It’s such a pain to live on a student budget. Much of the money goes on crucial stuff like rent and textbooks. Any extra money make goes to enjoying a few fun nights with friends — because you only go to uni once, right?
Most of those hard-earned dollars went to anything other than food, so I settled for two-minute noodles, cheap pizza and toasted sandwiches. But I was absolutely sick of the same unhealthy meals day after day. I miss my mum's cooking!
I was chatting with my roommates, and we all felt the same way. We tried pooling our grocery budget and hung a rotating cooking schedule in the kitchen. We quickly ditched it because none of us could cook or find the time to learn how to cook what with our grueling class loads and assignments. Plus, don’t forget the time wasted shopping and then lugging those heavy bags back to our apartment.
Stuck without an alternative, we returned to greasy, caloric, and uninspiring food. But then I noticed a HelloFreshbox outside of a friend's place down the hall. It was such a lightbulb moment. We could share a meal kit!
A meal kit would be the perfect solution to our food problem and HelloFresh is the leading meal kit delivery service on the market. It will send us step-by-step recipes and all the fresh pre-portioned ingredients we need right to our dorm. No more grocery shopping? Fantastic!
We quickly signed up. They had a range of plans but the Quick & Easy Plan for 4 people 5 times a week seems like the best option for us. There’d be enough HelloFresh food for everyone during the week, just what we need after a long day of classes.
The box arrived, each recipe was packed separately and clearly labeled, and the produce looked super fresh. We couldn’t wait to get cooking. My roommate Jenny took the first cooking rotation.
The HelloFresh menu features 33+ recipesthat change every week with a variety of international cuisines — so we’ll never get bored. There’s always something new to create, taste and explore.
Jenny chose the Quick Caribbean-Spiced Chicken Tacos with Charred Pineapple Slaw & BBQ Mayo. Firstly, this meal was completely cooked and on the table in 20 minutes — quicker than ordering our usual Hawaiian pizza. Overall, the meal was delicious and had just the right level of spice for all of us. It’s precisely what we need to fuel up for a night of studying.
We actually shared a delicious, home-cooked meal. And Jenny — not a chef by any means — was dancing around the kitchen to Taylor Swift! The recipes are easy to follow, Jenny simply followed their detailed recipe cards with images.
Since HelloFresh meals come with pre-portioned ingredients, we no longer have to shop or search for ingredients like KecapManis, Bulgur Wheat and Zhoug Paste — where do we even find them? The feeling was unreal — we wanted more.
Over the next few days, Mira and I took our turn putting together yummy dinners like Spiced Chicken & Potato Fries with Ranch Parmesan Salad and the Easy Creamy Lemon Prawn Orecchiette with Silverbeet & Apple Salad is heavenly. I swear we’re never eating two-minute noodlesor grilled cheese again.
HelloFresh has saved us. With meals starting at only $5.00 per serving after a discount, it’s sooo affordable. We simply split the cost, and save-save-save. And since their flexible subscription allows us to pause, skip a week or cancel anytime, we don’t have to stress about being billed while we’re off visiting home or travelling over summer.
Looking for an excellent way to eat healthier while on a tight budget, like most university students? HelloFresh is for you. Check them out and thank me later!
