Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

ByLiz CadmanAug 5, 2014 | 21 comments

In 2012, if I had to pick one subscription that has been life-changing - it would be the Honest Company. We use all of their household and bath & body products every day, and I definitely think my house is healthier this year because of it. I'm also just become more aware of ingredients in all the products I use thanks to the Honest Company.

For 2013, I think my next life-changing subscription is going to be Hello Fresh! My boyfriend and I are still in shock by how amazing this subscription is. I took tons of pictures since this was our first box - you'll have to excuse my poor food photography though. I definitely need to work on that!

Hello Fresh kindly sent me this box to review - and in doing so turned us into life-long subscribers!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

If you aren't familiar with Hello Fresh, they send you everything you need to make 3 healthy gourmet meals each week. That includes food that needs to be refrigerated (meat, cheese, etc). so the box has a cooler lining inside with ice packs. I was a little skeptical of this at first - but everything was properly chilled when I opened the box.

The Box: Hello Fresh

The Cost: $69 a week for the Classic box - 3 meals for 2 people, $11.50 a meal. (They also offer a Vegetarian box for $59 a week - 3 meals for 2 people).

The Products: All the fresh ingredients and recipes needed to make 3 healthy and delicious meals.

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

When I opened the box, I saw that each meal had it's ingredients separated into marked bags. I love that they've taken all the guesswork out of how much of any ingredient you need - everything is pre-measured and ready to go. Even the spices!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

One reason I'm calling Hello Fresh life changing, is how they package their ingredients. I have to avoid lactose and gluten in my diet, but my boyfriend doesn't. I love that all food products are in separate bags. I can make his version of the meal with cheese and pita bread, and keep mine separate!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

I can't stress how fresh and healthy all the produce was - they definitely have their sourcing taken care of!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

One more photo of the ingredients:

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Yes, those are swordfish filets on the right! Now on to the recipes:

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Thyme Roasted Chicken

They've included everything you need for this recipe - the only thing you need to provide is the olive oil. We made this two nights ago and it was so amazing that I already went to the grocery store to re-buy all the ingredients!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Their recipe cards are extremely helpful and allow me and my boyfriend to actually divide up the work and cook together. I'm definitely not a chef, so I need all the help I can get. I love that each step of the recipe has a photo!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

This is the salad that went with the chicken. This was probably the freshest tasting salad I've ever had in my life. I love that Hello Fresh only uses whole ingredients. There was no pre-mixed salad dressing packet. Instead there were directions to mix lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper for the dressing.

And this meal was gluten and dairy free in addition to being absolutely delicious!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Beef and Broccolini Flatbread

This was the second meal we made. My boyfriend and I kept wondering, "There's no way this can be as amazing as the Thyme Roasted Chicken...can it?" Turns out it was just as delicious!

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

For this recipe I made the flatbreads with cheese for my boyfriend, but made a bowl with just the beef, broccolini, onion and the sundried tomato, walnut and olive oil dressing for myself. These flatbreads proved to be a little difficult to eat with all the toppings, so my boyfriend ended up switching to the bowl approach too. Here's a look at the finished product:

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Again, I can't stress enough how wholesome and fresh everything was in this meal.

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Next up: Sesame Crusted Swordfish

My boyfriend and I both aren't big seafood eaters, but now we can't wait to try this recipe since the first two were so amazing. (I wanted to post this review ASAP since the $20 off coupon expires on the 31st, but I'll update with finished meal photos soon).

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

FYI - you can select which meals you want each week or skip if you aren't interested in the recipes.

Verdict: On weeknights, I find it challenging to have the time and energy to make healthy and fresh meals. Typically we end up going for takeout, frozen meals, or one of my few go-to recipes I can make in 20 minutes or less. Hello Fresh totally changes everything. I'm definitely not an adventurous cook - I think I have about 5 go-to recipes in my arsenal, so having these delicious and easy recipes delivered to my door makes cooking so much easier. Also, when I tear out a recipe from a magazine, I'm usually wondering if it's going to actually be as good as the pictures make it look. These Hello Fresh meals are even better than I thought they would be. I now feel like I can just trust whatever Hello Fresh sends me will be delicious.

