello Fresh claims to be the leading global provider of fresh food at home. Basically, when you sign up you’re agreeing to a monthly subscription that will provide you with “wholesome home-cooked meals with no planning, no shopping and no hassle required.” This also peaked my interest, because I hate going to the grocery store. Anyone else with me? So, after Taylor gave me this code I visited the Hello Fresh website to pick my meals for the week. I like to think of myself as a pretty tech savvy individual. But y’all…I had the hardest time figuring out how to sign up for this thing. I made my account without any problems, but something about the actual process of choosing which meals I wanted was difficult for me. Has anyone else experienced this issue? Maybe it’s just me, I honestly don’t know.
How Does It Work?
After I figured out how to navigate the website, I signed up for a meal plan. The free code was only good for up to $75ish I believe, so I signed up for the Classic Plan. This plan gets you 4 meals for 2 people. I was offered six different meal choices (pictured below).
As you can see, I chose the Chicken Under a Zucchini Blanket, Lasanga-Baked Fusilli, Dukkah-Crusted Cod, and Meatballs on Top of Cavatappi. Now, I’ll be honest with y’all…I had a minor freakout when I saw the options. I am a picky eater, and I usually like everything plain. I’m not fancy when it comes to food. But I’m trying to broaden my horizons a little bit, so I chose the ones that sounded the most appetizing. Since I am currently living at home, I let my parents pick a meal they thought they would enjoy. They chose the Dukkah-Crusted Cod, which terrified me because I had never heard of a Dukkah-Crusted anything before. I looked at my work schedule and tried to pick a delivery time that would allow me to be at home, so I could quickly get the food into the fridge (I’m really concerned about temperatures for meat…food poisoning is a very real fear don’t judge me).
What’s the Delivery Process?
Online, it gave me the option to choose a drop off time and location. It also gave a space for you to type any special instructions (like if you lived in an apartment you can ask them to leave your box with the doorman, ect). I placed my order and anxiously waited for my food to arrive at my door. The box arrived on the day it was supposed to, and I also received an email telling me when it was on its way to my house. I thought that was a nice added touch. This box was huge and very heavy. I opened it to find a large cooler bag on top of two huge ice packs. This definitely made me feel more comfortable about the contents. Everything was boxed for each separate meal, which made the preparation super quick and easy.
Paisley likes Hello Fresh, too
Were the Meals Easy to Make?
Ok, so confession. This week ended up being a really busy week for me at work, and I had a lot of closing shifts. Soooo, my parents ended up helping me out a little. I actually only cooked one meal myself, but I left them with a list of questions to keep in mind as they were making each meal. My parents made the Dukkah-Crusted Cod with Cranberry Couscous and Roasted Veggies and the Lasagna-Baked Fusilli with Kale and Mozzarella. When I got home from work they had set up the cod on a nice plate and taken pictures of it for me! They are seriously the best. They wouldn’t tell me anything about either meal, because they wanted me to make an unbiased opinion. I actually really liked the dukkah-crusted cod! I was surprised too. Apparently dukkah is an Egyptian spice, just in case any of you were wondering. The cranberries paired really well with the cod, and I actually loved the brussels sprouts! My mom thought the directions were a little confusing for this particular recipe. Unfortunately I wasn’t a big fan of the lasagna, but my parents both liked it. My dad thought the lasagna was fairly easy to make, but he did say it would have been easier with two people. I decided to make the chicken under a zucchini blanket with mashed potatoes and green beans, because honestly this seemed like the one I would like the most. Plus, I like anything made from a potato. Overall, I felt like the directions were pretty simple for this recipe. It took me a long time to make this meal, though. This was most likely due to the fact that I don’t have a lot of cooking experience. Despite my inabilities, the meal turned out really good! This was definitely my favorite meal. I haven’t had a chance to make the meatballs on top of cavitappi. I promise to update you when I make it, though!
Is It Worth It?
To be honest, I’m still a little torn on this one. For me living at home and working nights, I don’t think it’s worth it for me. I think the thing I like most about Hello Fresh is the convenience. It’s nice not to have to go to the grocery store and search for things on a long list, and I really liked the big recipe cards for each meal. According to their website, each meal ended up approximately $10 per person. I can’t help feeling like I could find the ingredients and make these meals for less, but again I think you’re probably paying for convenience. I also appreciate the fact that you can skip weeks. For example, if you come across a week where none of the meals are really appetizing to you, there is an option to skip that week. I think Hello Fresh would be ideal if I lived alone and worked a job that made my evenings available to cook! This is definitely something I’d like to try again in the future. If you want to try Hello Fresh for yourself, follow the instructions below to save money on your first order!
*Click the link at the beginning of my post. If you use the code NIKGARR at this link, you can get $40 0ff your first delivery! If you try it be sure to let me know what you think!
