My days as a Mom of 2 under 2 begin with a lot of energy and a lot of coffee. They progress with dozens of diaper changes, many tears, and a toddler tantrum or two… or five. We play the same games, sing the same songs, and do the same things over and over and over.
Nap times do not happen at the same time (of course! lol) so by the time one is down, the other is up- leaving no time for Mommy breaks and Mommy nap is an unspoken myth that never happens.
By the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is cook. Could Alan and I survive off Dino nuggets? ABSOLUTELY. But let’s be honest. No one actually wants Dino nuggets outside of my 2 year old at her Peppa Pig table.
Insert Hello Fresh.
Alan first suggested a home delivery meal service to me because we buy most of our grocery in bulk at our BJ’s Wholesale club. This means we get enough salad to feed a dozen kids, enough chicken to last a month- and overall A LOT of food.
While we love the prices, it makes shopping for one off meals REALLY hard. We only need 1 head of garlic (not 10), we only need a dash of cumin (not a 5 year supply)…. and not getting it at BJ’s is 1 more stop at a different grocery store in a different town and that is THE LAST thing I want to do with my two children who are already tired and/or bored out of their minds from the first shopping foray.
(Let’s not mention the pain in the butt action of getting them in and out of the car and the stroller… and how the grocery store’s carts are only a 1 seater, meaning I need to push the stroller AND the cart… Mom’s- you KNOW what I mean).
So while I try to be a culinary diva, we often eat the same meals over and over simply because that’s what we have stocked in our cabinets regularly. Fried chicken & mashed potatoes are a staple in our home- and while there is nothing wrong with that, we like a little variety in our lives.
In comes Hello Fresh (after some online research- who knew there were so many options!) and a free trial from a friend (Thanks Trish! <3 )
It arrived in a large box, well packed and iced. Everything was fresh. Nothing was spoiled. Upon first inspection it was great!
Our first three meals were:
• Rosemary Encrusted Chicken
• Moo Shu Pork Tacos
• Pork Al Mojo
and I can say that we enjoyed every one of them!
Each meal comes with it’s own instruction/recipe card… and it is GIANT, so don’t worry if you have bad eyesight. It was great to prop the card on the counter as I was cooking and following the instructions.
The instructions never had more than 6 steps and were all around easy to follow! I loved that the recipe card even had a wine pairing suggestion- that made life even easier!
We didn’t need any fancy tools to complete the meals. The only outside ingredients needed were salt, pepper, and olive oil. Things you’ll probably already find in your kitchen.
And they were actually so easy, that one day I came home and Alan was doing the cooking! (His culinary skills are limited to grilled cheese and pasta). MOM BONUS WIN!
My favorite part about the meals is that everything is proportioned for you. I didn’t have to think. I didn’t have to do any special shopping. I didn’t have to buy a whole bushel of oregano, just for 3/4 of it to go to waste. IT WAS PERFECT! THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR AS A BUSY MOM!
The meals we got took 30-45 minutes on average to cook, from prep time to eat time. Which was a win- quick is something that need to happen in our house, since often times- we dont get around to eating until the kids are situated for the night with their wind down activity.
(And if you dont think 30-45 minutes is quick- on average, my baked chicken breast takes 30 minutes in the oven JUST TO COOK… that doesn’t include prep or side dishes).
And last but not least- they were delicious!
Recipes I would not naturally pick out while browsing my Good Housekeeping magazine, but they were phenomenal– They tasted great, the ingredients were fresh, and they had a lot of flavor. We plan to keep the cards so that we can make them again.
Our only wish for Hello Fresh was to have some leaner options. Our meals on average were 675 calories (or more)… while many would argue that’s not a whole lot- we also know that they weren’t very healthy either. They were very heavily based in potatoes, white rice, and starchy carbs- and we are in full wedding planning mode (and HOPE to lose a few lbs before the end of the year).
So while we enjoyed it- I’m still unsure if it’s a good fit for busy lifestyle meets healthy lifestyle.
But overall, we would reorder again 🙂
This post was written by me, Kelsey Egan of @hotmesswithgrace, with no affiliate or income associated. It is 100% my honest review, and not written in conjunction or in relation to Hello Fresh. All opinions are of my own.