Lastly, this box is so life-changing for me because of how difficult it can be to eat meals when you have food intolerances or allergies. Unless a restaurant has major transparency on their ingredients in food (most don't), it's nearly impossible to eat out without wondering if there's gluten, dairy etc in the dressing, chicken marinade etc. This has definitely limited my food options to the things that I feel comfortable making, or the few restaurants I trust. With Hello Fresh, I feel like I'm getting meals that are better than anything I've had in a restaurant, and I know exactly what went into each recipe.

So in conclusion, because of Hello Fresh, I'm going to be eating healthier meals with more variety every week - and I couldn't be happier! Have you tried Hello Fresh yet? (Sorry if this review turned into a bit of a love letter to Hello Fresh - but if you have food intolerances / allergies, I'm guessing you understand!)

Posted in Blog, Food & Drink Subscription Boxes, Subscription Box Reviews, UK Subscription Box Reviews

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email

21 comments

Yolande

I’ve tried several subscription services now and have different experiences with each: Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Home Chef, Sunbasket, Marley Spoon, Terra Kitchen, Green Chef.

Most affordable: Definately Hello Fresh! They offer discount codes for new customers to recieve $40 off their first box. The code I used was – RST2GR

So I paid $29 for my first box instead of $69. They also give you the ability to pause future boxes which give you time to experience your first box and then decide if you want to order any more.

Marley Spoon also offers a discount code for $30 off first order – TT32V9U

Home Chef offers a discount code $30 off first order –

For Blue Apron I used a Groupon offer which gave me 50% off.

Most expensive: Terra’s Kitchen but the prep is all done for you

Least Prep required: Terra’s Kitchen. The meals were delivered in a reusable cooler with shelves. All the prep had been done so it was the quickest of all the subscriptions I tried

Freshest Produce: HelloFresh, Terra’s Kitchen, Marley Spoon

Organic Produce: Sunbasket & Green Chef

Best for those who enjoy cooking: Hello Fresh, Home Chef & Marley Spoon. The reason being, all the other subscription meal services contained premade sauces and condiments. With Hello Fresh & Marley Spoon you are able to duplicate the recipes on your own at a later date as you make all the sauces from scratch i.e Dijon mustard pork rub with sage . You make it all yourself so you know what goes into it.

Best selection: Hello Fresh (features Jamie Oliver recipes), Home Chef great selection and styles, Marley spoon (now features Martha Stewart recipes)

Least favorite Recipes: Sun Basket & Green Chef. Blue Apron was hit and miss

Most difficult subscription to cancel: Green Chef

Least packaging / Most eco friendly: Terra’s kitchen as they collect their reusable container the following day. Sunbasket also had the ability to return their packaging to them but it was not automatic.

Freebies: HomeChef includes a ring binder with your first order for you to store your recipes

Hope the feedback helps

Aimee

I think Hello Fresh delivers nation wide now! I love my subscription, I usually get one or two boxes per month and haven’t had any problems yet. Mine delivers UPS and the driver knows me so he will usually bring it to my work place or leave it in a specified place on my porch. If you are interested in trying Hello Fresh you can save $40 off your first box by using code EY6D28. You can pause or cancel anytime right from your account management page.

Elizabeth

I had a similar experience where the box was left on its side and half the contents were spoiled.

No one answers the phone calls. A very dismissive ‘Hallie’ writes back after two days and returns what are basically canned emails – not addressing any issues. After repeated requests to call me, nothing. After repeated emails saying I will report them and request help from PayPal, nothing. I can’t stand this “company” at this point. They simply don’t care!

Jill

I thought it was packaged nicely and a great idea. HOWEVER, I felt that the food was poor quality. The beef was so fatty. I also felt the value was not there. The portions were tiny. The pasta dish included a tiny handful of pasta for two people. That probably cost like 30 cents. There were 4 tiny potatoes for 2. It was more like a serving for one. I could buy more in the store for that, but I am sure it costs them a lot to package it nicely and mail it out fed ex. I would rather go to the food store and buy better quality food and get more for my money.

