In the past 3 years we have done Weight Watchers twice, ate more than we should have during and after my pregnancy (‘Don’t eat for two!’ Turns out it’s not that easy…) and started a new nutrition programme based on a container system about 6 weeks ago.
But then just over 5 weeks ago we found yet another advert for Hello Fresh – something we hadn’t considered before, but when we noticed a 50% offer we decided to give it a go and try it for a week.
We decided on Friday as our delivery day and chose the first 5 meals (see below for our opinion on the food so far). Although there are only two of us eating full meals (the amount Conor eats doesn’t count as a full portion), we made the decision to order 5 meals for 4 people – too much you’re probably thinking, but we figured that if we made enough for 4 people then we’d eat half that day and then we’d have enough for lunch the next. But as it turned out, some days we even had enough for 2 dinners AND a lunch!
One of our favourite meals so far was Asian noodles with lemon grass in coconut milk sauce, mushrooms and peppers. Following the recipe card step by step I started frying the veg in the largest frying pan I have but soon I realised that there was no way I was going to be able to add the coconut milk AND the noodles to the pan so I ended up having to move everything into the largest (and deepest) pot I have or it would have ended up all over the cooker… By the time I had cooked the veg, added the sauce and the cooked noodles we realised there was enough to feed a small army! A decent portion each for dinner and we still had enough to feed us for 2 days! And that wasn’t a one off… a lot of the meals have been so large that you could feed 6 people easily!
I know a lot of people won’t agree with me because the liquid/powdered ingredients are all packaged separately to suit the recipe but we noticed straight away that because we had the perfect amounts we were wasting a lot less food. Each week we’d go shopping, buy veg etc with good intentions and then end up having to throw a lot out because we weren’t making a meal plan to make sure we used all the food we had bought. Hello Fresh suited us perfectly because we had a set meal plan that we could only change up so much and didn’t wasted any food.
We also noticed that the ingredients we are being sent are a lot better quality than what we were buying in our local supermarket (and then throwing away because they were going off after 2-3 days).
By the time we got to week 3 we decided to reduce our box from 4 people to 3, a reduction of €10 a week, but we quickly noticed two things – we were wasting again and eating more than in the weeks before. Because not all the ingredients can be sent in the exact amount (particularly if you order for 3 people) some of the recipes have leftovers which you don’t necessarily have anything to do with. One example is coconut milk which only comes in a small or large carton, but not a medium, so if you’re cooking for 3 you have some left over, which you don’t when cooking for 2 or 4. We also noticed that because there weren’t as many leftovers we were having a 2nd plateful instead of leaving it for lunch the next day. So the next week we changed the box back to 4 people.
Are there enough potential dishes to choose from? YES! Next week’s menu has 27 meals, some of which you have to pay slightly more for (you pay a supplement for express recipes, extra ingredients, e.g. prawns, or premium ingredients, e.g. beef filet), but even if you ignore those recipes there are still 22 meals to chose from, from vegetarian to family friendly.
As for the taste… so far we haven’t had anything we wouldn’t order again if we had the chance. Yes, there were a few meals that lacked a bit but that was more due to a lack of seasoning – my mistake and nothing to do with the recipe itself. One week we accidentally missed the Sunday cut-off point (the day varies depending on when you get your delivery) and were sent 5 dishes I maybe wouldn’t have chosen otherwise, but even then we weren’t disappointed with the taste.
Now for the ‘negatives’ – although to be honest I’m using that word lightly because so far we haven’t had a seriously negative experience. After 2 weeks I contacted Hello Fresh via Facebook Messenger to give them feedback on our first 2 boxes.
We were very happy with our meals, with the delivery and with the quality of ingredients, BUT both weeks we had been sent the wrong ingredients for a few meals – 2 peppers instead of 4 carrots, 2 packets of oyster mushrooms instead of 1 packet and a packet of button mushrooms and a chilli was missing. But I adapted the recipes or cooking times accordingly and the meals were still a success. As I mentioned I sent Hello Fresh a message and had an apology and a 10 Euro voucher in my account within the hour.
The following Friday I had to contact them again (unfortunately) because when unpacking the box I realised that even though we had the fresh ingredients for one of our meals the paper bag with the other ingredients was missing. Another message sent, another apology received and this time a 19 Euro voucher/refund in our account because they couldn’t resend the missing ingredients. All within 35 minutes…
Yes, it’s maybe not cheap looking at the total weekly price and yes, you might feel as if you have more rubbish than usual through the packaging, but considering 1) some weeks we were spending more than that on food shopping, then 2) we were wasting a lot of fresh food which we haven’t done in weeks and 3) we’ve got so many leftovers we’re only really having to find something to eat one day a week, so it’s definitely been worth it for us. And Conor has been eating more fresh and new food than he ever was before (the only things we don’t give him are the dishes with chilli in them, yet…)!
