Hello Fresh is a weekly meal delivery subscription that sends healthy recipes and the pre-measured ingredients you need to make them at home.
Hello Fresh lets you choose from a Classic Plan (choose from 8 weekly meat and fish recipes), a Veggie Plan (get 3 weekly vegetarian recipes), or a Family Plan (meat, fish, and veggie recipes perfect for two adults and two children). I like to eat a vegetarian diet, so I selected the Veggie Plan. Hello Fresh only offers 3 vegetarian dishes per week—where Classic Plan members can hop into their account and swap the recipes selected for them with other dishes on the menu, I've got to take what I get. I'm not a picky eater, so being subject to the luck of the draw has worked out okay for me so far. But I do wish there was just a little bit of wiggle room in the Veggie menu!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Hello Fresh Veggie Plan, $9.99 per meal, per box. This box came to a total of $59.94.
About Hello Fresh
The Subscription Box: Hello Fresh
The Cost: Pricing starts at $9.99 per person per meal for the 2 person plans and $8.74 per person per meal for the 4 person (family) plan.
ACTIVE DEAL: Limited Time Only! Free High Protein Item for Life + Up to 10 Free Meals One per box with active subscription. Free meals applied as discount on first box, new subscribers only, varies by plan. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: Healthy recipes and pre-portioned fresh ingredients.
Ships to: The contiguous U.S.
Hello Fresh Vegetarian February 2018 Review
I've been enjoying a couple meal kit delivery subscription boxes lately to add some ease to my weekly lunch and dinner prep. So far, my experience with Hello Fresh has been pretty great. Their meals are simple to prepare, full of fresh ingredients, and they're each divided into handy paper bags. Most of my vegetarian meals have been both filling and delicious.
I also love that healthy options are the main focus, and you're able to easily access the nutritional information of each meal with an included info card.
Each meal is divided into its own paper bag allowing for ease in ensuring that you have everything you need in one place. I like that many fresh ingredients are loose in each bag, eliminating the need for excess packaging. Less waste, a smaller overall box, and more convenience.
Boxes are insulated and lined with ice packs.
Onto the first recipe!
Penne Primavera
Calories per Serving: 740
Total Time, According to Hello Fresh: 30 minutes
Actual Time It Took: 30 minutes
With mint, citrus, fresh greens, and a heavy-on-the-dairy sauce, this dish was calling my name.
I started things off by zesting the lemon, quartering it, and then chopping my onion, garlic, and mint. Only half of the onion is used in this recipe, so I enjoyed the other half in my eggs the next morning. Love when these recipes work out that way. 🙂
In a small bowl, I combined the lemon zest and finely chopped mint and added some olive oil and salt. These are some flavors I can really get behind! Meanwhile, my penne pasta was added to a large pot of boiling salted water.
After about 10 minutes, the penne was al dente. I removed it with a slotted spoon as to reserve a bit of the cooking water.
Next up, it was time to sauté the veggies. I softened the onion in a bit of butter before moving on the greens.
When the onions became translucent, I added olive oil, garlic, and spinach to the pan. It amazes me every time how fast spinach cooks down!
What a dramatic difference, right?
In went the peas as well and the mint pesto to warm through. I gotta say, this smelled heavenly.
After seasoning and setting aside all of that green goodness, I made the base of the sauce by combining ricotta, a bit of the pasta cooking water, and half the parmesan. I'm a huge ricotta fan, so this is when I started to get really excited. This was looking GOOD.
The drained penne was added to the large pan with the veggies and the ricotta mixture really brought it all together.
How absolutely gorgeous is this final plate? I garnished with the remaining cheese, wedges of lemon (crucial for optimum citrus flavor to cut through the richness!), and mint leaves.
This dish DID NOT disappoint, and I can see myself making it, again and again, this summer. You could easily sub out the spinach and peas for other veggies that you have on hand like asparagus, kale, or even brussels sprouts -- whatever is in season! The mint, lemon, and ricotta are what make it so special and adaptable with other versatile veggies. I will probably end up doing a version of this with GF pasta as well.
Gorgeous Greens Farro Bowl
Calories per Serving: 610
Total Time, According to Hello Fresh: 40 minutes
Actual Time It Took: 40 minutes
More greens! Yesss! Farro has recently become one of my new favorite grains, and it's worked its way into our weekly lunch and dinnertime rotation. With the added lemon and parmesan, this dish looked to be similar to the first in many ways.
First up: trimming the asparagus and chopping in small pieces. The tips are kept separate from the stalks as well. I also sliced the zucchini into thin medallions.
