Hello Fresh Versus Dinnerly

Now that I've trialled both Hello Fresh and Dinnerly (or Dingalee as my Mum calls it LOL.  Everytime she does it, that song 'my ding a ling, my ding a ling, I want you to play with my ding a ling' gets stuck on my head)!, I thought I would do a comparison blog, and hopefully answer all the questions I've been asked on my socials.

What's the price difference?

Based on 5 nights of meals, for 4 people at the non-discounted price...

Hello Fresh = $159.80 (including $9.99 shipping) per week.

Dinnerly = $113.95 (including $8.95 shipping).

That's a difference of $45.95.  Considering you still need to buy 2 nights worth of dinners, Dinnerly is definitely more affordable.

Which tastes better?

Both places supplied fresh, high quality ingredients.

However, I thought the Hello Fresh meals were much tastier - gourmet quality.

In comparison, whilst there were some nice elements to the Dinnerly meals, for the most part they were just 'okay'. 

In terms of stars...

Hello Fresh = 4.5

Dinnerly = 3.0

Whats more convienient?

I like that Hello Fresh provided their meals in bagged packs.

I also liked their printed recipes however, they don't supply weighted quantities on the recipe which makes it hard to recreate at home.

In comparison, Dinnerly uses less packaging due to the ingredients being loose in the box.  Let's face it though, it's no different to when we do a normal grocery shop.  Plus, I like using my tupperware fridge mate containers to keep things fresh. 

Whilst I wasn't keen on an online recipe card, a bonus is that I can easily zoom in to enlarge the writing, the recipes are easily reproducable at home, and I can share them.

What is easier and quicker to cook?

I think this would also depend upon the recipes you select.  

Based on our chosen recipes however, Hello Fresh provided more ingredients which meant more preparation time, and more dishes to wash (omg talk about lots of dishes).  Their recipes also had more elements so took a little longer to cook.

Hello Fresh = More time in the kitchen.

Dinnerly = Less time in the kitchen.

Conclusion!

Dinnerly is more affordable.

Hello Fresh meals are tastier.

Hello Fresh is more convenient in terms of packaging and recipe card.

Dinnerly meals are quicker and easier to cook.

To conclude, it depends upon what factors are more important for you.

Me personally, if I'm paying out money for a meal box, I would rather it be worth it in terms of tasting good, so Hello Fresh is my top choice.  

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Dinnerly

I was browsing facebook and came across a Dinnerly advertisement.  Long story short, there was a discount code and well, I decided to join up so to compare it again Hello Fresh.

www.dinnerly.com.au

The sign up process was quite simple.

1.  Select a box

I selected the family box giving me 5 meals for 4 people.

2.  Set location

This is also the sign up step.

3.  Delivery Details

Choose your day.

4.  Payment

I was really happy that you could use a paypal option, rather than crefit card details.

Total cost with the special (including $8.95 for shipping) is $93.95. 

Once special is over, total cost will be $113.95.

You need to subscribe to weekly boxes, however pausing and cancelling your account is an easy process.

5.  Choose meals

Meals are automatically selected for you.  You can however, edit the choices and pick anything you like from a choice of 20 options.

Friday 17th July 2020

Our Dinnerly Box was left at our front door bright and early this morning!

First thing I noticed when unpacking was that unlike Hello Fresh all the ingredients are loose in the box, aka no meal packs.

Secondly, it was hard not to notice there was no recipe cards.  These are supplied online.  

Sadly, I had a whole day before delivery where I could not access my online account, this definitely put a dampener on the experience from the get-go!

Our first meal, cooked that night was Chicken Chow Mien. 

Mark cooked this one and said it was easy enough to follow the online recipe.

We had an unexpected guest for dinner so stretched the meal out to serve 5.  Whilst not a huge portion, I found it filling enough.

As for taste, well I personally think my chow mien, and asian mince noodle recipes are nicer, and more generous in portion size.  But, the noodles were nice and it was okay; not a dish I'd rush to have again.  No reflection at all upon the chef, I must say!

Funnily enough Ace said he WOULD have it again, and came looking for more.  Go figure, he's the fussiest in our household!

Sunday 19th July, 2020

Todays Dinnerly meal was Cheesy Crumbed Chicken with Baked Sweet Potatoe.

It was quite tasty, and really quick and easy to make; the oven did all the work!

We all loved the sweet potatoe which was baked in a garlic butter.  And the cheesey panko crumb was yummy too.  

A not so positive is that there was alot of spinach; admittedly the oil/vinegar dressing was good though.  Surprisingly, the boys ate most of it!

Confession:  I added another sweet potatoe (so 3 in total), as after I'd cut it up I didn't feel there was enough; so glad I did!

Monday 20th July, 2020

Our dinnerly meal this evening was a Korean Beef Rice Bowl.  

I think this was the less generous of servings so far.  I personally found it filling, but Jazz and Mark both came looking for more.

A sure fire sign that the flavours were very tasty.   It had just enough of a kick to get my nose running LOL.

It was also quick and easy to whack together, and even easier since I used my rice cooker for the brown rice.  How cook is brown rice?!?  I love the nutty chewyness!

Have to say though, Ace wasn't keen on this one at all.  Not that it went wasted though;  Jazz and Mark shared it, while Ace ate Baked Beans.

Tuesday 21st July, 2020

Tonight we had the quickest and easiest version of San Choy Bau I have ever made; way quicker than 'fast food'!

In all honesty though, I can't say it was the yummiest.  

Maybe its because I'm not a big fan of pork mince, or just simply because I wasn't feeling it tonight and so the secret ingredient (love ssshhhh) was missing.  

The peanuts on top were good though!

Thursday 23rd July, 2020

Our final Dinnerly meal was Lamb and Carrot Pie with Potato and Pea Mash (aka Shepherds Pie).

So it might look like mush bit it was absolutely yummy!  

Admittedly I did modify the recipe slightly...

- I added added celery, a little curry powder, and instead of putting peas in the mash I added it to the meat mix (bits in mash - ummm no thank you).

- I used tomatoe sauce instead of paste, simply because we had ran out.

- It also didn't thicken up very well so I needed to add in some cornflour.

- A sprinkle of cheese to the top of the spuds added an extra special element.

It was real wintery comfort food!

And that's trial week over!

Would I pay full price of $114.00 per week for it?  Yeah!  

Would I recommend it for others? Yeah!

I will admit though, the convienience factor of not having to a) think about whats for dinner each night, and b) go food shopping, certainly sweetens the deal.

Be sure to check out my next blog to read a comparison between Dinnerly and Hello Fresh!

Read more "Dinnerly"