What's Cooking?

Well, friends, I have something to confess, something I feel somewhat sheepish about.

And I'm going to blame Karen, my buddy from the food pantry! 

One day when traffic at the pantry was slow, we sat out front chatting and the talk turned to "what's for dinner?" And that's when she told me, "We use Hello Fresh. I usually get three meals each week. And I really like it that there's no waste." I was skeptical. She then offered me a coupon for up to five meals for free; I'd just have to pay $11 for shipping. I thought I would be foolish not to even give it a try.

That was a little more than a month ago.

I've always enjoyed cooking. I have a lot of cookbooks. And I have Pinterest boards. And two recipe boxes. And four loose-leaf binders of recipes. And another stack of recipes that really need to be organized.

But in recent years, cooking has become a bit of a chore. After being "burnt," I'm wary of Pinterest and Facebook recipes. Sometimes my imagination fails me. Sometimes it's just too much hassle to plan a menu for a week, make a list of what all I'll need from the grocery store, shop, put away, return to the store for what I forgot . . . you know how it goes.

We now get three meals for two each Tuesday delivered from Hello Fresh. Each meal is in its own separate bag and labeled; the meats are packed separately. Everything is cold; everything is fresh. There is precisely enough of everything for the meal. The instructions are clear and well organized. There is little chance of error. The food tastes good and looks good. There is an immense variety of choices each week and I haven't seen the same thing twice so far. The portions are adequate, sometimes huge. 

Oh, and did I mention that Himself has cooked a Hello Fresh dinner all by himself twice now?

Five stars.

 

Comments

Carolyn said…
We just started getting two meals a week and it's wonderful! So happy to have dinner planned for two nights and not have to think about it. No leftovers makes me happy too! Enjoy!
Janet O. said…
I'm intrigued. I enjoy cooking, too, but why is there not energy for it at the end of so many days??
Annemiek said…
We have hello fresh too, on the other side of the pond. Daughter uses it all the time, I tried it several times. And yes, it s fresh, tastes good etc…but: it gives a load of waste in plastic and paper packages and it is rather expensive compared with me, going to the grocery store. Now I do my own shopping again and use the recipe cards from HF. I buy small quantities of meat and veggies and have no to little waste in food, nor in package material…….
Quiltdivajulie said…
In a two-person household I can totally see Hello Fresh being a good option. Happy that you have found something to make your kitchen time easier (and KUDOS to Himself for preparing meals).
Lori said…
My niece uses it and she is only 1 person! I've heard good things. Glad it is working for you.
Karla said…
Great! About 10 yrs ago my Aunt said she was done cooking. That was it. They use to go out for dinner every night. Now they order out, or do TV dinners. But she rarely takes pan to stove. Good for her! Good for you!
Nann said…
The pre-portioned meals can be a time-saver and a waste-eliminator. I'm sure you can add your own touches to the ingredients. My mother was a great patron of Market Day (a fundraiser for their local schools) for the same reason. I've downsized my cookbook collection considerably though I keep books-about-food because I'm interested in the history and the science. I still have file boxes of recipes on cards [catalog cards, of course] and I keep thinking I ought to go through them. They're more artifact than working file.
Barbara Anne said…
Sounds good!
I read a quotation not long ago (and this isn't it exactly):
"Who knew that growing up meant you had to think up what to cook for dinner every night for the rest of your life?"

Hugs!
Quayquilter said…
I have a friend, Maggie, an excellent cook who got Gusto meals three times a week in lockdown. They often provided more than one serving and she acquired a lot of new recipes. I think it's an interesting thing to do and stops you falling into a rut.
LoieJ said…
My daughter have us a couple of weeks of free meals several years ago. The pros were learning to cook a few things I didn't know how to cook. The No Thinking was a blessing for me. The cons were the waste of all the packaging material. Anotger was that it was delivered to my door, which faces mostly West, so it could be fairly warm these and the frozen parts of the meal were no where close to cold enough. I may or may not be home when the food arrives. Also, nice suze meals, but no leftovers. Leftovers are my favorite foods. Currently my husband is doing all our cooking because I'm somewhat disabled after a serious surgery. But I'm going in the right direction. Will I ever want to take back all the cooking??? I doubt it.