Since the COVID-19 quarantine began in late March 2020, I haven’t been back to a supermarket. I have my reasons: supermarkets have been among the places where coronavirus outbreaks have been found and, well, you’ve seen the “Karen” videos online. So, I decided to get my meals another way: using meal delivery services Home Chef and Freshly. Why those two in particular? Well, one day in April, my dad texted me his referral codes for both, which would give both my parents and me discounts on ordering, so I figured why not try it?
That’s right—these reviews weren’t sponsored and neither product was provided for me; I paid for them myself. The verdicts on both services are below! I included my referral codes for both services. Full disclosure: If you decide to try with my codes, you’ll get a discount; just know that I will get a credit on my bill as well.
Home Chef
Home Chef is similar to many of the meal delivery services that send you recipes and the required ingredients. I’ve really enjoyed the recipe selection and the fact that none of the recipes are too complicated; in fact, I’ve learned from a lot of them that it’s easier to achieve complex, delicious flavors than I originally thought. The ingredients are already portioned out, for the most part, and that has especially been helpful during COVID-19, when it’s been harder to find certain ingredients.
Meals cost about $12.95 per 2 servings (minimum order is 2 servings per meal). In the first delivery, Home Chef gives you a binder where you can keep all subsequent recipes for future use. I’ve definitely been doing that and I’m excited to recreate them on my own post-quarantine…one day. Until then, I’m happy to keep using Home Chef.
Recommended meals: Any of the burgers and pizzas. The lettuce wraps are really good, too, and the salmon dishes, if you’re into seafood. I also really loved the 1-pan dishes — super easy to make and really delicious.
My referral link — you get $35 off a box and I will get a $35 credit
Freshly
Freshly is unique in that there’s no prep needed for these meals—they arrive already made for you. All you need to do is heat up the meals. It’s super easy and I liked the fact that there’s no cooking needed; it’s super convenient if you’re having a busy week and don’t have a lot of time to spend on meal prep. Meals cost about $TK each, depending on your menu selections.
My only compliant about using Freshly is that if you go with the service for a long period of time, you may get bored with the meal selections. I used the service for about a month and a half straight and I got a little bored of the same meals over and over again. That being said, they do let you skip weeks, so you can take a break and come back to it later.
Recommended meals: Chicken Tikka Masala, Buffalo Chicken, Golden oven-fried chicken and mash,
My referral link — you get $40 off and I will get a $40 credit
Images from Freshly’s website