Hello Fresh Review

Recently, I had the opportunity to try a Hello Fresh box at a deal I could not pass up. I'm sure you all know about Hello Fresh but if you don't, it's a essentially a food delivery service with the purpose of making the cooking process easy.

For starters, I decided on the "family size" box with the two meal option. I was also given several different recipe choices to pick from.

Ultimately, I decided on the Maple and Rosemary Glazed Pork Cutlets (our favorite of the box) and the Carolina Barbecue Chicken.

The box arrived and was packed with plenty of ice packs and cold preserving padding. I also received an email when it was delivered to remind me to check the front porch which was really nice!

Each meal was packaged with all of the ingredients together in one brown bag. This was nice because it was simple to store away in the fridge for later use. The meat for each dinner was also packaged beneath the brown bags in a separate compartment so it didn't contaminate anything. (Also a nice perk!)

Our first meal to try was the Pork Cutlets and I mainly decided on this because I wanted to save the BBQ chicken option for the night before the 4th of July. Corny? Yes, I know.

After sorting through the ingredients and chopping several of the items, it was time to get cooking. This part took a little longer than I expected, but I guess that was just getting into the groove of things.

I do love to multitask while cooking and it was easy to do so. Both the pork and the couscous wer going at the same time.

While everything was cooking on the stove, I prepared the salad.

Even with the multitasking, this meal still took about 45 minutes to complete. It was absolutely delicious though, and we loved every part of it! 

My toddler loved it, too!

Next up was the Carolina Barbecue Chicken.

This recipe was delicious as well, although our fire alarm went off in the process of cooking the chicken. Whoopsie!

This recipe was a little easier to make time-wise because it didn't require as much prep ahead of time. Also, I added a few extra pieces of chicken from my own stock to the pan because I wanted to have something already prepared for lunch the following day.

We loved this dish as well. The chicken was flavorful and wasn't dry - just the way I like it! Also, the combination of the chicken, mac and cheese, and green beans was a perfect pre-fourth meal!

So, what did I think of Hello Fresh overall? Well, I have a few pros and cons. I like that the ingredients are all (mostly) shipped to you which saves a grocery shopping trip. I also loved the flavors of both recipes. One of the main things I don't care for with this delivery service is the quantity of food. If I'm going to spend 30+ minutes in the kitchen preparing a meal, I want enough to have leftovers for lunch the following day at work. An option to change this would be to add your own items like I did with the chicken but again, you're using items from your own stock which isn't the purpose of this box. Also, the price is a bit high for me, especially if leftovers aren't an option. I'm not sure I would subscribe to this on a long term weekly basis, but it will be fun to try from time to time! 

Have you ever tried Hello Fresh or another meal subscription service? If so, what did you think?

Three Things Thursday, Plus A Few

After a whirlwind weekend, it took my body most of the week to calm down and refocus on the things ahead. Not having anything to do on Tuesday and Wednesday evening was nice, which meant Brayden and I could stay at home and just simply chill. I took full advantage of it and I loved it!

In the mean time, I thought about writing a "three things Thursday" post, but all these random thoughts kept coming to my head and I couldn't narrow it down to just three, so bear with me as my brain operates on more than one thing at a time (usually on five things at once).

#1 Hello Fresh

I received a really great deal in the mail that I couldn't pass up, so I bit. We've never tried a service like this before but are excited to! Our first box arrived yesterday and I can't wait to dig in! Definitely stay tuned for a review coming soon!

#2 Running Shoes

Mine pooped out on me. I realized my knee was bothering me more than normal and when I counted out the mileage, I realized that yep...it was definitely time for new ones. I haven't yet received mine from our local running store from the race I won back in April (they are on back order), so I had to check the stock pile in the back of my closet. Lo and behold, there was a pair there that I received as a gift from Christmas, just waiting on me. Oddly enough, they are the same exact color as my previous pair, so I'm going to have to figure out a way to not get them confused. Oh well...at least I like the color!

#3 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

So, every time I have Brayden in the car with me, I hear this sweet little voice from the back seat saying "Hot Dog! Hot Dog!" No, he's not hungry for a hot dog, he wants to hear the Hot Dog Song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and he knows it's on a CD in my car. (I mean really, how can I deny him?!) Lately, I've been heading to work (without Brayden in the car) and not paying attention to what's going on...then I realize that the Mickey Mouse CD is STILL playing in my car. Seriously. I made it halfway to work yesterday before I even realized it! (Insert face palm emoji here.) I can't be the only one this has happened to. Anyone else?

#4 Iced Coffee

Know the problem of having a PJ's Coffee very close to my Orangetheory gym?! I can stop in and have an iced coffee in the mornings after my workouts. Ok so that's not really a problem, actually. I really love their coffee and the flavors they offer are so good! It also hits the spot in the summer after a hard OT workout!

#5 4th of July Plans

I'm excited for the 4th of July, although having a holiday smack dab in the middle of a week kinda throws things off a bit. I'm planning on participating in our local 4th of July race and then seeing the fireworks that evening with a friend and our kids! It's shaping up to be a fun day!

Have you ever tried a mail delivery food service? What's your 4th of July plans?