I love cooking. I adore deep-diving into my vast cookbook collection in search of the perfect babaganoush recipe. I live to pop into the market on a whim to grab clams for an impromptu chowder. I make fried rice from muscle memory. I can’t properly wash a pot to save my life (that’s my husband’s beat), but I can generate sinkfuls of well-used woks and whisks.
Because I consider myself moderately skilled, I’ve historically turned my nose up at those meal-kit services I see online and in TV ads. I felt like part of the appeal of cooking is being creative and experimental with food, and having a package dictate the exact use for pre-portioned ingredients seemed like it would just be, well, boring.
That said, I have a full-time job, a precocious one-year-old who’s just discovered the joys of throwing rice across the kitchen, and a small terrier with a suspicious amount of digestive issues. So when I heard that HelloFresh had revitalized its home-delivery menu, I decided to somewhat cautiously sample a few options. I wondered if saving time on deciding on dinner and all the grocery-shopping that goes with it would free up some precious evening hours, and figured I could sacrifice my creativity for a bit. But what happened was surprising — more on that later.
HelloFresh just got an update — here’s what they’ve changed
If you’ve tried HelloFresh in the past, you should know that the meal kit service has just undergone a refresh.
“HelloFresh is transforming the home cooking experience by doubling its offerings to more than 100 weekly menu options,” their press release notes. The company says that you can expect a wider selection of diverse dishes (they use the term “global” here); they’re also promising that you can try “the latest cooking trends” if you don’t want to opt for comfort food classics.
If you’re an ex-HelloFresh user left hungry after past meals, you should note that the company says they’ve upped portion sizes. They’ve introduced more low-calorie, high-protein meals, alongside dishes they referred to as “veggie packed,” which seems fairly self-explanatory.
Interestingly enough, HelloFresh is also dipping their proverbial toe into AI and machine learning. Why? The new tech can fine-tune bespoke meal recommendations: “From swapping proteins or sides to adding desserts or appetizers, customers have more flexibility than ever to curate a box that fits their tastes and lifestyle.”
We tried three HelloFresh meals — here’s what we thought
I sampled a trio of HelloFresh dishes over the course of a week, opting for kits that yielded just two servings, because unfortunately my baby hasn’t yet proven herself to be a thoughtful meal tester (sorry). After we put her to bed, I prepared a dish of chicken katsu with roasted green beans and ginger rice.
I pulled a handful of small packets from a big brown bag, which included all the necessary ingredients, seasonings included — except for salt. I was surprised by the immediate, easy flow of the prep work. While the rice cooked on the stovetop and the beans roasted in the oven, I quickly tenderized chicken before seasoning the meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I pressed the chicken into a simple panko mixture and swiftly pan-fried each cutlet. The whole process took just half an hour, as promised by the recipe.
I’ll cut to the chase — we loved this chicken katsu. Loved. The chicken was perfectly crunchy, and the slightly sharp garlic powder seasoning really permeated each bite. The green beans were a refreshing counterpoint, and the rice was understated yet nicely fragrant, thanks to the addition of ginger. My husband referred to the portion sizes as “perfect.” And after we cleaned up for the night, I kept hearing him quietly mumble, “I liked that meal…”
Obviously, fried chicken is pretty indulgent, so I love that HelloFresh lists all the nutrition facts for each recipe (which isn’t something you can say for every cookbook). I like knowing what I’m getting into, so I can balance out a calorically luxurious meal with a more wholesome dinner the next day.
For a lighter option the following night, we tried the smoky brown sugar chicken salad, which calls for a mix of kale, apple, roasted carrots, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and a honey dijon dressing.
Let me be honest: Before I made this meal, I was a hair’s breadth away from DoorDashing Chinese takeout. We’d had a long Sunday that started with baby swim practice and ended with a few sun-soaked hours playing in sandboxes. We’d also visited my family a town away, which meant schlepping home over the notoriously jampacked Bay Bridge. My exhausted daughter decided that screaming her way through this commute would be an optimal finish to the day. I’d never been in less of a mood to cook.
But somehow, this salad was easy to throw together, even when I was bone-tired and sporting lightly damaged eardrums. I sliced and roasted the carrots, seasoned chicken cutlets with a sweet, umami-rich brown sugar seasoning, then pan-seared the meat. I tossed everything together, then served. That tangy, smoky brown sugar seasoning stole the show: It jazzed up the chicken and complemented the dijon dressing. And the presence of kale, apple, and carrots made me feel better about my recent commitment to obtain a better fiber intake. Plus, the prep work yielded minimal dirty dishes.
Lastly, we tried the homemade salami and mozz focaccia pizza, served alongside a creamy balsamic-dressed green salad. Since you can select meals with varying difficulty levels, this was my sole “hard” recipe; I was pleased to learn that HelloFresh can give you a real challenge if you want it. I made my focaccia dough from scratch, using garlic powder, yeast, salt, flour, and water. I had to wait an hour or so for the dough to rise before placing it in a pan to rest again. If you adore cooking from scratch, it’s nice to know that you can still get that fulfillment with a bit more convenience.
After the dough was ready, I applied a packaged pizza sauce, pre-diced salami, sliced tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. I was also supposed to dab pesto onto the top of the pie, but I opted out. My husband is deathly allergic to nuts, and I’d forgotten that pine nuts are a key component of the sauce. (Did I mention that I’m extremely busy lately?) This mistake was on me, but I loved that all of the HelloFresh ingredients are tightly sealed; the presence of the unopened pesto wouldn’t put him at risk.
After the pie was done, I served it alongside a simple spinach salad. The pizza itself was OK — I’ll freely admit that it was my least favorite of the meals. The pre-made tomato sauce reminded me too much of those processed Lunchable pizzas I gobbled down throughout the 1990s. And the spinach, in my opinion, couldn’t quite stand up to that rich, creamy balsamic dressing. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of spinach in salads (I usually opt for a heartier green), so I’m biased.
All that said, I’ve made focaccia pizza from scratch in the past, and the HelloFresh version is indeed easier and makes less of a mess. So if you want to try on your pizza-chef hat, this is probably the least fussy way to do it.
All in all, I was surprised that using HelloFresh didn’t make me feel like a total sell-out who had compromised my creativity in the name of convenience. I had fun cooking, and cleanup was easy. Plus, the dishes cut down on food waste, and it was actually nice not having a pile of leftovers taking up space in my fridge. While I’m not sure if my pride would ever allow me to commit to a regular meal kit, it’s nice knowing that — amid dog tummy troubles, my daughter’s obsession with trying to munch on crayons, and the task of maintaining an Actual Marriage — the option is there.
