Trying Hello Fresh for 2 weeks | February 2021

I had seen a lot about Hello Fresh and the meal boxes that you can receive but had never got around to taking the plunge and trying a box. As part of one of my Glossyboxes there was a leaflet included which had a discount offer to two boxes so thought that this was a good time to try out Hello Fresh and see what it is all about. 

Keep reading for more details around our experience and the meals that we chose as part of the two weeks trial offer. 

As part of your Hello Fresh delivery you will get everything that you need to make the number of meals that you ordered. For our Hello Fresh delivery, our orders were based upon 2 people and we went with 4 meals. These can both be changed depending on the number of people that you need the boxes for and you can choose the number of meals that you want included. 

Once you have signed up for Hello Fresh and have decided upon when you want to have your delivery and the number of meals etc. there is then the option to select your meals. There is a list of meals that you can select based upon the options that you choose (including whether you want family meals, rapid meals etc). You will find that there are some meals which are classed as premium and therefore there is an additional charge as well as the option to add on sides if you want to. 

When you receive you Hello Fresh box, you will find that there are recipe cards for each meal within your box alongside there being a bag for each meal of all the ingredients needed. Your box will also have an ice pack bag for your products that need to be refrigerated. We really liked how there was a bag for every meal all sorted and organised as that makes it easier when making each of the meals. 

Week 1

For Week1 of trying Hello Fresh, we went with the following meals:

• Spiced Pork Ragu
• Beany Beef and Bacon Loaded Sweet Potatoe Wedges
• Middle Eastern-style Beef Stew
• Mexican Style Beef Loaded Wedges

This was the Spiced Pork Ragu and we absolutely loved this recipe, it was really easy to follow and very tasty. Would definitely recommend this meal if it comes up in your selection of choices. 

The Beany Beef and Bacon Loaded Sweet Potatoe Wedges was another meal that we both enjoyed and was quite quick to make. One thing to note especially when you have a number of meals that use the same ingredients (e.g. beef) is to make sure that you check the weight listed on the back of the receipt card and pick the correct one from your products. We got ours mixed up in the recipes from this week but it all worked out in the end. 

Middle Eastern-style Beef Stew recipe was not what we had originally expected when you think o f a stew but this has turned out to be one of our favourites which we have gone on to cook more as part of our weekly meals. 

The Mexican Style Beef Loaded Wedges was similar to one of our other meals this week but there were some differences to how it was made, again this was a really tasty meal that we both enjoyed. This one did take longer to cook than some of the other recipes due to it being baked in the oven but as long as you take the timings detailed in to consideration then it shouldn't be an issue. 

Week 2

For week 2, we chose the following meals from the selection available. 

• Speady Creamy Chorizo & Sweetcorn Pasta
• Green Thai Style Chicken Curry
• Penne Ragu Al Forno
• Thai Style Pork Rice Bowl

The Speady Creamy Chorizo & Sweetcorn Pasta was one of those meals that has become a favourite of ours since making it for the first time as part of this Hello Fresh box. We both really enjoyed it and have made it a number of times since and have also changed some of the ingredients slightly (chorizo for bacon) and it still works really well. 

This was the first time that we have made a Green Thai Chicken Curry and we were both surprised about how nice this meal was quite quick to make as was listed as one of the rapid meals. 

The next meal that we had was Penne Ragu Al Forno and as pasta lovers we really enjoyed this recipe and was quite simple to make. It is always worth noting the time indication for how long it takes to make and cook as similar to one of the recipes above this was a baked pasta dish so took a bit longer to prep. 

The last dish of our box was the Thai Style Pork Rice Bowl and out of all of the meals that we made this was probably our least favourite. Whilst it was still tasty it definitely didn't look like the picture on the meal card so we aren't sure as to whether it was something that we did during cooking or got some of the ingredients incorrect. We would try it again if it appeared in our next selections to see if we do anything different whether it would look more like the pictures on the recipe card. 

We have continued to use Hello Fresh and now get a box once a month as a way of mixing up recipes for dinner. This has been really useful as we have found some really lovely meals that we have since gone on and made again after having them initially in a Hello Fresh box. 

