I Ate HelloFresh Meal Kits Every Day for a Week—Here’s What I Learned

There was a honey-and-onion–based sauce included, but it was the trickiest part of the recipe. The honey was too thick and caused the sauce to kind of coagulate. While I still enjoyed it to some degree, it wasn’t ideal. Regardless, the pork chops were perfectly seasoned, which is great because there really wasn’t very much of the sauce for additional flavoring. I would say the same about the green beans and potato wedges. This meal felt more straightforward than others, but it gave me confidence in cooking something I’d usually avoid—and that alone made it worthwhile.

What I learned from a week of cooking HelloFresh meals

The HelloFresh recipes saved me time, but more importantly, they saved me the stress of meal planning. Knowing that dinner was already figured out and that the ingredients were (mostly) packed together in one bag made it easy to pull everything out of the fridge and get started. That alone made weeknight cooking feel far more manageable. I was initially worried I’d feel locked into cooking every night and have to say no to spontaneous plans, but I actually enjoyed knowing that dinner was already planned!

The instructions were very clear and made things like sauces and meats feel easy and approachable. By the end of the week, I felt confident enough that I could do many of these steps on my own next time. Portion sizes were great, too; I even had a lunch portion’s worth of leftovers from some of the noodle and pasta dishes, which was an unexpected bonus.

One thing HelloFresh taught me that surprised me was how much small garnishes like lemon, scallions, and parsley can make a difference. They’re so easy to add, but they really elevate the flavor and presentation of a dish. I also feel like I really mastered making pork chops, which was a big deal for me.

Another unexpected benefit was getting to spend more time cooking with my husband. When you’re cooking every night, you naturally spend more time together than you would if the alternative were eating out, ordering takeout, or reheating something frozen. We always tend to have a good back-and-forth in the kitchen, and we both loved the challenge of cooking every single night for one week.

Who is HelloFresh good for?

HelloFresh is great for people who want to diversify their dinners while considering time and dietary restrictions. I also think it’s a great option for people who get bogged down by meal planning and generally don’t love going to the grocery store.

The verdict: Would I order HelloFresh again?

After a week of cooking, I ended up with several meals I loved enough to make again on my own. Along the way, I picked up a few new tricks—easy ways to add flavor and texture with spices, sauces, and garnishes I wouldn’t normally reach for, but now absolutely will.