Hack Your HelloFresh Meals for Yummy Leftovers

I recently had the opportunity to review HelloFresh Canada's recipe kit delivery service and I fell in love. The only major drawback I found was the lack of leftovers. I love leftovers. I love cooking once and getting two dinners' worth of food. I'm all about minimum effort and maximum reward (hashtag: millennial?). 

HelloFresh Canada generously sent me a four-person box (so three dinners that each have four portions) so I could try to hack my meals to give me yummy leftovers. I'm not talking about reheating the same meal twice in a row. I wanted to supplement with common kitchen ingredients to transform my leftovers into something new without a lot of effort. 

One of the meals I received was Turkey Milanese with Pesto Green Beans and Creamy Potatoes. Sounds good, right? Well it was. Shawn and I thoroughly enjoyed it as our pre-Thanksgiving warmup, and we were left with two servings of turkey, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and a generous serving of pesto green beans for our leftovers.

I decided to transform my leftovers into two additional meals. It was the Thanksgiving long weekend and we had time for a nice, leisurely breakfast. I grabbed my potatoes and green beans, along with a handful of grape tomatoes, five eggs, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles. While my oven preheated to 350F, I lightly greased a pie plate. Then I dotted spoonfuls of the mashed potatoes, layered with the green beans and halved grape tomatoes, and topped with the feta cheese. Lastly, I whisked together the eggs and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper, and poured over the veggie mixture. I checked my frittata at 30 minutes and it was still a bit jiggly in the middle so I cooked for another 5-10 minutes until the middle was set. Shawn and I enjoyed the frittata with fresh fruit and giant mugs of coffee. My assembly time was five minutes and It made enough for both of us to eat for breakfast two days in a row. 

When Shawn saw the crispy breaded turkey pieces, he requested hot turkey sandwiches. While I cooked up some bacon and sliced tomatoes, he threw the leftover turkey on the barbecue to quickly heat them up without losing the crunch. I had saved the leftover pesto from the green beans; I mixed it with mayo and spread on our buns for a little sauce. A little green leaf lettuce and aged cheddar completed the dish. Shawn I both got home from work late but managed to get dinner on the table in under ten minutes. It felt like a major win because our usual method of dealing with late nights is calling for a pizza.

We received a four-person box with: Turkey Milanese, Autumn Bacon Salad, and Hungarian Beef Goulash. The Turkey Milanese gave us two 2-portion dinners and two 2-portion breakfasts. The Autumn Bacon Salad gave us one 2-portion dinner and one 2-portion lunch (what can I say, we both love a big salad). The Hungarian Beef Goulash gave us one 2-portion dinner and three 2-portion lunches with very minimal effort (I added all the leftovers to four cups of beef broth, threw in a package of frozen chopped spinach, added an additional onion, thickened it with a flour slurry, and called it beef stewp (stew/soup).) 

Our three-meal four-person box stretched to give us ten 2-portion meals with the addition of common kitchen items (which I estimate cost $15 or so). We had time-saving leftovers to eat on busy weeknights, and nutritious and satisfying leftovers to pack for work lunches. 

HelloFresh has transformed our last-minute meals into nutritious, home-cooked, satisfying meals and I'm shocked at how easy the transition has been. There will always be unavoidable chaos (this is real life after all) but reviewing the calendar at the beginning of the week, and prepping for the days we know are bound to be a bit more hectic than others, is the difference between a little difficult and sobbing-on-the-kitchen-floor-while-inhaling-takeout. 

If you want to try HelloFresh Canada to see how they can make your life easier, use code HILLARY40 for 40% off your first box for new customers.

{Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this review; all opinions stated are my own.}

Keep Kids Safe with Lil Worker Safety Gear

I heard about Lil Worker Safety Gear through the local parent grapevine. Started by a local arborist and dad of three little ones, Lil Worker Safety Gear makes high visibility gear for kids. 

Safety is my number one priority and if I could, I'd encase both my babies in bubbles with neon flashing lights and 24/7 security guards whenever we left the house. (I'm a peach to be married to. Just ask Shawn.) Little kids are unpredictable. Taking Grady and Poppy for walks is not relaxing. Grady is old enough that he won't run off but Poppy can't be trusted. And just because Grady is old enough to have a modicum of common sense, that doesn't mean he's always visible to drivers. 

