Meal subscription boxes?

[SemiSweet]

We just started doing Home Chef, which I chose because it's a little more customizable than Blue Apron, and I absolutely love it. Five meals in and every single one has been incredible. It's expensive but worth it at the moment. Anyone else do a different one and enjoy it or did one and hated it? I may take a break from Home Chef to try a different one at some point.

 

My favorite thing about it is that I make stuff I never normally would, and I'm a good cook that makes a ton of variety but it's really bringing me out of my box and I'm learning some new techniques as well.

[AmandaVT]

My friend had a few freebies from Blue Apron that she gifted us. We ended up with 4 meals in total. They were ok - 1 meal I really liked, 1 I really disliked and 2 were ok. I probably would have kept it up for a few more meals for some meal ideas, but they don't offer a vegetarian family option. I ended up with a few chicken dishes and gave my mom the chicken and subbed in something else for us. So it wasn't worth it for us to continue, but they're a great idea in theory. My friend subscribed for 6 months I think and has made a number of the recipes again. She felt that her family was in a dinner rut and this helped get them out of the rut. 

[Serenade]

I've been using Blue Apron and like it a lot. We only get a box once a month, though, because it is expensive. I love the variety of foods offered, and we liked one so much that we made it again on our own. Some of them are quite a bit of work, but my husband and I will sit down with a cocktail and chop the veggies together.

[mellifera33]

Subbing. We need to change something about how we do meals, and a subscription box might be a good place to start. 

 

[PrincessMommy]

I am looking to gifting one for my daughter for Christmas.  A friend told me about HelloFresh, which has a vegetarian option.   My friend said she liked both HelloFresh and Blue Apron.

 

 

[DawnM]

When you guys say it is expensive, what do you mean?

 

We have a place nearby that has pre-made dinners to pick up, I think they are roughly $20 per meal for a family of 4.  My friend gets them and will just add in a couple of chicken breasts or whatever to stretch it.

 

I still think it is cheaper to buy frozen meat, TJ jarred sauce, and make a pot of rice in the rice maker and takes about the same amount of time to heat up, but I am open to try something since I am now going back to work and worried about meals, esp. while I adjust to full time working and trying to care for family.

[regentrude]

When you guys say it is expensive, what do you mean?

 

Home Chef's website says $9.95 per serving.

I consider this very expensive; for that much money, I could eat in a restaurant and wouldn't have to bother cooking. 

Edited July 23, 2016 by regentrude

[DawnM]

Home Chef's website says $9.95 per serving.

I consider this very expensive; for that much money, I could eat in a restaurant and wouldn't have to bother cooking. 

 

 

Oh, yeah, that is expensive.  

 

I will stick to my plan of easy cooking for $20 max for 6 of us, probably closer to $10.

[mommyoffive]

I have done Blue Apron and pretty much hated it. 

 

I got a freebie from a friend.  The items arrived with lots of missing ingredients or the meet was ripped own and leaking blood everywhere. 

The meals take forever to make. 

Some of them were good and some were ok.

 

Crazy expensive.  

 

Totally not worth it.

[Lady Florida.]

Home Chef's website says $9.95 per serving.

I consider this very expensive; for that much money, I could eat in a restaurant and wouldn't have to bother cooking. 

 

I couldn't get much of a restaurant meal for that price - even a fast food meal will be close to $10. However, when comparing it to home cooking I agree that it's expensive. I rarely make meals that cost $10 per serving. Even the nicer dishes I make come in lower than that.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Lady Florida.

[SparklyUnicorn]

If I worked I'd try it.  I can't justify something like that at the moment, but it seems like a good alternative to eating out all the time.

