Light, Love, Hope

One of my friends talked about Hello Fresh on their Facebook page not too long ago.  She raved about how good it was, and I thought of looking into it at that time but did not.  A few weeks later, I received a delivery at work, and there was a Hello Fresh coupon in that package.  I kept it on my desk for a few days, then I decided to give them a try.

**Please note:  I am NOT getting paid for this review of Hello Fresh.  I just wanted to write of my experience!**

When I logged onto the site, I found it user friendly.  I knew that as a part of their promotional deal I would have to enter my credit card information.  In doing so, I was authorizing them to send meals to me every week of their choice, unless I selected my own meals.   After looking at their selections, I began to explore further options to get the meals I knew my family would love.  The selection was made, and now I waited in anticipation of the arrival of my package.  My day to choose meals was by the end of day on Monday.  My shipment information would go in on Tuesday, and my package would go to the carrier on Friday.  Then, my package would be delivered by the end of the day on Saturday.

The weekend arrived, and the first package was delivered around noon on Saturday by a smiling Federal Express worker.  This was perfect for us to make a meal for supper that night.

We unpacked the contents of the box and found ice packs/dry ice to keep the content cold.  The individual meals were placed in brown paper bags like you used to find at the grocery stores.  We inspected each bag to make sure all of the ingredients were there, along with the recipe cards.  Perfect!  All items were there, and we studied the time on each card to decide which to do first.  On the weekends, obviously, you’d have more time to cook a longer recipe vs. doing so in the middle of a work and school week.

After we all agreed on a meal for that night, we began the preparations later that afternoon.  We all pitched in to make this meal, and it was fun for the whole family.  We had to laugh at the person who wrote the recipes, though, as they loved the words “roast” and “drizzle.”   We found that you will “roast” the majority of your meals at 425 degrees, and you would need to “drizzle” olive oil on your vegetables.

On a few occasions, we were introduced to new concepts like “mincing” garlic or “zesting” lemons.  We have never done either of those before, but now we can say we’re experienced with them both.

~SMILE~

After about 40 minutes, our dinner was ready to be served.  We had enough for five plates of food.  This was perfect since my niece was coming over later that evening after work, so she got to try Hello Fresh as well as the four members of my immediate family.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of Hello Fresh!  We enjoyed it so much that we looked forward to making the other two meals in our package.  Later in the week when we prepared them, we were just as thrilled with the taste as well.  We were so pleased that we selected three more meals for the following week.

Since I am trying to watch what I eat, I chose healthier meal options.  When they did provide carbs, I either only tasted them, chose a small amount, or decided to forgo that portion of the meal for more vegetables or meat.  It was great for even the pickiest eaters!

Hello Fresh gave us free meals to send to our family and friends.  I chose my daughter and my friend, Greg, to be the recipient of those free meal vouchers.  My daughter excitedly went to their website to begin her process as well, and she was pleased with her experience with them also.  The meals were delivered on time, with all ingredients in her bags as well, and she had a great time making each recipe for her and her boyfriend.  I’m not sure if Greg ever redeemed his voucher or not, but if he didn’t, he truly missed out!

The only problem I had with Hello Fresh is that if you don’t log in to select your meals by a certain time, they select which meals to send you.  Also, you have the option of “skipping” weeks, but you have to remember to log in to “skip” those weeks.  Otherwise, an automatic shipment of their choice will go out to you.

Being that warmer weather is finally here – yeah!!! – and we will be going boating, RVing, and horseback riding, we decided to discontinue our Hello Fresh at this time.  It was easy to go into the Hello Fresh app and deactivate the account.  I followed up with an email to them as well, as I had read that people had trouble canceling their subscription.  I didn’t want this to be a problem for me and my credit card to continuously be billed.  That process was easy as well, and a nice representative responded acknowledging my desire to cancel.  When the cold weather arrives later in the year, we may reactivate our account again.

This was the first time we’d ever tried a food delivery service, but we were pleasantly surprised by them.  We have kept the recipe cards so we can make the meals ourselves later with ingredients from our local grocery store.  It was so nice to have everything delivered right to our door!   I could get used to that part, but it’s the waiting around that absolutely kills my husband.  Ha!  The second shipment was to be delivered by the end of day that Saturday.  While the first delivery came earlier in the day at noon, the second delivery came around 6 p.m.  He hated “waiting around” for the package to be delivered.  I didn’t have anything planned that day, so the wait really did not bother me as much.

We had a really nice experience with Hello Fresh. I had read a lot of reviews where people spoke of not receiving all of the ingredients with their packages or receiving spoiled food. Thankfully, that was not the case for us!

