So many of you have probably heard of HelloFresh. For those of you who haven't its a subscription box that sends you a weekly box of food. The box contains 3 different meals with recipe cards for the week. I chose the veggie box (for obvious reasons- I'm trying to go vegan). I chose the veggie box for 1-2 people. You can skip or cancel your subscription at any time. I tried it out because I was given a coupon for free food (and free shipping) so... why not?! If you don't use a coupon it is about $50 a week for the box PLUS shipping costs. But if you are a student they have a little discount where you will get 15% off every box.So here's what my box looked like when I got it:
Turns out that depending on the season you may get a different type of package for your box to keep your food cold. Their website explains what part of their packaging is recyclable- for those who recycle and care about reducing trash.
The meals that I was given were: grilled cheese and veggie jumble, creamy dreamy mushroom gemelli, and salsa verde enchiladas. I loved how easy they were to cook. The only thing I disliked was how much dairy was used in each recipe. For anyone who is lactose intolerant (like me) this is definitely not a box for you. For the veggie jumble and the enchiladas I was able to either substitute the cheese with a vegan one or just leave it out.
I made the veggie jumble with the cheese and picked it out because honestly, I loved the veggies and sauce on its own. I got my box on a Tuesday and I made this on Thursday. So flavorful. BUT. My issue with the veggie jumble was that my tomatoes were almost overripe (one more day and I would have tossed them in my compost) AND my avocado was under ripe and almost not edible. huge disappointment for such a big company that promotes sending you food that can be used right away. My avocado even had a sticker that said it should have been ripe. BUT LOOK HOW YUMMY THIS WAS!!!! I even had dinner for another day. This recipe definitely only served 2 people. The other thing I didn't like about HelloFresh is that they tell you to use like half an onion, or half the seasoning- what the heck am I suppose to do with the rest? I didn't follow the directions and completely used up everything to reduce my food waste (wasn't that the point of this box- get the proper serving size and reduce food waste?)
The next meal I made was the salsa verde enchiladas. I modified this recipe by not using the cheese that came in the box and used my Daiya vegan friendly cheese instead. It was really good and I was glad that I didn't have to modify this recipe very much. For the final presentation I added some avocado and lime. I definitely could have made this into 3 meals because I got 6 enchiladas and probably only needed 2 for one meal (but I got hungry- no judgement here). As nice as this was, i could definitely buy the ingredients in the store and meal prep so many of these for cheaper. I just wished I had a vegan sour cream to go with it (as the original recipe called for), so that's why I used the avocado. I also added some paprika on top- sorry I've a foodie and I like to add spices for flavor.
The last meal I made was the creamy dreamy mushroom gemelli. THIS WAS THE KILLER. So good, but horrible for my lactose intolerant friends. The sauce is literally butter, milk, and flour. I added the parmesan into the sauce because I substituted the milk for almond milk and it made it super thin- the cheese thickened it up. I also added some more flour for thickness. They had their own garlic herb butter to add and it made it heavenly. I topped it off with GoVeggie vegan parmesan. I took lactase pills, but it still hit me pretty hard. I made enough for 3 servings. I gave the extra servings to a co-worker since I obviously couldn't eat it.
Overall my experience with HelloFresh was pretty good.
Would I recommend it to a friend? yes and no. If you have any type of dietary restriction then you should not get this box. If you are strictly a vegetarian and can have dairy then the veggie box is perfect. If you have a large family, they do have that option for you too. If you eat everything and want the 1-2 serving size box, they have that too. I've looked through their recipe archive and their weekly plans for the next month. They have loads of options, but after awhile it looks like they start repeating the meals and you definitely have no option to substitute a meal or just leave one out altogether. Basically you are told to pick a box and serving size- and it will generate the meals for that week and you're stuck with them.
How much does this cost?
Classic or Veggie box
($59.94) 3 meals for 2 people
($119.88) 3 meals for 4 people
Family box
($69.92) 2 meals for 4 people
($104.88) 3 meals for 4 people
Is it worth the money?
Maybe. ~$50 plus shipping for 3 meals (~2 servings per meal). I think the family plan costs more- I obviously didn't get that. Not a bad deal for someone who can afford it and is not looking to spend a lot of time in the grocery store each week. As a vegetarian/vegan I think I could spend my $50 more wisely in the produce section of the grocery store to purchase enough food for more meals than that.
Is it environmentally friendly?
Probably not. Although the website does inform the customer of what part of the packaging is recyclable, they do use a lot of plastic for the individual ingredients inside each bag. I try to live as low waste as possible, and my trash can filled up pretty fast while using this box. I was very unhappy with the amount of packaging. But impressed with the company encouraging people to recycle as much as possible. Here's the page on recycling.
Is it truly lowering your food waste?
Kind of. The company will send you the perfect amount of food to make for the meals, except when making a few of my dishes it only called for half an onion or a tbsp on minced garlic- what the heck am I suppose to do with the rest? I like food, so I just used it all and ignored the recipe and it still tasted fine. Maybe food waste is lowered, but not completely if you follow the recipe exactly (how many of you will remember and know what to do with the leftover onion?!)
Does the food actually taste good?
YES. I thought the box was perfect for mixing up my normal spices routine. It was so yummy and I would definitely make the chimichurri sauce again (that I made with the veggie jumble).
Do you have a promo code?
Nope, all I have is a normal referral code. Here it is- LINK. My referral link will give you $40 off. I don't plan on using this again, but if you want to- go for it.
Is this post sponsored?
NOPE. All opinions are 100% my own and this was my experience. I did my research before ordering this box so I had an idea of what to expect and I was super excited- definitely lost that excitement as I started cooking.
If you don't 100% recommend this box, what do you recommend?
Shopping on your own at the grocery store. Go on pintrest and find recipes and write out a list for the grocery store. Shop in the bulk produce and bulk aisles of the store. reduce your food and plastic waste at the same time and get yummy recipes. easy.
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