Hello Fresh Subscription Box Review and Coupon #hellofreshpics – August 11

 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. Hello Fresh is a subscription, but you can pause your deliveries and choose alternate meals (at least for the Classic box). There’s also a vegetarian box available. This is a solid meal subscription box with easy and accessible recipes.  Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8. 

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.

The new packaging has arrived in the last several boxes – it’s more recyclable than the previous bags (you still have to pull the plastic off the cardstock) and keeps the more tender ingredients from sitting on top of the icepacks (which, FYI, you can dump into the sink and recycle the plastic). This box had something new – nutritional info on the outside.

Lemongrass Chicken Skewers with Coconut Rice and Cucumber Slaw. 40 Minutes, Level 2, 678 cal. 

The instructions contemplated splitting the two pieces of lemongrass provided lengthwise into four 8-inch skewers.  The pieces provided were nowhere long enough to make halves of that length, but they were sufficient to make stouter, football-shaped kabobs (I extended the cooking time by 5 minutes to compensate).

The chicken made for a light-flavored and tender piece of meat which took to the coriander flavoring quite well.  The lemongrass imparted a nice flavor to the interior (though the reduced length meant it was in contact with less of the meat than prescribed) — it was especially nice in the leftover skewers, having sat in the meat overnight.  The Fresh slaw provide some crispness, seasoned only with a splash of lime.  Creamy coconut rice was a nice textural base.  This was a fairly easy dish to prepare, and it had nice clean flavors.   Pictured above is one of two servings.

Za’atar Pita Burgers with Zucchini Fries and Dill Tzatziki. 35 Minutes, Level 2, 536 cal.

Za’atar is the Middle Eastern version of all-purpose seasoning.  Combining several common spices with sesame seeds, it imparts a well-rounded, nuanced flavor to the dishes.  The panko didn’t cling very well to the zucchini fries, so they were tasty, but not too crunchy.  The burger ended up being fairly dry, so it took really well to the tzatziki (and I ended up using up the large portion).   Pictured above is the full recipe for two.  Simple to prepare, this was an enjoyable dish, and a great change of pace from burger and fries.  I ended up with an extra cucumber-dill salad on the side and we ended up using a sprig of dill to decorate our Kitchen Table Passport meal!

Blistered Corn and Salmon Salad with Charred Peaches and Cumin-Coriander Vinaigrette. 30 Minutes, Level 1, 634 cal.

This dish was so tasty and refreshing, I ate the double portion  (pictured) because Brandy was out of town – which she would let me do anyways or would have selected an alternate because she doesn’t like Salmon!  This dish was really great — the fish was moist, flaky, and had a nice crust to it — the filets cooked so nicely, I hated to break them into chunks.  The peach was very firm, so it held up well to the charring, and it paired nicely with the tartness of the feta.  The blistered corn added a nice pop and texture, and the cumin-coriander dressing married all the elements into a nicely balanced dish.  This was my favorite fish dish so far.  The prep was simple, but took a little while because each ingredient was cooked in a single pan one at a time.  Well worth the effort!

Here are the selections for next week! Meal choices end Wednesdays at midnight.  The tostadas offered as an alternate is also featured as a Chef’s Choice in the vegetarian menu for the week.

You can click on each dish and get the recipe information, including calories, ingredients, and difficulty levels.  We like having this info available beforehand, as it allows us to avoid meals that we think are too involved or require to much time for our schedule that week.  Although the names of the dishes are fairly lengthy and descriptive, it is also nice to have the ingredient list to get a fuller picture of the dish.

We love Hello Fresh — the ingredients are high quality, and the recipes are easy to follow.  This week’s dishes were no exception, and I’m pleased to see they keep creating new dishes and continue to be creative with their selections.

Visit Hello Fresh to select your box for next week!  Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8.Check out all our Hello Fresh Reviews and don’t forget to take a look at other Fresh Food Subscription Boxes