 

 

[SemiSweet]

I guess I won't bother trying Blue Apron, seems a lot of people are kind of meh about it.  Home Chef has veg options, low-carb, low-cal, avoiding certain things like gluten, dairy, and fish.  I like that it's customizable.  It is much cheaper than going out to eat for us, just Panera, minus one kid the other day cost us $36, it would have been $45 if that kid had been with us.  None of the meals have taken longer than 40 minutes for us, with most being about 25-30 minutes.  I am finding it to be a nice alternative to eating out, but I am lowering it to every other week because of the cost.  I haven't heard anything about Hello Fresh though.  We will definitely be recreating many of the meals we've gotten though, even the pickier child has liked all of them.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I guess I won't bother trying Blue Apron, seems a lot of people are kind of meh about it.  Home Chef has veg options, low-carb, low-cal, avoiding certain things like gluten, dairy, and fish.  I like that it's customizable.  It is much cheaper than going out to eat for us, just Panera, minus one kid the other day cost us $36, it would have been $45 if that kid had been with us.  None of the meals have taken longer than 40 minutes for us, with most being about 25-30 minutes.  I am finding it to be a nice alternative to eating out, but I am lowering it to every other week because of the cost.  I haven't heard anything about Hello Fresh though.  We will definitely be recreating many of the meals we've gotten though, even the pickier child has liked all of them.

 

I like the idea of choices.  Some of these services you get what you get.  That wouldn't work for me.

[SemiSweet]

I like the idea of choices.  Some of these services you get what you get.  That wouldn't work for me.

 

Exactly, I was doing low-carb for a bit so that's really why I went with Home Chef over Blue Apron, now I'm just back to counting calories and I can do that too, so it works.

[kubiac]

We did a free week of Blue Apron and really liked it, but I couldn't stand the associated trash production and it felt so indulgent and decadent I couldn't stand it.

 

That said, the instructions and the pre-packaged ingredients were right about at my level of cooking skill, so we got a couple of v nice meals out of it and in some future where I have $25 million but don't want a private chef in my kitchen all the time and have gotten over my #zerowastehome obsession, it would be a great choice.

[lovinmyboys]

We did blue apron this summer and really liked it. We have four little kids, so the 4 servings worked for our family of six. I do think it is expensive, but it was nice to have some new meals and we ate some ingredients I can't buy here. I enjoyed just cooking and not having to come up with a recipe or shop for our main meal.

[Rachel]

We were gifted with a week of HelloFresh. The food was good, it was stuff I wouldn't normally make. The tomatoes, green onions, and cucumber all went bad before I used them. In fairness I didn't make the first meal the day it arrived, then skipped the second meal, perhaps if I had prepared everything right away the produce would have been fine. There was not much meat, but it was appropriate portion sizes so if you are trying to control portions, it would be good for that.

 

I felt like it was really expensive for the quantity of food. The box I received would have been $69, I can make $69 stretch pretty far and even with young kids we could eat out 2-3 times at a decent place for that price. The packaging was ridiculous, even with most of it being recyclable, it was too much. I'm not overly obsessed with being green either.

 

It was a nice change of pace and a way to try new foods so overall it was kind of a mixed bag. My sister in law works full time and has an hour commute daily, she loves it. She especially appreciates not having to plan meals. She lives in a much bigger city so her food may not ship as far either.

[Guest]

A friend of mine was doing Hello Fresh. I am definitely intrigued by the idea of someone else figuring out what I'm going to make and all the ingredients are there. But the expense would definitely bother me and so would the trash. I didn't even think about the tradh until it was mentioned in this thread but I would not like that at all.

 

If I worked FT, I can more easily imagine doing it.

[lewber]

We are doing Home Chef and really like it. We're taking the summer off right now due to travel and so many fresh veggies available.

It is $9.95 per person which is more than cooking at home but less than eating out. It's great to have everything ready and decided for you when it's time to cook. Some of the spices and flavorings are ones I don't normally have so you do save some money by not having any extra food waste. But, yes there is so much packaging waste. Our homeless shelter took some of our ice packs and we recycle all the little plastic containers, but it is too much still. That's the biggest drawback for me.

The biggest plus is the dinner decision is made and with 3 interesting new meals a week, the old standbys don't seem so boring.

