Hey vegetarians: Hands up if you’re sick of pasta! Yeah, me too. So many restaurant menus only have one option for vegos, and it’s always veggie lasagne or a mushroom risotto. I love going out to dinner with my friends, but sometimes I get so frustrated I skip it to make something at home instead. Of course, whipping up something at home takes time and planning. I consider myself a good cook and love going to the farmers market and getting seasonal veggies, but lately I always resort to the same old dishes. That was, until a friend introduced me to the HelloFresh Vegetarian Meal Kit: pre-planned recipes, with all the exact ingredients, delivered right to your door.

While I had heard about meal kits before, I was intrigued by the fact that I could easily get vegetarian options – people always forget about us! I was excited to try this, but I was also skeptical about a few things. The portion sizes, the freshness of the veggies, and would I really enjoy the meals they sent me to cook? Recently I was invited to a dinner party and my friend (who knew I was a vegetarian) was serving chicken — she thought it was fine if I ate salad for dinner. Or the time my dad made tacos and thought shredded lettuce and tomatoes on a hard shell would work as veggie tacos? So my expectations were low. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the portions to be perfect (I often even have leftovers) and the locally grown veggies all top quality, sourced by HelloFresh themselves. Plus, I got to choose my own recipes so could always pick what I wanted.

The first HelloFresh meal I cooked was better than any vegetarian meal I’ve eaten out, even at restaurants known for their veggie options. It was a Spinach and Lentil Dahl with Yoghurt and Spiced Chapati I love curries and dahls – but it’s not often they come without chicken. Not only was it simple to whip up, but I couldn’t believe how much flavour I could actually get out of a quick dish. Normally I only have the time, energy, and inspiration to make just a main dish and never a side dish, but because HelloFresh sends you the pre-portioned ingredients, you can create meals with multiple different elements, and all in just 30 minutes, too.

While I love my food preferences, I think my fellow vegetarians and I can agree on the fact that our lifestyle choices can make dinner a bit more difficult. Even though there are increased veggie options out there, they often come at a hefty price or lack flavor. Eating out is frustrating and when I come home from work, I am just in no mood to scour the web for exciting recipes and then trek to the supermarket to shop. With HelloFresh, I not only get everything I need delivered right to my door, but I get exciting recipes to try with step by step instructions too! I’ve even kept some of the recipe cards so I can make them again some time.

Go ahead and try it, whether you’re a vegetarian or just want to get more veggies into your life. I actually managed to convert a few of my carnivorous friends into veggie-lovers because of my amazing dahl!

Update: The team at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get up to $90 in savings on your HelloFresh order, including free shipping on the first delivery!