We are in the midst of a fast food and instant food era and most things come in noisy packages or with a delivery driver on the other end. In spite of this, I love to cook. I really enjoy the taste of fresh hot food that I can alter to my taste. My children appreciate it too. One of the most challenging things with having Neurocardiogenic Syncope and Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia is my decreased ability to stand for any length of time. It could be 5 or 15 minutes before I start having symptoms. This hinders me because most things I make take time and require me to be on my feet. Now I am often relegated to waiting until I am able to make a sacrifice to cook a good meal and suffer the repercussions of being presyncopal. Sometime I dish up a quick meal but I am not always happy with the results. Other times I get my kids to cook and though they don't always make it my way, I appreciate their efforts.
In an effort to adapt in this area I pondered getting those food boxes delivered to cook simple meals. I figured that it could reduce food shopping time when I am symptomatic, which seems to be all the time. Also, the food is healthier and the meals are planned out so it would me brain cells when the fog is thick like a John Carpenter movie. I saw multiple tutorials from people on Youtube but I still failed to take the plunge. I chalk it up to one of my issues with having a hard time to make a decision about new things.
Enter my daughter who took it upon herself to order one of the aforementioned food boxes to try it out. Since I make her cook often I think she was looking for new recipes to try. She chose HelloFresh because a mutual friend gave her a discount. Even with her ordering the food I was reluctant because I didn't know what she ordered and I didn't know if I would like it. The food arrived together in one box with an ice pack. One was Grilled Cheddar Burgers and the other was Poblano Pork Tacos. I initially had no intention of cooking either meal because it was my daughters experiment and I was just going to benefit from her hard work. However, a severe thunderstorm kept her at work past quitting time and my son and I were hungry. My daughter planned to make the burgers when she got home at 6 pm but I couldn't wait. My son found the recipe card and I got to work.
I would like to say that the picture was clear and the instructions were easy to read. This made it very easy on brain foggy-end-of-the-work-day me. All of the ingredients down to the ketchup and chipotle powder were present. I was impressed because I thought that I would still have to hunt for ingredients at home to supplement the meal. I made the burgers in order of the instructions but made it for three since we all would have to eat the same thing and it was great. I was not on my feet for more than 10-15 minutes for the entire meal to be complete, chopping and all. It also included a salad and a dill pickle as well. My son and I devoured everything because we were hungry but it was also delicious. Not only that, the food looked just like the picture! The patties were a bit smaller because we made a meal for two fit three but it was still the same. It prompted me to take a picture and the picture inspired this post.
I decided to write about this experience because I found HelloFresh to be a good option for people like me who suffer from blood pooling and other issues that restrict standing for any period of time. Our independence is one thing that we often lament losing because of our chronic conditions. Something like this can allow me nutritious meals that aren't cardboard in texture or otherwise unappealing. The food was fresh, filling and tasty. I plan to use them again for myself in the future. If you want to try it please check them out www.hellofresh.com. You can most likely get a discount on your first few items.
* Not sponsored. I was just sharing a positive experience and I hope someone else can benefit.
One day at a time.