Imagine, if you will. 

An arrangement where someone else creates easy-yet-delicious recipes for your dinner. Then, they go shopping for you, they only buy the very best of ingredients, and never more, or less, than you'll need.

Then, as if that isn't enough, they deliver said ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes (with pictures and everything). Plus, an exclusive offer for Monistical readers, naturally.

All you need to do is cook...

HelloFresh is a simple concept.

You get to cook healthy, balanced meals in your own home

HelloFresh take easy cooking to a new level. Recipes typically take only 30 minutes or less and don't require fancy equipment. Anyone can cook with HelloFresh. Their mission is to get more people to cook and to start getting confidence in their own kitchens.

As someone who strives to achieve the same with all of my less gastro-brave friends and family, I wanted to see how this worked.

Not content with HelloFresh telling me how great they were, I did my research.

I’ll confess I’d heard of the company before being approached. I knew some of the companies they were working with, companies I like and rate highly. I knew the Telegraph had done a very complimentary piece on HelloFresh, and were impressed with the supply chain arrangements in place, and the emphasis on quality was hard to ignore.

At the time though, it seemed that quality and convenience weren’t a package that the North was destined to enjoy in any great form. When I first heard of the scheme it was London based, and served London only. Now people, it has spread. HelloFresh operates in at least 5 countries at time of writing, including most of the UK.

I did read one rather strange definition of the HelloFresh concept...’Assisted Home Cooking’  - the connotations of the word ‘assisted’ gives rise to images of grab bars and ‘needing a bit of help with things’ - whilst I appreciate the sentiment, this is in no way a substitute for a social service visit.

It’s a convenience container, a dinner delivery, a catering crutch...maybe HF don’t need help with their definition.

HelloFresh call it Happiness in a Box.

Above photo is the box I received, it contained the makings of 3 meals for 2 adults, packed and chilled to perfection. It also contained a lovely bar of chocolate. This wasn't a bribe, just a nice touch and an example of what YOU can expect if you decide to try the service out.

There are vegetarian and meat eaters options, my meals were meat based; I eat meat no more than 3 times a week, so spaced these meals out (all ingredients are good for at least 5 days). Having a completely planned and ready-to-cook meal for at least 3 days of the week was wonderful, I found I had SO much more time to do other things, and felt incredibly organised and stress free.

Below are the meals I cooked; everything you see came in the box.

Top meal is Chicken Teriyaki with Bok Choi and Coconut Rice. Best thing about this one was that you make the Teriyaki from scratch, the use of coconut powder to make the rice, and the cashew nuts in it. 

The burger was beef, with a mozzarella middle, served with a rather unconventional salad caprese and toasted ciabatta. This was good, but let down by the recipe card, which instructed me to chop garlic, but then neglected to tell me what to do with it, ever. The advised quarter-ball of mozarella that went into the burger made the burger too thick to cook properly without drying out, so needed adapting very slightly.

Finally is summertime chicken. Totes delish. Pancetta and spring onions, ersey royals and chicken thighs, simmered in stock with a rich creme fraiche finish. Nom. One gripe, a stock cube....no way was I using a stock cube, so opted for my own stock from the freezer. Hellofresh should have provided fresh stock. Shame on you Hellofresh.

You’ll like this if:

You like to cook from scratch BUT often find that you don’t have the time to shop and prep due to work and family commitments

You like your meals to be non-processed BUT find ready-meals just that bit too convenient

You like your produce to be of THE highest quality, no ‘budget’ brands here!

You have people to feed besides yourself

You struggle to come up with imaginative, healthy and tasty meals night after night

You want to try new, different, more exotic ingredients but aren’t sure how to prepare and use them

Obviously HelloFresh would love you to become  regular user of the scheme, and you may do so, but I think it the concept really pays dividends for the casual user...think about it; On certain occasions, how awesome would it be to get a catering solution delivered to you in a box?!

Maybe you have friends or relatives staying for a few days

Maybe you know next week is going to be a tough one at work, you know you’re going to be pulling looong hours, coming in late etc.

Maybe you’re taking a holiday soon, and want to ensure you don’t have wasted food to dispose of before you leave....

...or just know that when you get back that furry apple in the fridge is likely to be supplemented only by what you order in...

Maybe you’re ill/tired/pregnant/have other stuff going on.

Maybe you want other members of your household to have a go at cooking but don’t want to have to supervise.

I can give you so many good reasons to try this out, but I think the proof of the pudding, is most definitely in the eating. 

PROMOTIONAL OFFER
For a 30% discount off your first HelloFresh order, simply type MONISTICAL when prompted for a discount code. Visit www.hellofresh.co.uk or click on the link below.