Skipping a store trip is all the hype recently. We are able to get almost anything delivered to our homes, including dinner. My coworker has been using Hello Fresh, in particular, and expressed her opinions to me. She sent me her referral code and I decided I would try it out.
I took me over 30 minutes to figure out how to change the meals that it automatically selects for you. I even chatted with customer service because I just had no clue if I had done it correctly. I finally figured it out. They clearly state allergens that are contained in each meal. They have options for consumers that are beef-free, pork-free, seafood-free, quick, fit, or variety. I selected no preference but I had to review each meal to avoid Penny’s allergens. unfortunately, none of the meals are 100% free of all 5 of her allergens. I did my best and selected ones that excluded the allergens that she is most sensitive to.
PROS
– Allergens are listed clearly on the page where you select your meals.
– There is a huge variety of meal selections. There is a meal for every persons taste.
– The instructions are clearly written. They are easy to follow.
– You only need to have basics in your home (oil, butter, salt, pepper, etc…). Hello Fresh supplies the rest.
CONS
– These meals are NOT made for homes where there are multiple food allergies or sensitivities.
– They do list allergens on each meal choice. If your home only has one or two allergens, you may still be able to use these meals. You can also substitute the allergens that they send for acceptable substitutes but at that point… why use the service? Just use recipes from Pinterest or AllRecipes.com! (In my opinion)
– The recipes state that the meals are ready in around 30 minutes…… yeah. NOPE. Our meal took closer to 1 hour to complete.
– This does NOT make cooking dinner that much easier. It takes the brain work away from meal planning and grocery shopping for your ingredients. The actual hard work still has to be done. If you do not like to cook… this is not a solution for this. You are still doing the cooking portion of dinner.
Viola! Dinner is served!
We received the ingredients and recipe to create a Pesto Tortellini Bake with asparagus and Parmesan gratin crust. If it had not been for Hello Fresh, I would probably have NEVER EVER made a meal like this. I wouldn’t have even considered that all these flavors could go together. (Hello Fresh takes the brain work out of planning meals and gives you fresh new dinner ideas)
My first bite was interesting. Tortellini seemed chewy. All I could taste was asparagus. 
Not saucy enough for my taste. I would have used less pesto and more of a creamy sauce
Second bite was better. The tortellini still seemed too dry. I could really use a creamy sauce. The asparagus, pesto, and Parmesan started to appeal to my palette. The combination was too strong at first but as I continued to eat, I began to enjoy the flavor more. I finished my plate! I’M A CLEAN PLATE RANGER, guys!
My overall opinion on Hello Fresh is:
If you do not have a long list of food allergies/sensitivities and you just hate meal planning then this is something to try out.
If you do not like cooking this service may not be for you. This does not make cooking easier.
If you are interested in trying out Hello Fresh, click my referral link below and you get $40 off your order!
This blog is NOT sponsored by Hello Fresh. I like to try new and different things. I’ve noticed that not everything has a review online for it and I just want to provide one!
Nerdy Mom 