Eating healthy and delicious is a priority nowadays and always. However, this endeavor can be tedious and challenging, especially as everyone has a busy lifestyle. Enter meal-in-a-box services offered by food box subscription companies, and here arrives a splendid solution. In what way, you might ask.
It’s the meal kit provider services wherein they deliver just enough ingredients to your doorstep, along with their fast and easy-to-follow recipes. You’ll be able to cook these fixings in a jiffy, and without any hassles.
Many people love to cook, yes, but the hustle and bustle of their daily lives make them skip or forget to restock their fridges with groceries. This is when meal preparation at home becomes tricky.
Addressing this issue comes in the form of recipe boxes that make food prep at home convenient and delicious. These also prevent food waste.
This review elucidates the services and features of HelloFresh and Gousto, two of the premier food subscription box companies in the UK. It aims to gloss over why HelloFresh is a better choice. Read on to find out.
The Meal Kit Box- What’s In It: Hello Fresh vs Gousto
A HelloFresh meal kit contains fresh and mostly organic produce that is of the best quality. They are packed in just the right amounts for cooking, depending on how many servings you order. Every kit comes with easy-to-follow recipes to prepare them. All the needed ingredients, including the spices and the other chilled elements, are enclosed in ice packs wrapped in the wool lining.
Selections from both HelloFresh and Gousto come in various options for the number of meals and portions to subscribe to.
With HelloFresh, you can choose to order between 2 to 5 meals weekly for 2 to 4 people.
Whereas for Gousto, you can purchase 2 to 4 meals for 2 to 4 people as well. Although the differences are slight, there are better selections from HelloFresh.
Recipes In A Box: What Are Their Individual Selections?
Just how diverse and interesting are your recipe selections from HelloFresh? And Gousto? You can gauge from the information below:
HelloFresh: Choose From 3 Box Types
There are 3 types of recipe boxes that you can buy from Hello Fresh, and they are:
- Classic Box: Pick meal kits for 2 adults and opt for 3, 4, or 5 meals every week, or 3 to 4 adults with a fixed 3 meals per week. You have a wide variety of meat and vegetable recipes for this box, with at least 3 vegetarian recipes.
- Family Box: Opt for meals that are good for 2 adults and 2 small children, equating to 3 people, or for 2 adults and 2 bigger children (equals to 4 people). You can order 3 to 4 meals per week with this box. There are 6 quick and easy recipes to choose from each week, and they are particularly designed for families. Non-family recipes are also available. If you are a couple or a solo parent with a child, you can enjoy intimate meal times with the 2-person Family box.
- Rapid Box: This box has the same features as the Classic Box, but you can take your pick among 4 rapid recipes together with 14 other recipes from the Classic selection. If you lead quite a busy life, you can go for this box that contains rapid recipes you can cook for 20 minutes tops.
Gousto Meal Kits: Over 20 Selections Per Week
As the heading says, you can choose from approximately 20 recipes per week for your Gousto meal kit delivery service. Choose from different categories, such as:
- Vegetarian
- Meat (fish, chicken, pork or beef)
- Other meat (duck or lamb)
- Plant-based
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
Although both HelloFresh and Gousto food boxes offer premium selections, HelloFresh has an extensive repertoire. The recipes they offer are diverse, and the recipes they provide are interesting. They’re sure to whet your appetite, making delectable and healthy cooking livelier. The boxes they deliver can cater to your meal-cooking style and preferences.
COMPARE OTHER BRANDS
Quality Control: Ensuring Premium Services and Products
Being excellent companies, both HelloFresh and Gousto take extra care in terms of quality control. They see to it that their products are high quality. The fresh, crisp vegetables that they deliver are sourced locally and organic as much as possible.
Meat and dairy products provided by these two companies are packed and delivered in insulated bags containing ice packs. This guarantees that the ingredients remain fresh and cold.
Ice packs that go with the ingredients stay solid for hours. This way, your meal kits don’t get spoiled even when they are delivered in the morning. The heat of the summer months does not get in the way of this superb feature.
Budget-Friendly Meal Kits: Which Is More Economical?
As of this writing, the price of food box subscriptions from HelloFresh and Gousto cannot be ascertained, but they have slight differences.
HelloFresh rates may be higher by a pound or two compared to Gousto, but you’re likely to be getting an extra portion from each HelloFresh recipe, and this, in turn, gives more value for your money.
Sustainability and Food Waste Reduction
Most people complain of the environmental impact of food box subscription services, mainly because of their extra packaging. Keeping the contents fresh does entail several boxes, along with the wrappings of individual spices. Another aspect to consider is food waste.
In reality, though, meal kit delivery service companies are ardent advocates of food waste reduction. Considering that they provide only the right amount of portions and ingredients in every box, your household is left with minimal skins and peelings after preparing and eating your meals.
Unlike grocery shopping, you don’t leave your fridge with soggy or wilted strawberries and lettuce next week. Leftovers are not a problem either, because what you cook is all that you get from your meal kits. Nonetheless, your gastronomic and nutritional needs are well-satiated.
Final Thoughts
Taking everything into account, both HelloFresh and Gousto food box subscription companies are well-acclaimed, but this review favours HelloFresh to be exemplary in terms of services, products, and value.