Share your tips for ways to stress less with HelloFresh - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Modern family life can be very busy - and this might mean that otherwise simple tasks like thinking about what to have for dinner or getting out of the door in the morning can become overwhelming or stressful. HelloFresh would like to hear about the tips you have for stressing less, whether this is in the kitchen or elsewhere in your family life.

Here’s what HelloFresh has to say: “HelloFresh is on a mission to help families stress less when it comes to mealtimes with the launch of its new Family Box, offering an all new range of tailor-made family-friendly recipes designed to appeal to kids, teenagers and adults alike and bring variety to dinner time. The HelloFresh Family Box has been created to reduce stress levels and help save parents time and energy. The focus in development has been to make meal planning and preparation as easy as possible, whilst serving meals that guarantee to make family mealtimes delicious, but most importantly totally fuss and hassle-free. Want to give it a try? We've got a special offer for you with 50% off your first two boxes with the code HELLOMUMS.”

Do you have tips that mean sitting down to a family dinner in the evening is an enjoyable rather than hectic experience? Perhaps you’re a pro at making tiny changes to meals so that fussy eaters are catered for? Do you and your family cook together to reduce the stress of preparing an evening meal? Maybe you ensure you’re making time for ‘me-time’ every day so that you can wind down?

Share the ways you #StressLess with HelloFresh below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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My daughter helps to lay the table while we are dishing up and no phones are allowed either.

HelloFresh is very expensive unfortunately. £54 for the family box of 3 meals! Bonkers!

Plan meals ahead so you always have just what you need with minimal waste

Hello Fresh is quite expensive-we opt for 4 dinners for 4 people once or twice a month as batch cooking at the weekends takes up so much valuable family time and planning isn't my forte. The recipes are really easy and the quality of the ingredients is excellent. One of the biggest bonuses is that the children enjoy choosing which meal we cook each day, get involved in the preparation, and they are becoming slightly more daring in their tastes.

Honestly I don't stress about cooking. I tend to have left-overs in the freezer if needed, or we can have omelettes and oven chips if I'm too tired to cook properly. I think it helps not having to cater to another adult- I'm only pleasing myself and my children and there's no aspirations to fine dining.

We batch cook so there's always a meal ready and it saves time and money. I iron clothes on a Sunday so everyone in the family has an outfit at hand for everyday of the week. I do the food shopping online so I don't need to bore my kids taking them shopping every week and my husband and I trade babysitting favours with my sister and brother in law so we each get a weekend to spend together as a couple knowing our children are enjoying being with their aunt, uncles and cousins x

No technology and everyone is aware of the time

Planning! Ask family what they'd like this week, write the shopping list, cook enough to have one serving for us all & freeze one to take the pressure off on busy days.
Encourage our youngsters to try new foods and eat as a family at a set time.

#StressLess by all mucking in with meals :) arrange them together and let everyone have a hand with the prep and the cooking - it can be fun and gives everyone a sense of achievement and togetherness :)

My 5 year old son used to be a picky eater until I started including him in the cooking. We bought him a special knife that cuts food but not fingers and he'll help me prepare the dinner and will set the table while I cook. We still have a little way to go with mushrooms and any visible onion but he loves lots of different food now and meals times are way less stressful.
I also make a meal plan so we don't waste food or over spend on the shopping.

HelloFresh helps with the stress. I was ending up doing most of the meal planning, shopping and cooking despite working longer hours than DP. We decided we'd rather spend a bit extra and know we have everything we need for 3 meals during the week. The rest of the time we have "store cupboard" dinners with things we've already got in the house. So much less stressful for me now.

I always cook for an extra night, and encourage my daughter to help prepare meals where possible!

I meal plan. It's how I budget my shop as well as organise the meals. Doubling up on portion size when you make easy slow cooker meals is a good way to get extra food in the freezer for next week's meal too.

Always intrigued by HelloFresh but never taken the plunge yet.

Sgeqbetm

Have a weekly meal plan so you know exactly what you are going to make each day and get the kids involved with helping prepare the dinner.

I have a set meal plan, On a saturday I batch cook and freeze things like Curries, Cottage Pies and Apple Pies and use these for the thursday and friday meals which are especially busy days as a family, Half an hour before sitting down for dinner each child has a small job from cleaning table, setting out cutlery and bringing in condiments and then one helps clear the table each evening. We found we have to have organisation being a big family and a table and chairs essential for tidyness. but the kids enjoy it too.

Meal planning is the biggest stress buster.
When we've done that, we know what we're planning on having for dinner etc, so no last minute rushing around wondering what to eat etc.

We also keep a few extra quick meals stocked in the freezer and cupboards (pizza, soup, pasta sauces etc) for if unexpected delays or changes to schedules leave us too short of time for the planned meal.

I find that everyone getting involved in riding up after dinner helps. Also, years ago I would have never have used frozen veg, but I've seen the light. It saves so much prep and cooking time which equals lots less stress!

I double up on most meals so that we can eat a repeat and have more free time. I also have a list of food and meals at the start of the week and my son gets to pick which meals he would like and we put them on the meal planner. That way, he can't complain because he has made the choice.

Routine is the key to #StressLess. The kids need to know it is dinner time and what the rules are...sit nicely, no shouting and eat your veggies!

We try to meal plan together on the weekend. That way I can guarantee that everyone has their favourite dinner once a week. Also, we agree on any new foods they'll try.

I cook every night, from scratch and it's not (usually) hectic at all, it's all in the prep if you ask me !
I make sure that the sink is clear before I start and I prep as much as I possibly can before tea time arrives so it isn't a mad rush and there's less to do. Get the kids involved, get them to lay the table and make the drinks. On really busy days when I know I won't have enough time to cook I stick the slow cooker on in the morning and dinner is ready and waiting at tea time without any effort.

I have used HelloFresh a few times now, which goes a long way towards making sure we get enough veg a day as its all there ready to go and I dont have to think about what goes with what. I try to batchcook once a week, but for husband and myself as my 3 year old wont try new foods, or anything with tomatoes in. Husband says he doesnt like a lot of things, so i have to hide veggies in the foods i make (he has no idea spag bol is full of mushrooms), but have found he will try more with the hello fresh recipes as its introducing lots of new meals. i do worry about getting enough fruit and veg into our diets

Well my advise would be not to use Hello Fresh. Box due today, came home to the following email.

We are sorry to say that your box is delayed by a day this week due to a couple of our suppliers running late. This means it will be delivered tomorrow between 9 - 6 PM (Tuesday, 12 Sept).

Emergency trip to the supermarket! And back to Ocado.

I shop online at the start of the week and have it delivered. I pay £5 a month for unlimited deliveries anytime.

This works for me as I can think about what I'm going to cook first and make sure I have all the ingredients / order what I need

It also saves dragging the kids round ASDA when we are all tired and them wanting me to buy loads of crap!

I have a list in the kitchen of all the meals for the week and who is having packed lunch when. No surprises then and I have enough juice cartons/bread when I need it