Let's EAT! HelloFresh Review

When my Sista-Friend, Doula Extraordinaire, Malika announced that she had FREE HelloFresh boxes to give away, I hopped on it! I'd never tried one of these subscription boxes, but I'm adventurous, so I decided to give it a try.

The sign up was simple, quick, and easy. I got to choose between a classic meal plan-- which can include chicken, fish, beef, lamb, or pork-- or veggie meal plan, and a box to feed 2 or 4 people. Since we are exploring more vegetable based and vegetarian meals, I chose the veggie plan to feed 2 people (hoping that it would be enough for the 4 of us!). I choose the day of the first delivery and waited for the box to arrive!

My box arrived on Tuesday! It was nicely insulated and there was ice in the bottom to keep the ingredients cold. I wasn't home at the time, so my husband took it inside. I didn't get a chance to unpack it for a few hours and everything was still refrigerator quality cold upon unpacking!

Inside the large box, each meal comes compartmentalized in its own box. There is also a meal card with pictures and detailed instructions on how to prepare each meal. In this box we had ingredients for: Tortellini En Brodo (AKA Soup for the Soul), Crispy Chickpea Bowl, and Sweet Potato Chili with Crispy Tortillas (by famous chef, Jamie Oliver). I looked through the meal cards and let my daughters pick out our first meal to try!

We went with Tortellini En Brodo!

Here is my overall review of the Hello Fresh subscription box:

Pro's:

1. It's easy and convenient! I don't have to think about meal planning for at least 3 dinner meals for the week! The meals are easy to follow and simple enough that it takes about an hour from start to table.

2. It's IN THERE! EVERYTHING you need is in the box, the only seasonings that aren't included are salt and pepper. You may have to provide olive oil, butter, and/or water.

3. The ingredients are truly very fresh, there are lots of fresh vegetables in every meal. . . hellooo FRESH!

4. The recipes are simple, but creative. In one week, I wouldn't have normally had such a variety of meals. I got to try some new foods, like Israeli couscous!

5. It's PLENTY of food! I was concerned about the serving sizes. The 2 person box feeds our family of 4 just fine, often there is enough for a small second helping.

6. It TASTES GOOD! There wasn't a need for me to *jazz up* any of the meals. I didn't miss the fact that there was no meat in these vegetarian meals.

7. It's a GREAT value! Even though I got the first box free. It was valued at $59, that's about $10 a meal for 2 people. In our case, it also feeds 2 children who have a healthy appetite! In reality, $59 to feed 4 people for 3 meals is a STEAL!

Con's:

1. While the 2 person meal package feeds our family, there isn't enough leftovers, so I'm cooking more often. In my opinion these meals don't lend themselves for reheating, even if I moved to a larger serving size box.

2. It can be a little carb heavy. One meal had bread AND rice. Also, it looks like pasta is a staple in at least one meal per week. We normally eat pasta about once a month.

3. You're paying for the convenience, you could buy the ingredients themselves, and would be cheaper. This is obvious, I'm not complaining, just trying to be objective ;) I'm not spending any MORE money, but I'm not sure if I'm saving any either.

Overall, it's a GREAT product! It's a family friendly concept too, my husband made one of the meals, and our children helped with them as well! It's fun having the entire family excited about new meals. We liked it so much, we are going to continue using it for the rest of the year!

If you would like to try HelloFresh, use referral code 2BG5LL for $40 off your first delivery!

Have you tried Hello Fresh or another meal subscription box? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!