You would assume that preparing delicious, home-cooked dishes for yourself or your household is as straightforward as it sounds, though as we all know, it isn't. On top of everything else you need to do every day – like go to the office and perform your work, take the kids to and from school, and assist with schoolwork - something as easy as preparing a good diet can seem impossible.

It also needs to taste good, in addition to being nutritious. It shouldn't be stressful to prepare a meal every day, yet it is. In our search for a better solution, we bought and tried the two most popular meal subscription services in the UK: Gousto and Hello Fresh.

Both the companies offer healthy food kits that contain all of the materials you'll need to prepare a different recipe per week—getting rid of the hassle of grocery purchasing and supper preparation.

Both take a variety of food considerations into account, so whether you're vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free, any of these meal box kits can help.

What distinguishes them from the rest? Meal planning and grocery shopping lists involve no effort. It's everything there and ready to go.

That implies no wastage, which is beneficial to both the ecology and the budget. 

What is Gousto?

Gousto is a food-delivery service located in the United Kingdom that delivers pre-measured foods with instruction notes to your doorstep weekly.

Each week, they add over 50 new recipes to their website or app, which you can try. Plant-based, lactose-free, gluten-free, and lean in 15 meals are among the dietary preferences represented in their dishes. You can use different meal kits and mix and match recipes and food substitutes from different groupings if you prefer diversity. 

What is Hello Fresh UK?

Hello Fresh UK sends you an enclosed package with pre-portioned materials for your preferred meals every week.

You begin by choosing a menu from Hello Fresh's four alternatives: meat and vegetables, vegan, family dinners, or quick cook recipes. On any given week, there are 20-30 recipes to pick from.

Differences between Gousto and Hello Fresh

Gousto is a meal-preparation program that includes recipe cards and pre-portioned meals. They use renowned cooks to create a variety of healthy meals to suit a variety of diets, including over 50 new recipes added each week. 

State the origin of Gousto

Timo Boldt, the creator of Gousto, is a German native who traveled to London in his early twenties to pursue a career in business. He realized how difficult it was to cook healthy, non-pre-packaged meals throughout this period as he never had time to go to the shop. Boldt then put his money into Gousto, a firm situated in the United Kingdom that employs over 1200 people. 

The Advantages of Gousto Meal Kits

1. Ensure that your diet is diverse:

One of their primary objectives is to offer a range of food options, which they excel in doing. Delicious food, 10-minute meal times, plant-based and dairy-free alternatives, and many more are among their menu types. Each week, 50 recipes from their nutritional plans are available to pick.

1. They offer proper labels along the top of their recipe selections, so you may pick your favorite strategy or blend and combine.

1. Sustainability:

Furthermore, Gousto places a strong emphasis on sustainability. There is no food waste because the meals are pre-portioned. On the website of Gousto, they also provide suggestions for how to repurpose leftover products and meals. The meal is presented in environmentally friendly cold boxes made of recycled paper. By 2022, they want all of their packaging to be reused, biodegradable, or composted.

Quality Ingredients: Gousto is likewise concerned with supplying high-quality ingredients. All of the meat is from the United Kingdom. It shortens the supply chain and ensures the meat remains fresh before it arrives at your table. Their seafood items like fish, crabs, and prawns are sourced ethically. All farms go through a verification procedure to verify that they fulfill their quality criteria and sustainability criteria. You can rest assured, and no need to worry as the fruits and vegetables you've chosen are of the highest quality.

1. Preparing Nutritious Meals

Gousto has also linked up with Joe Wicks, a well-known fitness coach, to deliver healthy meals (The Body Coach). Gousto and Joe Wicks collaborated and created the "Lean in 15 lines". There is a list of quick and healthy meals that may be prepared in less than fifteen min. Gousto is incredibly useful for people who want to adopt a healthy diet into their daily routine.

1. Gousto offers 10-minute dishes that can be made and served in under 8 minutes, as well as their Lean In 15 range. All meals have been designed to save you time - these recipes' cooking is completed within an hour, but most allow for less than 30 minutes of preparation time! You'll find out how long each recipe takes when previewing it before choosing your dish; this helps decide what type of meal will work best depending on future nights available due date at home/office etcetera

1. Independent Ratings for Gousto:

On Trustpilot, Gousto has gotten many positive reviews and has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars from 14,474 votes. 

