dinner | Nestlie B

June 19, 2021 6 Mins Read

HelloFresh Review: Is It Worth It?

Lifestyle

Like most people, I have seen ads for various food delivery services for several years and wondered if they are really worth it. According to the commercials, these services offer fresh ready to prepare meal kits delivered directly to your front door. Each company claims to provide affordable and easy recipes to fit your every need. All you need to do is visit the site, choose a plan, pick your menu, and pay for the privilege. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

I have known a few people who have tried these meal services over the years and have given them positive reviews. I was interested in checking them out, but wasn’t sure if I could afford it. So, when we received a gift card to try the service out for free, my mother was thrilled to have the opportunity to check it out. So, she visited the website and started us on our HelloFresh journey.

Check out my review of HelloFresh below to see if the service is worth it or not.

How It Works

The HelloFresh site is colorful, attractive, and simple to navigate. You can use the menu located at the top of the page to navigate the website with ease. The menu provides you with information about the service, plans, menus, and gift cards.

If you choose the plan section of the menu, you can quickly start setting up your account and picking your meals. You are also given the option to enter your gift card or discount code if are fortunate to have one.

The plan section of the site first prompts you to choose your preference. The options range from meat & veggies to pescatarian. There is a little something for everyone on the preference menu. My mother chose the meat and veggies option for our meals.

Once you have chosen your meal preference, you will need to customize your plan. First, you must choose the number of people you will be feeding. You can only choose 2 or 4 people under this option. Next, you are asked to pick the number of recipes you require for the week. You can choose between 2-5 meals for the week. My mother chose the two meal option.

After you have made your selections, the screen automatically updates to show you the price of your options. As you can see from the screenshot above, the price for 2 meals for two people is $54.95. If you are satisfied with your choices, you can move to the next set of instructions to complete your order.

The Packaging

Our kit arrived one week later. It was delivered in an insulated eco-friendly cardboard box emblazoned with the green and white HelloFresh logo on front and sides of the container. The inside flaps of the box also contain information on how to dispose of the box and the ice packs.

Located inside the box were the ingredients needed to create each meal. The box contained two paper bags that were labeled with the names of the meals. Each bag contained the vegetables, seasonings, condiments, and sides required to make each recipe.

The bottom of the box housed the ice packs and the meat that accompanied each meal. The paper bags and the meats were separated by a piece of cardboard in order to prevent cross contamination. All of the ingredients arrived safely. Nothing was opened, spilled, or spoiled in the shipping process.

After the HelloFresh box arrived, we quickly placed the food in the refrigerator and freezer until we were ready to use them.

Special Note: The box has all of the main ingredients for the recipe, but it doesn’t have some of the minor ingredients like butter, oil, salt, and pepper. You are expected to have those in your kitchen in order to complete the recipe.

HelloFresh Instructional Materials

While we were impressed with the packaging of the kits, we were a little disappointed with the lack of recipe instructions. Apparently, the person who packaged our meal kits failed to include the recipes inside of the box. We searched both the box and bags, but came up with nothing. Fortunately, I was able to go on the website and find the recipes. All I needed to do was download the file and print it out.

The instructions are pretty easy to follow. They are definitely written for all skill levels. Each recipe contains the ingredients, measurements for 2 or 4 people, and directions. Each step of the directions also has an accompanying image which is very helpful.

What Did I Cook?

Meal 1: Cherry Balsamic Chicken

This first meal was a hit and was quite flavorful. It consisted of pan cooked chicken glazed with a cherry balsamic sauce, roasted carrots, and couscous flavored with garlic and almonds. Each component of the dish worked well together and made a harmonious blend of flavors. The ingredients made just enough to make two plates. We ate every last crumb.

HelloFresh Cherry Balsamic Chicken Recipe — Cherry Balsamic Chicken

Meal 2: Spicy Maple Chicken

Our second meal didn’t disappoint. It was almost as tasty and flavorful as the cherry balsamic chicken. For this meal, we ate mashed sweet potatoes, panko crusted chicken, and roasted green beans. I did adlib a bit by adding more maple syrup to the sweet potatoes and sauce. The only thing I wasn’t impressed with was the fry seasoning. I think it could have had a little more flavor. Otherwise, this meal was quite enjoyable.

HelloFresh Spicy Maple Chicken Recipe — Spicy Maple Chicken

How Easy Are HelloFresh Meals to Create?

These meals are fairly easy to make. The recipes are clearly designed for novice cooks with all the ingredients listed and images of each step. Additionally, the kits come with the exact amount of ingredients required. Therefore, there isn’t a lot of measuring involved. Anybody with just basic chopping and mixing skills should be able to create these meals.

Final Thoughts

Pros

It’s convenient. All of the necessary food is supplied and the recipes are printed and ready to go. There is no need to visit the grocery store.
The recipes are easy to make. They don’t require a lot of technical skill.
Everything is pre-measured, packaged, and ready to cook.
You don’t have to think hard or come up with recipe ideas daily.
No food is wasted. You are given the right amount of food for just one meal.

