Is hello fresh value for money or a rip off?

[cleocleo81]

Contemplating signing up to hello fresh. It seems for a weekly box for three people for three meals a week it is £35 a week. That works out about £13.50 per meal for 4 people- 2 adults, 2 dcs. Does this sound value for money or too much?

I have gone back to work recently and dh and I are struggling to make a healthy dinner for the family quickly in the turn around between finishing work and bedtime. Dh is struggling to finish work early to cook tea on time whilst I am out or still working. So I thought it could take the stress off him three times a week, be a good way of eating healthily, getting more varied food into the dcs and allowing me to monitor calories and portion size better.

However, our shopping bill has rocketed so I was hoping this might help reduce it too so that I done but as much in the weekly shop as I now only need to shop for 3/4 meals a week instead of 7. I don't want to end up spending our weekly shop plus HelloFresh. Do you think this is the case? It will be money saving overall?

I've been considering this one as well. I hope you don't mind me following, op. I worry I'd still spend lots at the supermarket...

You are paying for the convenience although the quality is good its more expensive than buying the ingredients from, say, the supermarket

I doubt it’ll save time though.

Maybe if you have a pressure cooker or slow cooker would help with time?

I don’t think it’s good value for money. We only do it when we get discount vouchers or we need a real boost to get us back cooking again. It’s really good for that as it does make cooking a meal from scratch easier and seem more manageable when you’re short of time and energy.

Rip-off. Too many meals where you have to pay extra and much more expensive than doing it yourself. Yes, convenient, but you'd be better spending 30 minutes on the BBC food website, and then another 30 minutes doing an online order for whatever you've chosen.

If you are a capable cook with a staple store cupboard and access to recipes on the internet you are confident cooking, I don't think it offers value for money, but if you struggle for recipes and inspiration then it can make life a lot easier. It doesn't build up your store cupboard though because you only buy what you need. We have various magazine subscriptions and pick recipes from that every week, where we buy full sized herbs/spices for example, which then get used again at a later date. I go back to the magazines again and again. This week we've got one from 2017 on the go.

It will save time. You don’t have to think about it, take out the bag and just cook it. I can get it on the table in 30mins. It’s helped a lot here. I find it pricey, but it seems cheaper there. An even quicker one if you have it is Hungry Root

I found I had to use loads of pans and chopping boards. Not ideal for weekday dinners!

Nice to get some new ideas, but we have a pretty well stocked larder anyway, so getting all the ingredients over and above the meat/veg was not a huge benefit , it's the DC 'preferences' that inhibit our range of meals more than anything

Also, SO MUCH packaging!

Tbh qe didn't rate Hello Fresh.

Shamelessly positing a referral link for Gousto though - we use it fortnightly and keep the recipes we love.

You get 65% off your first box and then 30% off any chance in the first month. And I get £20 towards my next box.

In our house we call it Hello "Not so Fresh" haven't used for a good few years, a friend who works twelve hour days in finance (albeit out in the garden) uses them and swears to get rid of them on a regular basis, because she agrees with the Not so Fresh label but keeps going back for convenience and that is what they are trading on.

Leaving the subscription on their website is akin to trying to leave the Church of Scientology. Not even joking.

Crap, forgot the link!

cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promo_code=ALLIS33205208&utm_source=androidapp

We use cookfood every now and then. It’s homemade ready meals, just stick it in the oven, steamfresh veg in the microwave and you’re off. The cost is worth it, cheaper and healthier than a take away.

If you like cooking but ate short of time, it’s pretty good.

If you don’t like cooking I’d buy meals from m and s or cook and add veg.

I've never used them because I always think they sound too expensive.

I'm pretty organised in that I stock up on offers and yellow stickers from Waitrose. I also like cooking which probably helps.

How much is your weekly shop?