I think you could add a salad or an easy side or bread and stretch the meals a good bit more. Plus we only do 3 days, so it's a nice break but still 4 days left to plan and have more frugal meals to balance the budget for the week.

[J-rap]

I've used Hello Fresh, and I love it.  When we get it, we get three meals/week.  It's just my husband and myself home now;  I don't think we could have kept it up if it were the whole family.  We get to choose 3 meals out of either 6 or 7 choices.  More often than not, we have enough leftover for another meal (at least for one person).  Or if kids are home, it almost always serves three, sometimes 4 if I  add an extra veggie on the side or some good bread.

 

The food is almost always very good, and about once/week it's outstanding.  We've only had a handful that have been disappointments.

 

We haven't had a problem with veggies going bad.

 

 

[Sandragood1]

How difficult is the prep? I'm wondering if it would be motivational for my kids. They need to cook more but don't want to plan. If I have to plan I may as well cook.

 

Also can you get nut free?

[SemiSweet]

How difficult is the prep? I'm wondering if it would be motivational for my kids. They need to cook more but don't want to plan. If I have to plan I may as well cook.

 

Also can you get nut free?

You can get nut free. I have found the prep to be easy, they have a key for ease of prep and I think every one we've gotten has been easy, but I've seen some intermediate ones. I think my two olders at 10 & 13 could make them with some help on the chopping.

[SemiSweet]

A friend of mine was doing Hello Fresh. I am definitely intrigued by the idea of someone else figuring out what I'm going to make and all the ingredients are there. But the expense would definitely bother me and so would the trash. I didn't even think about the tradh until it was mentioned in this thread but I would not like that at all.

 

If I worked FT, I can more easily imagine doing it.

Oh yeah, if I worked full time I would probably get 4-5 a week.

 

Because dd and the baby don't eat as much we do well with the 4 person plan. I figure we spend $20-30 per dinner on our nicer meals, so $40 isn't that much of a stretch. Plus everything we've had so far tastes like it came straight from a nice restaurant, which we could never go to for $40. :)

[lewber]

We have Home chef- You can choose nut free, low carb, vegetarian etc. It does limit your choices somewhat and I'm not sure how safe their procedures are for severe allergies.

The prep level is labeled for each recipe as well. The instructions are good, the cards are easy to follow.

I have some offers for a free week, if anyone wants to try It for a week PM me your email address.

[Joules]

I've earned 4 HelloFresh boxes to share with friends.  PM me your name and e-mail address if you are interested.  

 

I'm really enjoying it.  I'm mostly just cooking for myself, but I just plate one serving and put the other in pyrex to reheat for lunch.

[littlebug42]

The lovely Night Elf gave me a free week of Hello Fresh.  For my family to eat decent food at a restaurant 2-3 meals a week, it would cost much more than the $70 for Hello Fresh for 2 meals.  I would not use it year round but I have gotten additional ones right now because we are crazy busy.  I am also really enjoying the fact that I don't have to decide what to make and its injecting some new ideas into our menus.  The one thing I do not like is that on the family plan, they seem to send green beans with many of the meals.  I would like a little more vegetable variety.  

 

 

[Butter]

We're working our way through all the meal box companies for fun.  No way would I pay normal price.  It's just too expensive.  I'm doing one week with the discounted introductory price and taking tons of pictures and reviewing them one my blog.  We've done Blue Apron (https://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/we-tried-blue-apron/) and Hello Fresh (https://thefamilywho.wordpress.com/2017/10/16/we-tried-hello-fresh/).  If I had to pick one of them I'd easily choose Blue Apron.  The food was fresher (some of the Hello Fresh produce was iffy) and the recipes just tasted better.  This week we're trying Sun Basket.  I love that they have a gluten free option (since half of us have Celiac).  We made the first meal today and, well, it was strange.  Sun Basket is great for people who really want to go outside of their comfort zone.  The vegetable with today's meal was sweet potatoes and chard.  I didn't think it was too bad, but my 16yo son, who has never been picky and will eat anything even if he doesn't like it, looked at me with this disgusted expression and said, "What IS that?!?!"  He insists he's never eaten anything so gross.

