I always wanted to become a better cook, but when I had the time, things backfired. I ordered a giant trendy cookbook and attempted fancy recipes that failed to mention at the beginning that they needed 20 pots and pans. That's an exaggeration, but not by much.

A 30-minute recipe could take me an hour if I messed something up, and that's not even counting the clean up. But biting into a new recipe that I've cooked from scratch is so rewarding. I'm just tired of the hassle.

I wanted to do the DIY thing without spending a fortune, making a mess, and wasting hours in the kitchen, but when a friend suggested I try a meal kit, I scoffed.

Throwing a sauce packet in the pan and calling it a day? No thanks. I also didn't want burgers every night; I like sampling global cuisines. And I often make slight edits to a recipe (I like it spicy!).

My friend sent me a picture of her most recent meal with HelloFresh; a gorgeous and colorful plate of reds, yellows, greens, and browns. "Middle Eastern Beef & Carrot Couscous

with Tahini Drizzle & Tomato Salsa," she wrote.

Oh! I was definitely willing to try it if they had offerings like that. It looked delicious, but I could imagine adding a dollop of hummus or labne on the side.

I decided to order a box to see if I liked it, and discovered I could pause, skip, or cancel my subscription at any time, so it wasn't as big of a commitment as I was worried about.

Choosing meals was the hardest part; there are up to 25 every week!

The first meal I chose was a vegetarian dish, Creamy Coconut Dhal & Chilli Flatbread with Greek Yoghurt. I was very nervous about the flatbread, but HelloFresh claimed the entire experience would take 40 minutes (most take around 30), so when I opened it up, I set to work.

Each meal comes in a brown bag, which along with the box is fully recyclable. In it were the individually labelled ingredients, in perfect portions.

I took out the recipe card and gave it a read-through before starting. Seemed pretty simple, even with the flatbread.

In about 40 minutes, I was staring at a plate that looked exactly like the picture, and very, very few pots and pans that needed cleaning. I added a little extra garlic to the meal, because I'm obsessed with garlic, but otherwise followed the simple step-by-step instructions on the recipe card exactly.

When I sat down to eat, I definitely felt like I'd cooked this from scratch, and not just thrown sauce in a pan. And the taste? Absolutely delicious! The kitchen was already filled with the most amazing aroma, but the flavours simply wowed me.

I'm sticking with HelloFresh! It's such a simple and easy process. I don't have to worry about forgetting an ingredient, making a huge mess, or it taking forever. Everything is laid out right there for me, and I can always add my own twist if I want.

I've never had so much fun cooking new recipes!

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