Hello friends!
Today I’m popping in to share our last box from Hungryroot. If you are new around HH, Hungryroot boxes are my number one trick to eating healthy after vacation. After we returned from Catalina, I had a Hungryroot box scheduled, so I didn’t have to worry about grocery shopping that week (except for work for the blog, haha.)
But…. before we get to our latest box. I wanted to share five tips and tricks regarding Hungryroot boxes that I’ve learned.
Fill out your profile! Many people skip over the profile. If you forget to edit your box meals before they are sent to you, you will wish to fill out the profile. HR does a fantastic job of not only looking at the food profile overall, but every time they add items to their service, they ask you how often you like them allowing them to personalize your recipes and groceries. One of my friends doesn’t ever edit his boxes. He eats what comes to him. He doesn’t care because he filled out his profile, and they send him meals he likes!
Raw and Seafood first! I always plan to eat seafood first, and then anything sent to us raw. Many of the items are pre-cooked, so those can be eaten later in the week. I would do this if I bought groceries from the store too! However, you’re dealing with something being shipped in this instance, so you want to pay even closer attention.
Supplement what you have. If I have leftover broccoli or something that will make it to the next week when the box comes, I find a meal that will complement it so I can use it up. Again, similar to regular grocery shopping.
Use first or skip recipes with pre-cut veggies- specifically onions. I didn’t have a problem with the stir fry mixes in the first year of HR. But, starting about 3-6 months ago, I found that the stir-fry mix or the bell pepper and onion fajita veggie mix is almost always sour by the time it gets to us. I know this would be reason enough not to use the service for some people. But, I’ve worked with many companies that do shipping (like Smoothiebox and ButcherBox). I know that it’s tough to keep every variable in control.
Every time I had a problem, they immediately refunded me for those items. So, overall, it doesn’t bother me. I just don’t order those items much anymore. I think they will figure it out, though. When I updated my review post this last year, I realized that every complaint I made in my first review (even though I love the service) had been taken care of. I think they listen to their customers and improve, but improvement takes time.
When in doubt, check the temperature. Similarly, if I’m ever in doubt something isn’t cold enough, I stick a thermometer in it. I’ve only rarely had to ask for a refund on meat or protein items, but this past box, the turkey bacon was on the top (vs the bottom with all the other protein items), and the thermometer read over 40F so I requested a refund. This is the only time I’ve ever had an issue with a protein item. Or really any item other than onions.
Meal 1: Spring Rolls
This meal came with shrimp, spring rolls, Thai peanut sauce, green onions, and seven blend veggie mix. We added a leftover salad pack we had for a side dish.
The meal was easy and quick as you only had to cook the shrimp and saute the veggies. There is a learning curve to using the spring roll wrappers, which come hard, are soaked in water for 20 seconds, then you fill and wrap them. It was kind of stressful to make our plates while I had two kids screaming for dinner, but we got it done. The Thai peanut sauce is very vinegary, I like it, but it is very tangy compared to other sauces I’ve had.
What the kids ate: I was too lazy to shred the shrimp for Kaiden, so I air-fried him some tortilla tilapia from Costco. I also cooked brown rice ramen, also from Costco. KK ate noodles with Thai peanut sauce and tortilla shrimp. I also made some steamed carrots for him. KJ’s plate had tilapia, shrimp, steamed carrots, and brown rice ramen noodles with butter, salt, garlic, and onion. He ate the noodles only.
Meal 2: Fajita Burgers
This recipe came with the fajita chicken burgers, which have corn, cheese, and black beans in them. It also came with bread, the super blend of veggies, and sweet potatoes pre-cut. The directions said to roast the sweet potatoes, but I air-fried them, which was a disaster. I should have just roasted them and followed the rules. I needed to cut the sweet potatoes smaller to air fry them and work in batches. It was a hot mess. The burgers were delicious but did fall apart. I added cheese to my burger.
What the kids ate: KK was served bread, a cut-up burger with the beans and corn smashed, and sweet potato fries. KJ was served cheese toast (on the hamburger buns), a burger, sauteed veggies (that went in our sandwich), and sweet potato fries. He ate cheese toast.
Meal 3: Korean Chicken
This is a recycled photo. I didn’t bother taking another one because I knew I had two billion photos of this meal. It’s one of our favorites. It comes with broccoli, jasmine rice, and Korean chicken (precooked). It all comes together in less than 15 minutes. It’s efficient and freaking delicious.
What the kids ate: KK was served a small bowl of age appropriately sized chicken, broccoli, and rice. I helped him get spoonfuls. KJ was served the same thing on a plate separated. He also had apples and ate only the apples.
Meal 4: Thai Chicken
This was Mr. Hungry’s favorite meal of the week! The Thai chicken is the same as the Korean chicken, it comes cooked sous vide, and then you heat on the skillet and add the sauce! It came with the Thai Chicken, seven veggie stir fry, and the 7-grain blend. We used a leftover packet from the shrimp spring rolls since the seven veggie stir fry was bad (I got a refund). I also used leftover green onions. Delicious!
What the kids ate: KK ate the Thai chicken with the leftover broccoli and jasmine rice from the Korean chicken. The 7-grain blend was too complex for him to chew with his four teeth. However, the grains were very chewy. KJ was served what we ate, the chicken, the veggies, and the grain blend all separated on a plate, along with apple slices. He ate about four apple slices and went to bed.
Week Review
Mr. Hungry picked the meals this week, which were very Asian food-centric! I’m not complaining, though; overall, the week was delicious. The only downside is KK can’t eat the veggie blend meal or some of the grain blends because they are too hard to chew. That meant I had to skip a veggie or figure out another veggie for him. But, overall, the meals were pretty family-friendly or easily adaptable. I would order all again, except avoiding the veggie stir fry or anything with cut onions. Even though I was refunded, it sucks to have to throw food away. Plus, you have to figure out how to replace it, so I’ll probably skip ordering recipes that contain those ingredients.
FAQs
How Often Do I Order Hungryroot?
About once a month. Last year when I was pregnant, I did it every other week. It was a lifesaver, but I did get sick of similar recipes.
For more FAQs and more about Hungyroot, please read my 2022 review here!
[…] Hungryroot Tips and Tricks + Recent Meals […]