It always sounded like an interesting thing to try, but I wasn't expecting much by way of quality - for some reason, I had a picture in my mind of a frozen dinner, not fancy plated meals.

If you listen to podcasts at all, odds are you've heard an advertisement for the meal kit delivery service. Of all the dinner boxes out there, HelloFresh was the one I'd heard of most often. Read more: Sunbasket review: Healthy and creative meal kits with fresh market add-ons Here's what it was like playing chef with two of the most popular DIY meal delivery services. Most of the services on the market send you the ingredients to cook a full meal (or several), along with a step-by-step recipe. They've seen an even bigger boom in the past year, aided undoubtedly by quarantine, which has seen more of us cooking at home more often and looking for fun and easy ways to make dinner happen. Meal kit delivery services like these have grown in popularity over the last few years, in part because of the variety and choices on offer from services like Blue Apron and HelloFresh. When I was told my assignment was to pit Blue Apron against HelloFresh by testing both meal kit services, which I still suspect may have been a cruel joke among my editors, I can't say I didn't start sweating. Stressed when he wants me to cook with him? Also yes.

He loves cooking, watching cooking shows, learning how different foods are made and making literally everything from scratch. Meanwhile, my husband is an excellent cook.

I can make food to survive - can I get a yeehaw from Team Ramen? - but I'm no chef. Two of the most popular meal kit outfits are Blue Apron, the original meal kit service, and HelloFresh, which markets itself as slightly more approachable, affordable and good for families and beginner chefs.Īnyone who knows me knows I hate cooking (and grocery shopping). Too many? Perhaps, but all the competition keeps any one company from resting on its laurels. You have a whole lot of choices when it comes to meal kits.

Blue apron cookbook review