They had me at Hello!
Honestly, the three words I detest more than any others are “What’s for Supper?” So, when someone offers me an alternative to mealtime planning that’s not only super convenient and easy, but healthy…I have to look into it a little further.
I met with the lovely Irene Ngo, from HelloFresh Canada to learn all about the delivery service that’s just recently been expanded to include Atlantic Canada. Irene explained the full program and answered all of my questions. She’s a super-awesome lady who heads up the test kitchen at HelloFresh (after 7 years of recipe testing and creation for Chatelaine magazine)…creating beautiful, tasty, healthy recipes that you can quickly put on your dinner table!
I was MORE than interested in hearing more for a variety of reasons as myself and mealtime have had our variety of challenges:
- Timing is always a little off – I’m usually hard into my workday when it’s time to start figuring out what’s for supper and just as I kind of get some sort of an idea formed…it’s time to drop everything and head to a practice or game.
- We’re a household of two – and one is a bit picker than me.
- I don’t really love to cook – or clean up the mess I make.
- I resent that cooking is “my job” as the mom of this household.
- I’m not adventurous in the kitchen and get bored of the same ol’ same ol’ that I’m comfortable making.
- It’s just easier to pick up the phone and call for take-out!
Basically…I’m bored, busy, basic, bewildered, burdened and bland.
HelloFresh to the rescue!
Here’s how it works:
Choose your Plan and Weekly Menu
HelloFresh has three different plans to choose from – Veggie Plan, Pronto Plan and Family Plan. All have easy to follow recipes and use seasonal ingredients that are sourced locally (GTA at the moment but as the company grows they’re looking into new markets.) For me, the Pronto Plan would work the best as it’s explained on the website that:
“Busy bees will love the convenience and variety of our Pronto Plan. Meals are simple to prepare, taking under 30 minutes to make, and full of exciting flavours to help break your mealtime routine. We do all the planning and shopping, so you can prepare exciting dinners AND have more time to spend doing the things you enjoy most.
For me, putting a meal together in 30 minutes is faster than the time it takes to order take-out or run through a drive-thru. Plus, I LOVE that I’m learning to cook some new meals…and am really super excited about having my teen take part in learning a few new recipes as well.
Each week, you’re given an option of four meals…and you choose three. I asked Irene how often the menus are repeated and was surprised to hear “about every four months” as her answer! HOWEVER, if there’s something you really like, all you have to do is head to the supermarket and pick up the ingredients to make it again!
Also, while it’s a subscription service, you aren’t tied to your subscription in any way and can cancel at any time. Basically, if you aren’t interested in receiving delivery the next week, you “pause” your subscription before midnight on the Wednesday before and a package won’t come to your door that week.
As for the price…it won’t work for everyone. However, I’m honestly spending so much on fast food that there’s a savings in it for me and it’s a far healthier alternative to what I’ve been doing. It suits my lifestyle AND it might get me excited about cooking again! PLUS, I’m totally pulling my teen in on the entire cooking experience so it’s a win-win for sure!
Home Delivery
Your food and recipes arrive on Tuesday’s via Purolator. So, as long as you live in an area where Purolator delivers, then delivery is available to you as well! Each kit comes in a cooler box with your three chosen meals separated into individual boxes with pre-measured food (leaving no food waste from your meal!) Any meat and fish is stored in a separate area of the container keeping it extra cool. HelloFresh has spent a great amount of time on researching the best way to deliver the food as safety is first and foremost. While the delivery service is new to Canada, it’s successfully been in Europe for a number of years.
Prepare Delicious Meals
And finally…the rest is up to you! HelloFresh has done the recipe planning, shopping and delivery to your door…all you have to do, is put it together and place on the table!
I like that it both teaches you to cook and allows you to try new foods. Each recipe card has detailed explanations of how to prepare what’s in the box…and there’s also an App to make it that much simpler…with lots of photos…AND it’s voice activated and timer activated so you aren’t putting your dirty chicken juice hands all over your fancy phone!
While I didn’t prepare this dish, it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and if the Rustic Italian Stew is any indication of what’s in those weekly boxes…I’m super pumped!
Give it a Try!
HelloFresh may be my answer to eating healthier meals as a busy working mom. Next week, my first box will arrive so I’ll really get to try it out and see how it works!