James from Lil Worker sent us Safety Fleece Jackets to try and Grady's first comment when I showed him was "it's just like a construction worker!" He's totally right. They look like miniature work site high-viz jackets, not costume-like or twee. These aren't dress-up clothes, they're high-quality, well-made, garments featuring professional grade 3M Scotchlite reflective strips. 

“Keep your kids SAFE! The first high-visibility sweater for kids designed to comply with the high standards of workplace safety organizations.

Keeps kids WARM! Ultra snuggly, grandparent-approved 100% poly-brushed 270GSM Polar Fleece. Huggability guaranteed.

High-contrasting colours and 3M Scotchlite reflective strips enhance visibility during early morning and late afternoon play. (Seriously, your child may even be visible from space with this thing.)

Industrial grade YKK zipper that no mortal child can destroy.

Super tough, machine washable fabrics are designed to withstand the rigours of playtime.

Available in three high viz, high contrast colours and sizes from 18m to kids’ size 7.

Other benefits of this high visibility fleece sweater for kids:

Greatly reduces parental stress and worry – you may even start holding hands with your partner again! (Seriously, how long has it been?)

Significantly reduces down time searching for missing children.”

— lilworkersafety.ca

There's an almost five-year age gap between Grady and Poppy, which means when we're at the playground, they're interested in different things. The Safety Fleeces mean I can keep my eyes on Poppy and let Grady have a little more freedom because he's so visible. I don't spend time searching through the sea of kids to find him, I glance up and my eyes are drawn straight to the neon yellow. He gets a bit more independence and I feel confident I can locate him quickly (and I can keep track of Miss Independence whose main goal in life seems to be to lose me in public). 

Lil Worker Safety Gear is going to be on Dragon's Den October 12th on CBC and I can't wait to see the presentation and results. I have a soft spot for small, parent-run businesses so I've got my fingers crossed for James and his crew. 

If you've got little people in your life, check out Lil Worker Safety Gear. You won't regret it. I'm adding the rain jackets to the kids' Christmas wish lists because I'm so pleased with the quality and durability of the fleece jackets. If, for whatever reason, you're not happy with the products, you can't beat Lil Worker's return policy:

“Just like growing up, shopping for kids can be tough work.

If you’re not 100% satisfied with your order for any reason, please email me at james@lilworkersafety.ca and I’ll make sure you’re happy. Period. Full stop.

No messing around, no pain, no fussing, no crying, no haggling, no arguing. I promise I’ll just make sure you’re happy. That sounds like a good return policy to me.”

Lil Worker Safety Gear on Facebook

Lil Worker Safety Gear on Instagram

#VizYourKids

{Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this review; all opinions stated are my own.}

{Giveaway} Learn Your Messy ABCs with Oscar the Grouch & his Sesame Street Friends!

Grady and I recently had the chance to review Put Me in the Story's Sesame Street: The Messy Alphabet Book. I'm a huge fan of Put Me in the Story (remember when I ordered Poppy a personalized Easter story instead of doing a chocolatey Easter basket?) 

Personalized story books are a great way to boost the enthusiasm of early readers. Grady is working hard on learning his letters and sight words; his whole face lit up when he opened the package and saw his name front and centre on his very own story.

I loved adding my own personal message to Grady, and including one of my favourite pictures of the two of us. The ordering process could not be easier. You're guided through each step, quickly and painlessly, and have an opportunity to review the final product before placing your order. Grady's personalized book was delivered in less than a week.

Enter through the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win your own Sesame Street Personalized Book Bundle & Elmo Plush!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Disclosure: I received product in exchange for this review; all opinions stated are my own.}

Get Dinner on the Table with HelloFresh Canada

My maternity leave ended and I went back to my office job in July. We're still trying to find the right balance of prep and organization (and checklists and to-do lists and Clipboards of Fun) to make our family unit run as smoothly as possible.

One area that's been challenging is food. Here's the thing: I try very hard to not ascribe moral value to food. I don't think it's naughty to order pizza. I don't feel like a bad mom, or a bad woman, or a bad human, if we eat takeout every night.

However. My bank account doesn't like it very much. Nor do my guts. So while I'm all for ordering takeout food to make life easier, it's not a long term solution for our family. You do you, babies. This is a safe space. No judgment here. It's just not something that we can swing three nights per week, indefinitely. 

I had the opportunity to try a HelloFresh Canada box last week and it was life-changing. I realize how dramatic that sounds but stick with me, things are about to get magical. (Pssst...if you're curious and already know you want to give it a go, HelloFresh Discount Code HILLARY60 gets you $30 off your first and second boxes.)

