Meal Kits

[fez]

We tried hellofresh years ago when it was just starting and then again a year or so ago, both based on free boxes and my god have things gone downhill. Everything has got smaller, everything is penny pinched and covered in plastic. This sort of thing should be banned honestly. Giving you 20 sesame seeds in a plastic pot.

The issue I had with it was mainly the cost. Recipes were OK but quite often I felt like they were very basic but with stupid extra steps added to give the guise of value. Things that didn't add to the dish but made them seem better than "pasta with a sauce".

 

[Semple]

We tried hellofresh years ago when it was just starting and then again a year or so ago, both based on free boxes and my god have things gone downhill. Everything has got smaller, everything is penny pinched and covered in plastic. This sort of thing should be banned honestly. Giving you 20 sesame seeds in a plastic pot.

The issue I had with it was mainly the cost. Recipes were OK but quite often I felt like they were very basic but with stupid extra steps added to give the guise of value. Things that didn't add to the dish but made them seem better than "pasta with a sauce".

Yeah it's surprising, some things they're quite good at - lots of loose veg just in the overall paper bag. Other things in paper too, but then you get a stupid little thing in plastic.

They are rather expensive without any deals. I can see the appeal if you don't know how to cook, or can't be bothered with the faff of prepping etc. But at around £8-8.50 a meal for a couple is extortionate. You'd probably get the equivalent ingredients (and at decent value) for about £3-5 a meal.

 

[weringo]

We have been using Gousto for years. I have tried Hello Fresh a few times but don't find the meals as tasty.

I use it because I value my free time and don't want to spend hours every week creating a meal plan and buying the ingredients. You also get far more variety than you would from a meal plan because you don't need to worry about wasting ingredients. It's hard to knock it at £8.50 per meal for 2 considering all those benefits.

I've also tried Pasta Evangelists - it's not quite the same thing as the food is virtually all prepped for you on arrival. I didn't really enjoy the food and it was far more expensive than Gousto.

 

[dlockers]

I'd like to give Gousto another go, I remember their recipes being much more varied and really nice.

Hellofresh email me all the time with that 40% off first 2 boxes etc, and even rang me up the other day.

Are Gousto not a pro-active in deals like HF?

I find Gousto are great for referral offers - and I never feel guilty referring it to people. The "perk" they give recurring members is they'll often have freebies thrown in - sweets, drinks etc. Sometimes there are zero cost things in the members market too - I had a really nice Aperol gift set a few weeks back. I find it better than one off deals, as genuinely Gousto is great to "just leave running".

They've recently started bagging all of the incidentals together too, versus separate bags, so fractionally less environmentally impacting.

 

[TheVoice]

I've been using Gousto for a year now and been really happy. The recipe selection far exceeds Hello Fresh in terms of variety and quality. I've had far far fewer delivered with missing or damaged ingredients too.

My only slight issue is they sometimes assume you have ingredients or equipment that you might not e.g. I had a recipe a couple of months ago that wanted me to use a food processor, and another that required a mortar & pestle. I was able to work around those hurdles but still think it's a bit absurd to assume that people buying their meals in boxes have this stuff to hand.

 

[413x]

Had a delivery from green chef.
Quite shocked at the amount of packaging. And the small box for what would be 90 pounds without offers.

Probably won't use again

 

[img]

i used to have some hello fresh but the nice meal were so many calories i gave it up. Just switch between 2 accounts for the offers. Was thinking of trying mindful chef but its now not cheap so might just get the trial box price.

 

[Maximum Triceratops]

I dont get them at all, I tried Hello fresh and was slaving over the cooker for ages, they arent even convenient, never again, the only benefit I could see was the menu is there in front of you but I have enough recipes in my brain to sort it myself at a lot less cost and hassle.

 

[robfosters]

The ingredients aren’t even high quality imo. Much better fresh from a supermarket

 

[Sheff]

I found hello fresh really useful for calorie control while losing weight, but it's far too expensive for what it is. A large tub of gochujang for example is only a couple quid and lasts ages.

I've just received 60% off if I unskip, so I'll be back on it for a few weeks!

 

[Deibu]

I've tried Hello Fresh a few months ago but personally found the amount of packaging and how it's packed to be a complete joke. Meals were nice enough but not much to write home about.

Glad it was on an offer and not it's normal price.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

I quite like the simply cook ones. They are not complete kits so you are not under time pressure with ingredients going out of date. Think of it as more an elaborate cooking sauce. I always have a few in the cupboard.
You do need to buy the actual main edible ingredients but that does mean you can modify to your taste and adjust for number of people and appetites.
Thus these become a bit of a half way house between a complete meal kit and a start from scratch recipe.