Home-cooked meals are often better than takeaways or instant meals. You get to control the flavor according to your taste and you know what goes into your food. Cooking at home, however, is a tedious process. You need to plan the menu, get the ingredients, and make sure the dish is ready on time. If you’re new to cooking, you can find many recipes online that can help you cook your favorite meals. YouTube is also full of tutorial videos that can teach you handy cooking techniques, from improving your knife skills to shopping for ingredients. If you want a convenient way to unleash the chef in you, however—subscribing to a meal kit service, HelloFresh, is an excellent way to perfect your cooking skills.
What Is HelloFresh?
HelloFresh is a meal subscription service that sends a box of ingredients you need to make a certain recipe. The service helps minimize your trips to the supermarket to buy the ingredients you need without compromising the quality.
It offers easy-to-make recipes, which is ideal for individuals who are still learning and improving their cooking skills. HelloFresh opens up your palate to different flavors and helps you discover meals you wouldn’t normally make. Their recipes are also cost-efficient and include healthy options.
How to Make a HelloFresh Account?
If you want to subscribe to HelloFresh’s meal kits and impress your family and friends with your home-cooked meals, you need to create an account first.
Requirements
Before signing up, make sure you have a credit card or PayPal account. HelloFresh requires you to provide your credit card details upon checkout. Currently, they accept payment through major credit cards, such as VISA, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, and PayPal.
The company plans to add more payment options in the future to improve the user’s checkout experience.
Sept-by-Step Registration Guide
You can make a HelloFresh account on its website or through the mobile app. Follow the steps below to create your own HelloFresh account.
Creating an Account on the Website
- Go to the HelloFresh website.
- On the home screen, click the “Get Started” button and a popup box will appear.
- Personalize your plan by choosing your preference (Meat and Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, Calorie Smart, and Time Savers) and selecting your plan size which includes the number of servings and recipes per week.
- Click the Apply button to go to the next page.
- Register via your Facebook or Google account or by providing your email address.
- Input your delivery address.
- Proceed to checkout and provide the necessary payment details.
- Select the meals you want to be delivered to your home.
Creating an account on the mobile app
- Download the app from the Apple App Store or Play Store.
- Open the app and tap on “Let’s Get Started.”
- Go to the “Profile” tab and sign up via Facebook, Google, or email.
- Go to the “Shop” tab and tap on the “Build Your Plan” button.
- Follow Steps three to eight on creating an account through the website.
How to Download HelloFresh on iOS and Android?
HelloFresh has its own app where you can access a large curated recipe archive. You can use it to manage your subscription and update your meal selections conveniently. The app also has cooking hacks and step-by-step guides that can help you improve your cooking skills.
The HelloFresh app is available for iOS and Android devices. If you don’t have the app yet, here’s how you can download it to your smartphone.
iOS
- Search for HelloFresh on the Apple Store.
- Download the app and install it on your device.
- Open the app and sign up or log in to your account.
Android
- Search for HelloFresh on the Play Store.
- Tap on the “Install” button.
- Open the app and sign up or log in to your account.
HelloFresh aims to make cooking fun and convenient by providing users a wide range of recipes and cooking hacks packed in one place. That’s why the app is one of the best mobile apps to have, especially if you’re into cooking.
HelloFresh Features
The HelloFresh app is designed for home cooks who want to spice up their skills in the kitchen efficiently. It has the features you need to make your favorite meals and discover new recipes.
Access a Massive Recipe Archive
HelloFresh has thousands of delicious recipes, from chicken meals to vegetarian dishes, available on its app. You can sort them out, save your favorite recipes, and rank them. The app also allows you to share these recipes with your friends and family.
Watch Cooking Videos
Reading cooking instructions can be confusing, especially for beginners. Some home cooks are not familiar with terms like julienne cut or not sure if they’re doing the right thing. HelloFresh makes sure you can follow the recipe correctly by providing instructional videos to make your time in the kitchen worthwhile. These videos are not only step-by-step guides but they will also teach you some hacks and techniques you can apply in other meals.
Manage Your Subscription
Typing HelloFresh’s website on your browser to check your account can be time-consuming. The app makes it easier to manage your subscription and keep track of your orders. It lets you select your meals and change your subscription at any time.
Sync Your Health App
If you want to monitor your diet while you’re subscribed to HelloFresh, the app lets you sync to health apps like Noom. The HealthKit feature lets you track your nutritional intake after you finish preparing your meal. This feature, however, is only available for iPhone users.
How to Use HelloFresh?
HelloFresh provides the right balance between convenience and cooking. It delivers meals with the right amount of ingredients. You only have to pay for the amount you need for the recipe. No need to worry about leftover ingredients you probably won’t use again.
HelloFresh is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Here’s how you can use the service to take your dinners to the level.
Pick a Plan
If you’re new to HelloFresh, the first thing you need to do is pick a plan that matches your lifestyle. Then you create your profile, set your delivery address, and provide your payment method. You can always change your plan or cancel your subscription at any time as well as skip a week.