HelloFresh is a subscription recipe kit delivery service. You subscribe to the service and then every week, you choose three meal kits to be delivered to your door. On your delivery date, a cooler box of fresh, delicious ingredients, plus detailed instructions on how to create your meals and specific nutritional facts, shows up at your address. 

“As the leading recipe kit delivery service in Canada, HelloFresh knows a thing or two when it comes to getting dinner on the table. Designed by our team of trained chefs, each HelloFresh recipe is delivered with the exact farm-fresh ingredients needed to make a delicious and nutritious home-cooked meal in under 30 minutes. Every week HelloFresh members choose three meals from a selection of award-winning, constantly-changing recipes (say goodbye to recipe boredom!). HelloFresh then utilizes its network of local, family-owned purveyors to source the freshest ingredients possible for each of those recipes and ships the exact amounts straight to your door. No more grocery shopping, no more food waste. Just delicious, healthy, and fresh food guaranteed from pan to plate in less time than it takes to order takeout.”

I was skeptical. No one was home the day our box was delivered, and it was a hot summer day. I wasn't sure I would feel comfortable eating food that had been outside for hours. I was convinced I'd be opening up a box of spoiled food but I couldn't have been more wrong. The insulated cooler box and ice packs kept everything cool and fresh. My inner hippie cringed at the amount of packaging waste I thought I'd end up with, but almost every piece of waste created was recycled or composted. HelloFresh even runs an ice pack return program so you can save your ice packs for a few weeks and send them back in an empty HelloFresh box.

Our life is not quiet. I do not come home from work to a clean house and a hot meal on the table. It is not our reality at this point in life. And that's okay! There is plenty of time for relaxing evenings. Our weekday evenings are chaotic and rushed. Shawn picks Poppy up from daycare on his way home. I walk in the door and head straight to the kitchen to get dinner going. Between kid shenanigans and forgetting to hit the grocery store on the way home from work, Shawn or I will often reach for the phone to order a pizza to try to make things less stressful.

HelloFresh eliminates the stress. The meals come individually wrapped so you don't even have to think, you just grab one of the meals out of the fridge and get cooking. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I was able to cook my HelloFresh meals faster than I could have had a pizza delivered to my house. I was able to make nutritious, home-cooked meals on busy weekday evenings, and it didn't take a lot of complex planning or organization on my part. The least enjoyable parts of cooking (for me) are the prep: thinking about what to make and going to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. HelloFresh does both and I just had to do the parts I actually enjoy (the cooking and the eating).

The Nitty Gritty

What does it cost? There are different meal plans (family, veggie, pronto) and different levels (2 or 4 people) so the cost caries from $73.99 - $139.99/week (that includes delivery). HelloFresh Discount Code HILLARY60 gets you $30 off your first and second boxes.

Can I skip a week? Absolutely! There is no minimum subscription length and if you want to skip delivery for any reason you can. You just have to log into your account before the weekly cutoff and skip the week.

What if I don't like one of the scheduled meals? I kind of like the idea of trying new foods and cooking outside my norm, so I didn't  request any changes to my box (and I was rewarded with Halloumi! I didn't even know Halloumi was a thing!) but you can make switches if you see something you don't like. As long as you sign into your account and make the request before the weekly cutoff, you can swap out one of your meals for a recipe you'd rather try from one of the other boxes. You can also set general meal preferences like "no seafood."

So was the food any good? Yes! The food was delicious. The ingredients were fresh and the recipes were easy to follow. I liked trying new food and learning new techniques. It made weekday dinners more exciting and less stressful. It was convenient and saved me time and sanity.

What's the catch? The only cons I encountered were: no leftovers! This could definitely be a pro for some but I like having leftovers to pack for lunch. The other con I found was the tiny bottles of vinegar were difficult for me to open. It made me think there's more work to be done on the packaging to make HelloFresh more accessible. People with disabilities, or seniors who aren't as mobile as they once were, could really benefit from having a service like this bringing fresh, nutritious food to their door, but there's no way anyone with impaired hand function could open those teensy tiny bottles. Overall these are two relatively minor things and they in no way diminished my enjoyment of the meals or my appreciation of HelloFresh as a service. 

Use promo code HILLARY60 and see for yourself how HelloFresh Canada takes the angst out of dinnertime.