The first meal I ever cooked for myself was ramen. Photograph: Matthew KorfhageI kid somewhat, but it's true: Packaged home ramen has long been the food of the weary, not the proud. This is the promise of meal kits like HelloFresh—the reason people pay more than groceries, but less than any decent delivered meal, to receive them. Photograph: Matthew KorfhageLight, Bright, Maybe Even CosmopolitanHelloFresh—which, like a lot of popular delivery meal kits, began in Germany—is arguably the most successful popularizer of the form. All you need is pots, pans, a stove, and some basic oil- and salt- and butter-type staples.