Expert HelloFresh Review 2019

How it works

There are a number of types of boxes available with HelloFresh. These include the Classic Box, the Veggie Box, and the Family Box. After entering your personal information onto the site, you will be able to select your meals for your first weekly shipment. If you change your mind about the type of box you want to order, you can adjust these settings by visiting your account page. The Veggie Box choice results in HelloFresh creating recipes for you, which can’t be swapped. However, with the Family plan, you will be able to choose from recipes on a weekly basis. Similarly, the Classic Box includes recipes to choose from, which include meat, fish and vegetarian choices. You will be able to click on each meal to read a description of what you could be eating, along with information about ingredients, allergens and nutrition.

You can choose from a number of weekly plans with this meal kit service. If you are cooking for two people, you can choose between receiving shipments of two, three or four meals, each of which are priced at $9.99 per serving. With the Classic or Veggie plans, you will only be able to select three meals a week. Those on the Family plan can select either the two meal menu or the three meal menu, and both are priced at $8.74 per serving. This means the Family plan results in a lower price for each serving.

Meal plans and recipes

With HelloFresh, the Classic, Veggie and Family plans have recently had an addition – the Calorie Smart plan. Each one comes with different selections when it comes to the ordering process. For example, the Classic plan lets customers order between 2 and 4 recipes each week for two people, or two or three recipes a week for four people. There will be 17 recipes available on the menu on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, with the Veggie plan, you will be able to select either two or three recipes a week for two or four people. There are fewer vegetarian options available, but if none of them appeal to you, you can choose to skip a delivery. The Family plan does what the name suggests, aiming to feed a family of four. You can choose between having either two or three recipes delivered each week. The latest addition, the Calorie Smart plan, allows people to cook for either 2 or 4 people, and select 2 or 3 recipes for each weekly delivery.

• Classic plan: A large range of recipes to choose from, all featuring ingredients such as meat, fish and grains. There will often be unusual recipes designed to improve your cooking skills, plus new ways to cook classic dishes. There are calorie smart recipes available in the range, or you can go for gourmet produce. There are also 20 minute meals available, ensuring you can create a dinner with minimal effort. A new addition to this option is called Dinner 2 Lunch, which comprises a dinner with a lunch add on. In other words, you can use the leftovers from dinner to create a new recipe for lunch the following day.
• Veggie plan: There is plenty of seasonal and vegetarian produce to choose from with the veggie plan. Many of the recipes are classic favourites such as pizzas, grilled cheese and veggie tacos.
• Family plan: This plan is designed for both adults and growing children. The culinary team at HelloFresh have ensured that flavour and nutrition has been provided while the spices have been cut back on. These recipes won’t take longer than 30 minutes to make and will usually only require a maximum of two pots, minimising the washing up afterwards.
• Calorie Smart plan: With the recipes available on the calorie smart plan, you will be cooking meals that have been approved by dieticians and only contain around 650 calories per serving. An emphasis is placed on recipes which revolve around poultry, fish and vegetables. These well-balanced meals will usually take around half an hour to create.

Delivery and packaging

Meal kits from HelloFresh are available for shipment throughout the mainland United States. However, Alaska and Hawaii are not included on the list of delivery locations. The food is delivered in insulated boxes which have been packed in a way that is designed to keep all of the ingredients fresh for as long as possible. Each weekly delivery will remain fresh for at least seven days if it is refrigerated properly.

Pricing

• Prices per serving will vary between $7.49 and $9.99. 
• Shipping costs between $6.99 and $7.99 per delivery.

Verdict

HelloFresh is a brand which is easily recognised across the globe due to its reputation. It provides a range of different meal kits for people depending on their dietary preferences or needs. Depending on the plan you choose, there will be a number of recipes to choose from, and shipments arrive well packaged. You won’t need to spend too much time in the kitchen to prepare each meal, and allowances have been made for those with growing children or people who want to watch their calorie intake. If you want a quick and easy way to prepare meals during weekday evenings, HelloFresh is well worth considering.