Sunday, 09-05-21 - Hello Fresh update

 Good morning.

Well, the next part of the ongoing Hello Fresh saga is that I have received, yesterday, a refund for the box which I was not supposed to receive but have.  Given the virtual impossibility of actually getting in touch with them, I await further developments with some interest. 
What I don't seem to have received is the fiver for inconvenience which is ironic because, if anything, that's the only bit I am actually entitled to.

Add to this the fact that a friend, for whom I recommended a free box, had had her order cancelled with no carry forward, I truly cannot recommend this company.  The food is great; the customer service and reliability seems to be terrible. 

You really couldn't make it up!

Update:
I wrote the above yesterday evening (Saturday) when I was getting this ready.  On an impulse, I then went on the the Facebook page and was able to have a fairly long private message exchange with a real person!

The outcome is that I can keep the 'refund' as an apology so, basically, I have received two free boxes and some extra portions; my slightly Puritan soul feels mildly uncomfortable but I will work on it.  :-)
Eileen - get in touch via Facebook.  That seems to be the best way and I have sent you the link.  I did recommend that they make it easier to have a real  exchange via the web site both during the Facebook exchange and afterwards in the feedback form but I suspect it will fall on deaf ears.

So I still can't properly recommend it for reliability but the food is great!
I have another box scheduled for the beginning of June so we will see how that pans out.

What I ate yesterday:

Breakfast.  Lo dough definitely has a cardboard ambience but with a flavoursome filling it is OK and it certainly is filling.

Lunch was the tomato and red pepper soup with croutons and cheddar and it went down a treat.  I had some grapes afterwards rather than an apple as they needed using up.

I make the croutons like this:

1.  Tear a bread roll into pieces of a size you want - it produces a surprisingly large number.

2.  Sprinkle over some garlic granules.

3.  Add a few sprigs of thyme.  No need to painstaking take all the leaves off, just add the sprigs.

4.  Spray well with spray oil and toss it all together.

5.  Bake either in the actifry/air fryer for around fifteen minutes at 200C or the same in the oven, tossing them once half way through.
One healthy extra B on Slimming World

Dinner was the Hello Fresh chicken noodles.  Instead of green beans, I had baby corn and mushrooms which makes precious difference as far as calories/Slimming world are concerned.

It was jolly tasty and I'm glad I have another portion tomorrow.  Even better, I have enough of the sachets, noodles, etc, to take on holiday and make two more portions, buying the chicken and veg fresh.  Excellent.

No room for yogurt afterwards!

(and I am very relieved that I am, actually, entitled to this meal)

Today's plans:

B:  breakfast pizza

Weird, I know, but I have a piece of lo dough to use up.  What I will do is make a base sauce with tomatoes bbq sauce and a bit of water, with a few herbs/garlic granules.  On top I will have some bacon and a sliced Linda McCartney sausage, plus some mushroom and I notice that I must only use three quarters of the pack of hard Italian cheese in the two portion risotto so I will use the rest of that as well.  This and what I add to the risotto will be one A choice together

It is actually going to be very similar to yesterday's breakfast, just in a different format.
SW:  two syns for the lo dough and the rest is speed/free as I've counted the A choice under the risotto recipe

L:  chicken noodles; apple
The second portion of yesterday's dinner and I might add more veg such as baby corn, pepper, mushroom and spring onion.

SW: the honey is two and a half syns, three syns for salted peanuts

623 calories (for the H F meal)

D:  Mushroom risotto with bacon lardons and baby spinach; yogurt

I thought this might be quite difficult to work out but, part from the lardons and the grated cheese, everything else is free or speed food.  It used cider vinegar instead of white wine and has leek, mushroom and spinach.  One could make it lower in syns by using lean bacon but I reckon the rendered fat is important for the flavour and for the texture so lardons it is!
I think I will probably freeze the second portion and have it next week sometime when I am very busy.

SW:  the bacon lardons are four syns and one healthy extra A for grated Italian hard cheese plus half a syn for the dessert
560 calories (for the H F meal)

(I might swap lunch and dinner around; I'll see how I feel when the time comes)

Body Magic:  an online walk and some gardening, maybe a real walk too.

Summary:

one healthy extra A

no B

twelve syns - but as I say they are instead of, not as well as - in other words they are part of the meal, not snacky 'rubbish' outside of meals.