Just tried first Hello Fresh...I don’t get it....

[GiraffeNecked]

So a potato some mince, a carrot, a glove of garlic and some mince arrives. All stuff I have in the house already ..... you still have to chop, cut, cook and it was nice, but no nicer than something I’d have come up with by myself.

Fair enough. Some good points made here about storage space, not having little bits of spices round,

Hands up to having let them send me the default choice through forgetfulness.

I may give one more try on something I’d be less likely to cook myself.

I’m slightly wary of using meat where I don’t feel comfortable in where it’s from too, something that I hadn’t really factored in. I’m sure it’s fine, that’s just a personal thing.

But the packaging!

I agree, I tried one of them (think it was Hello Fresh) and felt not quite like a grown-up, being given little packs of stuff and told to add it in. No context, or sense of knowing where it all came from (what exactly is IN the 'Thai green curry sauce'?), or actually learning how to put recipes together in any meaningful sense.

I also shuddered at the amount of packaging, especially non-recyclable soft plastic. And it felt silly getting things like one lime through the post.

The one thing it does save is brainpower. But on no-brainpower nights I can generally stretch to getting something out of the freezer that I've batch-cooked, or get a takeaway or some pasta and pesto.

If it was cheaper I'd consider it for real CBA and stressed/busy times, but there's just not enough value to it at its prices.

I reuse the packaging.
The kids play with the box, then it gets turned into a guinea pig house for outside and then either composted or recycled.
The fleece liner is used as an underlayer to line the guinea pig cage.
Does that help any?

@GiraffeNecked
I go to the butchers, and based on what's available/what he recommends will plan half of the week's food based on what I get from the butcher. It varies a lot from week to week what , eg I love kidneys so if he has them in we have steak and kidney pie or suet pudding.

I couldn't face the HF prices and I know the meat would not be the same quality.

[quote Trumpton]@Kowari
Thank you .
I have ordered a trial to give my cooking a nudge.
I bought a M&S fresh box meal as it was reduced and altho not worth £11 it was worth it for £7.42 and I will certainly add the recipe to my repertoire.[/quote]
You're welcome . I've been using simply cook for over a year. I use enough fresh ingredients with the kit to serve four and there is always plenty of flavour. I usually make chilli from scratch as I have the spices in my cupboard, but DS prefers the simply cook chilli!

@SpideryPlants

Gousto is better, more flavour recipes.

We prefer it. Less packaging waste and fresher vegetables too, it's more expensive though.

I would never have done it five years ago. In a pandemic, it was great.

The boxes all went to a friend moving house. The thick fleece (recycled already) is in the garage waiting for a good use. The thin plastic is no more than Tesco keep bringing me, to be honest.

It saves food waste for people who would otherwise throw away half a pack of this or that, if they find they don't like it or just don't get round to it. That doesn't happen to me anyway.

I cook for four adults. When they took a turn using HelloFresh meals it turned out much better than when left to themselves!

It feels like a real luxury and treat to me.

@JingleCatJingle

How do your reuuse all the plastic?

We use them on and off depending on discount codes.

I'm a good cook but since we've all been at home every day since March I get fed up of thinking about and planning meals. I've also tried to just do one big online shop each week rather than popping into the local supermarket after work every other day.

I get a box delivered on a Friday with meals for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. They're usually things that are a bit different and a nice substitution for meals out/takeaways. Generally we have some leftovers that we use for lunches.

I think the trick is to do a few weeks and then stop to prevent it all becoming a bit 'samey'. And yes, the packaging could be a lot better.

Gousto is worth getting the first discounted box just for the SPOON! Man I love that spoon .....

I love it We get to try new things that I wouldn’t ever think of doing (or know how to)I used to hateee wasting veg and salad .
Tbh I was spending the amount of money on takeaways anyway 🙈

It saves me thinking about what to make
How? Don't you have to order a specific thing?

My neighbour always has tones of their boxes out for recycling. They appear well off. A fool and her money are soon parted.

