***This is an intensive review for a subscription service. I have not been offered anything by the…read morecompany in exchange for this review. This is 100% based on my personal experience.
That being said, we can both get some free credits if you use my reference:
http://msfr.sh/52J
OR
Coupon code at sign up SARAHMACDONALD
MissFresh allows you to pick from a weekly menu of recipes depending on the number of meals you want and number of portions. The minimum is 6 portions per week, whether that's 3 meals of 2 portions, 2 meals of 3 portions, or 1 meal of 6 portions. They will deliver, to your home or office, a refrigerated box of portioned ingredients and recipe instructions. All you are responsible for is any necessary water, oil, salt, pepper, butter or egg.
The price: I personally got to try the service for a discount using their code DINDE (thanksgiving deal) which meant an $80 discount. $40 off both of my first 2 weeks. I chose to take recipes from all of their meal options, vegetarian, weight wise & family style. There was no shipping cost which was nice, and my 6 portions came out to $66 ($11 each), so after my discount I only paid $25/week for the 2 weeks that I gave it a shot.
The packaging: My biggest issue. Although the box is made of recycled paper, MissFresh does not recuperate or reuse any of the packaging for cleanliness purposes. Many items are individually packaged in plastic. If they were to accept cleaned refrigerated boxes and cold packs which can easily be sanitized with water at a given temperature, for reuse, then I would reconsider using their services, however with the current amount of packaging I cannot justify using their services regularly.
The ingredients: mostly fresh, clean, and properly portioned. I did received some produce in less than perfect condition/dirty, but I chalk it up to organizational limitations. There was also one week that was a little heavy on the canned goods, but they were still good foods (tomatoes, lentils and chickpeas). They did offer premium ingredients such as cooking wine in some recipes. It did happen that I was once missing garlic in my recipe.
The portions: I didn't have portion size problems that some others spoke of. With my first meal, mushroom barley risotto & flank steak, I decided to add a side of asparagus that I had in my fridge. The meal ended up being a large supper for 2 and a smaller lunch. My second recipe, Louisiana gumbo, was easily 3 portions. Overall, every meal for me had 1-2 extra portions which is great for a small family or someone who is looking to manage their portions. That being said, please keep in mind that we regularly eat twice as much as we're supposed to. These portion sizes I'm referring to are actual natural sizes, not stuffing your face. With an extra ingredient from your fridge/pantry (salad, potatoes, extra veg) I could have turned my 6 portions into 10-12.
The recipes: Some recipe photos were amateur, but the instructions were simple and clear. There was one time that they had my oven preheating in step 1 even though it wouldn't be used for another 30 mins which bugged me but alas I nitpick. There was an occasional typo in their recipes. One thing that bothered me was they listed "add the spice pack" rather than listing out the ingredients a second time, this bothered me because I wanted to use the service to really learn about ingredients and portioning for flavor. The flavors were always very tasty (better than I would have made on my own)
The service: I didn't have any problems with my orders that required me to interact with their customer service team, however it was clear to me at the end of my first week that I would not be using this service every week. The website needs some work for ease of managing your orders. Particularly the box management page which kept switching back my recipes before I could press save. It was frustrating the first time but I got used to it.
All in all, its a good service if you're someone who's busy but wants to learn to cook. The price wasn't more than you'd be spending on takeout anyways, and when its delivered to your door mostly ready to cook it can help out on busy nights. The biggest consideration for me was really about the packaging. If you are a teacher, craftsperson or something you can utilize some of the packaging, otherwise I just found it bothersome for so much more plastic waste to be created rather than me just going to the grocery store. WHAT MADE THIS SERVICE DIFFERENT FOR ME, and the only reason I didn't cancel, it because you can manage your deliveries up to 6 weeks in advance and chose to "skip" when you don't want. After week 1 and 2 I've skipped that my next delivery with be 3 weeks from now when the menu most reflects what I'd like to try eating and that I consider worth my time/money.
HAVING TROUBLE CANCELLING?? (I haven't needed to cancel so I can't speak from experience) - skip every week until they confirm the cancellation to avoid $$!
