Tags
Bean and Turkey Chili, Beef Bibimbap, Blue Apron Meal Reviews, Blue Apron Reviews, Cauliflower Mash, Crockpot, Forbidden Rice salad, Hello Fresh Credit, hello fresh delivery service, Hello Fresh discount, Hello Fresh Recycling, Korean Beef, Lemon Chicken Quinoa Soup, Lemon Chicken Soup, Love Beets, Meal Delivery Service Winner, plated delivery service, Pork Chops with Apple and Kale, rice salad, Sausage and Bean Soup, Seared Steak and Cauliflower Mash, Walnut Crusted Salmon
Here’s HelloFresh…I’m writing a 4-Part Blog Series on our experiences and reviews of three (3) Meal Delivery Services : Reviews and Pictures of each service, in order in which we used them. We attempted to use each service for two weeks.
Blue Apron : Plated : HelloFresh
I will complete the series with a recommendation of our preferred service!! Basically, the Winner!
Thanks for joining me and my family on this culinary journey!
~ HELLO FRESH ~
The Back Story
I received a $40 off marketing postcard in my Parent’s Magazine subscription.
(I enjoy receiving Parents magazine, for the content, and the great discount offers they present subscribers.)
Let me offer you $40 OFF your first box!!!
Go to http://www.hellofresh.com and use code : YVHN87
-or-
Simply click this link!
The Details
HelloFresh offers 3 days of meals for 2 people (this is what ‘a week’ consists of). Additionally, there is a 4 person meal option.
The meals range from 500-800 calories, include farm fresh ingredients, and offer a Flexible Subscription option.
All for $10.75 per meal including shipping. $69 per week (per their website FAQs)
($9.08 per meal for Vegetarian options.)
The Pros
~ Farm Fresh ingredients, including hormone free meat.
(AND Love Beets…ya gotta love Love Beets! Just the name is cool, then you taste them… yum!)
~ Quick prep recipes.
~ Can choose 3 of 5 meal options per week. So, you’re not ‘boxed’ into the 3 meals they choose for you!
~ Wednesday Delivery option.
~ Beautiful Recipe card booklet with pictures of completed dishes. Features a “Let’s Talk About” page on the back : Grains, Beans, Leafy Greens, Nuts & Seeds, etc.
~ One can choose a Vegetarian Option, which is slightly less expensive.
~ Actually offer a ‘recycling’ return for their padded box liners.
The Cons
~ ‘Recycling’ return is not all that, but at least it was an option available to me vs. throwing out or dumping into my recycling.
I returned 3 weeks worth of box liners at the cost of $26 via UPS, and received a $16 credit on my account. So, I didn’t even get a credit equal to the cost of shipping, but at least I got some sort of credit.
~ There is no ‘Dietary Profile’. Though, one can chose to go with the Vegetarian option, if needed. We do have a few restrictions…some Gluten-Free, some Spices, and some Seafood. Luckily, we can choose out of 5 meals, so I pick three meals that are more catered to our needs and modify as desired.
~ Our first box has a couple frozen veggies, which they promptly credited me for.
The Goods
Week 1, First Meal :
Korean-Style Beef with Broccolini & Brown Rice
30 Minutes
Gluten-Free (with correct sauces)
Korean-Style Beef!? Heck Yeah, bring it! And, yes, it was good!
We love a good Asian-inspired meal in our house and this met the expectation.
And, yippy, they used Brown Rice! We only use Brown Rice in our house, so it was nice to see a meal delivery service do that same.
Modifications : Added Garlic
Week 1, Second Meal :
Walnut Crusted Salmon with Roasted Green Beans
50 Minutes
Not Gluten-Free
This was good, it was not gluten-free…but I loved the walnut crusting idea.
Modifications : None
Week 1, Third Meal :
Lemony Chicken & Quinoa Stew
40 Minutes
Gluten-Free
This was surprisingly delish and I didn’t expect it to be so! The flavor and texture worked so well together.
Modifications : Did not use the Chili Flakes.
Week 2, First Meal :
Roasted Pork Chops with Sauteed Apples & Kale
30 Minutes
Gluten-Free
Delicious and gluten-free. I’m not typically a fan of sweet along side my savory dinner, though I know it’s ‘tradition’ to have apples/applesauce with pork chops, so I knew the deal. Though I loved the addition of kale and then I served mine up with the nuts garnishing the apples vs. the kale.
Modifications : No Modifications.
Week 2, Second Meal :
Seared Steak with Cauliflower Mash & Green Beans
30+ Minutes
Gluten-Free
Yum, because…STEAK! 🙂
I messed up and made more of a puree vs. a mash, though it turned out lovely to have an awesome sauce to go with this dish. So…basically…the dish was Awesomesauce!
Modifications : No Modifications.
Week 2, Third Meal :
Forbidden Rice Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
apx. 25 Minutes
Not Gluten-Free
Good…I didn’t really know what to expect, but I’d really wanted to try Forbidden Rice. Thus, I was super happy to have this as a menu option.
Modifications : Added Chicken to hubs and nephew’s portions.
Overall Impression
Very good!
Even though the cost of sending in the recycling material did not match the credit I got, I am happy that is an option.
We, also, tried HelloFresh during the Holidays…family in and out, schedules up and down and a credit sitting in my account prompted us to go for another week of HelloFresh meals!
In that week we received :
~ White Bean & Turkey Chili ~
Gluten Free and pretty tasty.
~ Sausage and White Bean Soup w. Swiss Chard ~
Not to shabby and Gluten Free.
~ Beef Bibimbap w. Carrot & Zucchini Ribbons ~
OMG! I am still thinking about this meal!
I have no idea why I haven’t recreated it yet!
Don’t forget my offer : $40 OFF your first box!!!
($55-$69 depending on Vegetarian option.)
Go to http://www.hellofresh.com and use code : YVHN87
-or-
Simply click this link!
Be sure to check back at the beginning of next week…
I’ll be posting Part 4 : THE WINNER!
WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! I can’t wait to tell you!
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