I am all for meal prepping but for the last week of March, I decided to include dinner meal kits from Hello Fresh and skip grocery shopping. For our first box we opted for 3 meals for a family of 2.

The reasons why I decided to try the meal kits are:

• I didn’t have energy to think or look for dinner ideas.
• I wanted an opportunity to bond with my husband through cooking.
• My first box was so cheap 🙂 it was too hard to pass on.
• Some of these meals I could never think of making.
• The kits include cooking instructions from start to finish.

Dinner #1: Spanish Chorizo Burger

The burger meal was our first meal and we thought we did great except for almost burning the sweet potatoes but they were totally edible. The menu stated that this would take 30 minutes, but it took us about 45 minutes which we did not mind at all. There were only 6 cooking instructions which is immensely helpful and easy on the eyes in case you dislike spending too much time in the kitchen or struggle with cooking as a whole. I can’t lie, I was worried about the portions; the moment I saw the package I thought to myself; “thank you Lord for the leftovers in our fridge”. To my surprise we had more than enough. The items that stood out to me were the feta aioli and the salad. Overall, we gave this meal a rating of 8/10. The reason for my rating is that I thought the burger would be really spicy, but it wasn’t at all (maybe its because I threw away the jalapeno seeds).

Dinner #2: Baja Barramundi

Our second meal was pretty straight forward. It was easy to make as well but it took longer time to make than the stated 45 minutes. I also appreciated the few cooking instructions; I am starting to wonder if the list of instructions for all menus is always this short. I had the same worry about this meal kit portions being smaller than usual for us but somehow it all worked out. The incorporation of salsa in this meal was a highlight. From my personal bias, anything with lime is so refreshing. This is one of those recipes that I would use again with my own ingredients of course. Overall, we gave this meal a rating of 9/10. I love burgers but I would definitely eat this over dinner #1.

Dinner #3: Lebanese Beef & Feta Meatballs with Zucchini, Tabbouleh & Hummus Drizzle

Our last meal in the first box! This meal had 30 minutes cooking time and it took us longer as well for obvious reasons; we took our sweet time with the cooking. I just don’t like rushing or being rushed. Now that I have made all the meals, I am convinced that they all have 6 cooking instructions because this one had 6 as well. The portions were perfect for us. This meal kit came with 2 zucchinis which I thought was a lot after cutting them up. I wish they added more couscous in place of the second zucchini. When cooking the zucchini, I added more spices, I thought just salt and pepper was too plain and bland. I wanted to add more bold flavours to make the meal more appetizing. The items that stood out to me were the feta meatballs and the hummus drizzle. Overall, we gave this meal a rating of 9/10. This is also one of those meals that will be recreating on my own; I loved it.

I really enjoyed these meals, and it was a fun way of mixing things up in my kitchen. I would encourage you to try something different with your food by including meal kits. If you have tried them or a different brand; what do you think? I would love to hear from you 🙂