Blue Apron

I started seeing Blue Apron being mentioned in various blogs that I read, and it had an occasional appearance in my Facebook newsfeed when someone 'liked' it. Because I spend what feels like 80% of my weeks meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking, I figured I'd check them out. 

I read through their website and decided to give them a shot - I am all for simplifying my life on the weekdays. This is how it works: you sign up for how many meals you'd like to receive each week (minimum is 3) and for how many people (minimum is 2). You can add your dietary restrictions here as well, so the meals will work around these. You choose what day of the week you'd like to receive your shipment, and that's about it. The shipment arrives with all the ingredients and recipes for all your meals. Caveat: you can't really be a picky eater because you don't choose your meals, each week is already pre-determined. 

I started off with 3x a week, for 2 people. Looking ahead at the types of meals they have, some were kid-friendly and some were not. Since this was a trial run, I figured I could make separate meals for the boys if necessary. Otherwise, I was going to try and just tweak what I got so they could eat it too.

My first shipment arrived in this large, refrigerated box.

I opened it up and saw everything neatly packaged and labeled.

This part I absolutely love about Blue Apron: everything you need for a recipe is already pre-portioned, and measured out specifically in the amounts you need. So when it's time to cook, you can just throw the ingredients in without measuring. That's one of their selling points - you reduce the amount of food and money wasted because you are only getting what you need.

One blogger wrote that the 2-person option was enough for 2 adults and 2 small kids, but I disagree. Here is the protein we received, and it's literally just for two people. For example, we received 2 chicken thighs for one dish, 4 small pork cutlets for another and 2 pieces of fish for the third. I think a 3-person option would be ideal for our family, but the only other option for us would be 4 people. That would be too much food and also quite pricey.

Good variety of protein for the week

These are the awesome recipe cards that come in your shipment. There are clear, easy to follow instructions, and lots of photographs to illustrate each step. 

The three meals we had were really delicious and each took only about 30-35 minutes to cook, which even included some minimal prep (washing and slicing veggies). The meals are definitely healthier than getting take-out because you control the amount of oil and salt. I also like that there is a vegetable component to every dish so you feel like you are getting a balanced meal. The kids did eat 2 out of the 3 dishes we made, but the pork was a little too spicy for them. 

Chicken thighs with roasted eggplant and heirloom tomato salad

Seared cod with roasted parmesan squash and potatoes

Spiced pork medallions, peach salsa, green bean rice

3 meals for 2 people costs $60/week, so $10 per person each meal. Excluding fast food meals, that is cheaper and far healthier than getting take-out. However, for someone like me, who lives in the suburbs (land of chain restaurants) and cooks regularly, I know I can cook meals for the entire family for less (most of the time). I won't be using Blue Apron every week, however I do plan to utilize them when I have those crazy busy weeks when I don't have time to grocery shop, let alone come up with a meal plan. Blue Apron will be my go-to when I need a pseudo-break from the kitchen and want someone else to do all the thinking for me. Overall I think it's a great service that could be beneficial to lots of people.