2020 has arrived, and I’m looking to get into a better cooking routine and giving up on reaching for ready meals at the end of a busy day or more often than not caving in to a takeaway to avoid the supermarket scrum.

I’m not exactly a pro in the kitchen, so I knew that if I were going to stick to a balanced approach to eating, I would need some help.

A few friends from work have been using HelloFresh, a weekly meal kit service that delivers all the fresh, pre-portioned ingredients you need to make delicious dinners from scratch. They’re always posting pictures on social media of what they have cooked each night, but – even though they did look delicious – it still wasn’t enough to get me into the mood to cook as I couldn’t imagine dedicating time to rustle up a recipe after a hard day at the office.

But when I found that HelloFresh had Rapid meals on offer that can be cooked in less than twenty minutes and cut the faff of shopping, meal planning, and throwing excess food in the bin every week, I was curious! Here’s what happened.

First, selecting what to have was hassle-free and straightforward. My boyfriend and I were excited to try a Chicken Laksa, Prawn Linguine, and an Extra Rapid Hoisin Beef Stir Fry, which would take us under ten minutes to whip up. When Monday evening came, we were happy in the knowledge that a box of goodness was waiting for us on the doorstep, and we were breaking the cycle of messages about what to have for dinner from lunchtime onwards.

HelloFresh made the whole cooking process completely fool-proof. The detailed step-by-step recipe cards even had photos, so I was able to see exactly what I was meant to be doing. As the ingredients were all pre-portioned, there was no waste or mess left once I’d finished cooking. Safe to say – we were happy to have skipped the takeaway! In under 20 minutes, we had dinner on the table before settling in to watch an episode of The Crown. I was genuinely surprised at how delicious, fresh, and filling the Chicken Laksa was.

All of the recipes we’ve tried so far from the Rapid collection have been really delicious, and I’m enjoying the variety, too. My favorite meal from this week was the Quick Chermoula Chicken – which I’d never tried before.

I’ve been getting HelloFresh’s Rapid recipes for a couple of weeks now, and I can already notice that our evenings are easier. Cooking is quick and easy, and we’re eating well. Speedy dinners means that I’m keeping to my other resolution of going to the gym three nights a week. I’m also noticing that cutting down on takeaways is leaving me with some more funds in my bank account.

I’m proud that I’m not only sticking to a New Years’ resolution but really enjoying it. My boyfriend and I are so pleased to have found an easy solution to shake up our dinner routines, taking it in turns to cook for one another and eating healthy, wholesome food at home.

Update: The folks at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get a discount off your first 4 deliveries!