It's been years since I've written one of these "tidbits" though I used to write them pretty regularly back in 2010 (!). It's something I'd like to resurrect, since there are lots of random things that I often would like to share on the blog, but they don't warrant an entire post.
Here's the original blurb.
Tiny Urban Tidbits is where I share with you some insights, "tidbits", or just random encounters from the week. I carry my camera with me everywhere I go, and I love capturing photos of interesting things that I discover. These may include new dishes from a restaurant that I've already reviewed, updates on what's going on locally, or encounters I've had in the kitchen. It could even include a beautiful sunset, a funny sign, or just stuff I find amusing. Think of it as snapshots (literally!) of my weekly experiences with food - intertwined with stories, of course.
Ha ha, I guess I've since then created {SNAPSHOTS} to discuss new dishes from a restaurant I've already written up. Nevertheless, I think there's still a reason to resurrect Tidbits. I'll probably use them to share non food related photos (like from my various travels), product reviews, food-related events happening in Boston, and just whatever else I might want to share with you.
Weekly Ingredients + Recipe Delivery?
About a month ago an interesting company called Hello Fresh contacted me about the possibility of trying out their product. Hello Fresh designs easy-to-create dinners (with the help of a chef from a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York) that you can make in 30 minutes or less at home. They ship you virtually all the ingredients, pre-measured out, so cooking is pretty brainless.
It was an intriguing idea to me.
I'm not a natural planner by any stretch of the imagination (I'm Meyers-Briggs ENFP), and therefore the following situation is not unusual in our household.
Bryan: What are we having for dinner?
Jen: Ummm . . I dunno.
Bryan: what do we have at home?
Jen: Ummm . . . some veggies from the farm share. And a bit of leftovers.
Bryan: what about meat? And carbs? And the leftovers aren't enough for an entire meal.
Jen: Ummmm . . . I dunno.
Bryan: OK, let's go out then.
All of a sudden we're scrounging for last minute reservations. Typically at this point the good restaurants are all booked, and we're stuck eating somewhere ordinary.
We spend more money, but we don't necessarily eat healthy or delicious.
Turkey Taco Salad
So I agreed to try out a week's regular box with Hello Fresh. They have either a vegetarian box or a "classic" box. The box serves 3 meals a week, and you can order it for two people ($69 classic/ $59 vegetarian) or four people ($129 classic/$109 vegetarian). They deliver it in an insulated box right to your home, so you don't need to head out to buy groceries.
You get these color recipe cards which describe exactly how to make the dish, complete with a few step-by-step photos, which I found to be pretty helpful. Although the contents are measured out and pre-packaged, you still need to do some chopping, which for me usually took about 10-15 minutes.
I found that the recipes typically took me about 30 minutes to prepare. I'm a reasonable experienced cook and I work pretty fast. Nevertheless, it was hard to shave the time down much below the suggested time (granted I was taking photos, so maybe that slowed me down just a tad).
All the ingredients were fresh, as promised, and everything was neatly packaged up, making storage and prep a breeze.
Tilapia Fish Tacos
I found all of the dishes to be reasonably tasty and definitely healthy. I was surprised at how flavorful the Mexican salad was, considering it used absolutely no dressing. The salad's ingenious use of lime guacamole chips from Nature Box and sauteed vegetables adds considerable flavor without adding fat. The salad was actually our favorite dish, though Bryan did say he would be sad if he had to eat salad for dinner (we ate it for lunch).
The fish tacos were underwhelming, and I definitely decided I liked my own version a lot better (though they are probably not nearly as healthy).
The steak was fine, and we were pleased that if you follow the cooking instructions to the T, you'll get a lovely almost-rare steak - just the way we like it. We still prefer our own steaks better, but then we typically buy higher quality meat (aka USDA prime), so it's sort of an unfair comparison.
Steak with Broccoli Rabe and Mashed Sweet Potatoes
None of the dishes are groundbreaking in their creativity of flavors. In general, expect pretty simple weeknight dishes that are healthy, balanced, and pretty good. I think it works great for those who are trying to be healthy, want to get dinner on the table fast, and enjoy a bit of prep with fresh produce.
For a food-obsessed person who likes innovative, new flavors, it might get a bit boring.
Overall, I think Hello Fresh is a brilliant idea and I can definitely imagine lots of people who would jump onto this idea. It takes the stress out of daily decisions like what recipes to use each night, how much of each thing to buy, what to do with leftover ingredients, and when to get over to the grocery store to pick it all up. Yes, you give up some creative choice on what you eat for dinner, but at least you know it's healthy, easy to prepare, and will taste pretty good.
Disclaimer
Hello Fresh provided to me a one week classic box for two free of charge. All opinions are my own.
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