March 2016 HelloFresh Review and Coupon

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boxThis week’s Hello Fresh had several great green-themed dishes for St. Patrick’s!  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. If needed, 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.  We typically get a dinner for two, plus a bit for lunches the next day (or the better part of a meal for our young kids, when the food is mild).   

FYI Hello Fresh has a new family box – 3 meals for 4 people that at 8.75, is the lowest price per meal on the market.  If you don’t crave too much variety you can always get this box and cook things twice for two. Or, try out the 4 or 5 meal box.


hello fresh spring 2016 (3) Hello Fresh‘s menu cards have detailed 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.

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I like the boldface on specific ingredients — it makes it easier to grab everything you need at each step.  Hello Fresh sends all the spices, sauces, bouillon and such in Hello Fresh branded individual serving packets or in off-the-shelf brand name packaging, so there are no repackaged items to leak or pop open in transit.

unboxing

Our three recipe boxes.  The separate boxes organize the ingredients and protect the more delicate veggies from freezing and bruising.

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A reflective bubble-walled cooler bag insulates the food.  Meat is packed separate from the rest of the ingredients, and is always buried under a pile of ice packs.  Even in the warmer months, the meat stays super cold. 
 

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Jamie’s Oozy Zucchini Risotto with Buffalo Mozzarella and Fresh Basil. 40 min, level 3, 593 cal [alternate vegetarian selection].

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The recipes contributed by Jamie Oliver have been bright in flavor and light in fat.  This dish was no exception, but the real, buffalo mozzarella and creamy arborio rice created a thick and silky delight that satisfied as well as a much heavier dish would.  The fresh basil and hot pepper cranked up the flavor, while the still-melting mozzarella and still-firm zucchini provided fabulous contrasting textures.  The only negative on this dish was the length of preparation, as risotto can’t really be rushed.  And yes, that is only one of the two servings pictured above.

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Lasagna Penne Bake with Kale and Mozzarella. 30 mins, level 1, 868 cal.

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I was extremely skeptical of this dish when I realized that it had spinach ziti paired with kale — it seemed like a greens overload, and my feeling grew stronger when I saw how green and jagged the final dish looked.

I completely underestimated this dish.  Once I started eating it, I fell in love with it.  The panko-topped cheese and the beef bolognese were, as expected, delicious.  The kale and spinach, however, really surprised me — they were perfect accents to the dish, providing a hearty, savory, and intriguing layer of flavor that truly married the others into a satisfying accord.  It was easy to put this casserole together, and I like not having to do anything further with the food once it comes out of the oven.  This dish is visually interesting, but the appearance doesn’t do justice to the great flavors.  We got about three servings the size of that shown above out of this dish!

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Fiery Pork Fajitas with Blistered Peppers and Guacamole. 35 mins, level 1, 656 cal [alternate recipe selection].

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Though I had not realized how very green this dish would be, we ended up eating this on St. Patrick’s Day!  It was perfect for the occasion, and it was super-delicious.  The pork was flavorful and tender, and all the veggies and herbs were big flavor contributors — no fillers in this dish.  I was impressed with the great quality of the avocado — it was nice and firm, with no browning or germination (black strings sprouting within), just creamy goodness.  I loved the ease of preparation — I made it even easier by throwing the tortilla in the microwave with a damp paper towel instead of heating the oven.  The pic shows one of two servings  — this dish was right-sized, with the bonus being that the avocado large enough to make a bit more guacamole than was needed.

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Each box comes with some promotions or coupons, often including exclusive codes.  This week had a free graze trial box code.

This week’s selections were an incredible way to work some green into our diet in celebration of the holiday.  Each dish used its green veggies in a very harmonious way, enhancing without disrupting the balance of flavors.  This was one of my favorite weeks yet!

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

The Subscription: Hello Fresh
The Description: Each week Hello Fresh delivers beautifully photographed step-by-step recipe cards, with the exact fresh ingredients needed to create a selection of new recipes.
The Price: $69.00 every week
The Coupon: Take $40 off your first box with coupon code 7UT7K8
See Hello Fresh in the Hello Subscription Box Directory!
The Categories:.
The Reviews: See all our Hello Fresh Reviews.

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