Friday, May 15, 2015

Hello Fresh Subscription



Is it just me or do some weeks hardly have enough time to wash enough undies to make it through to Saturday, never mind enough time to finish a thousand other things on a "to-do" list that never seems to shrink? With all this insanity I try to look for short cuts here and there, because more time back in my life is a win! Thanks to the wave of subscription box mania there are several different fresh meal deliveries offered. So far I have only tried one, Hello Fresh, thanks to a very sweet Instagramer who gave me a coupon she was unable to use because she lives in Canada. We enjoyed it so much the first time that we decided to give it another try when they offered me a discount to come back and try again. I love a good deal so I couldn't resist!


Quick overview from their site:

Always Fresh & Healthy
Fresh is not only in our name, it's our promise to you. We bring you the freshest and healthiest food, with a dash of fun, a sprinkle of learning, and a dollop of deliciousness, all for a great price.

Always Experienced Chefs
We create delicious recipes from a variety of cuisines. Each one is reviewed by our in-house dietician to ensure it's balanced and nutritious. Our signature step-by-step recipes make cooking easy and quick, so you can get delicious meals on the table every day.

Always Trusted Suppliers
Seasonal, fresh, and the highest quality. We build close relationships with our small farmers, butchers, fish mongers and fellow culinary enthusiasts to ensure that only the best ingredients make it to your dinner table.

Pricing
3 Classic Meal Box for Two - $69 ($11.50 per person)
3 Classic Meal Box for Four - $129 ($10.75 per person)
3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Two - $59 ($9.83 per person)
3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Four - $109 ($9.08 per person)
 

This may sound a little high, but it gives back the time to your day/week that would otherwise be spent planning, shopping and prepping. The "service" you receive makes everything balance out - at least it does for us. They also make it super easy to stop and start your subscription multiple weeks at a time by just clicking on the week - green is deliver and red is to skip. Where is my "That Was Easy" button - yes, I actually have one.

You do get to customize a little based on dietary needs/preferences and they will let you swap out one of the three meals that week for two other provided options.

I believe shipping schedules are pretty standard (Friday's, I believe), however, if you have specific circumstance that need to be met for delivery they are very willing to work with you. It comes well packed in an insulated bag. Everything is packaged with several ice packs to ensure freshness. 

We made these meals over more than a week period because we had so much going on we couldn't make them each night. Everything stayed very fresh! If you get in a bind, because LIFE happens, throw the protein in the freezer, the fresh ingredients will last - at least they did for us.



The vegetables and seasonings are packaged in individual bags by recipe. I like that they think to pack them on top to protect them. I am unsure if these bags can be recycled. Everything is pretty much pre-measured so there is very little guess work to do.












The proteins and the ice packs are on the bottom, separated by a cardboard sheet. The shrimp was packaged in its own bag with a separate ice pack to ensure it would stay the appropriate temperature.You can definitely reuse the freezer packs too - which is a bonus as I always seem to be forever in need of them since I often leave them wherever I am going!










And finally, they include a nice booklet that outlines all of the recipe information: ingredients, preparation instructions, nutritional information and photos to go along with everything to help anyone feel confident in making these recipes.

I love that these are printed on sturdy card stock instead of plain paper. We saved the recipes from last time because we liked them so much and I don't have to worry about them getting torn or ruined in the kitchen.







(They also include an envelope containing other offers from other subscription companies that you may be interested in.)

This week we have Pan-Seared Chicken with Tomato-Barley Hash and Charred Broccoli, Argentine-Spiced Steak with Couscous Salad & Cilantro-Scallion Chimichurri and Coconut Shrimp Satay with Shaved Carrot & Cucumber Salad.

I can't wait to try these recipes!
 
And while I will continue to wish for a personal assistant and a private chef (and a  maid and a gardener and a trainer and a... the list goes on) the interim help from this delivery company is a little less expensive and a little more attainable now and then. Thank you Hello Fresh!

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