A review of my week cooking with HelloFresh

LinaPaseddu Haziran 30, 2022

Just before the new year, I was given a voucher code for a half price HelloFresh box with a recommendation from a friend. I have seen people get these boxes before, but I wanted to try the box as part of veganuary, during my first week back at work for a full week in January.

I ordered 4 meals for the week (as I like to have a treat on a Friday) - vegetable burritos, coconut and roasted sweet potato carribean soup, rocket pesto orzotto with courgette and tomato, and finally sweet and sour vegetables with coriander rice.

So, how did I find it?

Let's start with the things I liked. I really loved having the food delivered after a week away, not having to shop or lug it home and only really having a small amount of choice in my meals. You get to choose from a rather large menu, but this is ideal for me as if I have all the choice in the world then I cannot make a decision (it's infuriating, even for me).

I also really liked the packaging that it all arrived in. I didn't feel like there was a huge amount of plastic, certainly not more than was absolutely necessary anyway. A cardboard box, filled with paper bags. The vegetables were loose inside. Only the cheese, creme fraiche, soured cream etc. - the things you would expect. The things that needed to be kept cold were in an insulated bag, made from more than 7 recycled plastic bottles and the ice packs I've popped in my freezer to use again in the future, for lunches or picnics that I want to keep cold. Otherwise, they're filled with water so I could easily have emptied them and recycled the plastic bag.

The recipes were easy and nothing took me more than an hour. Everything was fresh and tasted it. Overall I was very happy. The only thing I guess that let it down was the fact that I cook from scratch anyway and I still had to peel things and chop things. This is the price for avoiding the plastic I would assume, but I felt Hello Fresh might be better for someone who doesn't normally cook from scratch and needs inspiration and encouragement. I am going to keep the recipe cards for the future though as some of them were genuinely great!

So, what didn't I like?

Not too much to be honest. It's pretty pricey though. I paid £20.99 for the box but this was with a half price offer. Usually the box would have been approximately £40, which for two people isn't a bad price for a weekly shop, but you aren't getting lunches or a full week of food. Luckily, I don't eat a huge amount so I could eat left overs for lunch and the meals usually lasted me two days. Ultimately, they were delicious which is important.

Hellofresh also provided some 1 calorie spray oil to do the cooking with. This reduces the fat and calorie content in all of your meals! Overall, I'd say if you're busy and can afford it then go for it! This is a great idea for busy, working people with disposable income. But, if you have a huge appetite or are watching your bank balance, maybe only get it once or twice a month, stock up the recipe cards and reuse them in future to recreate your HelloFresh recipes on the cheap!