Have you tried Hello Fresh before and what are your favourite recipes of the boxes that you have had?

Glossybox - Sing Dance Love Repeat | February 2021

I haven't done as many posts about the Glossyboxes that I have received since just before Christmas due to everything being really busy in the lead up to the festive season, I will try and catch-up on these as I had a number of special edition boxes that it will be good to share the review on. 

The theme for February 2021 Glossybox is Sing Dance Love Repeat which is perfect given that we have just had valentines day. The link to music with this box is from the love of music at Glossy HQ and I agree there are definitely songs that you can't stop singing so can understand how this has been linked. I really like the theming and the design of the box as makes it a bit different than the usual box that you receive. 

Just like other boxes that I have received, there was the usual 5 products that were contained within the box. The products in this month's box were all full sized products which there being no deluxe mini's this time. With all Glossyboxes, you receive a variation of the box, the box that I received was variation 1. 

Detailed below is a summary of the products that I received as part of February's Sing Dance Love Repeat box:

1. Avant - Velvet Perfecting Rose Sugar Lip Scrub (full size)
2. Nudestix - Gel colour Lip + Cheek Balm (full size)
3. Bubble T Cosmetics - Peach Bellini Hand Cream (full size)
4. Steve Laurant - Total Repair Lip Mask (full size)
5. Glow on 5th - Rose Gua Sha (full size)

All products in this month's box are full sized and in total the box had a retail value of £97.99, which is amazing value considering the month subscription box and the quality of the products received. This is mainly due to the Avant product which is worth £58.00 and the Nudestix lip/cheek balm which is worth £20.00. 

Glow on 5th - Rose Gua Sha

This is a facial massage tool from Glow on 5th which can be used as part of your skincare routine. It is meant to help contour your face and neck to enhance your features. I already have a rose quartz roller that I use as part of my skincare so will definitely be giving this a try and see what benefits it brings. 

Bubble T Cosmetics - Peach Bellini Hand Cream

I don't know about you but with all the cold weather at the moment I am definitely getting through a lot more hand cream so this was great timing that this box included one of these. This is a peach bellini scented hand cream from Bubble T Cosmetics and as soon as I opened the box I had to give it try. It definitely does smell of peaches and made my hands feel moisturised, this is probably due to the ingredients including Aloe Vera extract and Shea Butter. Will enjoy using this hand cream and hopefully it will help my hands feel a lot better in this cold weather. 

Avant - Velvet Perfecting Rose Sugar Lip Scrub

Similar to when I saw that there was hand cream in this month's box, I was really pleased that there was this lip scrub from Avant as I have also been suffering from really dry lips. This lip scrub includes ingredients such as Rose, Peony Sweet Almond and is meant to buff away dead skin-cells to make your lips. I did try it as soon as I saw it in the box and it felt really nice on my lips but I didn't find that it was very exfoliating, this might have been because it was the first time of being used so I will definitely try it again and see if the results are different. 

Nudestix - Gel Colour Lip + Cheek Balm

This is a multipurpose make-up product from Nudestix that can be used as a tinted lip balm and as a natural cream blush. Given that it has just been valentines day I had been wearing a lot of red lip colours so thought that I would give it a go and see what the colour and texture is like. It is definitely very much like a lip balm but I was surprised by the amount of colour that it had but something that I will use again in the future. Not sure if I would use it as a cream blush as there is definitely a lot of colour to it but it may be something that blends out well, worth a try if you are into using cream blushes. 

Steve Laurant - Total Repair Lip Mask

As mentioned above, I am suffering from really dry lips at the moment so when I saw that there were two lip products in this box it was perfect timing. I have had a number of Steve Laurant products in previous Glossyboxes and have really liked them so am looking forward to trying out this lip mask. This lip mask is said to be hydrating and should soothe and revitalise lips, this is definitely something that I need at the moment. 

Hope you have enjoyed this review of February 2021 Glossybox, let me know if you also received this box and what your favourite item is?