With summer just around the corner, I'm determined to end my reliance on takeout and frozen meals and take up cooking and eating healthier, with a better balance of fresh ingredients. I'm tired of nodding off into a food coma every night and waking up feeling groggy. I'm not exactly a pro in the kitchen, so I knew if I was going to stick to my healthy eating goals I would need some help.

A few friends from work have been using HelloFresh, a weekly meal kit service that delivers all the fresh, pre-portioned ingredients you need to make delicious dinners from scratch. They're always posting pictures on social media of what they have cooked each night but, even though they did look delicious - it still wasn't enough to pry me away from the temptation of my favorite Chinese takeout. Old habits die hard…

When I looked into HelloFresh, I saw that they offered a huge variety of meals from cuisines around the world that are jammed packed full of flavor. Not only were HelloFresh's recipes full of fresh, healthy veggies, but each meal was also perfectly portioned, meaning that I would no longer binge and over eat like I always do when I order take out. It sounded perfect for people like us who want to eat fresh, wholesome dinners, but aren't the best in the kitchen. I loved that you could clearly see the calorie amount of each recipe before you ordered them, too. It seemed like an easy way for my wife and I to help kick-start better eating habits in a way that was easy, quick and - best of all - would save me having to face the supermarket scrum after work. Here's what happened:

When my first box arrived, my wife didn't actually believe that I was proposing to make dinner, which makes sense since I think I've only cooked twice the entire time we've been married! Determined to prove her wrong, I sent her out of the kitchen and told her to relax and watch the TV while I worked up some dinner magic - but to be honest, I had a pre made dinner in the fridge in case I messed up. Luckily, HelloFresh made the whole cooking process completely fool-proof. I decided to cook the Chinese Chicken & Noodle Stir Fry first. We love Chinese cuisine, so I was excited to be able to recreate those flavors at home! The detailed step-by-step recipe cards even had photos so I was able to see exactly what I was meant to be doing. As the ingredients were all pre-portioned, there was no waste or mess left once I'd finished cooking. Safe to say - the frozen back up dinner remained untouched! In about 35 minutes, I had dinner on the table before my wife even finished watching her show.

At 656 kcal a portion, the stir fry was about half the calories of our usual go-to takeout meal and so much more flavorful. I was genuinely surprised at how delicious, fresh and filling it was. I never thought that the HelloFresh meals would fill me up, but they've all been satisfying and kept me full all night without weighing me down. All of the recipes we've tried so far have been really delicious and I'm enjoying the variety, too. My favorite meal from this week was the Roasted Mediterranean Veggies with Burrata. I've been trying to cut down on the amount of meat I have been eating, and I love that there are so many vegetarian options that actually fill you up. My wife and I have been adding at least one vegetarian recipe to our HelloFresh box each week, and are loving the meat-free meals.

We've been using HelloFresh for a couple of weeks now, and I can already notice how much better I feel eating a bigger variety of fresh foods. I have more energy and am sleeping better than I have in months. By limiting my calories to a nutritious portion and cutting out takeaways, I've lost a couple of pounds without really trying. But most importantly, for the first time ever, I've actually done a pretty good job at sticking to eating healthier. My wife and I are so pleased to have found an easy solution to shake up our dinner routines, cooking and eating healthy, wholesome food at home (although my wife is probably more excited by the fact that she now has her very own sous chef!)

Update: Our friends at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get $40 off your first HelloFresh box!