I use hello fresh 5 x week for 3 people. I think the portions are very good and if we have pasta we normally have a protein left over for lunch the next day. My cost per week is roughly £55.
We decided to give it a go as we've just started a new business and I was realising it was passed dinner time when the kids were whining and my tummy was rumbling. Anyway, you won't build up store ingredients but it takes the thinking away, for me it's what I need for now. We're enjoying trying new things especially vegetarian options and it's all healthy. All cals are listed on the menu if that's important to you. I can ping you a free box code if you like - I've got 3 left

I like the meal boxes. Not all the time but it offers variety when meal planning and shopping just gets too much. It’s certainly not value for money as someone else has done the shopping and thinking for you but it does make a change. It even gets my teen boys cooking as we split the cooking of the meals. So they have learnt lots of new techniques and are now competent cooks.

From my experience it's good to give you some new meal ideas but is in no way worth the money. It's more time consuming because you're cooking meals you've never made before and I always found things like the meat weren't good quality at all. Usually very fatty and hard to cook with. If you have a discount it's worth a go to give you some variety but I'd recommend meal planning for the week and making a shopping list from that, a bit of batch cooking so you've got a couple of things in the freezer for nights you're struggling for time and maybe invest in a slow cooker. I find this a lot easier than hello fresh meals although I've got a few good new recipes from them!

@42isthemeaning

I've been considering this one as well. I hope you don't mind me following, op. I worry I'd still spend lots at the supermarket...

Yes me too. I want to save money so will need to be cautious of what I buy in the weekly shop.

We use them. I find it much cheaper - but only because I dont go to the supermarket - instead just buying milk and bread from the corner shop and not getting distracted buying other treats or things I fancy whilst browsing.

If you still need to go for kids lunches and things then its probably not worth it.

What I'd do (and have done when short on time) is cook things like salmon or pan fry chicken and frozen veg. Lovely with microwave flavoured rice.

Fresh pesto and pasta or steak and new potatoes if not on a budget

You can cook loads in a few minutes.

£13.50 per meal for 4 is a lot.

A tasty quick, balance super would cost you anywhere from £5 to £10 buying ingredients directly from the supermarket. Possibly more if you buy the luxury version of everything.

You are paying for the convenience of not having to think so much though. Worth it for some.

@Shuk

I found I had to use loads of pans and chopping boards. Not ideal for weekday dinners!

Nice to get some new ideas, but we have a pretty well stocked larder anyway, so getting all the ingredients over and above the meat/veg was not a huge benefit , it's the DC 'preferences' that inhibit our range of meals more than anything

Also, SO MUCH packaging!

Yes we actually had our first box today. There are lots of ingredients in there which we would already have so it is doubling up. The packaging is bad, I felt bad about that.

I feel misled by the price too. Told it would be £21 each with the discount then accidentally ordered a premium meal apparently so charged extra £10. Then next box seems to be minimum of £35 whichever recipes chosen.

The main issues is time as disorganisation I guess. I have limited time and don't want to spend my free time meal planning. I try to use my slow cooker but struggle to find time in the morning to prep the meal. Forget to get something out the freezer, have the right ingredients in.

Dh is a good cook but takes ages so then it's stressful trying to fit cooking, washing up, homework, bedtime routine in on time. He also makes lots of high carb very calorie high means which I don't want. Dc don't like a lot of the meals I make either but both loved the HelloFresh meal tonight.

@MrsPerfect12

I use hello fresh 5 x week for 3 people. I think the portions are very good and if we have pasta we normally have a protein left over for lunch the next day. My cost per week is roughly £55. We decided to give it a go as we've just started a new business and I was realising it was passed dinner time when the kids were whining and my tummy was rumbling. Anyway, you won't build up store ingredients but it takes the thinking away, for me it's what I need for now. We're enjoying trying new things especially vegetarian options and it's all healthy. All cals are listed on the menu if that's important to you. I can ping you a free box code if you like - I've got 3 left

Yes please. Thanks so much

Would very simple weekday meals work better for you?

We struggle for time as well and often have things like ramen, pasta & pesto, macaroni and cheese, mini fried breakfast as weekday meals (plus extra veg). Cheap and quick to cook.

I do have a bit of a love hate relationship with meal planning. I get really sick of it sometimes, but it makes so much difference in the week. I actually planned for the whole month at the beginning of January so I don't have to think about it again for ages...