I received a complimentary box of HelloFresh through a referral code. This is the first time I've ever tried any meal subscription box and I'll pre-face this by saying I am not a cook, very limited experience in the kitchen. I usually just pop frozen things in the oven or make simple pasta/rice dishes.

I really like the experience of ordering online, the website was easy to navigate and offered simple menu options you can filter by protein, type of recipe, and portion size. I like that the variety was not overwhelming and everything looked quite tasty.

HelloFresh allows you to chose your delivery date - this arrived as promised within my alloted time slot. The tracking is accurate. The packaging was considerate for the food type and environment. There is minimal use of plastic, the insulated box is made of a recycled type of fiber and there were 3 ice packs that kept my food cold for hours. So even if you are not home to receive the box immediately, it can stay outside for quite a while.

I opted for 3 meals, each had servings for 4 people. I found the quality of the ingredients good, very fresh and the presentation and ease of following the recipes was without issue. What I love is how portion controlled these meal kits are - it feeds just the right amount of people and everything is measured out perfectly. No waste, no need to shop around or force you to buy full size items you may not need again. For example one recipe called for panko bread crumbs and 3 different types of spices - rather than buying full containers for each of those ingredients I may not re-use for another recipe, I'm glad these came in little pouches.

As someone who has little to no experience cooking, I found that the time it took to prepare these recipes from start to finish was longer than the estimated tim listed on the recipe card. Cleaning and chopping vegetables was a bit of a chore for me. If you have limited counter space and no dishwasher, it can become a bit challenging to prepare complex recipes with multiple tools and ingredients as the clean up will be longer.

I was still able to manage sucessfully and the end result was delicious. I've really enjoyed the options I've chosen so far, the recipes can be out of the ordinary and very different compared to what I would normally eat. Some of these dishes are restaurant quality!

I'm not sure this is any cheaper than going to a supermarket and picking your own groceries, but you are paying for the convenience - it saves you a trip and helps you stick to a budget when you know exactly what the upfront cost is. It also helps decision making as the recipes are there for you to follow, there is no searching or wondering what to cook.

Brilliant idea that can serve a good market. Personally, since I am not the main cook or shopper in my household, I am not sure I would subscribe to this service - and as someone who is not used to cooking things from scratch, I do appreciate having ready made meals in advance, I would be open to pre-prepared options for something quicker. Still something worth checking out, I have nothing bad to say about this company.