From Boiled Veggies to Culinary Bliss: My HelloFresh Journey
How Meal Delivery got me to like vegetables.
Growing up, we didn't have fancy ways to cook our veggies like roasting or grilling. No, no, no. We boiled them to mushy oblivion! Peas, corn, carrots, you name it - all swimming in a lukewarm pool of salty water. But hey, at least the butter made everything taste a little less like the 50s.
In the summer 2022, I was on a mission to switch up my dad's meal routine. So, I decided to take a chance and signed us up for HelloFresh. Over the following 2 months, we tried their pre-packaged meals and found quite a few that we enjoyed - for me it was a trial, just to see how the service worked.
Late October my mom decided she wanted to re-sign up and continue to have 2 meals delivered each week. In early October our life had flipped upside down with my father’s health and making sure we had at least two good meals a week that could be easily created, managed to take a lot of stress off our shoulders.
Just by using the meal delivery service, it allowed us to try something new, without the worry of wondering “how” it should be cooked. The meal cards, which sometimes can be challenging to follow, also taught prepping, timing, and making sure you get it right.
The biggest takeaway—I now know exactly how to cook vegetables so I’ll actually eat them. Interested? Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper for 20-30 mins at 450 degrees. Simple. Easy and delicious!
Another bonus: it’s a full meal without too much thought ready to be mixed, made, and enjoyed. Now, I get to sit back, relax, and let someone else do the thinking. It's like I've outsourced my meal prep and gained back hours of my life. I'm living the dream, well at least until I get on the road. Until then I’m stacking the recipes and discovering new ways to make food.
Tips for choosing a delivery service
If you are considering a meal delivery service, here are some tips to help you choose the right one:
Consider your dietary needs: Look for a meal delivery service that offers options that fit your dietary needs, such as vegetarian, gluten-free, or low-carb meals.
Check the menu variety: Look for a meal delivery service that offers a variety of meal options to keep your taste buds interested and ensure that you get a balanced diet.
Look for customization options: Some meal delivery services allow you to customize your meals based on your preferences or dietary restrictions. Consider if this is important to you.
Consider delivery options and fees: Make sure the delivery service can deliver to your location and check if there are any delivery fees or minimum order requirements.
Check for freshness and quality of ingredients: Look for a meal delivery service that uses fresh, high-quality ingredients and has a good reputation for food safety and quality.
Read reviews and compare prices: Check out reviews from other customers to see what they think of the service, and compare prices to make sure you're getting a good value for your money.
Consider the packaging: If you're concerned about the environmental impact of meal delivery services, look for ones that use eco-friendly packaging or allow you to return the packaging for recycling.
What HelloFresh offers | Our Pros and Cons
HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that provides pre-portioned, fresh ingredients and recipes for customers to cook at home. They offer a variety of meal plans to suit different dietary needs and preferences, including vegetarian, low-calorie, and family-friendly options.
You start by choosing the number of meals you want to receive each week, pick the day, and then look through 40ish different recipes. A big plus—You can skip or cancel deliveries at any time. We actually skipped it for two weeks in January.
The company sources its ingredients from a network of trusted suppliers and farmers and focuses on using high-quality, seasonal produce and sustainable seafood and meat. HelloFresh also aims to minimize food waste by sending only the exact amount of ingredients needed for each recipe.
It is a convenient and accessible way for anyone to enjoy home-cooked meals without the hassle of meal planning each day of the week. Instead of doordash - we make it ourselves. It’s then hot, fresh and really much healthier; cause let’s face it, in most American restaurants the healthier options are about 20% of the menu.
Would I recommend HelloFresh? Yes.
If you are like me and it’s sometimes a struggle to think outside the box of everyday meals, it’s a refreshing change to “the comfort” of the same meals every few weeks.
