I Tried HelloFresh. Here's What Happened
The last thing that I ever, ever want to do on busy days is try put a meal together. I've got the number for our local Chinese place memorized and my freezer is pretty stocked with frozen meals for the house.
My sister has been telling me for years that I should try a meal kit, but when I do cook at home (once in a blue moon), it's always a disaster. I use every dish in the house, I forget some ingredient, I turn away and everything's burnt…
She told me she liked HelloFresh because it was foolproof (was she calling me a fool?!). Apparently, they send you the individual ingredients, perfectly portioned, along with step-by-step recipe cards.
I thought it'd be ridiculously overpriced ( and difficult to cancel), but I wanted to see what meals they offered. Was it all burgers and grilled chicken dishes?
Nope - I found my mouth watering at so many different meals. They offer over 20 recipes a week, with flavours from all around the world. I found myself staring at the Beefy Sicilian Mushroom Rigatoni Chive Cream Sauce, the One-Pan Chorizo Hash with Parsley Aioli (one pan!!), and the Cornflake-Crusted Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash, Garlic-Maple Dip, and Garlicky Broccoli. They all only took about 30 minutes, and if that was true, it'd be quicker than takeout.
I braced myself for high prices, but it was surprisingly affordable! Meals start at $8.59/pp.
I wasn't sure. The only thing I do like about home cooking is knowing that I'm using fresh produce; why order HelloFresh and get week old greens?
Apparently, they pick everything fresh from local farms, so I wouldn't be getting nasty onions or tomatoes.
I also could choose my shipment day, so the food wouldn't sit out too long. All the packaging is insulated with recyclable elements, too, so it wouldn't spoil.
I was on the brink of purchasing, but had to look at their cancellation policy; it wasn't sneaky! I could easily pause or cancel an order at any time.
That Cornflake-Crusted Chicken would not leave my mind, so I decided to try HelloFresh. If I hated it, I would at least feel vindicated.
Everything arrived when it said it would, and when I opened up my box, I saw my 3 meal ingredients in paper bags. I know it said this one would take 35 minutes, but I gave myself an hour to figure it out.
I set out all the ingredients, and noticed that they asked me to provide salt and pepper and oil, which was fine.
The meal was so easy to make! When I was done, I saw that it was almost exactly 35 minutes, which is incredible.
The chicken looked like the photo, but I couldn't believe something I made would be good. I was so wrong. It was even better than I thought; the crunchy cereal, the sweet maple, the intense garlic flavour…
Having everything I need to make weeknight dinners delivered directly to my day has been a game-changer. I'm making less trips to the grocery store, and I never realized that meal kits are actually more sustainable than grocery shopping. HelloFresh supports global and local environmentally-friendly projects, making them the first global carbon-neutral meal kit company
I really thought HelloFresh would not work for me, but it's truly foolproof. Even if you can cook, this makes everything easier, and you don't have to think that hard about dinner on a weeknight (or weekend).