Carol

I liked them at first but then things were arriving in bad shape, the food was warm and wilted, on top of that the chicken when opened had a rotten smell.

I agree customer service sucked. This was the second inedible box I got from them. Sixty bucks wasted twice is not in my budge, too bad because I was enjoying it.

Rachel

I recently had a similar experience as Rebecca with customer service for Hello Fresh. If you don’t have any problems, the food is delicious, convenient, and it’s a wonderful idea. The minute you have to deal with customer service, they are very dismissive (at least the rep I dealt with over email was). I did not try to call, so can’t speak to how they are over the phone. I canceled my subscription and will check out one of the other meal subscription services instead.

For the record, my box was left sideways in direct sunlight (instead of under my covered porch, five steps away and where the delivery person had always left it before)so my produce was warm and wilted and my proteins were warm as well. I was looking forward to trying swordfish (I’ve never had it!), but didn’t dare eat any of it because it was warm.

Alex

Diana, you should try PeachDish! We offer three courses and are shipping nationwide.

https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2013/08/new-meal-subscription-box-peach-dish.html

Carrie @ Season It Already!

Does PeachDish allow you to pause or hold your subscription if you aren’t into the recipe?

Serena

I also received a coupon from my LoveWithFood box. I thought it was a little expensive, but with the first box being around $40 with the coupon for the veggie box, I gave it a shot. My boyfriend and I instantly fell in love with the box and I continue to get one nearly every week. Since $60/box is still kind of pricey, I’ll order a box if EVERYTHING looks delicious or something I’m willing to try. Otherwise, I’ll just “pause” it for that week.

I tell people about this service all the time and they seem very interested until they hear it’s $60/box for 2 people. It’s still cheaper than eating out 3 nights a week, plus the weeks that I don’t get a box, I go through my cards and remake something from an earlier week.

The other thing I REALLY enjoy about this service is that my boyfriend actually wants to HELP cook dinner. Cooking with someone else is so much fun. 🙂

Thanks for your review!

Rosey29

My husband and I adore Hello Fresh! Have been a customer now for almost three months and the recipes just get better and better and my husband happier and happier : )

Rebecca

I’m glad you liked it, but I’ve had truly awful service with this company! I had a couple of snafus with subscription boxes when I moved, but was satisfied with how most companies handled it. Hello Fresh had the worst customer service: they took an accusatory and snobbish tone over email, did not picking up calls, and seemed to not care less. Not only did they lose a customer, I would tell others not to subscribe! But, maybe it was just a one-off experience. I hope so for others’ sake!

Kathy

I also got a gift card in another box and was excited to try, but found I wasn’t eligible since I live on the west coast.

Carrie @ Season It Already!

I’ve heard about this several times and have received “gift cards” in other subscription boxes for Hello Fresh. Your review, though, is what made me want to give it a try!

But when I went in and put in my zip code, I’m out of the delivery area. 🙁

Carrie @ Season It Already!

Actually, I just looked at their delivery area map. They deliver to Illinois and Wisconsin, but not Minnesota! I guess we are the cut-off point.

Beth

They don’t even deliver to the entire state of Wi, not even the two biggest cities. They only deliver to a few small towns by the IL border. You’d think that if they were going to deliver to any part of Wi it would be Madison and Milwaukee but nope.

Mirra

I was so excited about it until I saw that it only delivers to the East Coast 🙁 Sad.

Heidi S.

I love this service…but after my early July shipment arrived thawed, I’ve put it on hold until the winter :/

Rachel O

Thanks for the review. My husband and I got a coupon from Love with Food to try this but havent seen much reviews on it to see if it was worth it. Everything looks yummy so I am definitely going to try it.

Love with food is very different from this. I LOVE my Love with food subscription. Here is my review of my most recent box: http://50thingsbeforeiturn50.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/love-with-food-august-box-5-00-off/

This looks awesome! I really want to try Hello Fresh

Diana G

The swordfish sounds incredible! I wish they shipped to the west coast. ;-(

Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

Hello Fresh Review & $20 Coupon Code

Advertise With MSA

Information

Company