Earlier this week I shared my experience with Blue Apron, a
home delivery meal kit company that’s putting the fun and excitement back into cooking
date night dinners at home.
I also had the opportunity to test-drive Hello Fresh,
which offers the same concept. I was just as impressed with this company’s
innovative yet easy-to-follow recipes as well as the freshness of the food that
was delivered, chilled, to my door.
I ordered three vegetarian meals from Hello Fresh, which
costs $59 including shipping. My box arrived filled with everything we needed
to prepare Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, Grilled Vegetable Tostadas, and Roasted
Cauliflower Rigatoni.
Hello Fresh gets high marks for both ease of preparation and
the palatability of the final product. All three meals were not only tasty but
also healthy. Who knew roasted cauliflower tasted so good!? I will absolutely
make all three recipes again.
Since trying out home meal kit companies, Marc and I have
talked a lot about fitting these products into our daily lives. It’s a great
concept, especially for people like me who have watched a love of cooking
dwindle away with the grind of preparing one meal after another, day after day,
week after week. These kits add a little gusto to the chore of cooking not only
because you get a new recipe to try out, but because all the ingredients are
already compiled, measured, sliced and diced. We call it “cooking show
cooking.” And it’s really fun waiting to see what will arrive in our box and
then preparing it together. It’s kind of like a DIY cooking class.
While the concept might not be for everyone—picky eaters or
those with food or lactose allergies, for example—I think most couples will
enjoy this mini-culinary adventure as part of their regular weekly meals or as
a once-in-a-while indulgence.