So very rude.

I’m a good cook. Yes, I know I could spend a fraction of the cost if I meal planned and shopped myself. I think that Alan Sugar’s comment only holds true if he sends someone to do the meal planning and shopping for you, then it would be valid.

I use them 26/28 nights with takeaway or dining out once a fortnight. I have absolutely zero capacity to meal plan or shop. I rarely have capacity to cook involved recipes. I get a once a month bulk delivery of non-perishables we need but no fruit/veg/meat is going to last a month. It’s worth my while to throw $$ at the food boxes. My alternative would literally be to hire someone for a number of hours/week to meal plan and shop for me for fresh stuff and prep if a more time consuming recipe. That would not work out any cheaper than spending $$ on the food boxes.

We use it on and off and do like it as although both of us can cook, with such busy lives, had got into a rut.

However, we find the portion sizes to be really large and my DH is a big lad, plus the eye watering packaging which isn’t great.

I wonder if attitude to leftovers is a factor here. In our house leftovers hardly ever go to waste. They either get eaten up over the next day or two or they go in the freezer. I've been surprised before on threads about food to read that some people don't like eating leftover food. I love it! It often tastes better than when fresh, and it's so easy and convenient.

Also, of course I can see it's a problem if you have very limited storage/fridge/freezer space.

*It saves me thinking about what to make

How? Don't you have to order a specific thing?*

It’s not the same at all. I can do the weeks recipes from 2 different food box deliveries in under 5mins. I can’t meal plan, collate shopping list, go to shops, do shopping etc in under 5mins. I have a standing monthly non-perishables order that occasionally needs to be teamed for the month, 10mins at most. So all up 30mins per month on organising and getting every piece of food/household stuff we need. I wouldn’t even be able to drive to the shops and back once a week in that time.

Yes, also portion sizes. We find them large, so half the meals we have lunch for 2 people the following day. Saves that aspect as well.

I've got a code for a free simply cook box if anybody wants to try them

simplycook.com/invite/ETHG48

@passthemustard

Gousto is worth getting the first discounted box just for the SPOON! Man I love that spoon .....

I didn't get the spoon 😓

Surprised at OP's experience. We had an excellent experience with Hello Fresh - loads of exciting ingredients we wouldn't normally use, and wouldn't bother buying a full quantity of to keep in the store cupboard. Really delicious as well. We are vegetarian - perhaps they put more effort into their veggie dishes than their meat ones.

Another vote for Simply Cook. I choose options based around the meats I usually have in the freezer so there's nearly always an option for those mid week meals when you can't think what to have. They go down well with our teens as well.

Also not that expensive. Something like £30, I think, for a box of three meals for two people? So £5 a head. And the portions are large.

I did an Ocado order in five minutes this morning. It was automatically generated from what I buy most often, and then I just tweaked quantities and deleted a few things I know we won't need. I spend a few more minutes putting the stuff away when it arrives and a few minutes here and there editing it between now and delivery date. I don't meal plan in any structured way, though. I just make sure I always have a range of basics in and then I cook what I fancy/something that will use up what we have in.

I do enjoy thinking about food, though, and I'm an experienced cook (I'm nearly 60) and confident with all the basics. That probably helps.

So a potato some mince, a carrot, a glove of garlic and some mince arrives. All stuff I have in the house already ..... you still have to chop, cut, cook and it was nice, but no nicer than something I’d have come up with by myself.

That's awful. Is it better for things like Thai dishes where you ne kaffir leaves, lemongrass etc?

Confused about the portion sizes when you have some people saying that they're too much for a large man and others saying they leave their 5 YO hungry. Although I know a friend of mine who is a very big eater thinks there is plenty.

Some supermarkets publish recipes on their websites that have a 'buy ingredients' button, so you've effectively got the same as HF or Gousto right there, likely to be cheaper and less packaging. You'll sometimes have to buy a whole jar of spices but then you'll have it ready for next time.