Disclosure: I paid for this subscription myself. If you use my referral link, I may earn a credit for HelloFresh. Opinions shared are mine.
You might think that just because I’m a teacher, my summer is full of lazy days.  Ironically, most weeks I’m busier during the summer than during the school year.  I try to schedule our appointments, trips, and other big plans for the summer months so that we don’t have to miss work or school.  My kids are also involved in camps and other activities that require us to be gone often.  I really cherish our free hours, though.  This month, I received a HelloFresh coupon in the mail and decided to give it a try!  We’ve tried a few different boxes like this in the past, and I like the convenience of having the food delivered.   Click here, or use code DIANNGARD, to save $40 on your first box! 

After downloading the HelloFresh app on my phone, I selected 2 meals from the Family menu for our family of 4.  From the June 2-8 menu, we received the Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin meal and No-Fuss Pesto Chicken meal.  The goodies arrived in a big box, right on my porch!

Opening the box was like a gift.  There were all sorts of coupons, artwork, and more.  The box had been on my porch for somewhere between 1-3 hours, judging from the time I’d last opened the door.  Everything inside was very cold, and the ice packs were starting to defrost.

The contents of the meals were neatly organized into labeled paper bags.  These are larger than I expected — about the size of a grocery sack.  These fit perfectly inside the produce drawers of my refrigerator.  The meat was not inside the bags; instead, the meat was vacuum sealed and resting directly on the ice packs.  I have read other reviews that said the meat leaked. I did not experience that.  It was, however, wet from being on top of the thawing ice packs.  I put the meat in a plastic grocery sack before placing it in the fridge.

HelloFresh  makes it so easy to follow the recipe step-by-step. It would make a perfect gift for a newlywed couple or a college student who’s learning to cook.  The meals come with a full-color recipe card containing simple instructions.  If the cook needs more support, HelloFresh has several quick videos on their Twitter feed. For example, here’s one for the No-Fuss Pesto Chicken.

No-fuss pesto chicken. Parent-tested ✅ Kid-approved ✅
Recipe: https://t.co/elByF9v9Ss#HelloFreshPics #GetCooking #FamilyFriendly #TeamGlutton pic.twitter.com/Y0JHdDFeHz

— HelloFresh US (@HelloFresh) June 5, 2018

So, here’s the reason why I don’t have pictures of our meals in progress.  Are you ready for this?

MY DAUGHTER COOKED ALL OF THE FOOD.

I did nothing beyond unboxing the meal items and stashing them in the fridge.

My daughter (14 years old) asked if she could make the Honey-Glazed Pork, and who was I to stand in the way of progress?  I said, “OF COURSE!”  While I enjoyed a book on the deck, my girl whipped up this amazing meal all by herself.  She was so proud of herself, I was so proud of her, and we were all so grateful for the delicious food.  Because, delicious it was.  The smell from my kitchen was spectacular, and the dish was even better than I expected.

Could the magic be repeated?

A few nights later, my daughter offered to prepare the No-Fuss Pesto Chicken meal.  Again, she did a fantastic job of cooking.  It tasted like something you’d order in a restaurant.  It didn’t slip my notice that my daughter ate both the green beans and the salad from these meals.  She’s normally not a veggies-lover, so this is a big milestone.  It was the first time I’ve seen her eat green beans in 13 years!  Having such a big part in the meal prep might be a factor in the vegetable success.

Though it’s hard to get veggies into my girl, it’s my husband who is truly hard pressed to try new foods.  The fact that he liked both of these meals was a huge selling point for me.  We’re going to continue to order HelloFresh for our busy nights.  My whole family enjoyed these meals, and I like that we can skip weeks if we want.  The gang asked for 3 HelloFresh meals next week, and this time my daughter selected what she wanted to cook.  She chose all 3 from the Classic Menu.  I’ll keep you updated on those entrees!   There is also a veggie plan option for those who want to skip the meat.  This subscription has already saved me time and sanity.  I look forward to more meals from HelloFresh. Each meal cost about $10 per person before the coupon was applied. That’s comparable to what our family spends at a nice sit-down restaurant. This was a great alternative to eating out for us.

My people are big eaters, and we could have used a couple of extra meat portions to satisfy everyone.  On the chicken night, there was enough leftover panko that we could have crusted at least two more breasts.  I wish HelloFresh made it possible to order extra protein for families like ours, because….well, we believe in seconds.

Through my order, I unlocked 4 free boxes to share (good for 3 meals for 2 people).  If you would like to receive one of the invites, please fill out this form**.

**Note: By submitting the form, you are requesting to receive an email invite. Emails will not be used for any other purpose by Savings in Seconds, but I cannot control what HelloFresh does with it.**

Do these meals appeal to you?