Cooking is an art and I prefer doodling with Sharpies. As a bit of a perfectionist, I like to follow lists and instructions carefully. I need everything cut up and ready to go before I even think about starting the stove or oven. As a result, I’m more likely to find baking therapeutic over throwing a pinch of this or dash of that into a pot and hoping for the best. It drives me bonkers when my mom’s answer to perfecting one of her recipes is to eyeball something. I need the exact measurement, otherwise that magnificent dish is going to taste different every single time. There are things in life where I throw caution to the wind, but when it comes to cooking my favourite meals, I want consistency. If I’m going to spend “x” amount of money and “x” amount of time cooking something, I want it to taste good. Asking me to “eyeball” how much of a specific spice to add to something is unfathomable.
Enter Hello Fresh.
I finally gave this service a whirl after thinking about it for literal years. One of my best friend’s has praised it several times, but it took my aunt actively sending me a link to a free box to actually commit to trying it.
So far, I like it.
Not only is everything already measured out for me, but the instructions also come with pictures! As a visual and kinesthetic learner, I greatly appreciate it. I often find I’m hesitant to try a new recipe when a picture isn’t included. How will I know if it looks right? How will I know if I “won” the challenge?
Hello Fresh is a bit pricy, yes. It currently works out for me as a single person though, because I opt for the three meals a week package, which is meant for two people. As a result, the three-meal box feeds me for 6 days and makes the payment seem worth it. After all, the amount I spend on that box is approximately what I’d spend weekly on groceries with actual substance. I also like the option of skipping weeks, whether that be because I don’t like the meal options posted or because I want to fork out the cash on something else and live like a college student on boxed Mac ‘N’ Cheese.
The best part of Hello Fresh is the fact that it’s introducing me to ingredients I’ve never even heard of before and forcing me to learn new skills. Like, I’d never actually made croutons from scratch before. It’s not rocket science (literally just ripped up pieces of bread thrown into the oven), it’s just not something I’d done before. My cooking skills were a level “.5”. Maybe a “1” now.
Look at these meals! I made these!
I might have dropped a few unchoice words and sang along to showtunes horribly to get me through the battle, but I did it!
Check in with me in a few months and see if I’m cooking anything other than tacos, soup and veggie burgers on rotation.
Have you tried Hello Fresh out before? Was it a success story?