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Meal Kits Tested

[From winter, my app has not been posting.  Just saving drafts.]

I have recently been experimenting with having meals delivered to my home. Friends on the West Coast were raving about #blueapron, and I wanted to try it, but they were not delivering to Texas then.

Upon hearing my lament, a friend gave me a free box from #hellofresh, which she really liked. I figured I would give it a try, but I took too long, and my free box expired. Months later, looking to drum up business, they renewed my offer and started spamming me with notices to order. After a few of these came in, I finally noticed it in my promotions folder and ordered my box.

I did not pick and choose meals with any of the services I shall discuss, preferring instead to see how it went when they selected them.

Hello Fresh

You get three choices: the Classic Box, the Veggie Box, and the Family Box. Classic has a “variety of seasonal produce, handpicked fish, meats, and balanced grains”; Veggie has “seasonal vegetables, hearty whole grains, and vegetarian-friendly proteins”; and Family has “easy-to-follow recipes and family-friendly ingredients, [that] will get even the pickiest eaters excited about dinner time”.

Family terrifies me, as Classic had such easy directions and pretty tame ingredients. I cannot even imagine what a family might be like, except uber-plain.

The recipes were easy. Like, I-am-going-to-whip-up-something-quick-because-I-have-no-time-to-think-about-dinner easy. The recipe had no challenge, though they had good flavor profiles. I was let down when the cover of the recipe booklet was extolling the benefits of using herbs, but my three meals did not include herbs.

The first meal was Burgers on Potato Buns with Zucchini Fries. It was alright. They promised sliced cheese but sent shredded, which is a minor concern. I doubled the meat and the zucchini with things I had on hand, and I was stuffed and Papa Satyr seemed content. I didn’t need the burger to be a double or should have skipped the bun (which I should do anyway because gluten can make me sick if I eat too much, but sometimes I do anyway).   They could have been slightly more precise with the zucchini-cutting instructions, but that is just me being nitpicky.  Since I doubled the zucchini, I did not have enough breading, so I added a flax meal. I’ll make it again without panko crumbs. I sautéed my onions because I always do that.

The second meal was a chicken dish. I am not sure what I did with the recipe card and don’t really remember it too well, other than it had an overly complicated method of preparing the sauce with a ton of little containers and was served on rice. I am sure there was a vegetable, but I cannot name it now. I likely gave it to Papa Satyr and ate a leftover vegetable. It is not in the recipe archive on the site. We followed the meal with ice cream and were sated.

They do not tell you in the confirmation emails what your upcoming meals are.

The third dish was Dukkah-Crusted Pork Chops served with mashed potatoes and lemony greens. This was my favorite. Sadly, the downloadable recipe is just the preparation card and does not tell you what is in the dukkah. I will research and make it again with less salt. After we finished this, I was full, and he ate a giant bowl of cereal. Knowing me (and him), I probably had more mashed potatoes than he did. The pork chops were tiny. I would have served us two each (okay, two for me and three for him) had I made it from scratch and would have had leftover mashed potatoes.

Overall: the meals were easy to prepare, well-balanced within themselves and against each other, entirely too small, and boring for anyone who likes to make larger or fancier meals. It might be a good choice for a week after traveling if I have nothing in the freezer that I can just thaw and reheat.  They don’t care if you have dietary restrictions beyond meat or no meat. I had no way to indicate this other than picking my own meals from their weekly selection, giving up the joyful whimsy of allowing fate (and their stock levels) to decide my dishes.

They called me to ask why I had canceled my subscription, which I did through an email representative, so it should be on record. I told them I was playing the field. They asked if they could give a future discount. I welcomed one by email, which they said they would send right out.  I had not received it two days later. I did receive a feedback request for which they will give me a $5 credit toward a future purchase.  Pretty lame customer service there, and after I answered the phone for them and then answered their questions! [I received a form discount offer one month later, then two months later, then three months later, and five months later, then declared it spam, but it is safe to say they never sent my promised discount.

Price: $11.67/person/meal, not counting added ingredients. Rating: *** of *****.

After posting initial thoughts on food quantities to my Facebook, another friend gave me a free box from #homechef, saying she was usually stuffed by the portions. I decided to try it because it was free, and I like the idea of being exposed to new flavor profiles or cooking outside my comfort zone.

