Trying to stay healthy all year round can be very hard. It’s even more intense during the Holiday season. We’ve all been there. It starts in November with Thanksgiving and after New Years, we find ourselves regretting our poor decisions about food and alcohol in January. Trust me, I do this every year. Hello Fresh really has helped me stay on track. I’ve used this service for over a year now. I’ve even given it as a gift to new moms. It’s amazing and that’s why I decided to write a Hello Fresh review.
Today, I’m sharing my top 3 favorite dishes, plus some other food related tips to live a healthier life and to be healthier at home.
Tips for eating healthier at home:
We cook 90% of our meals at home. We’ve been using Hello Fresh for a long time now, but not for all of our meals. We usually just make dinner with this service (sometimes lunch too). Both of us are passionate about living a healthy lifestyle, so I feel pretty confident on giving you advice about this type of stuff. Here are some things you can do to eat healthier at home:
- Limit cooking with oils and butters. Unless is a special meal, try to limit the use of these because they have a lot of calories!
- Use the oven, crockpot or air frier more often.
- Always include vegetables! I’m terrible with salads, but I always add a ton of veggies to all of our meals, plus I bake some in the oven to eat on the side.
- Measure or weight your carbs and protein for a week. This will give you an idea of what is an adequate portion depending on your desired calorie intake.
- Skip alcohol on week nights. We used to drink a glass of wine with dinner fairly often and I have lost a few pounds just by eliminating this habit.
- Don’t just have a bunch of junk food around. This one is a no brainer, but a lot of people over estimate their will power. If I have a pint of ice cream in the freezer is because I’m going to eat it, so I only buy it like once a month. That’s it!
- Plan ahead and meal prep! Always try to have some shredded chicken or ground beef/turkey in hand. You can use these for tacos (yes, tacos are healthy!), wraps and salads.
And I know this one is obvious… but eat at home LOL. Cook your meals yourself! If you don’t have time to plan and cook, that’s when a service like Hello Fresh comes in!
An honest Hello Fresh Review after being a customer for over one year.
We rely heavily on Hello Fresh most weeks, but even more during the Holidays. This time of the year we are both busier, which makes it more difficult to go grocery shopping and doing meal prep. The only meal I’ve been making in advance these days is breakfast (I make this banana waffle recipe in bulks!). That’s when services like HelloFresh come in super handy! (You can try it and get $70 off your first month – that’s 7 meals! – Just use this link)
Their recipes are so delicious and easy to make, you don’t have to shop for anything and all the quantities are already measured for you. All you have to do is cook it and it really does saves you a ton of time! I’m an advocate for eating at home and that’s exactly their vision; they are passionate about everyone being able to cook great food for themselves and their friends & family.
How does Hello Fresh work:
All you need to do is to open an account online and select how many meals you want to receive a week and for how many people. I think based on your location they have a few set delivery days for you to choose from and every week on the same day (and usually at around the same time) you receive all the ingredients you’ll need to cook your meal. Keep in mind they won’t send salt, pepper, water or a basic cooking oil like olive oil.
You can select your own meals in advance for like a month. They constantly change their menu too. There are a lot of options based on your preference (prep time, calories, low carb, etc).
(You can try it and get $70 off your first month – that’s 7 meals! – Just use this link)
Negative aspects – I have to mention these as part of my honest Hello Fresh Review:
- I don’t think they include enough protein (G does eat a lot LOL). We always have to use additional protein, which is ok because it doesn’t really have a huge impact in the recipe.
- I sometimes feel bad because of the amount of plastic they use. I know they try hard, but when you have so many ingredients in little packages, you are going to have more waste.
- Any recipe that comes with chicken strips, skip it. I’ve tried a couple and I do not like the quality of that cut of chicken specifically.
All in all, I obviously think it’s worth it because we’ve been customers for so long. But still, I had to mention the couple of things that bother me.
My top 3 Hello Fresh recipes:
1- Tilapia with Scallion Sriracha Pesto:
Super easy and so yummy! The Scallion Pesto is out of this world! I would have never thought on putting those ingredients together! We now make this recipe on our own all the time!
