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Nothing beats a home-cooked meal, but sometimes you just don’t have the energy to start from scratch after a long day. For casual cooks, subscription services like HelloFresh are here to offer delicious meal kits delivered directly to your door.
Unlike many similar companies, HelloFresh offers some perks for new subscribing seniors and free shipping for your first meals. If you are looking to save money and time in the kitchen, HelloFresh is an ideal option.
FYI: To learn more about getting healthy food straight to your door, read our guide to the top meal delivery services for seniors.
HelloFresh Pros and Cons
Pros
- Flexible pricing: Rather than pay a monthly or annual fee, you pay by the package you order. If you don’t get a package for one week, you don’t pay for it.
- Wide variety of foods: You might assume that meal kits would quickly grow boring, but HelloFresh currently offers over 100 different meals.
- Quick preparation: A majority of HelloFresh meals can be prepared in about 30 minutes, making them ideal for quick dinners.
Cons
- Limited dietary options: HelloFresh does not currently offer keto or vegan options for seniors.
- Pay for shipping: HelloFresh will charge shipping fees after your introductory period.
How HelloFresh Works
Unlike other meal delivery services for seniors, HelloFresh delivers what they call “meal kits.” As the name implies, these meal kits include everything one needs to create a meal. For example, if you select chicken parmesan as a meal choice, your kit will include all of the pre-measured ingredients you need to prep this meal, including chicken breasts, bread crumbs, sauces, pasta, and even spices.
The benefit of this service is that it allows you to enjoy the act of cooking without having to plan a recipe and look for all of the correct items at the grocery store. Additionally, since HelloFresh pre-measures all of the ingredients, you won’t have to worry about unused ingredients that end up going to waste.
To sign up for HelloFresh, you can start by visiting their website. There, you'll be able to choose from their six available plans:
- meat & veggies
- veggie only
- family-friendly
- quick & easy
- fit & friendly
- pescatarian
After entering your financial and shipping information, you’ll pick your first week of meals and wait for delivery. Deliveries come in recyclable packages and include dry ice packs to keep perishables cool in case you aren’t home.
HelloFresh Costs
Prices for HelloFresh vary depending on the amount of food you buy, as well as the number of people you’re buying for. The least amount of food you can order is two recipes per week for two people, a total of four servings at $29.95.
Unless you increase your meals or people served, this will be your weekly bill until you pause or cancel. Their most popular option, six servings a week, comes to $39.95. This amounts to about $6.66 per meal, far cheaper than the average restaurant.
You will, however, have to factor in shipping costs, which will vary both by location and the amount of food you order. HelloFresh often initially offers free shipping, but this tends to expire after the first couple of weeks.
HelloFresh Senior Plan
HelloFresh is currently running a promotion for seniors that offers 22 free meals, three surprise gifts, and free shipping. In our case, this resulted in a total discount of $42.40 for our first week.
Normally, the plan we selected (the veggie plan of four meals for two people) would have cost $78.32; however, with the senior discount applied, it only cost $35.92. We also didn’t have to pay for shipping.
Our Experience With HelloFresh
We loved trying HelloFresh’s weekly meal boxes. We tried the brown sugar bourbon pork meatloaves, one-pan cheesy beef tortilla melts, and “hall of fame” firecracker meatballs.
Picking our food was easy, and delivery arrived in a couple of days, at a reasonable hour. Each meal kit came with store-quality fresh ingredients and was easy to make using the measured ingredients. The recipe cards were printed well and easy to read, and while not every meal made the 20-minute promise, none took more than half an hour to prepare. We liked the meatballs in particular.
HelloFresh vs. Blue Apron
HelloFresh and Blue Apron are two of the most popular meal kit delivery services. Both services deliver pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to your door, making it easy to cook delicious meals at home without the hassle of driving to the grocery store. However, there are some key differences between the two services.
HelloFresh is known for its variety of meal options, including family-friendly meals, vegetarian meals, and gluten-free meals. HelloFresh also offers a wider variety of cuisines than Blue Apron, including Italian, Mexican, and Asian. HelloFresh is a good choice for people who are looking for a variety of meal options and who want to take advantage of the company’s special discount for seniors.
Blue Apron is known for its high-quality ingredients and its focus on sustainability. Blue Apron sources its ingredients from local farmers and ranchers, and it uses recyclable packaging. Blue Apron is a good choice for people who are looking for high-quality ingredients and who are concerned about the environment.
Bottom Line
HelloFresh is the most popular meal kit service in the country for a reason: Its recipes taste good and are easy to make. Throw in the cancellation policy and deals for seniors, and there are few downsides.
However, there are only so many meals, and it is not the cheapest service out there. Other services, such as EveryPlate and Dinnerly, offer meals as low as $5 per serving, but cheaper services may mean fewer options. If you only cook a few days of the week, or want to expand your repertoire, HelloFresh is more than worth the try!
To learn more about our favorite meal delivery services, read our review of Silver Cuisine.