...And chopped my onion, halved the lemon and cut one side into wedges, and minced the garlic. Lots of veggie prep for this one!
The onion went into a large pan with olive oil for several minutes. Meanwhile, I lined a baking sheet with foil and onto it went the zucchini and asparagus tips with another drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. They go on to roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. I also added my farro to a large pot of water with the stock concentrate added.
Once the onion was adequately browned, I added the garlic for another minute or so. Best fragrance ever.
Once the farro was cooked through (about 30 minutes, so the roasted veggies did end up sitting around for awhile -- I wish I had timed things better), I added the asparagus stalk pieces for just a few minutes so that they remain crispy and vibrantly green.
The finished farro went in the large pan with the onion/garlic mixture. From there, I added the juice of half of a lemon and zested some lemon directly into the pan (forgot to have it ready in my prep). The finishing touches: a bit of butter, salt and pepper, and the parmesan.
The roasted veggies are added on top of the farro. I was so impressed with how crispy and delicate the asparagus tips ended up being! I've never prepared them this way, but I'll be doing it again. They added wonderful texture to an otherwise hearty, mushy bowl.
The walnuts helped out in the texture department as well. I finished each bowl with more cheese and a wedge of lemon. Sound familiar?... I'm not complaining though. If this dish was anywhere near as delicious as meal #1, I'd be happy.
And whatdoyaknow, I was thrilled with it. This was another yummy, filling dish full of fresh ingredients. I loved its wide range of textures, and the citrus gave it a bright finish. I also really enjoyed that it was heavy on the onion (though I'd imagine that you could cut it down to half the amount if you prefer). Plus, again, you could swap out the veggies and customize!
Harissa Sweet Potato Pita Pockets
Calories per Serving: 660
Total Time, According to Hello Fresh: 30 minutes
Actual Time It Took: 30 minutes
The list of ingredients here is unique and definitely unlike any other Hello Fresh meal I've prepared. Dill, harissa, pine nuts... avocado? I was excited to see where these would take me!
I began by slicing my sweet potatoes into rounds and placing them flat on a lined baking sheet. They were coated in olive oil, harissa, and salt and pepper to season. From there, they were placed in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, flipped, and then allowed to roast for another 10.
I then halved the cucumber and sliced into half-moons, thinly sliced the avocado (perfectly ripe!), minced the garlic, and finely chopped the dill after removing leaves from stems. My trick with avocado is to slice it inside the shell and then scoop out the fruit with a spoon. So much easier than attempting to peel it!
The sweet potato came out golden brown and slightly crispy. Perfect!
I was excited to see mayo as a condiment for this dish! I know that a lot of people can't stand it, but I can't get enough. I combined the tiny jar provided with harissa powder, garlic, salt, and pepper to make the sauce.
The pitas were cut in half to form 4 pockets, they were placed on the other half of the sweet potato baking sheet for their final minutes of roasting.
The result was lightly toasted bread sandwich pockets. I also tossed my cucumber with the dill and vinegar along with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Each pocket's contents was comprised of a smear of the mayo mixture, a layer of the roasted sweet potatoes, a couple avocado slices, cucumber pieces, and a sprinkling of pine nuts. Excess cucumber salad acted as a side dish!
This dish really made me think 'summer picnic.' The sweet potatoes were so delicious, and I loved the North African flavors of the harissa and pine nuts. The cucumber added a nice acidity, but I did find the ratios to be a bit off -- there seemed to be a ton of it. Or maybe I just sliced the pieces too thick. They could have benefited from being more thinly sliced on the pitas, especially.
Verdict: In my experience, Hello Fresh continues to be a really exceptional meal delivery service. The meals are consistently simple and ingredients fresh. I loved all of the wonderful produce in this week's vegetarian box, and it was nice to receive a mix of grains with pasta, pita, and farro. Even though the first two dishes were similar in their ingredients, I found the final results to be quite different - in a great way!
The meals in Hello Fresh's veggie plan only cost $9.99 per serving. That pricing seems to be on par with other meal subscription boxes (Blue Apron at $9.99 per serving, Home Chef at $9.95 per serving, and Plated at $12 per serving).
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Hello Fresh menus change weekly and you must choose them ahead of time, you won’t be able to order these dishes unless they are offered again in the future.
Coupon – Save $30 off your first box - no coupon code necessary, just click this link!
Value Breakdown: At $59.94 for this box, you’re paying $9.99 per meal.
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