Receive Your Meal Kit
Once you have chosen a plan and your preferred delivery date, you just have to sit, relax, and wait for your meal kits to be delivered to your doorsteps. You will receive a box every week that contains simple step-by-step recipes with nutritional information and fresh ingredients.
All the contents of your meal kit are carefully packed to maintain the freshness of all the ingredients. HelloFresh delivers your orders in a sturdy cardboard box that you can recycle. The box has cardboard separators to organize all the ingredients, as well as insulated liners and ice packs to maintain the quality of your food.
Get Cooking
After receiving your meal kit, it’s time to make delicious meals for yourself and your loved ones. You don’t need to spend hours deciding what to have for dinner and driving to the supermarket to get the ingredients you need. All you need to do is follow the instructions included in the recipe and have fun.
Home-cooked meals taste a lot better when you make them yourself. Enjoy your meal and share your final product with family and friends. If you want to know the nutritional value of your meals, you can download an app like Lose It to help you monitor your diet.
Pros and Cons of Subscribing to HelloFresh
HelloFresh is an appealing service, especially for individuals who want to improve their cooking skills. But HelloFresh is not the only one who offers such a service. Should you subscribe to one of its plans?
Check out the app’s advantages and disadvantages to help you make an informed decision.
Pros
- Improve and learn new cooking skills.
- You can change your meal selections up to five days before delivery.
- Access a huge recipe archive with diverse nutrient needs and preferences.
- Receive pre-measured ingredients to reduce waste and save on cooking time.
- The packaging is recyclable.
Cons
- You get no savings for a larger batch of orders.
- You still need to prepare some of the ingredients, like chopping vegetables and nuts.
- The minimum serving for two people might be too much if you’re eating by yourself.
- Nutritional information is only available on the website.
- The estimated time for preparation and cooking varies based on experience.
HelloFresh vs. Competitors
Meal kit delivery services have been popular over the years because it makes home cooking easier and fun. But with all the meal kit delivery services available today, how does HelloFresh perform?
Blue Apron
Blue Apron is one of the popular meal delivery services and works similarly to HelloFresh. It offers flexible subscriptions so you can skip a week or cancel at any time. Blue Apron also has a minimum serving size for two people. HelloFresh, however, has more recipe options every week compared to Blue Apron.
Blue Apron provides users with recipe cards for every meal. But it’s more complicated than the instructions you’ll receive from HelloFresh. They also don’t include nutritional information for their meals. Despite that, Blue Apron’s recipes have a more balanced flavor. Both services offer delicious recipes, but Blue Apron has an advantage when it comes to the quality of recipes.
The costs of Blue Apron and HelloFresh are close. When comparing the prices per serving, Blue Apron is more affordable by a dollar than HelloFresh. Both services, however, offer deals that can greatly affect their affordability.
Plated
Plated is another frontrunner in the meal kit delivery service. It is ideal for individuals looking for new and interesting meals that don’t require research and planning. The service also caters to multiple dietary requirements and offers plans that suit your lifestyle. You can choose from meals that feature meat, seafood, or vegetables. They also allow you to search for low-carb, gluten-free, quick-prep, or meals under 600 calories.
When it comes to the quality of recipes, Plated offers flavorful meals but not too experimental. They also focus on authentic, traditional recipes as well as combining unique ingredients, which is a great practice to expand your palate. HelloFresh’s recipes, however, are easier to follow than Plated as they provide more details so you can make it again.
Unlike HelloFresh, Plated only has two-person plans. You can order more meals but the serving size is only for two people. It costs more than HelloFresh. Both services pack the ingredients properly but in different ways. Plated wraps meals in bags instead of boxes.
Home Chef
Home Chef is an excellent option if you’re looking for a meal delivery service that doesn’t require too much of your time and that suits your cooking skills. Their menu options include vegetarian, poultry, organic, and weight loss meals. You can customize the menu to fit your lifestyle.
Like HelloFresh, Home Chef allows you to switch plans or cancel subscriptions at any time. It also offers refunds, but you need to submit your request within seven days. The refund, however, has no guarantee.
Both services offer meals that you would enjoy. They focus on popular and simple meals that include healthy options. Home Chef has an advantage over HelloFresh when it comes to a variety of weekly recipes. You can also get add-ons, like a smoothie kit, for an additional fee. Home Chef likes to elevate their meals. They use exotic ingredients to make preparations more creative.
The company packs meals in individual plastic pouches so you can easily take one when you’re ready to cook. Home Chef is not as sustainable as HelloFresh because they use more plastic in every box. Although they include recycling instructions for each package, excessive use of plastic is still wasteful.
HelloFresh is one of the most high-rated meal delivery services in the market today. They stay true to their goal, which is to make cooking fun and convenient at a reasonable price. The service offers features that are better than most meal delivery services. They, however, fall short on meal options for certain dietary preferences.
Overall, HelloFresh is worth it for beginner home cooks who want to learn and discover new recipes. Their recipes are easy to follow and delicious that can impress your family and friends.
