I don't get 'hello fresh'

[dotdashdashdash]

Some friends of ours raved about hello fresh, do when they offered us a free box we jumped at the chance. But I just don't get it! I've had my 4 meals delivered and other than it bring pre-portioned out I don't see how it's easier than just making Ng your. Own stuff. I assumed that the meat and veg would come pre-prepped, peeled, chopped etc. But they don't! I'm still chopping peeling and mashing stuff. And I still have to do the weekly shop as it's only 4 evening meals.

Is it just that I'm not their target market? We cook from scratch anyway and I know how to cook. Is this aimed at ready meal/ take away/ freezer food every night people?

OhToBeASeahorse

It's not a thinly disguised dig. I had hope to really like it, but I think I was expecting it to be something it wasn't. I can totally see if the planning and shopping bit of meal prep is the bit you hate that it would appeal. Unfortunately for me that's the bit I find easy and the time to actually cook is the bit I struggle with.

@dotdashdashdash I wasnt referring to you, sorry, I should have been clearer

A good friend uses it and loves it.

She's a single mum.
Full time teacher, who is teaching a mixture of in-person and online students at the same time while wearing a mask 8 hours a day.
Started at a new school last Sept.
Does some extra teaching at the weekends to help her daughter pay for university.

She's perfectly capable of cooking and meal planning during normal times.

Right now, being able to come home, get out the ingredients and spend a peaceful half hour cooking, eat with her son, then get back to work, has been a lifesaver for her.

Right now, being able to come home, get out the ingredients and spend a peaceful half hour cooking

I think that's my issue. My half hour cooking is a toddler hugging my leg and a primary age kids moaning about why he isn't allowed to use his tablet. There is no peace to be had here!

It’s for people who don’t know how to cook.

I do know how to cook thanks. I just like trying new things.

I have never seen the point either, i find it easy to look online, tv, or in books and magazines for meal inspiration and during lockdown came up with weekly meal plans and attached a shopping list to each one so it was easy to order. It has meant online shopping is easier as i only buy what we need for the week ahead,, the freezer is no longer full of things for possible meals so there is room for any leftover portions. We have not eaten the same meal once in the past eight weeks and when i cant be bothered finding new meals i can shuffle back through the menus. I also add the page number of my scrapbook full of recipes so DH or DS can take their turn at cooking too. I like having a cupboard full of herbs and spices though so would hate getting lots of little packages for individual meals and chucking all the packaging. The whole idea just seems such an expensive waste to me especially as supermarkets deliver and have recipes etc online.

The whole idea just seems such an expensive waste to me

I think having a cupboard full of herbs and spices that only get used once and soon go stale is more wasteful that having measured fresh portions.
And the thought of all that recipe hunting and planning bores me rigid. I would love to do Hello Fresh if I could.

@dotdashdashdash

Right now, being able to come home, get out the ingredients and spend a peaceful half hour cooking

I think that's my issue. My half hour cooking is a toddler hugging my leg and a primary age kids moaning about why he isn't allowed to use his tablet. There is no peace to be had here!

I tend to get the 10 min recipes or the prep in 5 ones

It's not worth full price and I prefer Gousto but the big positive for me is the lack of food waste as I struggle to properly use all my fresh veg in time.

The one thing that I find super annoying is that their homemade pizza is pizza bases! You can pick those up for £1 and you're not learning to make homemade pizza so where is the value?

I tend to get the 10 min recipes or the prep in 5 ones

Ooh, I didn't now they did those. I'll take another look.

Seems like expensive and pointless for me. But I have a decent stock cupboard of herbs spices and other ingredients. If I find a recipe I want to try I probably already have a lot of the stuff, or the knowledge to know what I could swap in. It's unlikely I would buy an ingredient so unusual I wouldn't use it again for other meals. I assume these kind of things are aimed at people who don't know much about cooking and what goes with what. Because generally I don't cook from recipes at all, I just chuck stuff in and it comes out fine....

We use Hello Fresh for two meals a week - both my DSs wanted to learn to cook during lockdown (11 and 12) and it’s a great way for them to learn without me having to help so I get a break from it! As the portions and condiments are all measured out I don’t get endless questions of how much is a splash, how much of this or that does it mean etc. They choose the recipes each week and are fully in charge of dinner for those nights, both have tried things they wouldn’t normally and they like the independence of being totally in charge.

