So this weekend I tried 3 meals from Hello Fresh. It was a very similar to plated with some differences. Overall the food was pretty good, but would probably rate it just below Plated. I have another delivery the end of this week so we will see if the quality goes up or down.
Some difference -
The recipe cards are smaller and come in a little booklet (can easily be pulled out). I like Plated's cards better because they are larger and easier to read but one small thing that I like about Hello Fresh is that they have a small ruler on the side which is nice if the recipe calls for something like cut into half inch cubes. Plated's recipes are also more detailed, like they specify amount of oil to add vs Hello fresh will say things like a large pour of oil or a drizzle of oil. Also Hello Fresh has more nutritional information on their cards but for me that wasn't a big deal either way.
The recipes from Hello Fresh are available before you order the food, so you can really check them out before you commit to a recipe. On the flip side Plated keeps the recipes that I have ordered online vs plated if a couple months from now I wanted to look back on what I order it would be harder (but all the recipes are archived you just might have to sift through them). Overall I like Plated's system better.
As for the recipes themselves I think plated does a better job. In one Hello Fresh recipe it never told me to lower the heat but I did and the food still ended up sticking (this was supposed to be a stew and if I had had it on med high heat uncovered fo 15 min as indicated it would have dried out completely). Also a recipe called to cut green beans in half, which I did, but then looking back I think they were supposed to be cut in half lengthwise, I feel that Plated does a better job being more specific.
The packaging is a little different here as well. Plated has things come in bags (really individual ingredient bags within each recipe bags) but Hello Fresh has the ingredient bags packed in a recipe box (both keep the proteins separate). The boxes probably would help things not get squashed but I have not had the problem with Plated in general. Also all the ingredients come in factory sealed bags/containers (vs Ziploc type bags and generic refillable containers with Plated). I personally like the Plated system better as you could reuse the bottles or bags if you wanted, I also feel like they can use more diverse ingredients as they don't have to only use branded single serve bottle (like Hello Fresh send a single serve colavita vinegar bottle). Also they sent some dried oregano which was pre packed in a 1 tsp serving but the recipe only called for 1/2 tsp so we were supposed to measure (one thing I thought we were supposed to be getting away from).
As for the food-
The first recipe I had was Shrimp Taco lettuce wraps. These were my favorite but they were very hard to eat as lettuce wraps, but I thought the flavor was really good. I would make this again.
Then I had the Chicken Yakitori with Soba noodles. Also very good (my husbands favorite of the 3). I thought the sauce for the noodles was lacking (just siracha and soy). The chicken was good but nothing to write home about. I ate it and was happy but probably wouldn't make it again (at least not with some modifications).
Third was the Jamie Oliver Eggplant stew, this was my least favorite but still ok. Thought it was too dried out to be called a stew, needed more olives ot something. Liked the toasted almonds on top though.
At this point I will not be switching to Hello Fresh but I am giving them one more week to sway my vote. Next weeks recipes Proscuitto wrapped chicken saltimbocca, shrimp and lemon risotto, and pan seared pork chops. No Asian foods for me to try another minus in my book.
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