I've been wanting to try one of these for a week just for some variety in what I normally cook. Does anyone subscribe or order from one? If so, how's the portion size, food, etc? I've bought about 4 meals of Blue Apron from a buddy of mine 3 years ago and liked them although there was a lot of prep with Blue Apron and about 2 meals a week appeal to me from them and I'm reaching to find a third. I'm torn between Hello Fresh, Martha Stuart, and Home Chef, although could try them all as they all have great introductory deals.

Given the current supermarket situation, I figured this is the perfect opportunity to order 3 nights a week, don't have to deal with supermarket for fresh produce (there isn't any here now) or a bunch of people and I'm not going out to eat 3-4 nights a week like I usually do.

What one do you like the best and why? What other brands have you tried?

We had a trial of hello fresh I believe, it was a pretty good kit, good instructions, easy to follow. Meals were good, with Covid it might be a good or the only solution since retaurants are being closed right and left for people that want alternative meal choices.

Just try them all, since they all have trial periods and see what you prefer.

quote:

with Covid it might be a good or the only solution since retaurants are being closed right and left for people that want alternative meal choices

Yeah! Screw the local economy even more than it’s already being screwed! Why support any local businesses in any fashion, especially in times of need, when daddy internet will take care of us?

I've used Home Chef for abut 3 years and am completely satisfied with the meals as well as the customer service (although rarely needed). Meals can be skipped if planning to be out of town or something. Free FedEx shipping if over $49. I get 6 meals a week for $59.70, so $10 a plate. I shopped around all the meal kit companies and chose Home Chef because of their reviews. They are the only service I've used and don't even ever consider switching.

Some actual recent meals I've cooked. Pics are from my kitchen counter ...

Steak with Garlic, Chive, Parmesan Butter and Roasted French-Style Red Potato, Carrot Salad with Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar, Honey and Parsley



Pork Chop with Apple Bacon Shallot Jam, Buttered Green Beans and Red Bell Pepper



Goat Cheese, Light Cream Cheese and Walnut Crusted Steak sitting on a Buttery Shallot Demi Sauce with Roasted Carrots and Pot Roast Seasoned Oven Fries



Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Bosc Pears, Green Beans, Shallots and Buttery Garlic-Thyme Sauce



Chicken Breast with Red Wine Bordelaise and Buttery Parmesan Yukon Cottage Fries with Steak House Mushrooms and Chives



Green Curry Pork Meatballs with Crispy Vegetable Medley and Edamame ... Asian garlic and ginger seasoning, and crispy fried onions among the veggies



Roasted Salmon with Ginger-Scallion Sauce and Charred Green Beans ... Flaky, delicate salmon gets seared, then oven-roasted to perfection. Green beans are tossed with ginger and garlic in a cast iron pan and charred. Teriyaki and toasted sesame oil also melds with ginger and garlic to make a delightful sauce. Salmon topped with green onion garnish



etc etc etc ... etc LOL

EDIT: Can't help it. A few more. Sorry, not sorry ...

Stroganoff Pork Meatballs with Potatoes and Peas



Crispy Prosciutto Carbonara Chowder with Potatoes and Peas ... Salty, crispy, bacon-esque prosciutto is the star of the show but potatoes, peas, green onions and garlic prevent prosciutto from stealing the show too much. Thus making this a subtle, creamy chowder that is SOooo gosh darn good



Blue Cheese Fondue Steak Strips on Delicious Pretzel Buns with BBQ-Spiced Oven Fries ... Some roma tomato slices and caramelized yellow onion strips in the mix



Teriyaki Ginger-Glazed Salmon with Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Carrots ... A subtle kick of ginger mixed with teriyaki glaze is the perfect complement to these tender salmon fillets



Tilapia Milanese with Arugula, Tomato, Shallot Salad and Shaved Parmesan ... Milanese, the lightly breaded, lightly fried, close cousin to the parmigiana, is normally found in a nicely pounded piece of chicken. But that delightful crunch can't just be confined to the cluck cluck contingent. Flaky, light fish takes to this delicate preparation like … like … well, like a fish to water. The analogy may not be perfect, but the meal surely is



Sunday Supper Pot Roast Steak with Smashed Taters, Carrots and Peas



Beef-and-Sherry "Steak Diane" with Cremini shrooms and Shallots in Dijon Cream Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus

I've been using Home Chef for a few months and I'm very satisfied with the quality of the produce and the finished meals. The instructions are clear and simple and I can typically get a meal done in 45 minutes. The portion sizes are great, I can sometimes get 3 decent meals out of 2 servings.

Unless you have dietary restrictions Home Chef seems to be a great option.

I think I have some $40 off coupons if your interested in trying HC out.

We use Hello Fresh. We used it for a while in the beginning and now we wait for a discount to reactivate our account. $60 a week is the normal price for 3 meals for 2 people.

We have never been disappointed in a meal. The least favorites were meh and those were few and far between. Customer service was top notch whenever we ran into an issue.

