HelloFresh Meal #3: Mushroom Bourguignon – A "FAB-U-LOUS" 10 from the Judges!

After the "fire-breather" Thai curry earlier this week, I’ll be honest—I was starting to lose faith in the brand. My daughter hadn't touched a single meal yet, and my stomach was practically begging for peppermint tea to recover from the spice.

But then came the Mushroom Bourguignon. I’m channelling my inner Craig Revel Horwood for this one: De-li-cious! 🌟

The Dish & The Damage

This was everything a winter dinner should be: meaty mushrooms, onions, and carrots swimming in a rich, velvety thyme and red wine stock sauce. It was served over a mountain of creamy mash that was pure comfort in a bowl.

However, we did have a bit of a "kitchen catastrophe" before we even started. When I pulled the ingredients out, I found the tomato puree packet was already open and oozing out over the other items. Messy!

Mum Tip: If this happens to you, don’t just bin it and grumble! You can report damaged items in the HelloFresh app. They offered me a credit off my next purchase as compensation. It’s better than nothing, but it does require me to buy another week to actually use the discount... we shall see about that!

The "Veteran Vegan" Pivot

Even though this was a "Veggie" box meal, it was so easy to veganise with my trusty staples:

• The Cheese: Swapped for a savoury sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

• The Mash: Whipped up using Rude Health oat milk and Flora for that perfect creamy texture.

  
  

The Kid-Friendly Miracle

This was the first "clean plate" night of the week! To make it work for the kids, I took out a large spoonful of the base for them before adding the heavier red wine stock, added a splash of plain veggie stock instead, and served it up. They both actually enjoyed it!

The Scorecard

• Look: 8/10

• Taste: 8.5/10

• Kid-Friendly: 8/10

• Health Score: 8/10

• Ease: 8/10 (Simple, despite the tomato puree clean-up!)

  
  

The Verdict: I would absolutely eat this again (and I did). But, looking at the ingredients, I’ve realized I could make this from my own pantry for half the price. It’s definitely going into my "penny-pinching" recipe file!

One meal left to go! We’re finishing the week with Indonesian-Style Tofu in Sweet Hoisin Sauce. 

Wish us luck—I’ll be back with the final HelloFresh week summary (and my decision on the next box!) very soon.

Remember to grab your free HelloFresh box with my referral code here!