A week’s trial has turned into 5 weeks (the first box convinced us enough to continue for the foreseeable future) and we’re still completely happy with the boxes. Yes, there have been a few mishaps with missing ingredients but other than that we have found more positives than negatives. The customer service team has been extremely quick to reply and very friendly; the meals have all been tasty, filling and have fed us for up to 3 days; the ingredients fresh and the delivery has always worked too (even the delivery man laughs now when I open the door to him every Friday…).
I’d definitely recommend Hello Fresh, but if there’s one tip I’d give anyone, it would be to order for 4 people – yes, there might only be two or three of you in your household but if you consider how many leftovers you have and how many extra meals it’s totally worth it…
Our meals so far:
- Asia noodles with lemongrass, mushrooms and peppers in coconut milk sauce – definitely one of our favourites so far and enough to last for days
- Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, carrots and cranberry jelly – like a better version of a certain famous shop (don’t tell them I said though, because I love their meatballs haha)
- Herb pork escalope with potato wedges, salad and radishes – I wouldn’t usually make or order pork escalopes but this was so good I could’ve eaten two portions… only downside my oven didn’t brown the potatoes enough and I don’t like radishes…
- Crepe bake with cream cheese and spinach filling and tomato sauce – another one I could’ve eaten 2 portions… needed more seasoning but that was nothing to do with the recipe
- Gnocchi-spinach-bake – one of the meals we ate all in one sitting because it was so yummy (also one of the meals for 3 people which we should have eaten over 2 days…)
- Vegetarian Thai bowl – missing the chilli and I grated my hand grating the carrot, not my best moment… the coconut rice was to die for (and would have been perfect as a dessert with fresh mango…)
- Pork filet with honey-mustard veg and creamy leek sauce – this was the dish we were sent 2 peppers instead of 4 carrots, but I just adapted the cooking time and put the peppers in the oven halfway through… the only thing we didn’t like was the amount of leek in the sauce – one skinny leek wasn’t enough for the amount of liquid
- Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli) with mixed mushrooms, carrots and braised onions – we were accidentally sent a second packet of oyster mushrooms instead of one packet of button mushrooms so the mixed mushrooms didn’t hit the mark but that was the only thing wrong with the meal…
- Pumpkin con carne with lime dip and rice – the very first recipe we made and one of my favourites – another dish that lasted 3 days
- Chicken strips with spaetzle in a creamy apple-mushroom sauce – another dish we didn’t choose and I’m not sure I would have because of the apple and mushroom combination but we were pleasantly surprised
- Chicken burger with parmesan, potato wedges and carrot salad – another dish we didn’t choose but it was sooo good! Unfortunately my potatoes weren’t crispy enough but that was an oven problem and nothing to do with the recipe itself…
- Halloumi-veg-skewers with coconut-curry sauce and rice – I started cooking the food on the skewers but ended up taking them off because we had cut the veg and halloumi different sizes – definitely an order again…
- Königsberger Klöpse (german meatballs in a creamy caper sauce) with broccoli and boiled potatoes – I cut the cooking time by putting our potatoes in the instant pot (definitely a lifesaver!), one of Stefan’s (childhood) favourites
- Courgette and beef mince with rice and goats cheese – tasted good but wouldn’t make it to our favourites list
- Nürnberger Rostbratwürstchen (German sausages) with roast potatoes, gravy, green beens, carrots and hazelnuts – not my favourite but Stefan loved it, the gravy was yummy
- Chilli noodles in peanut sauce with snow peas and carrots – creamy, yummy, peanutty, what’s not to like? Another dish with enough leftovers for 3 days…
- Spanish-style tarte flambee with chorizo, pimientos de padron and aioli – very yummy, very garlicky, even Conor loved it… downside – pimientos should only be eaten in a Spanish tapas bar (because doesn’t all tapas taste better in Spain?!)… and our oven didn’t do the pastry justice (it was a bit under in places)
- Spicy veg chilli with kidney beans, cheesy sweet potatoes and quesadillas – this was yummy but wasn’t spicy enough for us… I changed the second lot of quesadillas up a bit by adding spring onion and salt/pepper to the cheese which made them even better than the first ones… other than only having 4 tortillas there was enough to feed 6 people, although we could’ve eaten the quesadillas as a separate meal and it still would have been filling…
- Hake on veg curry – we’ve just had this for lunch and when I went to pack up the leftovers I pinched another tiny piece of potato and immediately wanted to eat more, no explanation needed…
- Burrito bowl with chorizo, avocado-tomato-salsa and lime rice – I was looking forward to this meal but unfortunately it was the one that was missing the majority of ingredients last week, but I’ve replaced what we’re missing and didn’t have at home so we’ll make it at some point next week…
This week’s meals:
- Gnocchi-bacon- casserole with baby tomatoes and spinach sauce
- Mushroom and pepper quiche with carrot salad and raspberry-balsamic dressing
- Creamy veg and mushroom ragout with puff pastry and salad
- Glass noodles with bulgogi beef mince and
- Hake topped with coconut panko, courgette and curry rice
Have you tried Hello Fresh before? What was your experience like? Comment below…
The Dowis Go Fit 