When it comes to trying news foods and services, I have one rule. I’ll try almost anything once. And while there are a lot of things I want to love and use regularly, I know my dietary restrictions don’t always allow it. One of the more recents attempts was a week of meals from HelloFresh*. We’ve all seen the youtube ads, the many bloggers cooking at home and the instagram spam with food pics. I’ll happily admit it suckered me in. So today I thought I’d share my experience with HelloFresh.
A little disclaimer before we hop in. Hello Fresh has recently teamed up with Green Chef to accommodate more restrictive diets i.e. vegan, gluten-free, paleo, etc. However, this isn’t something you’re likely to figure out from their website. I got an email letting me know the day I sat down to originally write this post. I haven’t had the chance to try the new meals. But I did notice they were more expensive than the traditional HelloFresh choices.
Which Products Did I Try?
We opted to try the Classic Plan. There are several dietary requirements in our household so I wanted to go with the basics and see if I could work from there. The three recipes we got for the week: Crushed Peppercorn Steak (for my parents), Chopped Chicken Thigh Tacos (parents & potentially me), Pronto Chicken White Pizzas (parents).
How Does It Taste?
From what I was able to try, it was okay. My parents enjoyed the other dishes and had no complaints.
What’s The Price?
I opted for the 2 person plan with 3 meals. And because everyone seems to have a code floating around, I ended up paying only $30 for the week. Considering I do all the grocery shopping and we don’t eat out much, it was fairly cheap.
WHAT’S THE SHIPPING LIKE?
The plans come with free shipping.
WHO IS HELLOFRESH FOR?
If you’re someone who loves to cook or likes a fancy meal, I don’t think you’ll be impressed. But if you’re someone who can’t be bothered to grocery shop and wants to cook at home more, HelloFresh* is for you.
WHAT DID I LOVE ABOUT IT?
Everything is portioned out really well. You don’t have to worry about shopping or sourcing anything. It’s just all there for you and divided up by recipes. The recipes were easy to make. And the step by step instructions make it perfect for anyone who is new to cooking.
WHAT DID I NOT LOVE ABOUT IT?
This is where my dietary restrictions come into play. I’m somewhere between Paleo & Plant Based with my diet. And I’m fairly flexible with things as far as eating goes. However, there are things I just don’t eat for my own health reasons and that made my options VERY limited with HelloFresh. Of all the available meals for the week we ordered, only 3 of them were chicken. But all of those with chicken also included dairy & gluten.
If you have a dairy or gluten sensitivity, it’s going to be challenging to work with the recipes. And yes, I’m sure you could make them work. However, I think in the end it’s probably more work than you really want if you’re opting for HelloFresh. I wanted to make the recipes work more for me but in the end, trying to adapt them wasn’t worth it. And I ended up making the traditional meals and just giving them to my family.
WILL I USE THEM AGAIN?
Everyone in my household eats differently. It’s what happens when a 89, 63 and 27 year old live under the same roof. More often than not, I stick with the healthier options for the bulk of our meals and then add according to the person. One gets breaded chicken, one gets grilled chicken and another might just skip the chicken all together. It works. But on the random chance I feel like cooking for our 89 year old that is the pickiest eater in the house, HelloFresh is great! For now, it just requires too much adaptation to meet the dietary needs of 2/3 of the house.
ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
Overall, the experience was great. I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of meal options. And I definitely don’t think it’s worth it if you’re limited by certain dietary restrictions. But I can see why so many people love it. I think if I tried again, I’d opt for the Green Chef version instead. Nevertheless, I’m glad I gave it a go and know it’s not the right fit for me.
