Meal delivery services for the new year

A few weeks ago, my friend Jade McClure sent me a coupon for the meal-ingredient delivery service called Hello Fresh. For those of you unfamiliar with these companies, there are several national suppliers who design menus and recipes, package all the ingredients in pre-measured portions, tuck everything neatly into a box lined with chilled gel-packs and deliver to your door.

My first experience with this service was a subscription to Blue Apron. Initially, it was enjoyable to have everything for a meal at my fingertips, but over time I found the instructions overly complicated and side dishes repetitive. How many days in a row are you going to serve an entree with flash-pickled vegetables? So, I cancelled.

With the deeply discounted introductory offer Jade sent my way, I thought I’d give Hello Fresh a try. I went to the website and browsed the menus, opting for the Classic Box (three meals for two omnivores) over the Veggie or Family boxes. After selecting the day of the week for delivery and entering billing information, I was set.

The first box arrived at the front door as scheduled on Monday afternoon. Before opening it, l felt a slight chill on the surface of the cardboard, which seemed a good sign the food had been kept cold. Inside were three white boxes, each labeled with the meal names. In these were all the ingredients except the proteins, which were nestled below, next to the blocks of chilled gel-packs.

This particular week had an interesting array of meals: turkey and sage tetrazzini with sweet peas, mushrooms and Parmesan cream sauce; soy glazed steak with wasabi mashed potatoes and sesame spinach; and ribollita (a Tuscan white bean soup) with Italian sausage, kale and parmesan croutons.

At first glance, it seemed like there was a bit of similarity among the ingredients, particularly the sour cream and Parmesan cheese. Not exactly surprising, since both the tetrazzini and ribollita had an Italian theme. After cooking each of them, we found there was enough difference among the three to keep me interested.

The recipes were well written, each of them starting with the same instruction: “Prep the ingredients.” An enclosed booklet printed on heavy card stock had photos of everything included in the box, an inventory of how much of each item was shipped and a list of what should be supplied from your own pantry (e.g., salt, pepper, olive oil and butter).

My first reaction was delight with the high quality of the fresh ingredients. The garlic cloves were already peeled, herbs sealed in clamshell boxes and the greens weren’t limp. All the proteins were organic and vacuum sealed. They also noted the country of origin for every item, most of which were sourced from the United States.

Each of the dishes was interesting, with a nice balance of flavor and texture. I only made a few minor tweaks based on our personal taste. For example, we didn’t mix any wasabi into the wasabi mashed potatoes because we prefer simple mashed. I didn’t stir the kale into the ribollita, but served it on the side so Jack wouldn’t have to deal with wilted greens (same with the sesame spinach, which was delicious).

My second reaction was the feeling I was “cheating” on my approach to cooking. I didn’t have to plan these meals, shop or measure out the ingredients; everything arrived ready to go. I must confess, it didn’t take long for me to get over that notion and look forward to the next box of meal ingredients: glazed pork tenderloin with roasted sweet potatoes, turkish meatballs with polenta and pan-seared chicken with orecchiette.

The calorie counts are provided and assume the entire meal will be shared by two people in one sitting, something that never happened for us. In every case, we had enough left over for lunch the following day. They also package more than you’ll need of most spices, giving you the chance to ramp up the intensity, if desired.

Hello Fresh publishes all the menus and recipes on its website to let you assess whether the upcoming flavors and ingredients will be a match for your tastes. There’s an option of selecting your three meals from a total of five, if you check on your account at least two weeks in advance.

We tried to gauge if the cost was reasonable, comparing grocery bills and restaurant charges. At sixty-nine dollars for six meals, the delivery subscription service is clearly more expensive than buying the ingredients yourself. It becomes a matter of how much value you found in the convenience of the service.

At slightly more than $10 a meal, it’s a much better deal than the cost of eating at most restaurants. The menus gave us the chance to try new dishes and enjoy restaurant-quality food without leaving home (especially the sirloin steaks that were as tender as rib eyes).

Finally, if you want to try the service at a reduced cost for your first box, ask someone (like me) who has an account to send your email address to the folks at Hello Fresh. You’ll have to sign up with payment information, but you can always cancel if it doesn’t work for you. We’ve decided to keep the boxes coming for a while, as we juggle deadlines and family obligations in the next several weeks.

I’ve included the recipe for the pan-seared chicken and pasta dish seen in the photo. It was originally designed to feature broccoli florets, but fresh peas arrived instead, with a note explaining the change was due to their high quality standards. Thank you, Jade, for introducing me to Hello Fresh!

Pan Seared Chicken and Orecchiette*

6 oz orecchiette pasta
1 T olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
1 diced onion
1 sliced red bell pepper
1 C fresh peas
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 t chili flakes
1 T chopped parsley
1 T grated Parmesan
2 T sour cream
salt, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. When it reaches a rolling boil, stir in pasta. Cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside, reserving 1 C of pasta water. Meanwhile, liberally sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add chicken and cook until done, about 6 minutes per side. Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board and cover lightly with foil. Add onion and bell pepper to same skillet and sauté until softened, about 7 minutes. Pour in a splash of pasta water to deglaze the pan. Stir in garlic, peas and chili flakes; sauté for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to pan, along with cooked pasta and 1/4 C pasta water. Cut chicken into thin slices and add to pan, tossing to combine. Season to taste with salt; garnish with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Yield: 2 to 4 servings. *Adapted from www.hellofresh.com.


Send comments, questions or recipe ideas to capeflavors@comcast.net