Thursday, July 11, 2013

What's Cooking: HelloFresh Meal Box Review & Giveaway



It's confession time: I'm not very crafty in the kitchen.  My husband yes, but me...not so much. I tend to stick to the same old meals or, and I'm not proud to say this, we eat out.  I hate overspending at restaurants or carry-outs, but it happens when it's 7pm & I'm tired, or can't think of something to make, or are missing a few ingredients to do something new. Lame mom, I know (hangs head in shame).  But things are turning around in my kitchen, thanks to HelloFresh and I'm giving you a chance to win some for yourself too!



So what's it all about? HelloFresh is a weekly meal delivery service that ships all the ingredients to make three healthy & tasty meals to your front door.  Full color recipe cards, plus the produce, dairy, meat, seasonings - even things like rice and pasta.  You're ready to cook right out of the box.    


It's delivered the same day each week, insulated and shipped with cold packs to keep things fresh.



I heard about HelloFresh and thought it would be something ideal for my parents, since they're retired & it's just the two of them.  My mom raved about it and how it stopped them from overbuying/impulse shopping at the grocery store, so I thought we'd try it out too. Truthfully, I thought it would be something I'd do just once or twice, but now I'm hooked on HelloFresh.  I added their affiliate button to my sidebar because I thought it was such a neat program.

Then a couple of weeks ago I was contacted about trying out a box to review.  I told them I was already a customer, so HelloFresh asked if I'd review my next box instead.


The Week's Meals: Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa, Avocado Basil Pasta, Cauliflower & Mixed Mushroom Stir-Fry

Since you're given just what you need to make the meals I no longer forget about produce in my fridge or buy some seasoning we'll never use again.  We aren't wasting as much food or impulse buying unnecessary stuff when we grocery shop either because nearly half the week is covered.  Knowing I have three meals ready to make, with little effort, prevents me from falling into my old habits too.   



I also like that it's flexible - you can pause or stop at any time.  We'll be out of town for my sister's wedding, so I just paused it for that week and we'll be back to our usual schedule the following week.

We get the Veggie box, since I'm a vegetarian, but if you do the Classic you can even pick your 3 meals from 5 different options.  And they let you know what's coming up in the next week, so there's no surprises when your delivery comes.


Stuffed Peppers with Quinoa - we LOVED this!!
A lot of the recipes can be done with a single pan and the steps are laid out so while one thing is cooking, you are prepping the next part.  It definitely makes things more efficient for me (the resident lazy chef).


Yes this is me cooking dinner - amazing I know;)

We've been doing it for 7 weeks now and we've had different meals every time.  The food has been great too.  It's gotten us to try things we normally wouldn't and ingredient combinations we'd never even dreamed of - and it's all been tasty.  You can even give feedback on the meals to help shape what comes in the future.


Cauliflower and Mixed Mushroom Stir Fry
And thanks to the giant recipe cards, I can recreate the meals on my own too.  Last night I made Grilled Cheese Fusilli, which was one of the meals in our very first box.  It was a hit again and making it was familiar so it didn't feel like work.

It's been a real eye opener for me to make so many new & interesting meals and have them look so nice when I plate them myself:


Avocado Basil Pasta that I made!!

There's a $20 discount code: AHELLOSUN for first-time orders through August 16th:



And ...
One lucky Sew Can Do reader will win a 
HelloFresh Classic or Veggie Box!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


And for everyone who enters & doesn't win, 
HelloFresh plans to provide a special offer code just for you.

Good luck everyone & happy cooking!!


I was already a paying Hello Fresh customer prior to this review.  I was not financially compensated for this post and received a complimentary box to review through the subscription I pay for weekly.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  I am an affiliate of Hello Fresh.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here. 

37 comments:

  1. I would love to try this! Far too often, I stop at a fast food place on the way home because I don't want to stop at the grocery store and then have to go home and cook. If everything was already at home, I'd be eating so much better. I wonder if I could freeze portions, once they were cooked?

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    1. You definitely can. Each meal makes a good amount of food - sometimes I'm lucky enough to have some leftovers for lunch (if my husband doesn't go for seconds!).

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  2. I love how easy this is to make a healthy meal!

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  3. Wow, I'm going to check them out. I'm ready for something new and need help with my grocery shopping. :)

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  4. I would love to know that I have dinner already planned out after a busy day of work! great giveaway--I've tried them before and love the service!

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  5. hey, that sounds like a neat idea. Thanks for the chance.

    (smjohns63 at yahoo dot com)

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  6. This would be AWESOME! I'm far from being a good cook and rush at dinner to prepare since I get home late from work. This would help SO SO much! Thank you!

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  7. I had never heard of this company. What a great idea. I like that it has given you the chance to try other foods.

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  8. I love ease and versatility of it.

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  9. I would love to try this because it looks so easy to make a fresh meal, their are many times I would love to have this box when we are so busy and I am tempted to order pizza !

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  10. This sounds awesome! I would love to try it one day

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  11. It looks so fast and east and that's what I love about it!

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  12. This sounds so easy and convenient. I would love to try it.:)

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  13. I love the emphasis on cooking and creating a tasty meal -- so cool.

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  14. I love cooking new things, and with our family only having one vehicle, this sounds like a great option to shopping trips!

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  15. What a brilliant idea! I enjoy cooking, but I've gotten burned out on coming up with new and interesting meals lately. Talk about a great way to spark creativity!

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  16. wow! A great idea. I like to cook, and we get a vegi box of local organic produce, but a whole meal in a box?! I think it would just be fun to try it out!

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  17. Having everything already organized and decided! Oh, that would be soooo wonderful and the meals look really tasty!

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  18. not having to think about what to make for dinner

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  19. I would like that it would get my family to try things we normally wouldn't

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  20. Having it come to the doorstep trying new meals is what I like.

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  21. I've never heard of anything like it, but I think its genius to have all the necessary ingredients to make a tasty meal delivered right to your home! :)

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  22. I love that I could have this sent all inclusive groceries, meat, produce, recipe EVERYTHING for 3 meals for two people to my hard working low income young adult daughter (who is a good little cook ) and herlive in boyfriend and it would really help them out and be lovies from across the country from mom/me for winning it for them and I know they would appreciate and enjoy it so much, they both work long hard hours and it would be great to have a quick ready to prepare meal at home.

    Thanks to blogger and sponsor for this giveaway opportunity..

    manifestmiracles@live.com

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  23. I like that they supply the recipe with the groceries!

    -Jen Haile

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  24. Having fresh vegetables sent to my home would be amazing.

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  25. I like that they send just what you need to make the meals so it'd be hard to add too much or forget anything!

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  26. Having everything you need sent to you fresh packed.

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  27. This would be so amazing for weeknights when i want to cook yet haven't organized myself to have the right ingredients- love that there is a veggie option!
    Ttrockwood(at)yahoo(dot)com
    Ttrockwood

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  28. Just that eveything is fresh, and comes all ready with everything for the meal! So easy!

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  29. What a great way to try new things!!

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  30. How fun!! What an amazing concept!

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  31. Wow. It would be so nice to have a fun healthy meal at home without as many decisions, shopping, and recipe searching!

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  32. I like how easy it sounds would love to try

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Getting your comments brightens my day. I'd love if you left one:)

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