I’ve written before about my curiosity about the different meal subscription service offerings. I was given the opportunity to try Home Chef as part of a review program. Then I was offered a code to Blue Apron from a friend for a free week. I had a couple of more deliveries from Blue Apron after my first but for the most part my opinion of these dinner in a box program remains the same - if I were working I’d love them but for my current situation they just don’t make sense. We grow most of our food and I love to cook and create recipes.
Finding Something New
I did find myself with an opportunity to try a new service, Hello Fresh. I was reading my friend’s blog, Yes/No Detroit and she had tried them and liked them and had a referral link to get a really big discount so I figured I’d give it a try. You can check out her review and get the same deal by going to Yes/No Detroit Hello Fresh Review. You will also read Liz’s thoughts on the other services she has tried. While you are there check out her blog - it’s really great!
Hello Fresh Meal Delivery Service
Hello Fresh has a broader choice of plans than what I remember from Blue Apron and Home Chef. There are 15 different meal choices each week which is wonderful. That gives you a really broad menu from which to choose. When you sign up you can pick either a veggie plan, a classic plan or a family plan. You are also offered how many recipes you want per week, either 2, 3 or 4.
As with the other plans the box comes once a week and you can skip weeks as you choose. One of the main differences in the packing. Hello Fresh puts each meals’ non meat components in a brown bag. The meat is shipped separately so as to not contaminate anything. To me this is good and bad; good because everything you need is in one place, bad because the instructions are to store it in the refrigerator. But not everything belongs in the ‘fridge such as tomatoes or potatoes.
What Recipes Did I Make?
I chose a three recipe plan. The other thing that Hello Fresh offers are Premium recipes. These do cost extra above the regular weekly charge - for example the duck meal that I made cost an additional $10. Speaking of the duck, it was delicious. The hubby and I hadn’t had duck in a dog’s age so when I saw it as a menu choice I knew I had to have it even with the additional charge.
As with all of the meal subscription service plans you are sent just about everything you need. I only had to provide salt, pepper and olive oil. The asparagus was a nice treat for the hubby. Around this time of year we are both craving fresh vegetables since we’ve been eating out of the freezer for months.
Cooking duck breast is not hard, it just requires a touch of patience. Just cook with even, steady, medium heat until the fat side is cooked down and crispy brown. Then turn it over for a bit to cook to a perfect medium rare.
This duck was delicious and I was so happy with this meal. The potatoes were finished in the duck fat and the vegetables just simply pan fried. It was simple but heavenly.
Two More Meals
The second meal was also a simple classic - sliced steak with a caprese salad. If you ask me the combination of mozzarella, basil and tomatoes is the perfect food. I wait all summer long for the tomatoes to come in so I can have this meal.
This meal was also a delight. Crisp, roasted potatoes rounded out the dinner. It was a little taste of summer in the middle of winter and I loved it.
The third meal was not as good I’m sorry to note. Neither one of us thought it was anything special. It was barbecue chicken breast with a quick mac and cheese with green beans.
Heaven knows I eat enough green beans all year round but that was the option with the dinner. That is one of the downsides to these meal subscription service plans - you get what you get. If you don’t like a component of a meal you are stuck. This was an adequate dinner but nothing great.
Would I Order Hello Fresh Again?
I would. The quality of the meat and vegetables sent was very good and two out of three recipes were tasty and were something I’d make again. I will be utilizing a meal subscription service very soon as a matter of fact. There one exception to what I mentioned above - when the hubby goes away I don’t tend to cook for myself. If I have the box come though, I will because I will enjoy the novelty. So when the time comes I will look through the menus of the various services and see what strikes my fancy.
If you want to try Hello Fresh do head over to Yes/No Detroit and take advantage of the referral link.
