I’ve been spending more time in the kitchen as of late and let me tell you, I’m feeling pretty impressed with myself thanks to a meal kit delivery service.
I used to cook more often but what with the hot mess train wreck that marked the start of a pandemic and the continued dumpster fire we are all living in, I just haven’t been in the mood to flex my culinary muscles. Ok, so my cooking skills are so-so, and I never truly loved cooking like some folks seem to. I do, however, enjoy trying a new recipe every now and again. That’s usually what gets me motivated to turn on the stove, turn the music up and bang out a meal or two. The opportunity to try out a new recipe.
When it comes to trying recipes I have rules however: the recipe has to be fairly simple – I will inevitably miss a step (happens all the time) so it needs to be simple; there must be very few ingredients and nothing too fancy because who wants to be spending 20 minutes looking confused in the spice aisle at the grocery store? No one. Lastly, the cooking time needs to be short – preferably around 30-40 minutes (unless it’s something I’m leaving in the oven or a slow cooker).
Keep the home cooking simple is my motto! Which is why when I was introduced to the idea of trying out a meal delivery service I was curious. It seemed like something that would work for me and my low-maintenance-but-still-keeping-it-classy lifestyle. What I’m really saying is that it would be a step up from grilled cheese, cereal and pizza.
I have to confess, it took me a while to get on board with trying out a meal delivery subscription service. Not for lack of interest or fear but because I initially mentioned it to my very Jamaican auntie who said, “don’t do that! I’ll make you some food.” And basically, she showed up at my door with a special delivery – lots of Tupperware filled with yummy goodness! So, I had no need to try out a meal subscription service until recently when the world turned upside down and our lives changed.
Given the amount of time I’ve been spending at home, I thought I would shake things up a bit and finally check out a meal delivery service to see what it’s about and whether it’s something that’s worth the hype or nothing to write home about.
I’ve only tried one meal delivery service so bare that in mind. I’ve made about 12 meals so far.
If you’re considering trying out a meal subscription Service but you’re on the fence or maybe you’ve never consider it before now, here are my five reasons you might want to give a meal delivery subscription Service a try.
5 Reasons To Try A Meal Kit Delivery Service
#1. It can take your ho-hum cooking skills up a notch.
A friend of mine only knows a few easy recipes – she regrets not watching her grandmother more closely in the kitchen. She tried a meal delivery service for the first time a few months ago. She was so proud of herself for making tasty meals that she couldn’t wait to share them with me – via photos.
She convinced me to try it. If you’re not the best cook, you struggle with making meals because you don’t know what to do, you feel overwhelmed with recipes or just too lazy to figure things out, then this can be a great solution for you.
If you want to impress your love interest, this could also work well, unless you’re dating a chef then, well, leave the cooking to him and bring the wine.
#2. It requires minimal effort to select the meals.
You simply have to accept or modify the week’s delivery or skip the week(s) if you want. I don’t have to google new recipes to find something I want to try.
There are so many meals to choose from so, this may take you a few minutes to decide what you want to try.
#3. You get just the right amount of ingredients you need.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried a recipe that called for some random ingredient that I bought, used once and never used again – I’m looking at you garam masala and star anise. It’s also just less wasteful. You are not tossing out unused food.
You may be thinking, why didn’t you just find other recipes with those ingredients? Well, I kind of approach cooking like I approach reading. I need to be in the ‘mood’ for a particular book or, in this case, new recipes. I enjoy cooking, sometimes, and more often, not at all. So the ingredients will sit there in the cupboard, long forgotten until a spring-cleaning session where I noticed it two years expired. Don’t judge me!
#4. Eating healthier is easier.
If you’re like me, you can live on pizza and burgers and fries. You know you should buy fresh veggies and cook healthier meals, but you struggle with finding easy recipes and variety. Using the service provided me with lots of carb-smart and meatless options. I didn’t have to think about it.
#5. It may be worth the cost
I tried HelloFresh Canada subscription during a promotional deal. As a single person, I order 3 meals that I spread over six days – that’s six dinners at a cost of about $11 – 13 per meal. For me, it was worth it. I don’t know what the rates will look like without the promo but it still may be worth it and here’s why. I live in an expensive city and the cost of dining out or even ordering take out is pricey. For me, it’s not simply about measuring things by the monetary costs. I must consider the convenience and factors like:
- Everything I need is in the brown paper bag including just the necessary amount/ portions of the items I need to make the meal (HelloFresh bills itself as the “first global carbon-neutral meal kit company and it really big on sustainability.
- Also, as a single person, the portion sizes are perfect and I get to have one meal over two days – sometimes three depending on the meal and if I’m really good about it.
- The recipes are super easy to follow.
- The meals take about 30 – 45 minutes to make.
- The meals are delivered to my door on Saturday morning (or Sunday morning).
- The meals are far healthier, tastes great and are more interesting than anything I would cook on my own.
- There are so many meals to choose from.
- I feel a real sense of accomplishment about being able to prepare dishes that I wouldn’t normally consider making.
- The meals look damn good on the plate! Yes, the Aesthetics is important to me too.
I also take advantage of the ability to skip deliveries. I don’t cook a lot, so I don’t need to have meals delivered every week. That’s way too much time spent over a stove for my liking. Adding a delivery twice a month has worked for me and reduces the cost.
The Hello Fresh Canada meals I’ve tried so far:
- Chicken and Nectarine Summer Salad (with pepitas and basil)
- Beef and Ricotta Enchiladas with Green Salad
- Grilled Veggie Burgers and Caramelized Onions with Beyond Meat®
- Toasted Rice Bowl with Sweet Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas and Cashews
- Sesame-Soy Asian Salad with Sweet Peppers and Beyond Meat®
- Creamy Squash Ravioli with Mushrooms and Spinach
- Breaded Chicken with Honey-Parsley Carrots and Lemon Mayo
- Beef Keema on Ginger Basmati Rice
- Carb Smart Smokey Paprika Chicken with a Veggie Medley
Final Thoughts
I haven’t cooked this much in a long time. I’ve enjoyed all my meals. Overall I was happy with my meal selections, quality and ease of preparation of the meals.
I also haven’t tried any other meal delivery services besides Hello Fresh I suspect they are similar in the service offerings. I’m glad I tried it and will likely continue to use them.
*This is not a sponsored post. The opinions here are based on my experience trying out the service for a number of weeks.
Swagger & Greys 