Anyone do the Hello Fresh meal thing?

[HaveGun]

My girlfriend started this beginning of January. I was a bit skeptical at first, and I'm pretty sure it's not economical. but she loves it.

Basically, you go to their website, select the meals you want, and they ship you a cardboard box about 18" by 18" with the number of meals you want for the week. The box has some heavy duty ice/gel packs in it and contains recipe cards for each meal, as well as all of the ingredients for the meals.

So, you provide the cooking implements, as well as basics like salt and pepper, olive oil, butter, and they pack everything else, including a recipe card that is easy to follow for each meal.

I thought it sounded dumb as heck; the epitome of laziness. A smart person would simply go to the grocery store with a recipe list and buy the ingredients they needed.

But, I have to say, every meal we've prepared has been absolutely delicious and tasted every bit as good as what I'd pay $20 a plate for in a decent restaurant. I think her cost is $20 per 2-person meal. She spends three nights a week at my place so she pays $60 a week. We used to take turns cooking and when it was my turn, I'd usually just take her out for dinner and it was around $40 to $50. So it's definitely cheaper than eating out, and the food is better than most of what we get at Applebee's, or a local diner, or whatever.

Curious as to if anyone else here will admit to doing this.

Tonight's meal was pork taquitos...





The actual meal...




Last night was some fancy spiced chicken with sriracha sauce, mashed potatoes, and baked broccoli. Also incredibly delicious...

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[L84Cabo]

I've had an odd meal here and there and they've all been good. But I'm just not sure the price is worth it, particularly when I still have to cook it. That, to me, would be the real question...how much more would I have to pay to order from a meal service that prepares it and I just have to pop it in the microwave?

 

[Provincial]

When we were both working my wife did that for a while. Family of 4, two of them teenagers. She decided that it was a distraction to plan out the purchases and just went back to basic home cooking. Our daughter was helping, so the workload was eased up somewhat.

The meals were OK, but my wife makes food that really fits my tastes. Just one of the reasons that I am a lucky man!

 

[V4Cascade]

I think it's a gimmick granted I have no experience with them or their dishes. When I hear "fresh" I think of fresh kill meat; chickens, pigs, cows, etc. My parents are immigrants so raising and slaughtering live animals was a norm growing up. Nothing goes to waste and everything was used or eaten (mostly). I will admit that fresh meat does taste better than those stored in freezers for months or years. They also have a garden and plant everything they used in their native country. All "organic" if you want to call it and everything was fresh. With the right herbs and spices from the garden and a little salt, it was magic on your taste buds.