I am so late to the meal kit game, I’m surprised I didn’t miss out entirely. Actually, I was early to the meal preparation game with Let’s Dish, but owners of the local franchise switched to Everspoon in 2015, and threw in that towel in 2017. There are several reasons meal kit delivery programs aren’t a great fit for me, but since my Giant started selling HelloFresh grocery store meal kits, I was tempted to give them a try.
HelloFresh Grocery Store Meal Kits
Giant Food started selling HelloFresh grocery store meal kits this summer. Since my son was home and they only make two servings, I passed them by. After he went back to grad school I checked out the display, but was put off by the $17-ish price. Last week the Giant app had a $5 off coupon, so I checked out the offerings. The Chickpea Couscous looked the best to me, and had its own $3 off coupon sticker. I guess $9 was the price point at which I was willing to give HelloFresh grocery store meal kits a try.
The packing highlights all the included ingredients.
It came with everything needed, except for olive oil, butter, salt, and pepper.
The instruction card has step-by-step directions and lots of pictures.
It suggested adding salt and pepper at almost every step.
After skimming the directions, I set the stopwatch on my phone (to see how long it would really take), pre-heated my oven, and got started.
I washed the lemon and cut it half and then into wedges. I rinsed, trimmed, and halved the Brussels sprouts. I chopped shallots and minced the garlic. I rinsed and drained the chickpeas. I drizzled the Brussels sprouts with olive oil and tossed them with the thyme. I drizzled the chickpeas with olive oil and tossed them with smoked paprika. I arranged the Brussels sprouts and chickpeas on the same pan and popped them into the oven to roast.
I toasted the couscous in a pot with butter, garlic, and shallots, and then added the veggie stock and water, and cooked the couscous. When the couscous was done, I stirred in half the feta cheese, and then folded in the roasted Brussels sprouts.
To serve, I dished the couscous mixture into bowls, sprinkled with more feta, added a squeeze of lemon juice, and topped with the roasted chickpeas.
I was concerned the portions would be too small,
but we had enough leftover for a small lunch serving.
Although it took 45 minutes instead of the promised “under 30,” the results were good. The couscous had good flavor, and the roasted chickpeas had a nice crunch. Next time, I’d skip the lemon juice, but everything else was great.
Was it worth $9? Probably.
Was it worth $17? Probably not.
Will I save the recipe card and make this dish on my own? Most likely!
I know many people use meal kits as a healthier, less expensive alternative to take-out, but since we are more likely to scrape together dinner from whatever we can find in the pantry–or, if you’re my husband, just have a peanut butter sandwich–it is not a less expensive alternative for us. It also didn’t save time over my go-to quick meals–I really can get tacos, fajitas, or pasta on the table in 30 minutes or less. It was nice for a change–and for a new recipe idea–but I won’t be adding HelloFresh grocery store meal kits to my weekly grocery list.
What I am hooked on is the Little Big Meals from Fresh Market. For $20, you get a complete dinner for 4 and since you are shopping from grocery store items, everything is really fresh. While some meals are a better bargain than others, we’ve loved the chicken and veggie kabobs, shrimp and veggie fajitas, and picnic style (burgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad) meals. This week we’ll be trying the chicken roll-ups which come ready to pop in the oven–now that’s a level of cooking I can handle after work. 😉
How do you get dinner on the table quickly?
Have you tried HelloFresh or another meal kit service?
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I meal prep on a free day to make dinners super quick on busy days. Portion size with meal kits always get me, so small.
I saw them at giant too and thought that was a better marketing strategy. While I have tried a number of these types of kits, I still prefer to shop for and make my own meals. I do think they are a great option for those who are not as into cooking or shopping for ingredients.
I do hate buying lots of ingredients for one recipe ….
I have tried that in the past and I think it is pretty expensive for what it is and the portion sizes are small. Maybe I just eat too much…ha.
They do tend to run small. This one was pretty decent though.
We haven’t tried any of the services or kits because I meal plan and shop in advance. That way we have all the ingredients on hand and one of us makes the dinner (depending on our schedules). It’s how we’ve done it for years. I think the kits are a great idea for people who don’t plan ahead, but you definitely pay for the convenience of having everything right there!
I don’t mind shopping or cooking but I hate coming up with ideas, so they are good for inspiration once in a while.
I print out the Hello Fresh recipes that catch my eye, then swap out ingredients I don’t eat for ones I do. The kits don’t make sense for me, and it is fun to try new recipes. I’ve found some fun and simple ones that are in my recipe binder now.
where do you get the recipes?
Way back when I lived in Austin, there was a local chef who would actually deliver healthy meals. I used her a lot! I was very sad when she went out of business. And I was still working at the time.
I’m constantly getting coupons for these sorts of meal kits, but I haven’t pulled the trigger. I’m a big fan of leftovers. 🙂 I like to make a big batch of home fries so I can have that throughout the week with eggs. I will also cook enough salmon for me for 4 meals (Mr. Judy is not a salmon fan, but occasionally I get him to eat it, too). I never get tired of it!
I realize that most people don’t have as much time to cook as I do, but then again, I usually did it when I was working, too. But there’s just the 2 of us.
I definitely rely on leftovers for lunch! Chef-prepared meals would be awesome!
I love that they don’t assume everyone has salt, pepper, butter, olive oil, etc. Interesting that Giant has them – Peapod is a Giant brand and I haven’t seen them here yet. Hope to, as $9 would work.
I’m sure they’ll show up there soon — watch for cooupons!
I was talking with a colleague after reading your post. She laughed at me. My cooking skills are… lacking. But I’d give these a go
Haven’t tried it yet. I have many friends who have and they love it. I’d consider it if I were not traveling so much.
The subscriptions wouldn’t work with your schedule, but the single kits might.
Ive tried a meal kit in the past and it was nice to try something new. Not sure it was worth it but it was nice to try something new.
I’ve never tried these, I have dietary requirement and am also not much of a foodie, so I stick to my usual things in the week (I cook up large batches and freeze two or three kinds of sauce to have with pasta or rice) then my husband is more adventurous at the weekends for both of us. He has bought the packs of fresh stuff to put together when it’s been on sale before.
I’m with you, I can usually make healthy meals for our family for much cheaper than the kits cost. It also gives me more control over what goes into the dishes. If I were to buy a meal kit I’d feel more pressured to have to make the meal as is since I would have spent the money on it.
My biggest frustration with the meal kits is that I do not think that they are reliable about the speed it takes to execute them. And they feel expensive especially for the amount of food that you get.