And…since I’m trying it, I think you should too! Visit the HelloFresh website and use the code COLLEEN50 to receive $50 off your first box! You can cancel at any time…but I have a feeling you might be like me and stick around for awhile. I can easily see that HelloFresh is about to make mealtime so much more fun than it’s been.
AND…one of the readers of Curtains are Open has a chance to WIN a HelloFresh Family Box (value $129.99). Fill out the form below for your chance to win!
**Please note: Winners must reside in a delivery area within Canada (excluding Quebec.) If your name is drawn and it is determined you do not live in the delivery area, a new winner will be chosen. Closes Feb 20, 2017.
Disclaimer: I was provided a HelloFresh Family Box as compensation for my blog post. As always, my opinions and stories are my own.
my biggest challenge is putting together healthy ingredients to form a tasty meal my whole family will eat!
My biggest challenge is also being busy.
Great post! I’ve been considering subscribing and this has just made my decision. How do you find the portion sizes?
My biggest challenge is working long hours, getting home late and having the motivation (and ingredients) to cook a meal from scratch!
Trying new recipes without wasting a ton of time looking for new recipes and gathering ingredients
My biggest challenge is finding meals the whole family will eat.
For me it is coming up with different meals each day, I find that I am often making the same thing and it get boring.
Biggest challenge is menu planning — figuring out what to make!!
My biggest challenge is making a meal that is healthy for the kids and not just an out of the box solution (just throw in the oven for 15 minute)
Mine is definally trying to find the time. Thanks!
My biggest challenge is working long hours….
My biggest challenge is getting my kids to eat different kinds of vegetables.
Definitely looking into this. My challenge is staying motivated. If I didn’t have to shop and THINK of new things to cook – It would be so much easier!
My biggest challenge is coming up with new recipes to keep the menu fresh and exciting. I seem to stick to a few favourites and continually make them.
My biggest distraction during dinner prep is my four kids clamouring for my attention all at once.
Biggest challenge is finding the time in the day to cook and coming up with new tasty dishes
Never having time to do groceries and have fresh fruits and veggies on hand
Biggest challenge is how tired I get of going to the grocery store.
My biggest challenge is picky eaters! My husband and teenager like things simple. My little kid and I like things with lots of flavour.
My biggest challenge is finding time to shop and prep meals.
My biggest challenge is getting the get go to try new recipes.
Most of the classes I teach are right around – or during – mealtimes so I find myself spending most of Sunday pre-making all our meals so we have food that we can just heat up and eat. And that’s EXHAUSTING. I would adore trying HelloFresh as I’m confident my husband could handle the cooking if giving all his ingredients and directions!
My biggest challenge is preparing a variety of dishes that are easy and that the family will love.
Making sure I have made stuff ahead of time.
My biggest challenge is stay on budget yet buy only fresh vegetables and fruits in season. If not in season; buy frozen. Its a hard juggle when on a fixed income and trying to eat right.
My biggest challenge is being on a budget and short on time!
gettinng my son to eat sometimes i feel like a referee
Sometimes, figuring out what to cook can be my biggest challenge.
My biggest challenge is putting meals together
My biggest challenge is having enough fresh veggies on hand.
My biggest challenge at meal time is trying to occupy my two daughters at the same time! of course when it is time for mommy to get busy its “mom? mom? mom? mom? ….. ” lol
I biggest challenge is my tiny kitchen. I want to be able to have the space to prepare meals and not get frustrated because of the lack of room to do everything.
My biggest challenge is when everyone is being different. I try to eat healthy and do yoga everyday, but it doesnt work every day. If the whole household is on the same boat, its easy to cook healthy and eat as well.
My biggest challenge at mealtime has to be making healthy, nutritious meals my kids will ACTUALLY eat. It gets frustrating!
My biggest challenge is not knowing what to cook! My boyfriend and I have very different tastes, so it is different making a dish that both of us like!
My biggest challenge is finding fresh fruit and veg that is chemical-free and affordable to cook with.
My biggest challenge is finding something I want to cook. We usually end up eating the same things.
The biggest challenge for me is my work schedule. It doesn’t always work well with meal times.
My biggest challenge is often remembering to pull meat out the night before!
My biggest problem is thinking of new ways to cook our supper.