Ain’t nobody got time to make dinner, and that’s why I’ve been trying out and writing about meal kit programs such as Green Chef (organic, vegan option; referral link available at end of that blog post) and Blue Apron (vegetarian option).   We liked Green Chef a lot and were less impressed by Blue Apron.  Most recently, we tried another popular service, Hello Fresh.  Here’s the review…

We thought Hello Fresh was a good option and are likely to use it again if we had a discount code, but not if we were paying full price ($9.99 per meal).  The food is more creative and less heavy than Blue Apron, but not as ethnic/fun as Green Chef.  It would probably be a good option for children and less-adventurous eaters.  We ordered the vegetarian meal kit and  2/3 meals followed a trusty, albeit potentially boring formula: bread with cheese + veggies.  But the flavors were good, and the portions were sufficient.  Cooking and cleanup was straightforward and offered a huge improvement over my typical pint-of-ice-cream dinners.  Unlike Green Chef, Hello Fresh does not provide nutrition facts other than calories on the menu cards, so you’ll have to do a little digging if you are looking to make these meals fit in your macros.

Day 1: Garden Quesadillas with Pico De Gallo and Chipotle Mayo (660 cals)

• It’s pretty hard to make a bad quesadilla, and this was no exception.  However, there were way too many veggies to fit inside, and we felt like the salad was a bit watery with the extra veggies and the pico.  It needed something to tie it together.  Definitely a dinner I could have made without the help of Hello Fresh, but all-in-all, not a bad start.

Day 2: Crunchy Veggie and Lentil Salad with Feta-Stuffed Pita and Creamy Dill Dressing (580 cals)

• We liked this one a lot.  With the lentils and special dressing, this isn’t something we’d be likely to have made on our own, and the salad was refreshing.  A great way to feel good and fresh mid-week.

Day 3:  Mediterranean Tomato and Asparagus Bake Over Israeli Couscous (450 cals)

• My husband and I were divided on this one.  I really liked it, and he was less impressed.  We were getting sort of asparagus-ed out during asparagus season, but the grape tomatoes were bursting with flavors, and I love the texture of Israeli couscous.  Another example of a meal we probably wouldn’t have made if left to our own devices, but a good option we were happy to enjoy on a random Thursday.

This rounds out my first set of meal delivery kit reviews.  I really like this concept and feel great when I am eating real food during the week.  We will probably try Plated and a few others that have been recommended to us in the coming months, so stay tuned.

Have you tried Hello Fresh or any other meal kit program?  What did you think?  Do you think meal kits are worth the money?