Prep time: 10 minutes – Total time: 30 minutes
2- Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops:
This dish is such a perfect dinner for Fall/Winter! I’ve never been able to cook pork chops like this, or when they do, they taste plain, but the cherry balsamic sauce is so delicious. This is another recipe you can make on your own too! (I mean like using your own ingredients, so you can try other ones from them instead)
Prep time: 10 minutes – Total time: 30 minutes
3- Lemon Chive Chicken:
This was G’s favorite because for some reason we never eat mashed potatoes and it felt like a treat. And just FYI, their mashed potato recipe is the best I’ve had in my life! They suggest an ingredient (that I won’t share!) that I never thought to use and it really makes them so delicious and moist. Also the chicken… I always overcook chicken and by following the instructions I was able to cook it to perfection! I’m proud :)
Prep time: 15 minutes – Total time: 45 minutes
See why we love Hello Fresh? They make it super easy for us to eat healthy meals at home and save us a lot of time during this particularly busy time of the year, so I suggest you to check them out!
Other all time Favorite Hello Fresh recipes:
We’ve had some of these on repeat, but I’ve never taken photos of them, so you just have to take my word for it.
- Chicken Shawarma Bowls with Couscous, Israeli Salad & Garlicky White Sauce.
- Saucy Ginger Meatballs with Bulgogi Sauce, Roasted Carrots & Sriracha Crema.
- Steak with Mushroom Cream Sauce plus Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
- Saucy Pork & Cabbage Stir-Fry with Cilantro & Crispy Fried Onions
Ok, I’ll just stop here, because honestly, since I’m the one picking the recipes every week, I always choose things that sound good to us. They nail it 99% of the time. (The only time I didn’t like it was when they used the chicken strips mentioned above. They really weren’t great).
How to skip a week on Hello Fresh?
You can always skip a week or two if you are traveling, which I think is super convenient. It’s so simple. Go to:
My menu – click on the date you want to skip – Select edit delivery and then click on Skip this week.
How to cancel Hello Fresh?
On the top right after you log in, click on your name. Click on account settings. Scroll down all the way where it says ‘status’ and click on cancel plan.
Well, I think that’s all I have about Hello Fresh for you today. Did you like my honest Hello Fresh review? Any other services you would like me to review? Let me know in the comments :) And as promised… Here are other tips to be healthier in general:
Tips when eating out: (especially during Holidays)
I know this time of the year is more common to eat out and of course, that usually means drinks! Please keep in mind that these tips are for people who eat outside multiple times a week and are trying to be good. If you only go out once, then by all means, please enjoy yourself!! Here’s what I try to do:
- Order drinks with less calories. My go-to is Prosecco. If you can skip the drinks even better, or you can drink slowly and alternate with water. This will keep you hydrated. Try to avoid cocktails! Those usually have a lot of sugar.
- Check out the restaurant menu beforehand. This sounds silly, but it works!! It’s better to be tempted with that mac & cheese at home and have time to think about it, than to wait until you are in the restaurant when you are hungry and can’t help yourself, and end up ordering carbs only! Sometimes I have to prepare mentally to just have a salad for dinner, so knowing the menu in advance really helps.
- Always make sure to order something with protein. This will help you feel satisfied faster and for longer time, which means that you might be strong enough to skip dessert (or just have one bite!).
- If you order a salad, ask for the dressing on the side. Dressings usually have a lot of calories and by ordering it on the side, you can control the amount you’ll eat. A good trick is to dip the fork in the dressing and then in the salad. It will taste the same without the extra calories.
- Have a snack before you leave. Let’s face it; it’s easier to make better decisions if you are not hungry! If I’m going out and I’m trying to be good that day I usually have some nuts and a protein shake. It never fails!
Final thoughts:
It’s so easy to loose perspective of our health goals (especially during the Holidays) and it’s so hard to get back on track. I did things differently last year and it worked but I never really posted about it, so this year I simply wanted to share my tips on how to be good with food during the Holidays and in life in general. If you apply these tips to your life in general, you will see changes over time. The best part is that your results will be permanent because it’s a lifestyle. And that’s all it matters.
How about you guys? How do you stay good with food during the Holidays? Feel free to share any tips in the comments below! Did you like this hello fresh review?
Remember you can try HelloFresh and get $70 off your first month (about 7 FREE meals!) clicking directly here. Thanks so much for stopping by and happy almost Thanksgiving!!
XO,
Aimara
Liked this honest Hello Fresh Review? Please pin it!
Other review posts that I think you make like:
- On the hunt for leggings – Read this Spanx Leggings Review first!
More healthy recipes? Check out these next:
- Detailed Revive Superfoods Review – Pros, cons and 50% discount
- The easiest and most delicious healthy French toast recipe using cinnamon bread
We cannot live without Hello Fresh!! Thanks for the tips when going out, I always struggle with that!!
Happy Thanksgiving :)