My wife and I both cook normally so our motivation for using the service was to break out of our routines and try new recipes.

Hello Fresh supplies an ingredient card with the ingredients and quantities needed to reproduce the meal on your own.

I would recommend. If you are interested in trying Hello Fresh let me know. I can send you an invite with $40 off the first week and I get a $20 credit.

My wife has tried them all. Or a bunch of them I should say. They were all tasty. They give you good directions and you can easily reproduce most meals on your own. I think it is pricy for what you get.

Just started Hello Fresh 2 weeks ago. I can't believe I didnt do it sooner. Its awesome.

Best things about meal kits ...
- No driving around shopping for ingredients ... if you can even find all of them.
- No storage of unused food, sauces and containers of stuff that require planning to use up before expiration dates.
- For most people, the chef quality meals are better than you might usually make at home.
- Restaurant quality meals right at home and cooked exactly as you like.
- Convenience

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:

I hate you. No really, I hate you. Every single one of those looked really good and now I'm hungry.

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Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:

I hate you. No really, I hate you. Every single one of those looked really good and now I'm hungry.

HA !!! ... Thank you kind sir

We did Hello Fresh for about 6 weeks last fall.
Started with 3/week - too much "dammit, we need to use the meal kit"
2/week was a bit expensive per meal

We wanted to break out of a routine & it did that - but with hamburger & BL/SL chicken breast, you can do a lot for cheaper. We stopped when we went out of the country for Christmas & it hasn't come up to re-start.
Overall not a bad experience & we've integrated some parts of the recipes, but in the end it wasn't worth the hassle.

I'm a good cook, and use good quality proteins when I cook, but fall into the rut many do of cooking the same 20-25 dishes over and over again and looking for a change. One thing I do like is they give you all of the ingredients and some ingredients are ones that I never use and recipes I've never done. Plus I usually travel a lot for work, sometimes at the spur of the moment, sometimes at the spur of the moment and unfortunately that's all been canceled. Thank you all for the input, the pictures of the meals do look awesome Hobbs.

I'm torn between Hello Fresh and Home Chef and pondering those.

Wifey and I used hello fresh for about 6 months. Mostly good meals but a few duds ( I am not the biggest meatball fan and we had like 5 dishes with some kind of meatball).

We have been using home chef for about 6 months and I like the offered dishes a bit better. Preparation for the home chef meals seems a tad less involved.

My brother works for Blue Apron, in talking to him a few weeks ago things were looking bleak for the future of the company.

As of now, they are struggling to keep up with orders. They've received exponential increases in their orders and business is booming. Haven't spoke to him a couple of days in regards to work, curious myself now if they've been able to keep up.

People have told me that they like these very much.

How much does a meal cost?

quote:

Originally posted by daikyu:
We use Hello Fresh. We used it for a while in the beginning and now we wait for a discount to reactivate our account. $60 a week is the normal price for 3 meals for 2 people.

We have never been disappointed in a meal. The least favorites were meh and those were few and far between. Customer service was top notch whenever we ran into an issue.

My wife and I both cook normally so our motivation for using the service was to break out of our routines and try new recipes.

Hello Fresh supplies an ingredient card with the ingredients and quantities needed to reproduce the meal on your own.

I would recommend. If you are interested in trying Hello Fresh let me know. I can send you an invite with $40 off the first week and I get a $20 credit.

Ditto.

Edited to add: For me, it's important to not just accept the pre-selected meals, but to make my own choices. I have to do so a bit in advance or else the default will be the pre-selects. I try to watch my dietary intake, so I avoid the menus that use a lot of pasta, bread and sugar. Their recipes call for (in my opinion) a lot of salt and pepper, but I can choose whether to add those ingredients or not. I'd like to reduce the amount of vegetable oil used, and I'm experimenting with using vegetable broth instead, and non-stick pans and trays. Again, that's at my end. For my money, I really like the dishes, and I'm learning how some items I wouldn't think combine can and do, much to my delight.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
People have told me that they like these very much.

How much does a meal cost?

Each meal is 2 servings or portions per meal(1 type), most plans start at 3 nights a week, including shipping, it's generally around $10 a serving/$60 for 2 dinner for 2 people including shipping...….

BUT, I've found each one has great initial coupons for first time users. You can pick each meal, or let them pick each for you. they have a set menu of around 15 meals to choose from each week and it changes week to week. Go to the website and poke around on the menu section.

fpuhan- Use extra virgin olive oil instead of the vegetable oil, you won't notice a difference in taste and it's much healthier.

I just tried hello fresh. They tasted good but there was a lot of prep and are kind of expensive for what you get. The portions are small in my opinion.

Sherri gets the Hello fresh,
but she does not have recycle pick up , where she is at, she had to buy two more garbage cans to accommodate the packing from the meals.

she says that she eats better than if she did not get the service.

Cost is no where near an issue for her