HelloFresh: Out of the Box Fresh New Dinner Ideas

I am all about simplicity in everything I do. I like to enjoy life, but I want my enjoyment to be uncomplicated. So, when I was contacted by HelloFresh to trial their new meal delivery service I was intrigued. HelloFresh is a simple concept, for a reasonable fee you receive a box with all the ingredients you need to create 3 meals (other meal plans are available). All that you need is in the box? That was my first question to which they replied, “yes, apart from salt and pepper.” Sounds like a win-win to me, enough fresh food delivered to my door to prepare 3 easy meals for the week.

I had no idea of what types of meals I would be receiving, all I knew was that their would be enough in the box for 2 people to eat 3 meals along with the recipes to create the meals. We immediately noticed the high quality of the vegetables, especially that none of cheaper (and more boring!) vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli were in sight, but instead the more interesting vegetables like snow peas, shiitake mushrooms and yellow beans were in the box – yum! Not to knock the boring veggies, but it was nice to feel like I was eating out, easting a little more special than usual without the price tag that comes with restaurant dining.

All the meats and fish are packaged and labeled separately as are the vegetables and other ingredients like pasta and soya sauce and stock cubes. It’s easy to see what goes with what and to separate the ingredients out in the fridge.

HelloFresh sends amazing recipes and ingredients in the exact quantities needed to your door every week – saving time and hassle.

– HelloFresh.com

Mr. BAM and I both like to cook, but I have to admit he is probably better at it. He really liked the HelloFresh box because he was certain that he would have everything he needed to complete the meal. HelloFresh takes the guesswork out of measuring individual ingredients by providing them in the correct quantities needed to cook for 2.

I really liked it cause it helped us break the monotony in our regular dinner routines.

Our HelloFesh box contained 1 chicken, 1 cod fish and 1 meatballs dish. It was nice to be able to see from the recipe card what the finish products should look like. Furthermore, though the meals were simple to make they were really interesting flavors. Each of the meals had at least one ingredient that we wouldn’t normally know how to use or would like to cook with more often, but weren’t sure how to best use them.

My favorite meal was a toss up between the Roasted Coconut Cod with Shiitake Mushrooms, Snow Peas and Noodles versus the Braised Chicken Thighs & Lentils with Mushrooms, Bacon and Flat Leaf Parsley. The photo for the Chicken Thighs on the recipe card wasn’t supper appealing, so we were presently surprised by the finished product. Here’s our version pictured below. It’s a pretty hard dish to plate and make it look anymore interesting, but trust me it was really tasty.

We found the portions to be generous for 2, so we were able to put aside a small plate for Mr P from each meal without compromising having enough to eat. The Garlic Meatballs with Yellow Wax Beans was our first meal and we thought it looked a little light, so we added our own green beans. Of course, by the time it was finished their was more than enough so we were able to share it three ways, 2 adults and 1 toddler. The recipe card actually warned that if the meatballs were done right it would be filling enough and we wouldn’t need spaghetti – they were right.

An added bonus – the 2 meal plan was able to be enjoyed by three of us, Little Miss is too young to eat most of these meals anyways.

5 reasons I would use HelloFresh again

1. Each recipe comes with handy cooking tips, presentation tips and food trivia that can be used again and again in the kitchen or to dazzle your friends at a dinner party.
2. Our HelloFresh meals were packed with vegetables! So we filled up on foods like lentils and beans, a much healthier option than starches which is what usually happens when creating a quick family meal
3. Meals in 30 minutes or less is perfect for our family, long drawn out meals with too many steps are inconvenient. HelloFresh meals are easy to prepare – a little longer when the kids interrupt but generally 30 minutes is enough
4. My husband likes to get creative in the kitchen, but often we are missing a key ingredient to finish a meal. Because HelloFresh supplies EVERYTHING, there is no chance of this happening. Because the frustration of missing ingredients is eliminated, my husband loved cooking the meals. A guaranteed 3 nights a week of  Mr BAM cooking equals a happy Mama 🙂
5. We get to build a recipe repertoire of easy to prepare meals thanks to the recipe cards that are delivered with the HelloFresh box

As someone with a deathly food allergy to nuts, I’m happy to hear that the HelloFresh subscription service will be introducing the option to choose your 3 meals for the following week from 5 possibilities. It’s also nice to know that they try to avoid doubling up on the same meat in one week, another bonus in creating balanced meals for the family.

HelloFresh is a great way to make sure your family gets healthy meals even during the busy week.

If you’d like to find out more about subscribing to receive fresh meals ready to prepare to your door, visit the HelloFresh website. You can also catch up with them on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about HelloFresh, if it is offered in your area, and to enter their contests.

How are you making family dinner time, easy and healthy?

disclosure: I received a 3meal/2person plan to trial, but did not receive any compensation for this post. As always, all opinions are 100% my own and I only share information with my readers that I think will be of interest to you.