Cons

Not enough food for leftovers.
The recipes are not challenging or creative enough for more advanced cooks.
It’s expensive because technically you still have to go the grocery store to buy additional meals for the rest of the week.

Overall, we enjoyed our HelloFresh meals and experience. I think it’s a good option for beginner cooks and people who don’t have time to come up with recipes and visit the grocery store. If I was given another gift card, I would definitely order again.

What are your thoughts about meal kit services? Tell me in the comments below.

January 30, 2021 6 Mins Read

Pinterest Dinner Ideas That Worked

Recipes

Recently, I have been bored with my dinner options. I have had absolutely no interest in cooking and felt lost in the kitchen. I desired to try new meals, but I needed them to be quick and easy (the less complicated the better). These dinner ideas also needed to be mouth watering, visually appealing, and require very few ingredients.

As usual, I decided to pay a visit to my favorite website, Pinterest, for inspiration and it didn’t let me down. I started by searching through my Food board to look at all of the recipes that I had already saved. I had saved thousands of recipes over the years and had not put a dent in the board (my Pinterest addiction is very real). Therefore, I decided to save some the most recent pins that I wanted to attempt onto a new board labeled Dinner Ideas in order to separate them from the rest of the recipes on my board.

I think I placed between 10-15 promising recipes onto the board. I planned to at least make a minimum of one each work over the course of a month. To my credit, I actually made more, but some of them were desserts (I’ll discuss them in a separate post).

I’ve written my thoughts on each recipe below.

Dinner Idea #1

Mongolian Ground Beef Noodles

This was the first recipe I attempted and let me tell you, it didn’t disappoint. The original pin was posted by Jennifer Sikora from the blog Jen Around The World. I was so happy to discover this recipe because I had been looking for an Asian noodle recipe which used ingredients that could be found in my pantry or my local supermarket.

I quickly read over the recipe and felt confident that I could successfully recreate the dish. The ingredients included ground beef, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, linguine noodles, hoisin sauce, red pepper flakes, beef broth, and spring onions.

I gathered all of my materials and immediately started to cook the dish based on the directions. Within 15-20 minutes, dinner was served. I made two bowls (for me and my mother). We were both surprised at how delicious and delightful this dish turned out.

The Verdict

For such a simple dish, it packed a lot of flavor. The sauce was a rich flavor, the noodles were a perfect size for the sauce and the meat to cling to, and the spring onions were a great garnish to round out the dish.

My mother, who is a tough foodie to please, absolutely loved the dish. With her seal of approval, I knew this dish was a hit. I immediately shared it with all of my family and friends that I knew would appreciate this easy meal. I strongly encourage everyone to try this recipe.

Be sure to click the link below for this tasty recipe.

Recipe Link: Mongolian Ground Beef Noodles

Dinner Idea #2

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe Dinner Idea

For week two in my culinary adventure, I decided to make this sloppy sloppy joe dish. When I saw the title of the pin, it instantly brought back childhood memories of eating sloppy joes made with the classic Manwich sauce that came in a can. I vividly remember the sauce running down the side of my hand as I took each bite. It was messy, but tasty.

So when I came across this recipe posted by Oh, Sweet Basil, I was pleasantly surprised that someone had reimagined this childhood meal. There were quite a few variations of this recipe on Pinterest, but I decided to start with this one because it sounded so good when I read the ingredients. Plus, many of the ingredients could be found in your kitchen, which was right up my alley.

It took no time to brown the beef, sauté the onions and green peppers, mix the sauce, and add the cheese. In fifteen minutes, the dish was complete. I decided to add fries as side. Voila, dinner was ready.

The Verdict

My mom was the official taste tester of course. With baited breath, I waited for her to share her opinion. She devoured the sandwich and quickly made a second sandwich. She loved it.

I enjoyed it as well. It definitely had all of the flavors of a Philly cheesesteak and the brioche buns perfectly complimented the savory meat mixture.

If you love a good sloppy joe, be sure to check this recipe out.

Recipe Link: Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe

Dinner Idea #3

Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

I decided to try this third and final recipe because I desperately wanted to do something different with the bag of frozen meatballs that had been sitting in our freezer for a few weeks. I had no desire to have spaghetti and meatballs. Therefore, I opened my Pinterest app and proceeded to search for meatball recipes.

Fortunately, a teriyaki meatball bowl recipe posted by A Reinvented Mom caught my eye. There was just something about the deep brown sauce and sesame seed garnish in the picture that made my mouth water.

I quickly clicked on the link and was thrilled to see that this was possibly the easiest recipe to cook. It only required a few ingredients and could be ready in 30 minutes.

So, I put my meatballs in the oven according to the directions on the package, cooked up a pot of rice, and whipped up the sauce based on the recipe. Finally, I chopped up the spring onions and eagerly whipped up my bowl.

