Let me start this off by giving a few quick facts…we are a family of five. Two adults, an elementary aged kiddo, a toddler (still breastfeeding), and a baby (starting baby led weaning). Nobody is a picky eater, we have no allergies or special diets, and we eat an average amount of food.

Okay, so now that’s out of the way we can move on. 🤣

It’s been two weeks of using Hello Fresh, and honestly I’m impressed. I love cooking, I cook three meals a day…every day. I know my way around the kitchen. But I also end up in a cooking rut quite frequently. Being that we are a large-ish family I’m not going to be buying specialty ingredients for one meal…despite wanting to mix it up. Food waste is something that I just can’t tolerate in our house.

So having funky recipes and all of their ingredients dropped off on our porch each week is a breath of fresh air. We’ve really enjoyed eating cuisine from other countries that we wouldn’t get to try outside of date nights. Surprisingly, the kids have enjoyed the new dishes as well…and the best bonus is we use the simple recipes as a cooking class for our oldest! Homeschool for the win 😁. Besides pretending to be Martha Stewart for the night, I also noticed a few surprising benefits to having a meal delivery service.

1. I’m less stressed. Meal planning is much easier when you have three fewer meals to figure out each week. I also have to buy less groceries, and if I forget to get to the store it’s not a big deal.
2. The price is worth it…for the most part. I’m going to be honest, you can absolutely buy the ingredients for less in the store. But being a mama to many is exhausting, and sometimes convenience will save your sanity. Consider it a bit of self-care.
3. Our kids get to try new foods. I’d like to think that the kids will look back and think of all the interesting foods they were able to try and of fond memories of cooking as a family in the kitchen. Hey, I can think ahead.
4. It’s not just dinner. It’s true, these little meals have been used as date nights, lunches, brunches, and even add ons to other meals. Plus you can always add some of your own extra ingredients to help stretch the meals. For example….add more rice, roasted vegetables, or a side salad. We get the meals for two people, and we feed everyone…sometimes with leftovers!

All in all, we’re busy parents and need a break from time to time. Hello Fresh has become a go-to for us and we plan on using it for quite some time. We haven’t tried any other meal services, and I’m not sure if we will….but who knows. Do I recommend giving it a try? Yes, if it fits with your budget. Is it for everyone? No, its not. But one thing we all need to do is set priorities for our families. For us, it was needing a break from mundane chores, and Hello Fresh came to the rescue for that.