Hello fresh - why?

So husband could develop cooking skills when he retired.

@GreenTeaLikesMe When I started baking I used the mix sets too (a long time ago) and now I bake a lot from scratch, I can see things like hello fresh are a good entry point if you want to learn how to cook and don't know where to start like some other people have said.

@piccolorhinoceros I think I understand the dumbed down recipe thing because the recipes aren't as good as when you make them yourself from scratch - they cut stuff out or make a pretty basic version of the sauce so it's easy to do but more basic in flavour.

I clicked on this expecting OP to be looking for an opportunity to have a dig at people for using this type of service. OP credit where credit is due your response shows you were genuinely just curious! What has Mumsnet done to my perspective 😂

A couple of teenagers I know basically learned to cook using Hello Fresh, as it was all set out and ready for them, meaning that they could just focus on the physical aspects of food prep without having to worry about other things, like not having enough of certain ingredients in stock. They have now moved on and do grocery shopping and provisioning as well, but it was a useful entry point for them.

My daughter also started baking independently using some mix sets, and has now branched out into proper/normal baking with recipes and checking what there is the fridge/cupboard.

For us convenience and when they send good money off vouchers then it works out quite cheaply compared to buying all the ingredients in the supermarket. Plus you get ideas for things to make yourself in the future.
I tend to rotate hello fresh/gousto for a few weeks while there I have a discount code then cancel it and rejoin when they send a reactivation special offer!

You know what, I've just done it. It cost me £30 for a big box as I got a discount but it's honestly same as my ALDI shop even at a full price!

🤔

How do you dumb down a recipe? 😂It's not a GCSE or a degree, why does it matter how 'difficult' it is?!

I completely understand the convenience but I find the amount of plastic packaging so depressing (we don’t use it, I saw a friend’s delivery). Between the cool packs, cool bag, and plastic around the individual items it was really eye opening. Some brown paper but even that can’t be recycled in my area (or maybe any area, I don’t know). When we’re trying to reduce waste as a society this just feels like a huge backwards step.

Gousto has overhauled my life!! seriously
I have some minor talents but cooking isn't one of them- I absolutely loathe thinking about it, shopping and prepping food
I have a family of 4- 2 fussy treens- and started gousto about 2 years ago-
we each choose the recipes for a week (5!!)
for my family it means we eat together, we eat fresh food, in the main we all like it and I even quite enjoy the chopping etc,
We've saved lots of money because we were so useless at the alternative
And I've also lost 2 stone which was an unintentional side effect of the portion control that comes with meal kits- I'm the right weight for my height now
for me it's worth every penny- I dont buy many clothes or luxuries but i'd rather prioritise the meal-kits (which are my luxury, I guess)

We dip in and out, I can cook, I’m also very busy, like PP’s have said, they remove the mental load, avoid takeaways & supermarket convenience foods. I think they are good value for money, been having them since DC were younger and fussy about eating. They now eat a more extensive range of foods and are no longer adverse to trying new food. Have a box coming 2mro and looking forward to it as haven’t had one for a few weeks.

Mental load. Got fed up of thinking of meals and ended up cooking the same thing over and over. This makes me cook things I wouldn’t normally. If I saw the recipe I probably wouldn’t bother but when I am forced to I end up really liking them. I now of course keep the recipes I like and do them. But still I order about 6 meals a month and it makes my life easier.

Going through recipe books
Choosing new things to try
Finding and buying all the ingredients

All takes loads of time and thought!
Then you also have lots of ingredients that you might have only needed a tablespoon of but you're now stuck with a whole jar you're never going to use.

Whereas going through a website where you can filter recipes for under 30 minutes or veggie or gluten free for example is really quick. And the portioned ingredients and a recipe card turn up at your door.

We do now keep a few of the recipe cards for meals we liked and add to the normal food shop/meal plan, but still do a box every now and again to try new things.

With the 'no waste' thing, I wonder how much food waste there is during the production of these boxes.

I feel that they've done that 'thing' (and I am sure that there's a name for it that I forget) where, when they first created the brand they were high quality and decent options, and now they've established a name for themselves and have subscribers they have let things slip. A lot of brands (fashion, electronics) have/do do the same thing.

With all due respect a lot of cooking is by eye. Its pretty hard to get something like chilli wrong or soup.

I always mess up rice and pasta though because I'm too lazy to reach for the scales.

We used to get them sometimes when we were younger (no kids) as we'd eat out a fair bit so doing a 'big' shop often used to lead to waste. We'd get back late from work and it's easy to prepare. The best thing about it, for me, was the fact that they would send things I wouldn't normally cook so the variety was nice.

Honestly do it. The portions are decent too. Ours feeds my husband, me, an 8 year old and an 11 year old. The 11 year old eats more than any of us and nobody is ever hungry. We usually have leftovers for lunch the next day. I do often add extra salad sides though but that’s mainly because we all like salad / raw veg. Sometimes I’ll add extra naan or garlic bread, but that’s personal preference really!

I've got ADHD, dyslexia and dyscalculia. I absolutely can't cook any other way, I've tried for years but I always miss an ingredient or something goes out of date before I use it

Time poor, cash rich.

It creates an enormous amout of waste.

We’ve tried them all & Gousto is our favourite. I’m actually a brilliant cook but meal boxes mean:

I don’t have to decide 5 dinners a week and source ingredients;

We eat fresh, home cooked food pretty much every night whereas if we didn’t get them, I’d definitely resort to freezer food more often;

I like spending my weekends not batch cooking;

As a family of four, meals for four give us enough leftovers for my husband’s lunch the next day = saves us money;

They’re varied. This week we’ve got Spanish, Chinese, Mexican & Italian;

They’re easy to adapt to your family (spice, extra veg etc etc) and no one gets bored

Honestly I could go on and on. We get 3/4 meals a week by them

Quite ! No one is forcing anyone else to use them.

It's also quite a snobby, rude assumption that everyone who uses them is an idiot who could burn a pot noodle. If you do use them because you can't cook / never learned and are building skills and confidence then good for you ! If you use them because you've decided there are other things that you want or need to speed your time or energy on (like me) then good for you !

Tried them for a few weeks but eventually cancelled the subscription. The recipes were dumbed down to a Fisher Price level, the amount of waste packaging was ludicrous, portion sizes miserable and just too expensive.

I've got a friend who is in a terrible situation moneywise who only uses HelloFresh. I suggested, when she said she didn't know where to cut back, that a food shop at Aldi/Lidl/Basics from bigger Supermarkets might cut back on her spending but she explained it was a non-negotiable.

She struggles with PND and brain fog and finds the convenience of not having to plan and do a shop, or do a meal plan makes the cost worth it for her. She's also not a confident cook and finds working out how much she needs to buy really hard so that's another reason. She knew her and the kids wouldn't get decent meals without HF and she didn't have the energy to change things at that point. It really is the best option for her at this stage in her life.

It was interesting for me to hear that perspective, and I can see why she prioritises it.

I know how to buy in bulk I just don't have any storage space. Not everyone has vast amounts of cupboard space!

Just had a look at Gousto. 5 meals, 4 portions costs £60. We shop in ALDI and honestly, that is less money than our ALDI shop (we go twice a week).
I'm seriously considering it now.