About Cook, Gousto, Hello Fresh, et al?

[Famalamaringwrong]

Hit me. Which is the best of this kind of box? I want to start using one for my family not sure what to try and how the delivery works if you're not in etc? Thank you!!

I have had two hello fresh boxes both on a 50% code . The recipes were really nice and it has meant my husband and young adult daughters could cook (they are all cooking I have now had one full price box and now will oook at Gousto Codes sentry them too. I can definitely recommend hello fresh. The veg and meet were all very fresh and the meals were really tasty and I’ll make some of them again by buying the ingredients at the supermarket.

@lifebeginsnow

https://cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promocode=ASHLE18822784&utmm_source=iosapp

We've used gousto. I like it because I don't need to invest so much time, effort, thought into a new meal the kids may not like. If they don't like it, I think meh, I do. If I've spent ages planning, shopping etc. then it's sad when they don't like it. When we find meals we all like I recreate it and call it mumsto.

I alternate between Gousto and Hello Fresh and love them both. I was so fed up eating the same things over and over again. They are both really clever using few ingredients and spices. My children cook their recipes too as they are really simple to follow.
We never have take seats and rarely eat out as we cook such nice fresh food ourselves.

Take always not take seats🧐

Gousto order in!! I'm going to work my way round them all I think just to give them a try with the discount codes then go back to the best one. Busy life very demanding career, toddler and busy working husband = poor meal planning and expensive takeaways. Giving this a try as all else has failed. Not really bothered if people think its lazy!

Just to add my toddler never had takeaways! She is well cared for and has all decent food but my husband and I are not so lucky, we kind of run out of energy once shes in bed and end up with a take away or a quick unhealthy meal.

And we cant all eat together as he gets home so late. Anyway just thought I'd clarify that! Thanks everyone for your replies.

With gousto do you have to sign up to getting the boxes weekly or can you chose if/when you want them?

We use Hello Fresh most weeks. Did try Gousto as well but wasn't as impressed with the packaging or the flavour of the meals. I really enjoy HF - it's very rare that you get a dud meal and it's encouraged us to try stuff that tbh I probably wouldn't think about trying or have the confidence to cook out of a recipe book.

It's made life so much easier in terms of getting home from work and not having to think about what to cook and it makes cooking the evening meal much more relaxing and enjoyable. We are also spending less during the rest of the week - and fewer takeaways!

The packaging is an issue, undoubtedly. But most of it is biodegradable and there is far, far less food waste because everything gets used in the correct amounts. And the cats get the insulated wool as a bed

Its easy to change how often you have the gousto boxes mummyshark weekly/fortnightly/mobthly even i believe bi monthly. Even when you've chosen how often it is, its easy to pause (ie not get it for however long) or to cancel an indervidal box or cancel the subscription altogether

I cancelled Hello Fresh after I got sick of portion sizes being too small. For that price I would expect a really decent filling amount of food, not an amount where you need a dessert etc after. (neither me if dh are overweight or big eaters BTW)

Once I had a king prawn (maybe linguine?) recipe. They sent a package with 5 bloody prawns. To feed two people - 2.5 prawns each ffs. Luckily I had some in the freezer so supplemented with that.

And yes sometimes an item was forgotten and then you have the hassle of letting them know and they'd give you a discount but it's a bit late by then.

I also got a bit annoyed when they'd sell something on it being eg asparagus but then change it for another much cheaper veg like broccoli.

Ultimately I just felt I was being ripped off.

I would try another of these boxes again if I just needed that convenience in my life temporarily, but I wouldn't choose hello fresh again, I'd try and find another which is cheaper and portion sizes better.

Sounds like gousto is overall better value.

I find the Hello Fresh portions enormous but that's on the starch - as you say, there is generally v little of the protein (aka the expensive part). The meals are therefore unbalanced for my tastes, and there are usually not enough veg

Did you all know that the Ocado website has a recipe section with a click to buy button for the relevant ingredients? Obviously the packages aren't measured out but provided you're otherwise cooking it's not wasted and hopefully less packaging (plus substantially greater selection)

We like Mindful Chef.

I used Hello Fresh for a couple of months when I was working long hours. I liked the recipes, but I didn’t like the packaging. I also prefer to support small businesses on our high street, so I’ve opted to try Simply Cook lately. The two recipes I’ve tried have been really tasty, and I can use organic meat for the meat eaters in the family, and tweak the other half for the non-meat eaters.

I still have a problem with the plastic pots though, so probably won’t carry on with it.

I wonder whether a waxed cardboard pot would be more environmentally friendly. Worth some research #simplycook

Has anyone tried the Joe Wicks recipes in Gousto? Are they any good? I am tempted by that!

I really want to try Gousto now. I'd never heard of it. GF is a bonus.

The recipies all look like something I could cook anyway tbh without a recipie card, but DP who lives alone is keen to try these boxes.

I'm intrigued by the woollen insulation!

Simply cookie utterly brilliant but only supplies the seasonings. I tried hello fresh and it was ok but not as tasty and the simply cook recipes and very expensive.

Simply cook even! Stupid autocorrect.

Hello Fresh, lovely food but far too much packaging. I now use Simply Cook every week. Just a few ingredients to buy for each meal and we prefer the meals and the amount of choice.

We've had a few Joe Wicks recipes puttheknifedown . To be honest, they were incredibly similar to recipes we'd previously had anyway from gousto, just sort of rebranded. Good recipes anyway though!

I looked at Hello Fresh and Gousto, but couldn't bring myself to order it because of the environmental impact. Transport, packaging etc. It's really, really bad. If we're ever going to get on top of climate change, this sort of thing will have to go.

If limited time and energy is your main problem it may not help, I found meals and clean up really time consuming compared to my normal weeknight go-to meals.

The packaging is even more environmentally worrying than supermarket packaging.

Personally I loved Gousto over Hello Fresh. As the name indicates they are about taste, found all the recipes full of exciting flavour and a joy to make!

Give them all a whirl - they all come with intro offers!

Cook! Frozen meals are pretty good IMO, although pricey.