Does anyone use HelloFresh?

[Whatevermission]

I am considering HelloFresh, due to disability. We currently eat way too many takeaways because I am in too much pain/too exhausted to cook.

Are the meals appealing to (fussy) kids?

Is it really reduced effort?

I use simply cook which is like hellofresh but you just get the flavour/spice pots rather than the actual food ingredients. It doesn't take the effort out of cooking as you still have to do all the chopping, frying etc. It does make shopping/food planning easier though.

I've never used it but I can empathise re being too exhausted to cook. I find it helps to have a few easy staple things you can make largish quantities of and freeze (mine are spag bol, veggie curry).

Then have a few other things that are easy, cheap options without being takeaway (eg scrambled eggs on toast, Heinz tomato soup, fish fingers and oven chips, pasta and pesto). And always some cherry tomatoes/cucumber/whatever fruit or veg I think the DCs will eat.

Not sure if this helps. But I'm not convinced the cooking box type companies are very good value overall.

We've used it. Never had a meal we didn't like (and there's always a fair bit of choice). Sometimes you have to do prep but a lot of it comes pre-prepared.
It's more expensive than just cooking your own, but it saves time and effort in terms of thinking and traipsing to the supermarket /putting in online orders.

I use it. I also like all the recipes (you have about 20 to choose from so I can. Always find 3 that suit and at least a couple are family meals). But I would say it’s not all straight forward. There’s still about 7-8 steps to each recipe and does involve chopping veg etc. I like it for the variety, eating veg, ease of having ingredients in the fridge etc but I’m guessing a take away is easier!

We love hello fresh. Yes it takes the work out of planning meals and buying the ingredients etc, the meals are delicious and we still use many of the recipes we've had in the past. But - it's not simple nor quick to make. You have to chop and stir and cook etc. If you're willing to spend at least 30-50mins in the kitchen preparing the meal then it's fabulous, if you get takeaways because you don't like to do the actually cooking bit then it may not be for you. Although you do get faster as you get to know the recipes more.

I use and love gousto also due to disablity, however, yes i'm not sure it will solve your problem as it does mine. I would always normally recomend.

I can't use supermarkets so having food delivered and a variation of meals is great for me. However yes you still have to cut and prepare in the same way you would cooking food from the supermarket.

With guosto you can get the ten minute meals. But ordinary meals are at least 30 minutes.

I would say it is a love saver but im not sure in ypur case

'Not sure if this helps. But I'm not convinced the cooking box type companies are very good value overall.'
I agree.

We had HelloFresh for a while. To start with the recipes were really nice, but seemed to get less and less so as time went on. We are vegetarian so there wasn't a choice of recipes most weeks; we'd just have to have the 3 preselected veggie ones.

We had one meal that was bulgur wheat and something, smelled really awful and tasted worse, and we worked out the ingredients would have cost about 16p each

As others have said though, each one was taking upwards of 40 minutes to actively prepare, so with the cooking time as well it just took too long. We had them for several months but cancelled them eventually. If you are thinking of getting them because you are too exhausted to cook then I would say don't.

DH got fed up with spending an hour and a half in the kitchen just to have DD say "I don't like that", which she did with 90% of the meals.

My Mum has limited mobility. She tends to make batches of soup and freeze. She wouldn't be able to afford the box type meals so has had to find other methods.
One thing she does is to prepare salad and keep in the fridge in separate bags/tupperware boxes. She buys cheese slices, tubs of coleslaw and couscous which provides her with easy access to several days worth of salad meals and sandwiches.

I love hello fresh. We get 4 meals every week and although it's not good value from a financial point of view, I think the saving in meal planning, shopping etc makes it worth while. Me and my husband enjoy cooking the meals together and we find the meals we have tried to be very tasty and the quality of the ingredients is good.

I tried Hello Fresh but they left out half the ingredients for one of the meals. I also have no safe place for parcels to be left so needed to be in for the delivery. I prefer Simply Cook, which is all the spices and so on, and you buy your own fresh ingredients. I like how it fits through the letterbox and how I can switch out the fresh ingredients for ones we prefer. I've cooked two meals so far and they've been amazing! I have a code where you can try a box for £1, anyone can PM me if they want it.

We love it but cant afford it often. It meams we eat much better as my brain can cope with following instructions!

It takes the hassle out of shopping and planning ime but doesn't take the hassle out of cooking. You still have to actively cook.

What might be better for you is researching no/little cooking meals.

Eg

• boil water, add pasta, sit down for five minutes
• add frozen spinach, sit down for five minutes more
• drain pasta and spinach, add creme fraiche, soft cheese and pepper, mix together, there's a meal.

• pizza base, add topping from a jar, add defrosted chopped mixed frozen veg, sprinkle on pre grated mozzarella = pizza.

Actually there are lots of frozen short cuts now - pre chopped veg, onion, garlic and even herbs. They would save you a lot more cooking time than hello fresh I reckon.

Sorry, when I say "topping from a jar" I mean "sauce from a jar".

Yes love it. You do have to prepare the meals but I like the variety and I think the meals are balanced and healthy. I also like the fact that you get exact measures and I think our family now waste less food so overall works out quite good value for money for us.

I would say it depends on the nature of your disability. If you're able to cook and enjoy it but just find the shopping and planning for meals uses more energy than you have to spare then it could be a good option.

I found the meals quite samey after a while. They almost all rely heavily on stock pots and cubes for flavour.

My MIL used it, it's quite hard work and expensive in comparison.
She now tends to get frozen pre cut veg like peppers or mushrooms etc and google simple quick recipes then batch cook and freeze

I use it, and Gousto, every so often. Just gives us a bit of a change and encourages us to eat something a bit different when we've got stuck in a rut.

Not cheap but then there's no waste really either.

As I don't eat meat but dh and Dd does, I often buy meals for two through them and add a veggie or fish alternative to go with it from the supermarket. We often, though bit always, find that there is enough of the potatoes, rice or pasta for three in the for two boxes.

It isn’t easier than cooking your own meals. I quite enjoyed doing hello fresh for a while, but I find the meal prep actually quite exhausting. And it seems to generate so much washing up of utensils. Lots of roasting pans and pans get used. And also zesting and juicing limes. Hello fresh nights are the ones where I need to set aside extra time.
It’s nice not to have to plan though, and to try new dishes.