Advantages:

1. Each week, an extensive range of meals is served.
2. There is a good selection of vegetarian and plant-based dishes.
3. Team of helpful customer support representatives.
4. The reviewers had a lot of fun learning how to make new foods.

The plastic packaging that sauces and seasonings came in was the most common evaluation complaint. Plastic plates or cups can't be avoided because they're single-use. 

What is the Process of Gousto?

Gousto offers a 20% discount on your first box when joining their service. (With our promotion, you can save 30% - an additional 10% – Gousto30pct)

With 2-4 meals per week, over 50 recipes to choose from. Select your dietary preference (plant-based or gluten-free), and all foods that meet those criteria will show up on the screen below it!

You can even change what day you'd like delivered by going into account settings after choosing a date in advance if needed - no need for last-minute decisions here either because now they're done automatically, just like everything else with this service. 

1. All Recipes (57 recipes)
2. Plant-Based (8 recipes)
3. Lean in 15 (4 recipes)
4. Vegetarian (18 recipes)
5. Vegan (17 recipes)
6. Dairy-Free (15 recipes)
7. 10-Minute Meals (6 recipes)
8. Oven Ready (5 recipes)
9. Everyday Favorites (10 recipes)
10. Junk-free choices (20 recipes)
11. Prepped in 5 (4 recipes)

In just a few steps, you can have your favorite meals delivered to the door. You'll be able to choose from dozens of different options, including beef or seafood dishes - no Matter what time it is! The meal will arrive when it's most convenient for YOU (8 am-7 pm on the delivery date!). By signing into their platform with one's login credentials, one has access to all their food plans at any given moment; this allows you the flexibility in how often you order per day/week, which will save you money.

Is Gousto a Good Investment?

Gousto is well worth the money. It has a substantial percentage of solutions that appeal to various dietary needs, notably veggie, gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free or lactose-free diets.

They also emphasize quick and healthful foods (with their Lean in 15 menus) and items with minimal prep time or that can be baked.

Due to the packing process, Gousto's meals may contain microscopic levels of some allergens such as eggs, fish, and soya. As a result, they may not be acceptable for people with severe sensitivities.

Dishes for Gousto:

What Is the Quality of Their Food?

There are two recipes in all.

Two persons per meal are the number of servings.

Greek chickpea stew with feta and baby greens (recipe 1)

Chicken with white tarragon and mustard lentils (recipe 2) 

Both meals were easy to prepare and delicious, and the entire family appreciated them. My Gousto delivery came in an insulated box, an airtight box with recyclable ice packets to keep the food chilled. Lesser things were labeled to match their recipe cards, making it easy to divide the ingredients for the two recipes. It is how they appeared. 

1. Greek chickpea stew with feta and baby kale: The Greek chickpea stew was a one-pan dinner that took around 15 minutes to prepare. It was as simple as putting the pre-portioned food ingredients in the pan and heating the stew. All was ready after I threw the ciabatta into the oven. At the table, we topped the stew with feta cheese and herbs. This easy supper was a hit with my kids, and I appreciated how healthy and quick it was to make.
2. Creamy tarragon and mustard lentil chicken: Another hit was the creamy chicken tarragon. I sauteed the chicken in a non-stick pan and added the Dijon and garlic paste, cream cheese sauce, and garnished with tarragon. This meal, also a one-pan meal, took less than 15 minutes to prepare.

The dishes in Gousto are more accessible than those in other combo packs, which I enjoyed about them. They're easy to make, flavorful, and healthful, and cleaning is a pleasure. Gousto is also one of the most reasonably priced subscription services available, and their dishes are suitable for families. 

