Hello Fresh
I've been seeing Hello Fresh around for awhile but have never tried it until now. The only other similar meal service I've tried was Home Chef so I will be comparing the two a bit. I've only gotten one box so far and have a mix of meat and non-meat dishes. You have a choice of 2 servings or 4 servings and you can choose 3-5 recipes a week. Of course you can add more or extras to a certain week if you want. Also they charge for shipping which is $8.99. If I recall correctly, the box came from New York or New Jersey which isn't far from me so it only took a day to get to me when it got shipped. Overall, its not bad but I do find it a bit overpriced. The meals are more appealing than Home Chef.
Home Chef is $6.99 per serving and as mentioned above Hello Fresh is $8.99 per serving. I do not find Hello Fresh's ingredients to be any more than Home Chef nor any better. Perhaps the meat does seem to be a tad better. The vegetables and herbs weren't always the best looking either. I got a packet of fresh thyme that was half brown. I don't recall getting that with the ingredients I got from Home Chef though one time they did forget an ingredient. Produce are also on the small side but that's ok as its enoguh for the recipe.
Home Chef gave me a binder on my first box and I have kept all their recipes I got from them inside. The recipes are on waterproof paper so I never worry about it getting dirty. Its probably some kind of plastic? As for Hello Fresh, there is no binder and when water gets on the recipe pages it does wrinkle and get dirty so I have to be careful to not get them dirty.
Home Chef's packed their ingredients in plastic bags and plastic containers. I still have and use those containers! Hello Fresh pack their ingredients together in the paper bag and some could be packed individually in plastic bags. The meat aren't packed together with it recipes and are grouped together in the box next to the ice. I do like it at least use paper bags and no plastic containers.
As far as taste, some were ok and some were pretty good. Since I don't have a zester I couldn't do that step but its not like it'll make a huge difference. The black been enchiladas were pretty good as well as the cheesy sausage sandwiches. The mom meatloaf, the spinach ravioli, and biscuit chicken pop pie were ok. I did notice that some recipes like the enchiladas pop up more often in the meal choices but they do mix up the repeated recipes like I've seen different kinds of meatloaf. They also have gourmet options which is nice. They do have a variety of extras too from desserts, drinks, and breakfast but they're all small. I do see on Valentine's week they have a special 3 course meal for $9.99 a serving so thats neat!
What I appreciate is that I can skip a week and the discounts aren't lost but moved to the next billable week which is great! On Home Chef I couldn't afford to have it every week so I lost the first time customer deals. But its been awhile since I tried it so it may have changed since.
Overall, it wasn't bad. I wish the ingredients were in better condition but it wasn't like a huge deal. The food turned out good, but wish the prices per serving was a little cheaper. I am reviewing this service during a pandemic so I am not going to judge this service harshly for the prices or the ingredients quality. I do plan on continuing so I can use up all the discounts and would probably consider using it again after that too if I see something good. If you like $40 off on Hello Fresh please use my link!
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