Hello fresh?

[inourpeppapigstage]

I’ve hit a rut with cooking. I have a very fussy toddler; I’m on WLIs so not really eating much and DH is the opposite and gaining a lot. It’s time for an overhaul. Wondering about hello fresh subscription - is it any good? Can anyone who has done it tell me if it’s worth it or suggest alternatives?

I got a bit fed up with the packet sauces they use. It didn't seem so wholesome after a while. We used Mindful Chef for a bit but gave it up as it's expensive. It's good if you don't want to think about shopping/what to cook though if you have a little person.

It’s a good idea in theory as I am always struggling to know what to cook. But I found it worked out too expensive for a family of 4

I do Hello Fresh and it works well for us. I work long hours and it means the meals are sorted for the week and whoever is cooking just chooses a card and gets on with the cooking. Some really tasty recipes - I’ve tried a few of the others but prefer the meals from HF.

I get it a couple of times a year on offer to try some new things out. There’s something in the flavours they use that do start to annoy me after a few days.
but it’s good for ideas and i do make things with some adjustments.

There are four of us but a five year old and two year old. I think we’ll try it … I’ll report back!

I get it every now and then and some of the recipes have been great to be fair and I’ve cooked some of those meals again myself but it is expensive as there are five of us. It’s great when you are stuck in a rut with cooking .

Family members who have tried HF all prefer Gousto. Have a look at them too?

Will do, thank you ☺️

I do them for 3 meals a week. As its only for 2 its not too pricey. I rarely go the the upgrade options for meats etc. I choose the recipe standard offering. I also go for veggie meals more than meat.

I used hello fresh but the portions were tiny...but I have two teenagers 😳 you can get bigger portions but they cost a lot more

Yes. I like that you can pick from quite a variety (with plenty of vegetarian options), that it’s portioned controlled and very tasty. Some receptors require quite a bit more cooking than others, but it tells you that. It always says to use salt and pepper but I rarely do - it doesn’t need it.
Initially the fact it’s measured out means lots of little packets which I thought was so wasteful but that’s the whole point of it - much of the work is find fit you. I get three meals a week, and if on my own have it over two nights (my DD lives with my but is at uni during term time). You can skip weeks.
It’s more expensive than doing it all yourself but no waste and you are siting for convenience. One negative - they never include enough veg. I like to fill out my plate with veg so I’m always adding to the meal.
They have offers for the first few boxes so try it out.

Receptors should read recipes!

I tried Hello Fresh and would never bother again. We felt that the quality of the meat and vegetables was very poor and the portions were TINY for all the dishes I selected. Even with the huge introductory discounts they offer, I think it’s poor value for money. I felt exactly the same with Gousto and Mindful chef. I think Simply Cook is a much better idea, where you get three little pots of seasoning or sauce for each dish and you provide the rest of the ingredients, so you can choose to spend as little or as much on the meat etc.

I found hello fresh really not fresh, old produce that didn't last and fewer options than goutso. Ive used gousto for about 4 years for my family of 4 and love it. You can get a discount using this link, think it's 65% off first box, 40% off second and 25% off for 2 months. Also very easy to pause and cancel.
https://gousto.co.uk/raf?promo_code=SARAH43321957&utm_source=androidapp

I have codes for discounts and free boxes of Hello Fresh, DM me if you would like one. We use Hello Fresh loads, love it. Also used Gousto. Owned by same company and comes from the same distribution place I think- is very very similar.

We prefer gousto and it's a bit cheaper

Just to add, we actually found portions good for us as 2 adults. I often save some for next day lunch to take to work. 🤷‍♀️

Family of 5, 3 DC aged 7, 3, and 1.

I tried Hello Fresh 3 x meals per week for a few months. I found the food delicious and fresh, but the meals were time consuming to make and really fiddly. I’m a good cook and even I couldn’t get the meals on the table in less than an hour.

Also, my DC aren’t fussy but they didn’t like a lot of the meals. There seemed to be endless relishes, seasonings, garnishes etc. that just made the food look intimidating and they wouldn’t try it. Very frustrating after an hour in the kitchen. Also, the 5-6pm hour before DH gets home and I try to get dinner on the table in the most stressful moment of the day, and finely chopping onions and pickling them in vinegar to make a relish was not something I had the capacity to do with a screaming toddler and fussy baby.

I also found the meals too expensive. Far far cheaper to get meat from the butcher/supermarket, and buy pre-chopped veg with a sauce.

When my DC are grown and gone, I can see it being something that I try again.

I get HF from time to time. It’s great for convenience when we have an extra busy week, work wise and I think the quality is, in general, good. Portion size is fine, no complaints here, even with a 20 yr old DS with a big appetite. A good idea when you feel you are in a rut, dinner wise , although my DH calls it a recipe box with a built in cookery course.

Hmm maybe it isn’t for the best then. Dd will only seem to eat two meals at the moment

Simply Cook is a good option. They sell a few kits in Tesco (probably other supermarkets too). They sell a meals are simple and it gets you out of a rut. I didn’t find Hello Fresh to be very fresh, so with simply cook you can pick up the shopping yourself.

I tried Hello Fresh but found the selection quite limited and didn’t like being tied into a subscription as if you forget to cancel a week by the cut off, they send you a box automatically.
I much prefer Gousto - it has loads more recipes to chose from each week and you can cancel the subscription as soon as you place an order, but you can still order one off boxes whenever you fancy them.
I have a code for 65% off Gousto if you fancy giving that a go. You also get 40% off a second box and 25% off any others ordered within 2 months.
https://www.gousto.co.uk/raf?promo_code=NICOL274409&utm_source=iosapp&raf_messaging=true