1. Hello Fresh UK:

Hello Fresh UK is an online food delivery service specializing in delivering ready-to-cook meal packages to your doorstep. They don't have as many dietary alternatives as Gousto, but they have individualized menus that include family dinners, meat, and vegetables, vegetarian, and quick prep dishes. You'll have a selection of meals to pick from for each plan. The packages operate on a subscription basis, so you specify how many people (2 or 4) and what type/numbering of dishes per week - 2,3 &4). After that, all materials are sent right where you want them to deliver! At any time during your membership period, if there is anything wrong, you can message them, and if in the future you change your mind, you can end the subscription by notifying them through your account. 

Origin: 

Dominic Ritcher and Thomas Griesel established the company in Berlin, Germany, in 2011. Meal kit delivery programs, which were gaining popularity in Sweden, inspired the concept. With their business acumen, they've built one of the world's most extensive meal delivery services, with revenue of about $2 billion in 2019. 

Advantages:

1. The world's largest meal subscription service: Hello Fresh presently employs over 7000 people worldwide and is the world's largest meal subscription service. HelloFresh is the only company of its kind with a billion in sales. They currently deliver throughout Europe and North America (the most significant selling healthy meal kit subscription company in the US).
2. Importance of cash: The major purpose of Hello Fresh UK is to deliver outstanding value for money. The least expensive lunch costs £3.5 per person. They collaborate with their suppliers to provide high-quality, low-cost ingredients. They also supply new and existing clients with discount coupons regularly.
3. Food that is easy to prepare: Hello Fresh UK offers various meal options that are easy to prepare. In addition, they have "Heat & Eat" alternatives as well! These can also be included in your regular purchase when you don't feel like cooking at night or on weekends if it's more convenient for you!. Meal prepping has never been easier with Hello fresh UK - just choose from their delicious selection and prep each one individually

With their partnership with Charlie Bingham, you'll find healthier options when you crave something tasty but don't feel up enough on cooking.

1. Extras were supplied: They provide add-ons to your membership that you can purchase. You can also order side dishes such as pita bread and vegetables to go with your entrée.

They've also teamed up with GÜ to offer ready-to-eat desserts. They also give cooking equipment an additional option to get the family together to put it in the oven. 

1. Being a long-term business: Hello Fresh UK is the first carbon-neutral meal kit company in history, thanks to its sustainable business practices. They purchase directly from manufacturers to be environmentally conscious and reduce transportation costs by taking out wholesalers/distributors along with merchants who often use more fossil fuels during distribution networks for grocery stores. In addition, Hello Fresh also pledged to offset 100% of direct Co2 emissions, making them one step closer to being completely Green

Ratings: 

On Trustpilot, Hello Fresh UK has a 3.9 out of 5 overall star grade based on 19,175 ratings. 

Pros

1. Ingredients of excellent grade.
2. Meal preparation is simplified.
3. A chance to experiment with new recipes.

There have been instances of incorrect things being delivered, and several customers had difficulty communicating with customer support.

Consumers were generally pleased with Hello Fresh and the fresh products and easy-to-follow recipes they received. 

What Is the Process of Hello Fresh? 

When you visit the Hello Fresh UK website, you will find selecting between meat and vegetables.

1. Vegetables.
2. Families.
3. Cook in a hurry.

After that, you can select menus for 2, 3, or 4 persons for 3, 4, or 5 days each week.

From here, you may submit your data and find a shipping date.

Delivery is ordinarily £3.25, but with some deal, you might get it for free, plus a 60% discount on the first meal kit box and a 35% discount on the following three:

HelloFresh60pct

Hello Fresh offers several meal options that are generated automatically. After you've provided all of your information, you'll be able to select your meals. Then you go in and replace or remove the ones you don't want.

Each week, there are 20-30 new dishes to pick from, as well as snacks, ready-made dinners, and sweets. 

Is Hello Fresh UK a Good Investment? 

Hello Fresh is a significant investment. The quality of the food you get with HelloFresh will make your meals feel like they're worth preparing, and there's plenty included in each pack that can be cooked quickly or oven-ready for those who need them fast! You also have options if the cooking time isn't something special about yourself--you could choose one which has already been prepped, so all it takes from here on out are some simple dishes to enjoy at any hour.

As we have discussed both meal kit brands, now it is on you which one to choose, Hello Fresh or Gousto. No Matter what, keep eating good and healthy.