Subscription Meal Box Review - Hello Fresh

Subscription Meal Box Review - Hello Fresh

I don't know why I haven't tried these subscription meal plan deals before. Probably because my sister told me to. Honestly I think the price seemed a little daunting, but I actually did the math and it makes so much more sense than what I had been doing. I did a little digging and found coupons and discounts for most of these boxes. Woohoo! I started out with Hello Fresh because, I found a Groupon deal for $30 off my first box.

I'm going to pass on even more savings to you. By using this link you will recieve $40 off your first box. www.hellofresh.com/?c=FRSTER

Here's what came in the box.

 

The three brown boxes each contained the ingredients for the meal. The large box was packed very nicely with no worry of the food going bad. There was insulation on the bottom, the meat, two large (reusable) gel ice blocks directly on top of the meat then the three ingredient boxes on top of the ice. Bonus, it's a nice solid box that I will keep for moving in a couple of months. 

The first meal I prepared was the "Blackened Catfish with Blistered Veggies and Roasted Potatoes. I was kind of sceptical about making 2 meals out of what was given, but it was more than filling enough. This was dinner on Friday night. I had the exact same thing for lunch the next day. 

The only things not included in the box that this meal called for were salt, pepper, and oil. The cilantro looked like it was picked very early, it was very light in color, but it tasted fine. I only deviated slightly from the recipe by only using half of the onion in the blistered veggies. A whole onion just seemed a bit of overkill. 

This was a great meal, delicious, easy and quick. I would have wasted more than half of a lemon, and half of an onion, but the steak recipe also called for lemon, my roommate needed onion for something and I made my favorite citrus rice later on in the week. So, no waste in this box.

Meal 2 was the Pork D.I.Y. Dumplings with Quick Pickled Slaw and Soy Dipping Sauce.

Another delicious, easy meal. 

If you've never worked with won-tons before it could take a little experimentation. My suggestion is to have a large dry surface so none of your won-tons touch. Using water to turn the flour on the won-ton into a glue of sorts can be difficult, because it will soften the won-ton and cause tears. My approach is to put water one won-ton at a time, and quickly seal it. 

These don't have to be sealed perfectly, if you had something melty like cream cheese in them you would have to be more careful. 

The cabbage I received for the slaw was very bitter, but once I made the dressing it tasted just fine, and it was very pretty. I love colorful food. The soy dipping sauce was the perfect accompaniment. I'm going to file that recipe away for later.  

I did waste a little of the slaw, it was just too much.  There were more than double the number of won-ton wrappers needed so, I put them in the freezer to make crab rangoons later. 

The final meal in this box was the Lean Green Steak Machine with a Mint Chive Dressing and Veggie Succotash. I think this was my favorite of the three. I love red meat, and those big chunks of veggies, including two of my favorites, asparagus and zucchini. Yum. 

Unfortunately, I was a bit sidetracked that day and forgot about taking pictures until I had already started eating. I never would have thought to put chives and mint in a dressing, but it was absolutely great. 

Long story short, this was a great experience and well worth the $30 I paid. Once I try a few more boxes I may return to this one on a regular basis.