It is expensive and it’s not something that massively appeals to me but for kids to be able to learn it’s been fantastic.

@SusannaMorvern herbs and spices take forever to go off! I keep squeezy garlic, ginger, chili and herbs in the fridge, and dried herbs and spices in the cupboard for months, possibly even years. Have never had any of them go bad before they got used up.

Also with kids who are not particularly fussy but still haven't certain vegetables etc they each like and don't like, a set box recipe is bound to not include something they will all like. Eg if I do a stir-fry I always put in broccoli for my daughter, carrots for my son etc. Otherwise someone will end up eating a dinner with no veg if the set recipe includes say, butternut squash that neither of them will eat. I can be much more flexible with my own ingredients to make slightly different versions of the same thing which everyone will like.

I assume these kind of things are aimed at people who don't know much about cooking and what goes with what.

You assume wrong.

I wonder if some of the appeal here is to people who religiously follow best before dates for vegetables, herbs, spices, condiments etc. I don't, so I very rarely end up throwing anything away. Soup, pasta sauces and vegetable stews account for lots of slightly elderly vegetables here, with some ending up in the freezer.

It probably also helps that I'm not short of storage and fridge/freezer space, to be fair.

@dotdashdashdash

I tend to get the 10 min recipes or the prep in 5 ones

Ooh, I didn't now they did those. I'll take another look.

Yes it's good for me, tends to be lots of Asian flavours which we like. I also choose things like a rendang curry which I know will be quick and tasty. This is on gousto by the way.

@dotdashdashdash I haven't RTFT so this may have been answered already but how much do Hello Fresh and similar others charge? I read of one such expensive company a few months ago who just delivers recipe cards, herbs and spices - no veg, meat or fish so you still have to go shopping for ingredients!

[quote CityCommuter]@dotdashdashdash I haven't RTFT so this may have been answered already but how much do Hello Fresh and similar others charge? I read of one such expensive company a few months ago who just delivers recipe cards, herbs and spices - no veg, meat or fish so you still have to go shopping for ingredients![/quote]
I pay around £48 for 4 meals for 3 people a week

I love Gousto. Have been using for the past year.

Feel free to use my code for 50% off first box and 30% off rest of month.

https://cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promocode=CLARE11831100&utmm_source=iosapp

@dotdashdashdash

Right now, being able to come home, get out the ingredients and spend a peaceful half hour cooking

I think that's my issue. My half hour cooking is a toddler hugging my leg and a primary age kids moaning about why he isn't allowed to use his tablet. There is no peace to be had here!

Yes those days were tiring - I remember them well. Mind you, I'd still have paid anything for meals that I didn't have to plan and shop for, given that I'd usually just finished a long work day, and still had to get 3 smalls into bath and bed. Sadly Hello Fresh etc wasn't a thing back then. Neither was online grocery shopping. Life was pretty fecking exhausting tbh.

@bonbonours

Really, dried herbs and spices don't keep that well, once unsealed and their flavour weakens. Although I had a huge clear out recently and discovered some right horrors, all the way back to 2005! No idea about squeezy stuff.

We love Hello fresh.

We are a couple. DP works out of the home weekdays and I dont eat breakfast or lunch so its super convenient for us.

We dont just get the standard meals - we often pay for the premium or theme dishes, and occasionally the sunday lunch.

@CityCommuter

Next week we are paying £41.99 for 5 nights of meals for 2 people (thats standard and you can pay more for other options). Seems expensive but cheaper than when I go to the shops and get out of control.

We are having the following meals:

www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/bbq-sausage-skewers-5b59b0f0ae08b52173163442

www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/waldorf-salad-style-salad-with-chicken-and-bacon-5eeb3e2cfee30c423730b924

www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/crispy-chicken-and-bombay-style-potatoes-5f6b392268235d6960684b7c

www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/herby-burgers-5acf24d330006c71f30d9b02

www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/porky-pappardelle-5d9ddc255c37421d8b32fdd1

These are all quite long cook ones due to wedges/ roast potato based - but I like this as I buy an extra bag of potatoes and add to the portions.

Other days we do quick risotto, pizza or pasta dishes.

@dotdashdashdash gousto 10 min example ones recipes usually on google