Hello Fresh Review and Coupon #hellofreshpics – May Boxes

Hello Fresh is a meal kit subscription box where you’ll get the recipes and ingredients to make 3 meals for two (or 4) every week. Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8. Hello Fresh is a subscription, but you can pause and skip your deliveries and choose alternate meals (at least for the Classic box) as shown above. There’s also a vegetarian box available. This is a solid meal subscription box with easy and accessible recipes and we usually get a box every week.

Hello Fresh recently redesigned their menu cards, and the instructions are super easy to follow.  It has nice illustrations, is clearly written, and even lets you know nutrition info, prep time, and which recipes are best to make first to optimize freshness of perishables.  Hello Fresh sends all the sauces, bouillon and such in individual serving packets or in off-the-shelf brand name packaging; although it means a little more packaging, they survive shipping better than the plastic cups used by Plated.  FYI we forgot photos of the recipe cards for these weeks – but you can see exactly what they look like by checking out our Hello Fresh Reviews.

May 20

Tarragon Chicken & Wheat Berry Salad with Radishes, Dried Cherries & Almonds:  This was a very simple dish to put together, and easy on the knife-work for a salad.  The wheat berries provided a nice chew to the dish, and sweet fruit and nuts are a great accent to creamy chicken salad.  This made a large portion of salad — if you reserve the nuts until serving, all the prepared veggies (including the arugula) are hearty enough to stand up to a night in the fridge without wilting, so it’s a great next day lunch, too!

Cuban-Style Beef Picadillo with Red Beans & Rice:  Not being overly familiar with Cuban food, aside from the delightful eponymous sandwich, I found this warm chili-like concoction reminiscent of North African and Mediterranean fare.  The golden raisins, olives, and cinnamon add a sweet and exotic dimension to the dish.  The beans and rice lend little excitement to the dish, but they make a decent base for the bold flavors of the picadillo.

Old Bay-Spiced Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes with Tomato-Arugula Salad:  Sweet potato and salmon must be a current trend among foodies, because a another recent box featured the combo as well.  I strongly preferred this version.  The Old Bay (they usually provide more than you need and leave it to you to season to taste — I used the whole allotment) was the perfect seasoning to bring together the salmon and sweet potato.  The sweet potato, in addition to serving as a mild and pleasant canvas for the other flavors, made a great binding medium.  

May 27

Smoky Adobo Chicken Tacos with Mango Slaw & Lime Crema:  This dish was superb!  Instead of beans, rice, cheese, and traditional salsa smothering the dish, this combo mixes it up by pairing smoky, spicy adobo chicken with sweet mango and creamy avocado.  Essentially, it gets the fish taco treatment. I would have liked a little more crema, but the recipe made plenty of mango to cool the fiery chicken.  The avocado was tiny, but adequate to cover the six tortillas, and it was of very good quality.  A tasty and welcome change of pace for lovers of Mexican-style dishes. 

Seared Provençal Steak with Three-Bean Salad – Brandy made this into one-bean salad (there were originally both green and wax beans included).  With the haricots pilfered, the cannellini and tomato salad still made a nice accompaniment.  The steak, as always, was great.  This cut cooked up better than most and had both a great crust and tender interior.

Brioche Shrimp Rolls with Butter Lettuce & Radish Salad:  The buttery brioche could carry any filling, but the tarragon-dressed shrimp made for a delicate and tasty treat.  Also great for making a little ahead and throwing together at mealtime.

This box had some tasty protein-based salads, and was wisely short on broiling/baking, both great concepts for soaring temps.

To me, Hello Fresh is one of the easiest meal kit subscriptions out there. This is not a bad thing and it’s one of the reasons we enjoy it so much. Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8.

Visit Hello Fresh to select your box for next week! Check out all my Hello Fresh Reviews and don’t forget to take a look at other Fresh Food Subscription Boxes