Home Chef

I have not actually made all three meals yet because:

I had two of the Grandparents visit, and their allergies and food restrictions are insane, so we eat what they eat, but I make ours separately if possible so we can have onions or oregano or whatever is want that they cannot have, and

All three meals they selected contained potatoes, and I just could not eat them daily despite my long-standing love for potatoes.

The box came with less packaging, which was nice, but a more significant percentage of it could not be recycled. I’d rather have more little bottles or plastic clamshells than all these plastic bags.

I could indicate one dietary consideration, such as gluten- or nut-free, but could not choose multiple.

Having learned a bit about food box cooking, I may have taken more liberties with their meals.

I first made the Octoberfest Chicken Schnitzel with mashed potatoes and asparagus. Except I did not mash the potatoes; I reserved one for later (luckily) and baked the other. I gave Papa Satyr all of the asparagus and his preferred baked potato, and I gave myself leftover sweet potatoes, wilted spinach, and cherry tomatoes.

They said the lemon cut the richness of the chicken schnitzel, which I do not understand since it was just a pounded, breaded, pan-fried chicken breast.  I also reserved the heavy cream from the mashed potatoes, which I mixed into oatmeal this morning with chopped fresh strawberries for my honey when he was not feeling well. So win. I also used the leftover egg wash to dip leftover mashed potato and sauerkraut shaped into balls. Then I rolled them in a combination of almond flour, tapioca flour, and flax meal and flattened and pan-fried them to make potato pancakes as a breakfast side. As you can tell, I hate to waste food.

I served hard cider and Octoberfest beer to him, so I was full, and he ate the leftovers I had intended to have for breakfast the next day.

The second meal was a Pulled Ranch Chicken Sandwich on a pretzel bun with potato wedges. For this meal, you were supposed to mix sour cream with Frank’s red hot sauce spread on the bun and season the chicken with at least half a packet of powdered ranch seasoning. You were to reserve half the sour cream for drizzling on the potatoes and topping them with shredded cheese (from a slice you were to cut into shreds) and green onions. I did not do this.

I mixed all the sour cream and Frank’s and tossed the pulled chicken in it with a third of the ranch powder. Placed these on the toasted buns with the included slice of cheese and arugula and topped with chunky blue cheese dressing and the pretzel bun top. Why?  Because if you are doing Buffalo Chicken, then have Blue Cheese

I cut the single potato into wedges and added the reserved potato from the previous meal, which was also wedged. I used the green onions (reserving the whites for scrambled eggs) and my own shredded cheddar for the potatoes (reserving the third provided slice for scrambled eggs).

I ate one-third of the wedges dipped in my own sour cream while reheating the sandwiches for Papa Satyr, who got home late, and then served both sandwiches to him, and I had leftover gluten-free lasagna. That is why I allowed both kinds of cheese. I would never eat sliced cheese and blue cheese dressing on the same item, but he does this regularly.

I tried the chicken and made my way through it; it was pretty tasty. The half packet of ranch would have been overkill, and the chicken would have been dry had I not tossed it in the sauce. Also, pulled chicken does not benefit from sautéing in a pan. Had I thought about it, I would have boiled it.

I have not, but I do intend to make the third meal, Steak with Brown Butter Bordelaise with Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Potatoes, except I will increase the quantity of Brussels sprouts and potatoes. I will use steaks cut from a chuck roast that I defrosted, as I used their fine-looking but pitifully small steaks to make Baby Beef Stew for #babysatyr.

[I assume I did this but don’t remember now]

Overall: I preferred the price point and packaging, but the meals were less well-balanced against each other (2 chickens and 3 potatoes). The recipe cards are more remarkable, as they are more prominent for aging eyes, punched with three holes, and fit into an included binder. That was a pleasant surprise. They also gave me $10 off my next purchase and free shipping on $40+.  You can get only two meals, but there will be a shipping charge.

The price is $8.28/person/meal, theoretically. But it was actually $9.94 since I skipped one of the meals, not counting added ingredients. Rating: *** out of *****.

Comments on Both

They disappointed Papa Satyr, who now grumbles every time I make one of these meals rather than one of my own devising.   I tell him that they both contain love.

A better meal than ordering pizza saved me money from delivery food or even some fast foods we might get. But just not satisfying in quantity or preparation challenge.

Suitable for those who need more time to shop or really cook. It's not suitable for the amateur home chef.