Hello Fresh Meal Kit - Review by a Registered Dietitian
I’ve tried another meal kit for you! This time the old classic - Hello Fresh. One of the originals in the space. But does it live up to the hype?
Disclaimer: I was not paid for these reviews, or given free product.
Overview:
Hello Fresh is a meal kit delivery service. To be honest, I can’t tell their “theme” or what they stand for. Their “about” page was just an FAQ on ordering. But it seems like they are targeted at everyday folks who like familiar foods. There are mostly pretty classic foods available. Burgers, pasta, tacos, flatbreads. Not much too out of the ordinary or exotic, which could be a pro or a con.
Nutrition wise - some of the meals were pretty good. But many top around or over 1000 calories per serving, which is going to be too many for most people, and certainly those trying to lose weight. Lots of carbs, some meals had enough vegetables and some did not.
When you look at my selections below, note that I tended to choose the healthiest meals available for that week so it is a bit skewed in that direction. Many I did not select were pretty high in fat, carbs and sodium and low in fiber.
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken & Garlic Sauce
plus Lemony Couscous & Chili-Roasted Carrots
We really liked this meal. Neither of us had had Israeli Couscous before (which, if you did not know is a type of pasta).
It did not have enough vegetables for us (3 small carrots to split). Chicken was good. It did take a while to make, about 40 minutes.
640 calories, 39g protein, 9g fiber, 65g carbs.
Price Breakdown:
Specifics: 4 meals for 2 people, with no discounts was $81 after shipping. $10/serving.
Shipping is $9 per order, no matter the size of the order. This isn’t really spelled out and is hidden in the back. Even with google - I couldn’t find anything. It looks like it used to be included in the base price, but isn’t anymore.
Creamy Dill Chicken
with Roasted Potatoes & Green Beans
Forgettable. I forgot I ate this after dinner. It was fine - pretty boring but edible. We added some mushrooms from our own fridge that were about to go bad and they were the best part of the meal.
500 calories, 37g protein, 6g fiber, 37g carbs.
Add ons:
Several meals each week were “gourmet plus” with an extra charge between an extra $7-$15 per serving. Usually this was around 3 of the 26 meal options. We upgraded to the duck once, but I would not say it was worth the extra $18 we paid to do so.
They have a few ready to bake/eat items (pizza, salad, soup, sandiwches, egg bites) as well as sides like bread and some desserts.
Pre cooked proteins are also available to add to your order.
Duck a l’Orange
with Duck Fat Potatoes & Arugula Almond Salad
This was an extra charge for the duck (an extra $18) and took about 45 minutes to make.
It was ok, I wouldn’t say it was worth the cost. The salad was probably the highlight actually
770 calories, 33g protein, 8g fiber, 60g carbs
Ordering Process and Menu
The menu was pretty basic. 26 options, 3 of which were an extra cost per serving as “gourmet” and 7 vegetarian. No customization of proteins like Sunbasket or some other services offer. What you see is what you get.
Most options had pasta or a bun or rice or potatoes. Generally American fare, with nothing more exotic than a tex-mex taco. This can be a positive or a negative depending on your food preferences.
Vegetarian/Vegan? 7 vegetarian options. Don’t count on many vegan ones. No tofu or vegetarian proteins available.
Gluten Free? Some gluten free options, but you would be pretty limited in your choices
Dairy Free? Most meals have dairy in the form of cheese or sour cream but it could be left off.
Most ingredients are not organic, which is reflected in the lower pricepoint compared to some other services.
Skipping weeks is pretty easy. I tend to skip all future weeks so that I don’t get surprised by a charge and order I didn’t expect. Canceling the service was easy too, although they kept emailing me after and I think I’ll get advertisements in the mail for eternity.
Menus are available to select almost 2 months in advance so you could easily place your orders for many weeks at once and then be set for a while.
Thai Shrimp with Candied Peanuts
over Sesame Cabbage & Arugula Salad
The shrimp was very good, and I really liked the candied peanuts. I’d definitely make those again for a bit of pizazz!
Dressing for the salad was a packet of Marzetti dressing, and the first ingredients were canola oil and sugar. So that wasn’t great nutritionally - obviously leaning on inexpensive fats and sugar instead of spices for flavor.
480 calories, 24g protein, 6g fiber, 39g carbs
Packaging
As always - there is a lot of packaging. Standard with any meal kit service unfortuantely
Each ingredient comes in its own little plastic bag with the name on the label
Each meal comes in its own paper bag
Then there’s the gel ice packs that are starting to stack up.
Then the insulation that you can’t send back to be reused.
That’s all inside a cardboard box.
So far everything has been fresh though out of the two boxes we got. No complaints there!
Meatloaves with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
plus Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Taste was great - I like roasted potatoes better so I did that instead of mashed (its also a bit less work).
As I’ll get into below, there was a theme with these meals. They all took 2-3x the amount of active time advertised to make. This meal said it would be 10 minutes prep, and then another 25 minutes of inactive cooking time. It was 35 minutes of fully active cooking time.
Flavor was great though! We loved it, especially the mushroom sauce.
760 calories, 37g protein, 10g fiber, 52g carbs
Ease of Cooking:
Large recipe cards accompany the meals with lots of pictures. Meals take a lot longer than advertised to make - always at least double the time.
That was probably my biggest complaint - meals took a long time to prep and were usually pretty basic stuff. It didn’t feel like the payoff was worth all the time spent.
Beef Bulgogi Meatballs
with Roasted Carrots, Ginger Rice & Sriracha Crema
The Bulgogi sauce was great - I’d eat this on cardboard. It was premade, so not much to do for the sauce. I have a feeling it contained a lot of oil and sugar based on the taste, and considering the 40g of sugar per serving in the nutrition facts I’m probably right.
Not a nutritionally balanced meal or one I’d recommend, again leaning heavily on inexpensive additives for flavor instead of seasoning/spices
910 calories, 30g protein, 6g fiber, 124g carbs
Grading Time!
Customization…….D
Delivery/Packaging…….C
Nutritional Value…….C-
Price…….$10/serving (inc shipping)
Flavor…….C
Texture…….A
Ease of Cooking…….C+
Meal Variety…….B-
Final thoughts: It was ok. We almost didn’t order the 2nd box but since we had a discount on it we did anyway. Price is pretty good as far as these services go.
However the meals took a long time to make (at least 30 minutes, often 45) and the nutritional value was not very high. Lots of carbs in the meals, and not as many vegetables as I would prefer. Flavoring leaned heavily on oil and sugar which is not ideal from a nutrition perspective.
We also prefer more varied/exotic flavors, so this wasn’t the box for us.
This would be a great box for a family or couple who doesn’t like any exotic flavors and has the time to cook but doesn’t want to plan weekly meals.
