Between my new work schedule and my 5 picky children, planning out and preparing ahead for dinnertime is a seriously daunting task. I either don’t have the energy to cook, or my kids pull a boycott on my go-to spaghetti recipe they used to adore.
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot about HelloFresh, a meal delivery service that sends simple pre-planned recipes and ingredients in a box right to your door. I didn’t see how it could be as easy as everyone says, and I just knew my picky-eaters at home would have a lot to say about it.
But after yet one more night of unhealthy takeout food (with complaints from my youngest!) Something had to give; I didn’t want to keep stuffing my family with over-processed, greasy, and unhealthy foods.
A few days later, my husband’s college friend, Nathan, a single dad of 4, brought his kids over for a play date. And yet another person was telling us all about HelloFresh. Sounds like a good deal, I thought.
Nathan rustles up delish HelloFresh meals after work and still has time to help with homework and, even better, to unwind! My ears perked once he noted the family-friendly meals — the Teriyaki Beef Meatballs and Apricot-Glazed Lamb Chops were huge winners with his family!
I knew we needed less stress throughout our week. If Nathan’s kids liked the variety of meals, perhaps ours would as well. Besides, what did I have to lose? I could always cancel the subscription if it didn’t workout.
My husband John and I automatically assumed meal kits were more expensive than buying our groceries. But HelloFresh meals start at only $4.63 per serving with the offer. Not to mention, zero food waste! Apparently, the annual cost of food loss and waste in Canada is over $1,700 per household — yikes.
Ordering was done in under 5 minutes, I chose a personalized meal plan that looks fantastic for my family and selected our dinners for the week.
My next week started so hectically, I’d totally forgotten our first HelloFresh box was set to arrive. When John called and told me there was no need to worry about what to make for dinner, I was tremendously relieved!
When I got home, the kids had torn open the box and put all the ingredients away. When I peeped inside the fridge, I noticed that HelloFresh had packed everything in individual brown bags with ingredients specific to each recipe. I love it that HelloFresh uses local produce sourced directly from regional farms and 100% Canadian beef and chicken from suppliers in Alberta — far fresher than the supermarket.
The kids kept asking, “What are we gonna try first?” The vote was for Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops. I didn’t see how we’d cook such a gorgeous looking meal in 30-minutes. So I set a timer as we all put our aprons on and grabbed what we needed. The kids really got excited about trying to prep and plate dinner under half an hour.
25 minutes later, they’d beat the clock and dinner was on the table. All 5 kids, even Markey, enjoyed every bite with no complaints. I couldn’t be happier. John and I knew right then that HelloFresh was the smartest decision. Bonus: I had the pleasure of knowing that the food they enjoy so much is fresh, clean, and good for them.
Through HelloFresh, Markey will expand his palate and uncover that he actually does enjoy green veggies (sometimes). The super easy-to-follow, set-by-step recipe cards are ideal — everybody’s cooking in our house — even our Markey.
With such crazy, varying schedules and the pickiest of eaters, HelloFresh is the convenient dinnertime solution I had no idea I needed. These days, our family sits down to a tasty meal that we make together and relish the extra time we spend with one another around the dinner table each night.
Feeding your family, no matter how large, doesn’t have to be hard when you choose HelloFresh!