Partner Moaning about Hello Fresh

[SouthMumof2]

AIBU for wanting to give Hello Fresh a try?
I work full time as does partner. Have 2 kids 12 & 10. I do the school pick up and home to cook tea every night. I am so sick of cooking the same few meals on repeat. I admit I am no cook but can follow instructions. When I get home from a full on day at work I don’t have mental capacity to think what to cook. Sometimes ending up going out to eat / takeaway as want something tasty but don’t know how to create at home. I said to partner I want to try Hello fresh so all the ingredients are there with a plan to follow, will be nice to try new stuff and kids said they will try it all and help to cook. Partner so grumpy about it, saying it’s very expensive and we could just make a meal plan at start of week (we’ve been saying that for years but never do) and it’s the creative aspect of planning I struggle with. The first box is £20 for 3 meals for 4 of us. We both earn very well so money not an issue. Is it ok to give it a try or is it a waste of money and I should stick to same boring meals?

Definitely do it! I hate thinking of what to have and i just end up making the same few things so hellofresh is great for me as I just spend 10 mins choosing the meals and then that's it all done. You can filter by prep time as well if you want a couple of nights where you can have tea on the table quickly.
Obviously it's worse value than buying the actual ingredients, but if affordability's not an option then I would highly recommend as it just saves loads of time thinking and shopping.
It is so easy to pause and cancel too, so no need to worry about getting tied in on the hook like some things you subscribe for.
My friends do as you suggest and cook for their family of 4 using the recipe cards that they've accumulated, but just buy the stuff in the supermarket.
You can get the recipes from their website too.

PS if you have Amazon prime you get free delivery for Hellofresh too, which cuts down on the cost

@SouthMumof2I discovered Taming Twins on instagram and some of her meals have become firm family favourites. They’re cheap and easy and she even does meal plans to make the shopping easier. Meal plans here

I’m not a fan but there’s loads of offers.
insane amounts of packaging too.
Do a wee trial and then cancel. The trial is enough to give you inspiration for a new meal plan -
that said the inspo is mainly ooh I’ll start buying harissa or toast some nuts tbh.

it’s very expensive and we could just make a meal plan at start of week

tell him that’s a great idea and as soon as he does it you’ll cancel the hello fresh order

Gousto gets my vote. I still use my cards years later.
Make the most of the trial.
You might be surprised by the smaller size of the meals. An eye opener to proper portion control.
or
Hand the whole thing over to moany dh. He plans, shops, puts away, preps and cooks and tidies as he goes. You and dc can lay the table, say 'thank you' and load the dish washer.

Tell him, only the cook gets a vote on how the meals appear!

Would it not just be easier to buy a few cookery books?

For a new account you’ll get a good deal/free boxes.
I get them about once a year, just to shake things up and I do keep making the odd thing from them , it’s a good way to try some new stuff out.

Things would probably be a lot easier if your husband spent a Saturday or a Sunday each month batch cooking for the freezer. Imagine if there were two or three meals each weekday that you just had to defrost. Bolognaise, curry, stew, etc. Alternatively he could make something in the evening for the next day.
Then you could e.g. cook double at Sunday lunch and have leftovers on Monday, and also have things like omelettes, beans on toast etc.
You only need to meal plan once if you do three weeks and rotate. I do one week and then vary the same time of dish, so week one is pumpkin risotto, week two is courgette risotto, week three is mushroom. Week one is omlette, week two is quiche, week three is frittata

I'm using gousto and love it. I also don't have a husband who makes my life harder, which I love even more!

If you want inspiration try https://hfresh.info/
Has the recipe cards from HF from all around the world.

I wouldn't bother with Hello Fresh or anything similar but I do rely on a supermarket home delivery.
You have to do a weekly shop anyway, I presume.
It takes little more time to tack on a week's worth of menu planned meals to the weekly order. I use my large back catalogue of recipe magazines but quick cook/one tin books/sites should be just as good. Throw in a couple of even easier meals for stressed days.
And obviously ensure that DH does this bit as his share of the shopping/cooking effort.
Then you rock up home after work, choose one of the recipes or easy meals he has planned and had delivered and it's just as easy as Hello Fresh ... and a lot cheaper.

How about the Cherrypick app? It's basically like Hello Fresh etc in that you pick your meals, but then it automatically populates your online shopping cart (or creates a shopping list for store shopping).And you can add your other grocies on too. It makes things very easy. There's also a meal plan generator option, but you might need the paid version of the app for that.

But it's basically like a meal box scheme, but at supermarket prices, with less packaging and less waste.

Both you and DH could log into the app, and share the planning.

During the week it is always me that cooks as I am home first from school run (I start work super early to finish early) hubby starts work later and finishes anytime between 17:30-18:30 so by the time they get home would be too late to start cooking then we’d all be starving.

What does he do to make up for the fact that, in order for your children to be looked after and the food made, your working/caring day begins much earlier than his?

Or does he and his cock get an extra lie-in just because.

Maybe an alternative to suggest to your partner is that you try a slow cooker first? He could sort whatever he’s planned for dinner before leaving for work, and leave you instructions so you can finish off the meal and prepare any veg/rice/pasta/garlic bread etc. when you get home

Yup.

Or at the very least meal plan, find and print the recipes and get the ingredients in the fridge in bags for each meal for you

Mindful chef and green kitchen are good too you can use all the intro offers

Tell me you don’t have decision fatigue without telling me.

i get it OP. I spend all day deciding things for a large organisation. I don’t have it in me to make decisions in my own time.

Get Gousto not Hello Fresh. It’s must better and has better meal choices

I love Hello Fresh! Yes it’s more than expensive than doing it all yourself but they’ve done most of the work. We eat a much more varied menu now, and portion sizes are under control.
Give it a go with the discount. You can always cancel.

Thanks again for all the comments.. I went ahead with the order anyway and tonight will be the first go at one of the meals.. the cards looks easy to follow and yes it has taken away the mental load of choosing what to have and how to do it. By the way, hubby does do the washing up & cleans the kitchen if I’ve cooked so no complaints there. Just doesn’t like change I think or wasting money.. so we will see how it goes.

How did it go @SouthMumof2?!