I love sharing information with others on things that have helped me in my journey to be a better, stronger, and healthier version of myself.  There is a website that I have come to love, which provides a host of information on leading a healthier lifestyle.  From tips on eating to exercise, the knowledge I have gained has been so valuable.  They also host challenges that you can take part in, no matter where you are in the world.  Recently, I was tempted to engage in an exercise challenge with a local group.   What stopped me?  Honestly?  A new environment with people I don’t know – or barely know – just doesn’t seem all that appealing to me.  Often times, we’re intimidated about going into unfamiliar territory with new people. Sure, taking a friend or family member with you will help, but there is still that intimidation factor that sometimes will prevent us from taking part in it.  Add in the fact that I’m not all that coordinated and don’t want to embarrass myself in front of others, there’s that portion of it as well.  Truth.  I can only speak my truth, and there it is … no matter how laughable it may be to others.  I know I’m not good at exercises, dances, or anything that requires a lot of coordination (Zumba, anyone?).  So, I leave that to others that are so gifted.  With the challenges found on this website, I can do them in the comfort of my own home.  And honestly, I prefer it this way.  I don’t need a crowd rallying around me when I’m glistening with sweat.  I much prefer to sweat it out at home – with music blaring, of course.

Back to the website …

It is called Live Strong.  For the month of February, they have had a booty challenge.  I joined at the tail end – ha, see what I just did there – of the challenge.  However, those exercises can still be incorporated into your workout routine.

They talk about an app called My Plate, whereas I just recently shared iTrackBites.   While I haven’t checked their app out, I think it is along the same principle of tracking what goes into your mouth.   If you’re a calorie counter, I’m sure either will work for this purpose.  All in all, I think it is about being accountable to yourself for the food choices you make.

I signed up for the emails at Live Strong first.   Usually when I wake up in the morning, there is an email from them waiting on me.  I usually do not read it until I get to work, but when I do, I find myself clicking on the link they provided to read more information on the subject they are talking about that particular day in the email.

I’ve written down a “cheat sheet” of exercises to incorporate into my workouts.  Just this week, I found “couple” exercises on there as well.  I wrote down another “cheat sheet” of those exercises, and that evening I went home to introduce them to my 15-year-old daughter.  We had fun working out together with these exercises, and yes, we laughed a little during the process, which is always a plus!  Later that evening, my husband wanted in on the action as well, so I went over a few of those workouts with him, too.  It was a fun way to get my family involved.

Now that I’ve shared the website, go take a look around yourself.  Live Strong!

How’s the healthier lifestyle going?  I hesitate to call it a “diet” or “weight loss journey” because it’s so much more than that for my family.

We’re still using the free app I told you about in January’s post, and progress has been made!  Remember, slow and steady is how you need to approach this if your desire is to lose unwanted pounds.  You didn’t put it all on in record time, so you won’t lose it with lightning speed either.  And if you do, chances are you will not keep it off in the long run.

My daughter is down 15 pounds, my husband is down 12 pounds, and I am down 11 pounds.  That is something to be proud of!  We committed, and we’re still plugging along.  We’ve had non scale victories as well.  For me, I like the fact that my once tight pants are now loose in the waist and other areas.  I like seeing my leaner self in the mirror and envisioning myself in that two piece bikini I’ll be wearing on the boat this Spring and Summer!

It takes about two months for something to become a habit.  I just read that recently – 66 days to be exact.   I have been diligent about tracking my food intake.  Is tracking everything that goes into your mouth fun?  No, but it holds you accountable with yourself.  Your body won’t lie either.  If you think you can skip tracking your food or tell a “white lie” that you had less than you did, the results will still show up on the scale.  That app is very handy in tracking!  I used the free version of iTrackBites, then I upgraded to the Pro version.  It was cheap, and it offers the restaurant guide and recipe builder, which I found worth it.

Exercise is key, also.  I have found that I love indoor cycling in Winter!   I have gotten to where 45-60 minutes is normal for me.  I vary the resistance during that time as well so the workout will be more challenging. It was hard at first to dedicate time to this.  Now, though I make a commitment to myself.  If I scheduled an appointment with someone, I would definitely do everything in my power to keep that appointment.   Therefore, I look at my exercise time as an appointment with myself, and I KEEP that appointment!  Cycling and weight training make me feel good!  I either put on some upbeat, heart pumping workout music or a thrilling movie … and away I go on that bike.

Have you stayed committed to your healthier lifestyle?  It’s a choice we have to make individually and often times daily!