 

If the alternative is eating at a restaurant, meal kits are a great alternative.  To replace regular homecooked meals, not so much (though two recipes - one from Blue Apron and one from Hello Fresh - have made it into our regular cooking rotation - I just make them way cheaper buying my own groceries).

[frugalmamatx]

I tried a new one today - Gobble. I don't recommend them - the portions were PAINFULLY skimpy and nothing had good flavor. 

[TravelingChris]

We used Peach Dish a few times.  It was really good but the recipes took some time.  Also, we were getting them on the wrong days and yes, lots of extra packaging.  However, I am tempted to do it again.  They sent me an email with this week;s choices and a number of them seem really good.

[SeaConquest]

I have 5 Plated meals, if anyone wants to try them. They are my favorite by far. So many choices! :)

[littlebug42]

I would like to try Plated.  I will PM you with my information. 

[Twolittleboys]

No personal experience but I actually considered it the other day. But the price just seems way too high! We live overseas so our prices (both in stores and for boxes) are different but it was easily 3 or 4 times as much as I usually spend (I think). I do like the idea of someone else chosing/trying something new a lot though. When I look up new recipes they often require ingredients I don't have at hand and that would be kind of a waste (e.g. I don't want to buy a bottle with a different kind of vinegar if I just need a teaspoon full of it). So I usually just switch out things or leave them out completely which kind of defeats the purpose of a recipe.

 

I am tempted to at least try one of the boxes if there is a free/reduced offer that sounds good. On the other hand, my kids are quite picky (no fish/seafood, no white sauces, little or no cheese, no mushrooms etc.) so many dishes would not work for us.

[Sarah CB]

 

 

I still think it is cheaper to buy frozen meat, TJ jarred sauce, and make a pot of rice in the rice maker and takes about the same amount of time to heat up, but I am open to try something since I am now going back to work and worried about meals, esp. while I adjust to full time working and trying to care for family.

 

That's a valid solution to a busy schedule as well, but what I like about Hello Fresh is that there aren't any pre-made sauces. I know what all the ingredients are and everything is fresh and real.

[Sarah CB]

I ordered Hello Fresh as a way to get my boys (12, 15, 17) cooking. My plan was to have each of them take one night and cook a HF meal. So far, I've cooked two meals and they have cooked none. I can put together a number of fresh home cooked healthy meals in very little time, so I definitely didn't sign up so I could do the cooking.

 

Anyway, my 12 year old is cooking tonight and I've guilted my other two into agreeing to each take a night next week. 

 

I think Hello Fresh is a pretty cool way to learn how to cook a few new dishes. They will still be doing enough of the prep to feel confident about what they're doing, plus they learn how to do their own sauces using real ingredients. I made pork medallions with shredded brussels sprouts and roasted tarragon potatoes with a creamy tarragon sauce this week and it was fabulous - though I still wish one of the boys had cooked.

[RoundAbout]

 

 

I still think it is cheaper to buy frozen meat, TJ jarred sauce, and make a pot of rice in the rice maker and takes about the same amount of time to heat up, but I am open to try something since I am now going back to work and worried about meals, esp. while I adjust to full time working and trying to care for family.

 

This would be my approach. If I was busier I think I would be more inclined to rely on things like the pre-marinated pork tenderloin and pre-stuffed chicken breasts you see at the meat counter at the nicer grocery stores plus bagged salad. Every Thursday our Harris Teeter offers take out prime rib with 2 sides for $9.95. I wish they did this on other days with other entrees because its a great deal when I don't feel like cooking. They have a cart at the front of the store so you don't even have to go all the way in.

 

I'm curious about the meal boxes, but we eat low carb and if I still have to do all the cooking, its not helping me that much other than offering some variety to our menu.