Hello Fresh–Mosaics Review

I love to cook.   I honestly don’t like to grocery shop.  It makes me smile that people think that if I leave my kids to go to the grocery store it is like I am getting a break.  Woo Hoo!  Vacation time.  

Uh, no.

 

Hello Fresh is a company that helps take some of the stress out of figuring out what you are going to have to eat.    Oh yeah, and they send you all the ingredients and the recipe with it.   

Usually when I do a review I write that I was asked to do it.  This time I want to say I was given the privilege of being allowed to review this product.    This was such a blessing.  I came home to find a box of food waiting on my doorstep.  It was packaged amazingly well. 

Doesn’t this look like a cooler?  It came in an insulated box and with two huge ice packs.  My kids were hoping it would come with dry ice because they love to blow stuff up with that.  (You know, in the name of science.)  

I was told that the box of three meals would come with everything I needed but I was impressed that it really did.   All of the ingredients were indeed fresh as well.  Fresh produce impresses me when it comes in the mail.  Sometimes I can’t even find decent stuff at the store. 

Another thing that I love about this company is that their ingredients are

Let me explain how Hello Fresh works.

The first thing you do is create an account.  This is super easy to do.  The website is very user friendly.   And, if you do have problems, the customer service is one of the best I have ever worked with.  They went above and beyond to make sure everything was excellent.

Each week you get to chose the meals you want to try.  You get to pick three out of five available.   There is also a vegetarian box you can chose.  Hello Fresh says that the average person spends 90 minutes a week grocery shopping.  I must be slow because I spend more than that.  Maybe it’s because of coupons.  They take me forever.   Ordering from this company can help you spend more time with your family by spending less time at the store.  It will also save money because they send only the exact amounts of each ingredient that you need.  I even had some things left over because of my families preference on the amount of onions and spices.

After choosing the meals from the exciting recipes, you just wait for them to arrive.  Easy enough. 

I chose Chile Dusted Shrimp with Corn Relish, Steak and Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry, and Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Lemony Skillet Potatoes and Zucchini. 

Now, if you have ever read any of my reviews you will know that I have a hard time using things like they are supposed to be used.   

I like to tweak (not twerk, there’s a difference).  I love products that make my life easier but also can be adapted to our family.   Let me first explain that I probably have one of the pickiest eaters in my family in the entire world.  He gets it from me but he has taken it to a new level.  So, if I had made any of the three meals like the beautifully suggested recipe cards showed, I would have been the only one who would even try it. 

Without further ado (I’ve always wanted to say that), here are the dishes I made.

Chile Dusted Shrimp with Corn Relish

Each included recipe card shows step by step instructions, along with the ingredients needed and Nutritional values.

This is the ingredients that were included for this dish.  Yep, it includes everything you need.  Now, here is how I modified it.  My kids only like breaded and deep fried shrimp.  Okay, they only like breaded and fried shrimp from Cracker Barrel.   So, I looked up the recipe for their breading and used that.    I ruined the first batch of breading because I didn’t read the directions.  Oops.  The shrimp turned out delicious.  Both of my kids loved it. Of course, I deep fried it so I totally blew the nutritional value they listed but oh well.   I also substituted red onion for the scallions because I don’t like them.  I gave those to my mom.   I was leery of the ginger because I haven’t ever cooked with it.  I used a small cheese grater to mince the garlic and ginger. 

My fingers smelled yummy for days.  Now for the truth, I hate canned corn.  I have never liked it.  We freeze our own corn from the garden and I love the texture of it.  So, I made the relish with the canned corn it came from and then had our corn on the side. Bella wouldn’t eat the relish but I thought it was pretty good.  

What the plate was supposed to look like.  (Well minus the breading)

What mine looked like. . . .

 

A little Chick-fil-a sauce for the shrimp, cheesy garlic biscuits and home grown corn.  YUMMY . . .     I was fine with the food prepared the way the recipe stated but my kids would not have ate it.    I have one disclaimer.   When you cook like a chef, expect a mess.  My kitchen was destroyed.  I used all of the pans and half of my gadgets.  It was fun but I cannot say the clean up was.   I would recommend two boxes come.  One with the food and one with a maid.  Just sayin.

Day 2:

Steak and Brussels Sprouts Stir Fry

First, let me say I had no idea Brussels has an “s” on the end.   Does anyone say it? 

This was my favorite meal of the three.  My kids wouldn’t eat it.   Bella tried it and spit it out.   My dogs, however, loved it.  They literally tried to climb the stove to get to it while it was cooking.  Even the three legged one. 

I have to say that it smelled as good as it tasted.

Comments I heard were “That looks Asian, Mom.  Could you please focus on the fact that we live in America?”  and “Wow, that could win Chopped”.  (The latter came from the one who spit it out, lol.)

This one I tried not to change too much.  I left out the scallions, of course and used red onion.   I also substituted the jalapeno for home canned banana peppers because I don’t really care for spicy food.  I cooked the steak much longer than the recommended three minutes. 

Like I said, I LOVED it.  Reminded me of being in a Chinese restaurant except I don’t eat meat at those.  And it didn’t make me sick like Chinese food usually does.  

Day 3 (which really was like day 5 or 6)

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Lemony Skillet Potatoes and Zucchini

First let me say, all of the ingredients were as fresh this day as they were when I received them. 

Now, that being said, this was the only meal I didn’t like.  I didn’t follow the directions very well.  I cooked the pork loin in the oven completely with salt and pepper.  Pork makes me sick so I didn’t taste this part.  My kids said it was just yucky?  They wouldn’t eat potatoes or zucchini like it said to prepare it so I mashed the potatoes and fried the zucchini.  The potatoes were good.   The zucchini was okay.  I didn’t add the lemon and used it as a garnish without caramelizing it.  I knew I wasn’t going to eat it so didn’t bother wasting my time making it look pretty.    I have a really nice picture but I can’t for the life of me get it from my phone to here.  I’m working on it.

Now for the important information.

This is a subscription service.   You can delay future shipments at any time.  So if you are not going to be home or just need a break from the service, it is very easy to suspend.  

This is more expensive that I spend on food for my family.  This is comparable to eating out.   The three meals that we received were for 2 people (easily would have fed more) and costs $9.94 per meal.  This includes shipping.  The vegetarian box is $8.28 per meal.    So, that is $69 for two people three meals.   They are available in either two meals or four meals for delivery.

This is pricey if you compare it to going to the store and getting your own ingredients for these meals.  But, if you compare it to eating out, it really is not so bad.   My experience is that the larger your family, the less you eat out.  So, for me this could be doable.  For someone with several kids, it may not be able to be fit into the food budget.  A lot of the other girls who reviewed this say they are going to use it for date nights.    As long as your kids or babysitter do the clean up, then I say that’s a great way to go.

You can read all of the other reviews by visiting here.

You can also check out Hello Fresh on these sites. 

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest

Hello Fresh has taken care of the Frequently Asked Questions.   But don’t forget that if you have anything else you would like to know, they are amazing at answering questions. 

This was a fun review and I really appreciate the opportunity Mosaic Reviews has given me as well as Hello Fresh.