Hello Fresh Veggie Box Review + Coupon – November 4

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 whenever you’d like. They offer both vegetarian and regular (omnivore) boxes – this is the vegetarian box!

Hello Fresh instructions have very nice illustrations, are clearly written, and even lets you know nutrition info, prep time, and which recipes are best to make first. Even a novice cook can follow them.

 Mushroom and Leek Tagliatelle with Thyme, Garlic, and Parmesan. 30 mins, level 1, 613 cal.

Who knew that tagliatelle was pasta?  We didn’t but we learn something new all the time.  Another quick, easy, recipe that was scrumptious.  We are leek lovers so we knew before even tasting this dish that we’d like it.  It’s amazing that so few ingredients can make this creamy pasta with such savory flavors.

 My husband’s only comment was that the leek flavor dominated the mushrooms.  He would have liked double the mushrooms.  I like mushrooms also, so I can concur with his suggestion.

I also found this well seasoned with just the thyme.  The sauce was just right.  TEN, it is!

Tuscan Ribollita with Kale and Parmesan Croutons. 30 mins, level 1, 600 cal.

When my husband says that he really likes a particular ingredient to a recipe, that’s when I know it’s going to be good no matter what!  

The wonderful thing about getting new recipes in the mail delivered to your home is that it’s yours to do as you please.  Add ingredients, leave out ingredients, cook it differently than the recipe calls for, whatever, it’s yours to play with.  Me, on the other hand, I try to cook it exactly like the recipe calls for because I’m writing about it.  Today, though I did something just a tad different.  My oldest daughter doesn’t eat onions, she’ll eat green onions only.  So I didn’t finely chop up the red onion.  I cut it into chunks but the rest of the recipe I followed exactly.

We, husband and I, both agreed that the fennel seeds added a nice unique flavor to this soup.  I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything with fennel seeds other than bread so this was a pleasant first.

Loved, loved, loved the croutons.  This is going to be a new favorite at my meals.

Can I also say I was crazy about the packaging of the beans?  They came in a box.  I like that packaging so much better than the tubular cans.  It would save so much room in my pantry if more items came in boxes.  Can we start a consumer revolt of cans?

Back to the wonderful recipe(s).  We gave the croutons a 10 and the ribollita a 9.5.  Remember that when you order these meals it is your choice to modify as you see fit which is a nice option.

Curried Thai Rice Bowl with Roasted Eggplant, Mushrooms, and Toasted Cashews. 40 min, level 1, 688 cal.

My husband and I were very eager to make this recipe as we have a local Thai restaurant that we visit regularly, I always get the curry so I knew I’d like this recipe.

My husband likes mushrooms, well come to think of it, he loves just about all food, no okra or boiled peanuts, though.  Anyway he became excited when he saw this dish had mushrooms.  As I prepared the mushrooms the directions say to roughly chop, let me share a tip.  I used a mushroom slicer, sliced one way, turned the slices and then sliced again. Voila!

This was good, not quite like the restaurant we go to but different and that is a good thing, too.  This dish had a lot of different textures which is something I prefer, no mush for this woman.  The roasted eggplant was perfect along with the crunchy cashews and rice.   The coconut milk with peanut butter was a nice mild sauce but then you taste the pungent curry powder.  After you plate the dish you can splash it with the juice of the lime wedges, wow, that really brought out the flavor.

One little note:  they forgot to tell the temperature of the oven.  I used 350 for 30 minutes, worked just fine.

This is a recipe I’ll make again, 8.5 on our scale.

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. I like that the outer packaging of the box is recyclable.

And here are next week’s recipes! Boxes for the next week close on Wednesday nights.

Visit Hello Fresh to select your box for next week!  Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8.