If you listen to podcasts, you know that everyone from amateur sleuths to bestselling authors are trying to tell you how great meal kits are. Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated, the list goes on. A year or two ago, they started popping up just about everywhere.
When I moved off-campus into an apartment, I told myself I would learn to cook. Then, I spent an entire semester eating just about every variation of pasta ever invented. So, when I got an email about a Hello Fresh offer discounting your first order, I decided to try it.
Here’s what happens: Once a week, you get a big insulated box filled with brown bags that contain everything you need for each recipe, along with its step-by-step instructions. The ingredients are measured exactly, so if you need 5 teaspoons of white wine vinegar, you get just that much vinegar in a tiny bottle. I get 3 recipes a week (the most you can get) that serve 2 people. Then, I cook enough for 2 one night, save the leftovers, eat the leftovers the next night, and repeat.
Now that it’s been about four weeks, here’s my weighing of the pros and cons of a Hello Fresh subscription:
Pros:
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I’m a vegetarian, so I got the “Veggie Box,” and honestly, I’m discovering that I actually like some vegetables I’d thought I hated. I’m eating things I wouldn’t even order at a restaurant. For example, their Chipotle Cheddar Mac ‘n’ Cheese with roasted cauliflower was to die for. I couldn’t tell you the last time I ate cauliflower willingly, but this was one of my favorite recipes! I’ve been saying Hello Fresh has made me a better vegetarian, and I really do believe that. It’s diversified my diet so much!
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I am definitely learning how to cook. The first meal I cooked was Caramelized Shallot Risotto, and risotto isn’t the easiest to cook. But guess what? I did it!
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I’m actually saving money on groceries. Before, I was budgeting about $100 a week on groceries. This was mostly for dinners, plus snacks and other kitchen staples. I eat lunches on campus, and grab a Luna bar for breakfast, so dinner was really my main concern. Each Hello Fresh box I get ($59 for three 2-person meals) lasts me 6 dinners. Not only am I saving money on buying the supplies to make dinner, but I have to go grocery shopping way less now! Right now, I think it’s been about 2 weeks since I last went grocery shopping, but I have over a week’s worth of meals planned out, and the supplies for them.
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You can totally impress your friends when they come over! When my friends come over for dinner, and I hand them a plate of, say, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Crema, they’re pretty impressed (and I secretly am too!).
Cons:
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The vegetarian menu is pretty limited. There are only 3 menu options per week, so you can opt out of getting something you really won’t like, but they don’t really give you much of an alternative.
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The dish washing! Okay, this might just be a me thing, but my apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher, so everything gets washed by hand. When I look at the recipe card, and it says I’ll be using “one small pan, one large pan, one baking sheet, one strainer, and one large pot,” I know it’s going to be a long and soapy night. I suppose this comes with the territory of cooking recipes that are as intricate and delicious as the ones Hello Fresh sends me, but it does overflow my sink every now and then.
The verdict:
Right now, it’s clear to me that the pros totally outweigh the cons for Hello Fresh, and this meal kit subscription has made my life so much easier and healthier. I’m obsessed! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go make Harissa Sweet Potato Pita Pockets with a Cucumber Dill Salad.