The Verdict

Everything came together well and my bowl resembled the one pictured on the website. It tasted just as good as I imagined. The sauce, created using brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger had a deep, rich, salty, but sweet flavor that went well with the meatballs. Not to mention, the warm bed of rice was not only filling, but went well with both the sauce and the meatballs.

However, there is only on flaw with this recipe. The sauce is great if ladled immediately out of the pan fresh and hot. Unfortunately, my mother and I learned the hard way that it doesn’t reheat well. Once it cools down, it turns into a gelatin which doesn’t melt down well once reheated. Therefore, If I made this recipe again, I would cut back on the cornstarch by one tablespoon. Other than that, the recipe was a keeper.

If you want to try this recipe, visit the link below.

Recipe Link: Teriyaki Meatball Bowls

November 18, 2012 2 Mins Read

New Restaurant Mission

The Foodie In Me

For the past few weeks, my mother and I have been on a mission to discover new places to eat in the DC area. Our new mission was sparked by the desire to climb out of the serious gastrointestinal rut that we had created over the past few years. Our goal is simple…To venture out and discover new culinary delights in the DMV.

In order to achieve our goal, we have taken a proactive approach to finding new restaurants and adding them to our list of good eats in DC. Our quest has been underway for the past few weeks now. We started off with a list of bakeries that I discovered via the show Unique Sweets on the Cooking Channel. As we continue on our quest, we plan on adding new restaurants to our list. Our list will continue to grow as we do our research via magazines, tv shows, websites, personal recommendations, etc… Ultimately, we hope to find a lot of new places to visit, eat some really good food, have fun, and possibly make some new friends along the way.

So please stay tuned for more updates on our culinary adventures in the DMV.

September 15, 2012 4 Mins Read

My Cookbook & Recipe Addiction

Secret Obsessions

Back in the late 90’s or early 2000’s (it’s hard for me to remember) I started collecting cookbooks & recipes. At first, it started with me buying the small paperback cookbooks that you see in the grocery store at the checkout counter. I would casually look at the books as I was waiting my turn in line and literally would start drooling at the sight of all of the wonderful dishes that were depicted in the book. I had a hard time putting the book down because I felt I like I wouldn’t find those recipes again. So in my mind, I had justification for placing the book on the conveyor belt along with my other purchases. It was a necessity. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to possibly cook or bake an awesome dish.

Well, needless to say, that fateful day in the grocery store was just the beginning of many years of collecting cookbooks and recipes. I now have cookbooks coming out of my ears. I’ve purchased cookbooks at bookstores, grocery stores, online and even at my school’s book fairs. It is now to the point that my family starts rolling their eyes if they see me coming home with another cookbook. I know that I truly have a problem because I’ve gotten to the point where I even sneak cookbooks into the house and place them on the bookshelf like they were there all along. Every now & then I get caught, but for the most part, nobody knows a new cookbook is in the house.

To add salt to the wound, I scour the internet for recipes & watch cooking shows as well. Most of the time when I’m online, I’m looking for a particular recipe that I plan to cook immediately. Unfortunately, all of these printouts add up. So in addition to the cookbooks that I have, I’ve added to the shelves self-made notebooks with recipes that I have tried. Point blank…..It’s a lot of recipes in total. Not to mention all of the online sites where I have accounts with saved recipes.

I even have a method to viewing all of my cookbooks. I take my Post-It tabs of various colors (another addiction that I’ll discuss later) and sit at the table or some place comfortable with my new cookbook. I meticulously look through the book and place a sticky on each page with a recipe worthy of trying later. By the time I’m through with the book, I have a nice and even array of tabs in my book. Then I place the newly marked book back on the shelf for later viewing or use.

During my first year or two of collecting cookbooks, I mentioned my cookbook obsession to a good friend. I told her that I couldn’t figure out why I was all of a sudden collecting cookbooks. I mean, I was in my mid-twenties for crying out loud. Who collects cookbooks at that age? Her response to my cookbook woes was very simple. She cleverly said that she thought I was “nesting”. She thought that maybe this was my subconscious way of preparing for a future husband or family. I thought that this was a reasonable explanation at the time and I bought into it for many years.

Fast forward 13 years or so and I still don’t have a husband or children, but I have a wicked cookbook collection. So now, my good friend who came up with the “nesting” theory says that I like “Food Porn” instead. I had never heard that term before, but it was a perfect description of how viewing cookbooks, recipes, and cooking shows make me feel.

Now I am at the point that I am able to admit I have an issue & I’m willing to accept responsibility for my actions. I’ve gotten better at passing by cookbooks when I see them on bookstands or at checkout counters. I’ve even slowed down watching my cooking shows. Now I work very hard at being selective with my purchases. I try not to buy compulsively. However, I’m not perfect. I have my moments for sure, but I’m only human. One day I will get to the point where I won’t need any more cookbooks. Unfortunately, that day hasn’t come yet. Until then, I can just manage my issues and enjoy the food that I intend to make from my books.