Mealtimes have been quite a challenge in our house for a few years now. Why? Because I’m a vegetarian and my husband isn’t! This makes dinner a bit of a nightmare. Plus he likes spicy food and I’m not keen on it. So when it comes to mealtimes it’s usually a struggle to find something we’re both going to eat or can be adapted. When I got the chance to get my first Hello Fresh Recipe Box free I thought we’d give it a try. I’d heard good things about it and I really haven’t been disappointed. Grab a coffee and have a read of what it’s all about (if you don’t already know). Plus if you read to the end I’ve got a £20 off discount code for you to try it yourself.
What is a Recipe Box?
A recipe box delivery service is quite simple really. The company sends you all the ingredients plus a recipe card for each meal you select, and you cook it. And it’s all delivered to your door at a time that’s convenient to you. There are quite a few of them around these days but Hello Fresh is the first one I’ve tried.
How Hello Fresh Works
I used the Hello Fresh Recipe Box website but they also have an app you can download to your phone or tablet. First you select your meal preferences. The options are Veggie, Meat & Veggies, Chef’s Choice, Quick Cook, Family, Calorie Smart, Protein Rich, Carb Smart, Pescatarian, Pork Free, Fish Free or No Preference. So there’s definitely something for everyone on here. You can choose to have meals for 2, 3 or 4 people. And you can have 3, 4 or 5 meals per week delivered. They also have quite a few options for you to select your delivery date, from Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm, so there should be a time suitable for most people.
Once you’ve set your preferences you can then start choosing your meals. If you don’t choose anything then Hello Fresh will select them for you.
How much does the Hello Fresh Recipe Box Cost?
The meals are priced at £4.50 per serving with a delivery charge of £4.99 on top of that. So 3 meals per week for 2 people will cost you £31.98. If you want a morning or afternoon time slot then you’ll pay an extra £1.99. On top of your 3 meals you could also choose lunch, brunch, sides and desserts all at an extra cost. It would be a lovely idea to add some sides and desserts one day a week to create your own dine in at home date night.
Is there a good range of vegetarian options?
Out of 35 meals available for last week’s selection 9 of them were suitable for vegetarians. So, for example, my choices for next week are: Cheesy Chipotle Bean Quesadillas, Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower and Halloumi Burger. I’ve been getting a Hello Fresh Recipe Box delivered for about 6 weeks now so here are some of the meals I’ve already received.
The Hello Fresh Recipe Cards
When your recipe box is delivered to you, you’ll find the ingredients for each meal packed into their own recipe bag. Each bag has a number on it that corresponds to the recipe card that also comes with it. All of the fresh ingredients are packed into a separate ‘cool bag’ that contains a couple of frozen, disposable, plastic bag packs to keep your food cool until you can get them into your fridge.
As well as giving you a step by step guide (with photos) on how to cook each recipe, the card also gives you nutrition details, allergens, a list of cooking tools you’ll need and an image list of what should be in the bag for you to cook the dish.
Pros & Cons of the Hello Fresh Recipe Box
To be honest, they’re aren’t many cons. And these ones are just my own experience with Hello Fresh. I thought I’d start with the cons first so we don’t end on a downer!
Cons
- I paid the extra £1.99 to get my box delivered between 8am and 12 noon. It’s a bit of a hassle that you can’t choose a narrower time slot. The DPD delivery driver rings the bell and leaves the box on the front doorstep. If I don’t answer the door the box will just be left there. Our front ‘porch’ isn’t a secure place, it’s basically an open street and anyone could walk past and take the box if I dont’ pick it up immediately. I have specified in Hello Fresh’s delivery preferences that I’d like it left on my back porch/shed if I’m not in. This is more secure as it is a fenced garden. DPD has never done this yet. I need to get in touch with Hello Fresh and mention this to them.
- I’ve only had a couple of meals where one of the ingredients wasn’t up to scratch or missing. The items in question were a spring onion that looked a bit worse for wear and a recipe that called for four wooden skewers and they’d only sent me two. Not a huge problem but if you haven’t noticed these things until you’re cooking the meal then it does affect it! There’s an option on the Hello Fresh website to notify them of things like this and they do credit you for them but not really helpful when you’re in the middle of cooking.
Pros
- I have enjoyed all but one of the recipes I’ve received, they are really tasty. Even some of the ones I don’t think I’m going to like (but thought I’d try anyway) have been surprisingly good. I have to add here that I’m a very picky eater! Both me and my hubby (the meat-eater) have really enjoyed them. Even though there are a limited number of vegetarian options, there is a varied range and we are getting to try things we wouldn’t have thought of.
- You get the exact amount of ingredients for each recipe. Even down to the spices. How many times have you bought a jar of spice, only used it once then had to throw it out because it’s gone past the best before date? I love the fact that you get the spices and sauces in little packets so you have no waste.
- It takes away the daily struggle of ‘what to have for dinner’. I’m not very good at meal planning so this recipe box is definitely a plus for me … at least 3 days a week.
- I feel like I’m eating healthier by getting meals that you cook from scratch and usually include plenty veggies (something I’m usually quite bad at).
- The meals are simple to prepare and easy to cook. I have to admit that my husband does most of the cooking in our house but he says they’re really simple. My daughter also gets them delivered to her house. She hates cooking but she also finds them easy and says she actually enjoys making them.
- You can skip a week quite easily by putting your recipe box on pause via the website or app. Really handy if you’re going to be on holiday or have a week of social engagements. And you can cancel your plan any time, you’re not tied into a fixed subscription.
I’d give the Hello Fresh Recipe Box an 8 out of 10. Like I said, I’ve been getting it for a couple of months and will definitely continue to get it. It just makes life so much easier. I have tried the 5 meals per week but find that 3 is the right amount for us.
If you’d like to try it for yourself and get £20 off your first recipe box then please feel free to use this link. If you do I’ll also get a £20 credit when you sign up.
Please note that if you do sign up and you don’t want to receive a second box, you will need to cancel your membership to Hello Fresh or they will send you another box and charge you.
I’d love to know if you’ve tried any other UK recipe boxes that you thought were good. Let me know in the comments below.