Hello fresh? Worth the money?

[Lovemusic33]

I struggle for meal ideas and buy the same old things each week (mainly because the DD’s are fussy), I shop online with tesco and and our shopping bill seems to be growing. I need more inspiration when it comes to meals. It’s just me and 2 teens, one is very fussy (sensory issues) so she probably wouldn’t eat any thing new but maybe cooking with me will help.

Has anyone used Hello fresh? Does it work out more expensive? Has it helped you cook and try new things?

I have tried Hellofresh and Gousto boxes.
If you look around you should be able to get a discount code for your first box- do you know anyone who can "recommend " you?

They look expensive, but there is no waste, and all the different spices etc are included so you don't end up with a cupboard full of jars of unusual spice you don't use up.
The meals are very varied- lots of choice.
I had issues with Hellofresh supply very short date and in one case off chicken. Also the packaging isn't very recycling friendly.
I preferred Gousto- more veg, imo better quality meat.

They both make cooking and meal planning soooo much easier. The instructions are easy to follow and solve that "what on earth can I do for tea" moments when you stare into the fridge full of all the usual boring suspects.

I would get a discount code for both and see which you like.

If your DD’s are fussy, I wouldn’t use this as a way of trying to get them into new stuff.
I used Hello Fresh when DD was about 5, I think (it was just her and I at the time, as I was a lone parent), and although I loved what was inside the boxes, a lot of the stuff was just too sophisticated for a child.

I’m all for children eating interesting things, and I never make separate meals for DD or have ‘kid food’, but with the HF boxes I found that there wasn’t actually enough vegetables included, so I had to buy more anyway, or that the recipes were too spicy for example.

Think ‘trout with samphire’, beef with a balsamic glaze, kind of stuff - all lovely for a grown up, but not little children.
Obviously it depends on how old your DD’s are - if they’re older/teens, it could be worth a go, but I wouldn’t say that your food bill would necessarily go down.

We struggled with hello fresh as you dont get to see the choices before you sign up! We are predominantly veggie house hold, and after we subscribed for a trial realised the options were really limited for us. Customer service offered to pause our subscription till the following week and again there was a few meals we liked but not enough for a whole box. It was a massive faff to cancel it even though we tried to do it in less than an hour after taking out the trial and never got food delivered.

We have tried several similar things and found that it helps spice up our boring ruts of food but is often expensive once trials etc end

I use gousto and absolutely love it. Even if you try a few boxes you'll get ideas for dishes you can make again. They've got loads of choices, including things that are more standard family food that I don't pick as I like the variety, pasta bake, fish and chips etc.
They never once let me down during lockdown either. Big fan!
It is pricy but it depends what you buy at the moment, if you waste food etc, value of convenience. For me it's worth it as the struggle each week to meal plan was not helping marital relations, plus we eat quite simply the rest of the week

Thank you, I managed to find a half price code for the first week, I have signed up for meals for 2 people as I know dd1 won’t eat it, though there’s a few things she might try (I can always change it to 3), there seems to be a lot of potato and pasta? I will give it a go and see how I get on and then maybe try a different company. It works out around £27 for 3 meals a week Which isn’t too bad, at the moment I’m throwing a lot away because I’m buying random things and not using them, mainly because I’m bored of eating the same foods.

I will be trying Gousto next month (after payday!). I have so many friends who have tried both and really rate Gousto. Also apparently they frequently get 3 portions out of a gousto meal for 2.

Not what you asked, but I tried "Simply Cook" - they send little pots of spices & pastes & tell you what you need to add.
Wide range of dishes, & easy to swap whatever protein & veg they suggest.

I've used Gousto, Hello Fresh and Simply Cook. I far prefer Gousto because the portion sizes are better, the veg better quality and the recipes suit our family better.
I keep the recipe cards and use them weekly. If we get a bit bored of the meals, I'll order another box and get more recipe ideas.

Simply Cook is good, you only need to buy a few readily available ingredients and they send all the spices, pastes and recipe. I will PM you a code for a free box if you'd like

I've just signed up to Hello Fresh and the portion sizes are not at all generous. I'm going to wait until my promo boxes have finished and then cancel.

A friend has Gousto and she loves it so I might try that. Although, I do think at full price these schemes are expensive. Many of the recipes are available on the websites so if you can plan ahead and do the food shop, maybe that's an option?

Another vote for simply cook. Only ever been disappointed with one recipe. It offers great variety and all very straightforward. Still need to buy your own ingredients but if you're still doing a shop for other things it shouldn't be an added burden. I've found it to be far more cost effective compared to hello fresh which I stopped after just a few boxes.

I've tried Hello Fresh, Gousto and Simply Cook.

Hello Fresh: best tasting meals, everything packaged by meal instead of loose in a box like Gousto. Most expensive. Worth it just for the recipes. Stopped using them (and Gousto) because while there isn't any food waste I absolutely hated all the packaging waste (think a million tiny mayo packets instead of using the jar of mayo in the fridge). Tiny pots of everything. Several plastic ice packs per box. An environmental nightmare.

Gousto: cheaper but oh my god the packaging. Everything loose in a box wrapped in unprocessed sheep's wool. Smells like a farm. Annoying to unpack. Same problem with packaging waste as above.

Simply Cook: great recipes, love the seasonings, but super expensive at £9.99 a box for a week's worth of spices.

TL;DR: Expensive but could potentially cut down on weekly food costs if you're not a meal planner. If you feel any guilt about the amount of plastic you consume it's not for you.

I get Hello Fresh (x3 meals for two people per week). Am not in UK so not sure how it compares, but I really like it: provides three 'proper meals' each week - can easily pick different recipes each week - low-cal, veggie, red meat, pork, etc... and it's all done for me, apart from the cooking! It can get a little bit samey after a while (there are a LOT of chicken dishes each week - as an example) so I'll sometimes skip a week.

I've had quite a few issues with missing items or vegetables past their best, but averaged out over the period I've been subscribing for, not too bad.

@ElephantsAlltheWayDown no sheep's wool now with Gousto! Ice packs and cardboard

I liked the sheep's wool- now recycled as mulch round the tomato plants!

Gousto have changed and no sheep’s wool, all ingredients now in numbered bags with just fresh food separate.they seem to be making areal effort to reduce waste by using recyclable packaging.
I have areal soft spot for them as we started a few weeks before lockdown, just on a whim with a discount code. Luckily we were then a customer and they delivered without fail every week ( watch and learn ocado ! ). Was a massive relief to know we had four really nice meals to look forward too.
Also I find it gives the family confidence to help. Previously I did all the cooking but now someone will come and join in or offer to cook that night because the recipe cards and knowing where all the stuff is gives them confidence .
It would be cheaper to just buy the ingredients but not by that much given there is no waste really.

I have used Gousto and Simply Cook. Simply Cook is the only one I have carried on with. It's not really just herbs and spices as there are concentrated stocks, pastes etc. The meals are all very tasty, I can buy my own ingredients (Gousto often sent very fatty chicken and shrivelled veg), I can use them when I want (Gousto I normally had to eat things in 2-3 days) and the cost is much lower. Their balinese curry and wild mushroom penne are weekly staples in our house!