Our first delivery of HELLO FRESH was discounted with a coupon code. I have purchased several boxes of Hello Fresh meals at full price. Below is my Meal Delivery Service Review: Hello Fresh Edition, but I am in no way affiliated with or have a business relationship with Hello Fresh.

AT HOME MEAL DELIVERY SERVICE REVIEW: HELLO FRESH

After trying another at home food plan service (Blue Apron – read my review here), several friends asked me if I had tried any others. So I decided to try Hello Fresh. I purchased my first Hello Fresh box with a coupon code for 50% off.

THE GOOD – Meal delivery Service Review: Hello Fresh

• The sign-up process and managing your account is easy
• Clear Instructions – I can easily have my son or husband help me, and I give them parts of the recipe to make. My husband has not cooked much outside of the occasional hot dogs, eggs, and awesome pancakes.
• DELICIOUS – We have loved some of the offerings we have selected. 

• EVERYTHING INCLUDED: All spices, seasonings, food, and condiments are packaged into the weekly box. The only thing not included is salt, pepper, and olive oil to sauté. If a recipe calls for another type of oil like sesame, that will be included.
• FRESH: The ingredients are super fresh. The fruits, vegetables, and meat are fresher than I can get at my local grocery store.
• The Classic Meal Plan selections are for 2 or 4 people. And you can get 2, 3, or 4 meals per week. We get the 2 person option (and there are 15 recipe options to choose from). As a family of 5 we just add additional meat and another side and have plenty of food.
• The 4 person option has “family friendly” meals, but you only have 4 recipes each week. You can select 2 or 3 meals with each box.
• A veggie plan is available for 2 or 4 people and 3 meals per week.
• The portion sizes which should give you leftovers or feed more than 2 people.
• I love the fact that I can try a recipe without purchasing an entire bottle of an ingredient that I end up throwing out at a later date.
• The cost for the Classic Plan/3 recipes/2 people each is $59.94 a week which includes shipping. Overall this ends up saving me money because I don’t have to run to the grocery store as often. I am not purchasing bottles of rarely used spices, condiments, etc. that end up adding to the grocery bill. AND I am not impulse buying which quickly adds up.
• While Hello Fresh does not offer a recycling program, most of the packaging materials are recyclable.
• Skipping weeks is easy. You simply log into your account, select the Calendar in the upper right-hand corner, and then select the select the date you wish to skip.
• There is an option to receive email reminders to select or skip meals. 
• Cancellation is easy. Log-in to your account, go to account settings and select Cancel Account.

Meal Delivery Service Review: Hello Fresh – THE BAD:

•  I have found that the “estimated time” to prepare a recipe is off by a lot sometimes. The last recipe I made said 45 minutes and it took 2 of us working over 1 hour. Often times when an item is not ready when the rest of the meal is.
• The recipes must be cooked by hand by the customer and all food needs to be chopped, diced, etc. If you are expecting pre-cooked meals that you just reheat, you will be disappointed.
• A couple of the recipes were very bland. Out of the 3 boxes I received (9 recipes total), I have saved 2 of the recipe cards to prepare again.
• Most weeks there are not 3 recipes that I would like to try so I have skipped a lot.
• They will automatically send you boxes each week with meals they preselect if you forget to skip or select meals.
• You have to remember to skip delivery.
• Gluten-free options are not available. My daughter and I are both gluten-free, but I have easily modified the recipes to fit our needs.
• The cost is $59.94 for a box with three meals (that serve 2 people each). This includes shipping. Some people think this is excessive, but for our family, I find it reasonable.

MY OVERALL RECOMMENDATION:

I have received a total of 3 weekly boxes over the last 9 months. For me, not visiting the grocery store as often saves me money in the long run. I loved not purchasing a specialty cheese or spice and throwing out what goes unused.

I would recommend Hello Fresh as a meal delivery service, but out of the three meal delivery service companies I have tried, it is not my favorite. 

Have you tried a similar meal delivery service? Drop me a line and let me know your thoughts! I will be trying additional meal delivery services in the future.

Thanks for following along,

Patty @ A Mother’s Random Thoughts