I’ve been wanting to share this with you for a while now, but I really wanted to test this out before reviewing. For some of you, this is going to be a no-brainer for making your life easier. This is how I’ve made dinner time great again, even though I’m super busy. That’s right- this is a dinner hack for busy people. (I am not being gifted or paid in any way for this post- it’s just something that has made my life over 40, easier!)

Let me give you a little background:

I’ve always loved to cook. I made the meal plans, the grocery lists, did all the shopping and all the cooking. I thoroughly enjoyed making dinner time an event at our house, and I come from a long line of amazing cooks. So you might say I know my way around a kitchen.

Since last year, we have entered a new stage in our lives. One where my husband and I are working from home and some days from sun up until long past bed time. We are in an all out sprint with our businesses and things are really moving fast. We are extremely busy people right now and I find myself looking up from my computer screen at 6:30 pm and wondering “Ummmm…..What the heck are we going to EAT?” The groceries have not been purchased , the meals have not been planned and THIS girl is not enthused at the thought of having to do any of it at that time of day. My brain is tired from work all day and the last thing I want to do is try to think of something amazing for dinner! And it needs to be amazing- because I also really like to eat!

Enter Hello Fresh. I tried this service with great reluctance, thinking that it was for people who don’t know how to cook and need “help” in that department. I’m here to tell you that after only one box, I moved this subscription to Holy Grail status and I haven’t looked back. My weekly Hello Fresh box completely saved my sanity and made dinner time great again.

Let me break it down for you:

The box arrives each week (there are loads of options for how many meals per week,(I get 3) how many people you are serving, allergies, diets, and more etc). You can choose your own meals each week, or just set it on auto pilot (what I do). It’s packaged really well and everything is still really cold when it arrives. You can log into your account and skip weeks anytime you want.

When you open the box, your recipe cards are in the top. These are well written with great images and step by step directions for each entire meal. Beneath that are the individually packed bags containing ALL the ingredients (including vegetables) for each meal. I just pop those in the fridge until I’m ready to use them.

Under that are cold packs that cover the meat you will use in the recipes.

One of the best things about this service is that the meals/recipes are actually really good. We haven’t hit one that we haven’t liked and I’ve been using this for months now. Nothing is overly complicated- most of these full course meals are made start to finish in 30-40 minutes and with minimal cleanup.

You still have to cook. You are still preparing each meal with raw ingredients and cutting, chopping, seasoning, etc etc. But you don’t have to “think” about it! Just do it- and BAM! A really great dinner is served.

Everything for the meal is included except for salt and pepper, olive oil and butter. All other condiments, vegetables, meat, fish, and other seasonings are included in the prepared ingredient bags.

Price?

My take on the price is that it’s very fair. Of course you are paying for the convenience, but it’s pretty tough these days to get out of the grocery store (with no planning and being short on time) with all of the ingredients to prepare 3 completely separate meals for less than $50. (Plus- if I don’t have a plan, I will undoubtedly get home without some key ingredient, which I find maddening!)

The only drawback is that if I were to make these meals myself by going to the grocery store- I would make more and we would have left-overs. The meals are well proportioned but we rarely have left -overs with Hello Fresh.

Will this help YOU

If you have a number of people that you are serving, then this probably won’t be a good solution economically. But if you are a couple, single or if you have a couple of small children at home with not much time on your hands- then this is a lifesaver! Also- this subscription would be great for young people newly out on their own who don’t really know much about cooking. The instructions are really well done, and I think a person could learn a lot about cooking by using this.

This can also be gifted as a one-time box.

How To Try it for $3 + Shipping

If you’d like to give this service a try, use this link and you’ll get $40 off your first box! Plus- if you’re signed up with Ebates they are giving you $10 back right now! So what is that? $3??? You can cancel anytime, just by logging in and canceling. This is the way I tried Hello Fresh so my first box of 3 meals was only $3. ( I really thought that I would cancel right after I got the box, ha! ha!

Now, when I look up from my computer screen at 6:30 pm and feel my slight dinner panic begin to rise, I think, “Oh yeah…..”Hello Fresh” <happy sigh>”. They also now have a wine box that they will pair to your meals. Soooooo….there’s that.

So that’s the low down! I hope it was helpful! I know that some of you will LOVE LOVE this service as much as I do! It has seriously made dinner great again! If you enjoyed this, please consider pinning it to Pinterest.

P.S- Everything in the Hello Fresh box is recyclable and they tell you how to do just that on their website here.

Cheers !

You may also like to read my thoughts about Life Over 40 here.

Or about Self Care Over 40 here.