Is Gousto / hellofresh / other meal kits worth it?

[amaiseing]

I have just been looking as it’s £40 for 4 meals for two. This seems so expensive. We did it years ago so have used our first order codes, so we would have to pay full price. Does anyone do it regularly and is there another way to get things cheaper? I love the principle of it sending different recipes each time as we aren’t very creative and do just cycle round the same meals, but weighing up the cost of it

I think not, I got it on an offer (hello fresh) in the hope that it might stop the daily what's for tea question when I couldn't be arsed to think about it. I didn't find the quality of ingredients that great, or the quantities. Like I know I want more veg and salad and by the time I've got that I might as well have gone shopping for the rest of it. And it was expensive for what it was.

But I like cooking, am quite good at it, don't mind trying new recipes and walk home past shops that sell quite a good range of stuff.

And if I'm not feeling like cooking I'll do an omelette.

I do Simply Cook which is cheaper as you just get the flavourings and recipes. The meals are lovely and quick to prepare and does save me time and effort.

I only buy them when I have credit. I've not paid for a Gousto box in years...

I keep all the cards of recipes we liked (which is about 95% of them) and chuck out the few we hated. Then I use them to meal plan and shop.

There's a 65% off code at the moment, but I won't spam the board with it. Usually you'll be able to use a new code with a new email address. Or my mate used to have things delivered to her neighbour 😂 with their consent obv.

Only tried Hello Fresh, whilst the recipes are really nice, the kit is delivered by Evri in a cardboard box, with ice packing, I didn't like the idea of meat being posted this way, also the quality of meat was terrible, I chucked most the meat and bought my own so it didn't end up being useful for me, I did buy the recipe book for inspiration but I wouldn't order boxes again.

I use Gousto but only when they send me discounts to return and then I cancel again! If I hold out they regularly send me 20/30/40% discount. I really rate the Gousto recipes and portion sizes.

Hello fresh has really gone down in quality, imo. I first joined them about 8 years ago and their recipes were fab. I joined them again recently and it’s more expensive and the food isn’t great. If you want the decent stuff, you’ve got to pay a premium, some even as high as £5 per person. Gusto is better, but I think more expensive, I’ve just joined them and currently have a discount.

Btw, even though you were a previous customer of HF, you should still get a discount for rejoining.

We use Gusto. It's great for my 19yo DS, he happily cooks one of the meals for dinner, and even cooks for me.

It has helped with his confidence in the kitchen as well.

I've just had a box (gousto) for the first time as I had a 65% off code. I won't be bothering again.
The recipes were easy to follow and I've enjoyed the meals but portion sizes were small imo , all needed added veg or protein to make what I'd consider a reasonable meal. I'll keep the recipes and do my own version of the ones we've enjoyed.

I like simply cook best.
You can buy it off the shelf in Tesco too.

I get Hello Fresh every week - I live alone and I'm not a great cook. For me, it's great - I get the 3 meals a week for 2 people option so it's effectively 6 meals a week for 1 person + no wasted ingredients, no faffing for shopping of ingredients, and usually the portion sizes are fantastic. It means I can cook and eat healthy meals and don't live on quiche, chips and beans! Veggie though, so can't comment on the meat, but the vegetarian options are brilliant. They tend to often bring out new recipes too. Honestly, I'd be lost without it.

I like Gousto occasionally when we have a decent discount code and are bored with our usual dinners. I wouldn't pay full price though.

In my experience buying veggie Goustos, the quality is always good except sometimes the salad.

We’ve been using Gousto since new year and I’ve just cancelled my subscription. I wouldn’t pay full price for the boxes. The recipes are nice, easy to follow and it’s served a purpose for us in that it’s got us out of a food rut. We’ve kept the cards and will make the recipes again but we did find the portions a little on the small side for some things and I felt it necessary to pad out with extra veg.

Hello Fresh treat their factory workers like shit so I’d say they’re not worth it for that reason alone.

I got Gousto with a big discount code

I enjoyed trying new recipes and using ingredients I wouldn't necessarily automatically pick myself (re discovered a love for spring onions and fennel, for example).

Portion sizes a little small.

It's not worth it at full price so I've cancelled now.

I totally agree. We threw the mince out. It didn't look good at all

Gusto are better but portions are too small for my teens

You need to use the codes! 70% off then cancel. They will offer you more discounts.

www.gousto.co.uk/raf/?promo_code=CHANI43105518&utm_source=weblink

I used Hello Fresh for a few months a couple of years ago but stopped because a) there were never enough vegetables for my liking b) the quality of the veg was often questionable (eg bags of spinach that were slimy on day of arrival) or c) missing items. Although I have kept some of the cards and still make the meals.

I now use Simply Cook - there's a great choice of kits for variety but you buy the meat/fish/veg yourself so can make sure it suits your needs.

We did Gousto for about 6 months and then switched to hello fresh. Have enjoyed both and had no issues with quality on either. We always have a delivery for a Monday and eat mon - Thurs if that makes a difference. Gousto I found the recipes slightly more faff for no difference on taste. Really enjoy the simplicity of the hello fresh for tasty meals, portion sizes are great (and I am no sparrow eater!. We definitely save money this way, and it saves so much brain power thinking of interesting / healthy meals. I can see if you’re a good cook / have time / enjoy cooking it wouldn’t be for you though.

I love Gousto. My box has just arrived this morning. So many interesting meals and its really helped to teach the children to cook.

I use hello fresh and gousto from time to time - just for new meal ideas- and only when I've got a discount code or free box.

Like other posters I keep the meal cards and recreate the ones we like with Aldi ingredients!

Agree that HF is not what it used to be. Most of the meals seem to be veggie or have cheap cuts of meat eg mince or chicken thigh - and repeated from previous months. If you want any other meats you have to pay an extra supplement on top of the already high price.

Financially it's a bad choice to get them often. What I do is get one every now and then and keep the recipes I like but buy my own ingredients. There are Hello Fresh and Gousto recipes I've cooked dozens of times for a fraction of the box cost.

I use Gousto when they have a discount code. I like the variety of meals and not wasting (or having a cupboard full of) ingredients I don’t use often. Their instructions are easy and have helped my DD learn to cook without me hovering over her. Not value for money at full cost though.

If you have a voucher I find they are pretty good, it certainly means we have no waste (an issue with cooking for two) and we eat better with proper portion control. At full price they are marginal. I'll put a voucher onto the vouchers section of Mumsnet

Abel & Cole soup recipe kits are good, I think Riverford do them too. Really good ingredients and recipes you'd never think to try otherwise. Switches to salads in the summer.