It's the ultimate relationship dilemma. You and your S.O. get home from work seriously starving, but you can never decide what to have for dinner!
My husband, Zack, and I used to just land on Seamless after bickering for twenty minutes or so. Ordering seemed so simple, but became too expensive to maintain, and made it easy for us to overeat. Let's be honest, does anyone really save the rest of that pad thai for lunch the next day? That's why we were so excited when our friends started inviting us over for home cooked meals—something that was missing from our lives.
We had no idea our friends Ryan and Julie liked to cook, or had time to think up a recipe and food shop on their commute home to start cooking! For me, it just wouldn't happen. Turns out Ryan and Julie get their recipes and ingredients sent to them by HelloFresh, the meal kit delivery service that lets you to cook simple, pre-planned recipes at home without having to hit the grocery store. (Score!) My friends had been singing its praises too, and after all the rave reviews flying around, I finally signed up.
The first recipe was simple to prepare, and simply delicious: Winner Winner Chicken and Orzo dinner, which Zack and I had a lot of fun cooking together. I sliced the zucchini, tomatoes and mozzarella, and roasted them on a baking sheet, Zack cooked the orzo, and I butterflied and seasoned the chicken, which was super easy. Just cut, season, olive oil the pan, and sear. We sprinkled everything with Parmesan upon plating (also included in the shipment), and voilà: A deliciously fresh, home cooked meal in less than 30 minutes!
I felt fulfilled from prep to plating to eating. Doing something for our bodies and our minds (rather than binging on chips and Netflix) was a much better way to spend our time together. It motivates me to cook meals each week, which has made our home a happier one.
Here's how it works: when you sign up, select the number you'll be cooking for and your dietary preferences. I subscribe to the 2-Person Plan, which gets me a large box each week each with 3 inventive meals delivered to our door. We're a silly couple so when I'm cooking, Zack sometimes chants: "babes is in the kitchen." I summon him over to help a bit, but I like to do most of it on my own. You can also opt to skip shipments, which is easy to do on their site, and you can cancel at anytime. But as soon as I got into the habit and the fun of cooking, I didn't want to stop because it became a part of a healthier and happier routine. It's exciting, keeps my hands busy, and it becomes a fun activity whether I'm cooking for myself, or cooking for more. Sometimes, I throw on some music and flip some veggies in a pan (cha, cha, cha).
After using the service for months, we're totally sold. We now eat at the table like adults, and found a way to spend quality time together. I don't know if we can take full credit for how excellent the meals are, but we're certainly proud of what we're cooking and eating. Days we cook with HelloFresh are better than days when we don't. That's how I know the service was right for us.
Update: HOLIDAY SALE! The folks at HelloFresh are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get 10 meals free including free shipping!
