Don’t you love it when family or friends come to dinner and bring the food?  I was excited—but surprised—when my daughter and son-in-law showed up at my condo with a small box in hand.  “Where’s dinner?” I asked.  “This is it,” she said holding up a box that read: Chicken Yakitori.

As it turned out, they had been given a “meal subscription” for several entrees from Hello Fresh, an outfit that assembles all the ingredients you need for making a fresh, nutritious home-cooked meal.   Hmm . . .  I wasn’t sure.

But Robin is a better, more adventuresome cook than I am, so I knew this new fangled cooking method had to be worthy to catch her eye.

I readied my camera to photograph each step of this colossal advancement in food preparation.

 

It started with opening the well-packaged ingredients, all pre-measured, including just the needed amount of onion, green beans, fresh noodles, chicken, and spices.  The recipe was easy to read and with a little chopping and assembly, Robin had a delicious meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

I was impressed.   I followed up by checking out the website.  The meal offerings for the second week in February looked appealing: Chicken Paillard with mustard potato and green bean salad;  Caramelized Onion Burgers with garlic aioli and crispy cauliflower; and Spiced Salmon with blood orange-arugula salad, couscous, and lemon-shallot vinaigrette.

You don’t even have to be home to receive your selections from Hello Fresh.  Meals are shipped in an insulated Styrofoam cooler box, along with ice packs to keep food refrigerated (but not frozen).

So what’s the cost for a home-delivered meal in a kit?  Three meals for 2 to 4 people runs about $79.  Vegetarian boxes are less and the introductory offer gives an initial discount.  So you’re paying about what it would cost to eat at a moderately-priced restaurant.

Check it out.  It’s a treat you might want to give yourself or someone with a busy schedule, though it’s a bit pricey for a family.