Blue Apron Dinners: a Review
Dinners in family homes have diminished for many different reasons. Both parents working, too tired, fast food, plethora of dining establishments, the list goes on. In addition, eating a good, minimally processed, whole food meal simply doesn't happen on a regular basis (if at all). Growing up with a single working mother, most our meals came from a box, so learning to cook has come in my later years. I struggle with shopping because if I do put a lot of time into a meal, I end up burning myself out by: 1) spending too much time cooking and then quickly consuming, 2) spending a lot of money 3) having too many left overs and not being able to freeze the meal. There are times the meal turns out great and I count it as a success, but more often than not it's easier to throw together some meat and seasoning on some sort of bread. Oh, and grab a can of veggies to nuke and put on the side. Even being a stay-at-home mom days can be overwhelming and the last thing I want to do is take an hour or more to cook a meal that will be consumed in less than 10 minutes and may not even be appreciated (eaten) by my 2.5 year old.
A couple months ago a friend introduced me to Blue Apron, and for once I really enjoy cooking and have been eating healthier than I can ever remember. Plus, I'm trying foods and cooking techniques I would have never explored outside this club. What's Blue Apron? It's a company that puts together perfectly proportioned meals for two, and delivers these meals straight to your door. There are pros and cons to this service, so far the pros have outweighed the cons so we continue to use their service.
First the pros:
1) delivered straight to my door so I don't have to do any shopping. A big deterrant to trying new meals is I don't want to hunt around the grocery store for niche items only to use them once and spend too much money.
2) They take the "think work" out of cooking. Each meal has it's own clear, easy to follow, instruction card with pictures. Since everything is already measured out, I have less to worry about.
3) Cost is reasonable. I tried to duplicate one of the meals and ended up spending double and having leftovers we couldn't finish.
4) Variety and healthy food. For example:
Pork meatballs with beet and agrodolce. Vietnamese meatballs with sweet potato noodles and scarlet turnip. Sauteed beef and potato latkes with roasted beet and carrots. Seared salmon with glazed carrots and saffron-yogurt sauce. Spicy shrimp & bucatini pasta with kale. Shrimp and shiitake dumplings with sauteed bok choy & soy dipping sauce. Seared chicken with roasted honeynut squash and garlic rice. Harissa chicken skewers with khorasan wheat & persimmon salad.
I've looked at cookbooks with similar recipes (before starting Blue Apron) and I would skip over them because I didn't know what they were or they seemed too intimidating and I was worried about spending too much money and time on a dish I didn't like. So far I have liked everything!
5) Calorie content. Many meals are around 500 calories and some go up to 800 calories. Unlike pizza, where I can easily consume 1,000 calories and still be hungry, with these meals I've felt full (or nearly full with room for a cookie or two).
6) Customer service. The weather here has been pretty brutal causing delivery delays and our Blue Apron order was no exception. It showed up a day late and everything had froze. I sent a quick email with pictures and a few hours later I was given a full credit. Fortunately, the meat was still consumable and the veggies/produce where replaceable, so I felt like it was a win-win.
7) Flexibility. Our deliveries are on auto-ship (your only option), however, I can skip weeks if I don't want my meals and even change the menu options. I would not recommend Blue Apron if you have allergies, but of you're a vegetarian they have the option of having all veggie meals.
Cons:
1) Time. Each meal is suppose to take around an hour to prep and cook, however, I find myself spending way too much time in the prep department with chopping and sorting. I'm getting faster, but tonight's meal said it should take 15 minutes, it took me around 35.
2) All. The. Chopping. Some meals only have a few things to chop, tonight's meal had 7.
3) Cost. While I put this in pro, it can also be a con if you're on a tight budget like we are. Like stated above, I was unable to duplicate one of the meals for the same cost I paid Blue Apron. However, there are so many meals you can make for way less if you have the skill and know-how (I lack both) and will eat the leftovers.
4) No left-overs. Isaac usually takes what I make for dinner into lunch the next day. However, Blue Apron only gives you just enough for two meals (or four meals if you select the family option). Not a con for me because I rarely eat left-overs.
I know, I know, my post sounds like a plug for Blue Apron, but it's not suppose to be. There are other food services out there, I haven't looked into them because this one came highly recommended and I heard them advertised a lot. While I don't foresee us using this service once our second child is born, mainly because it does take a long time to prep and cook, I do see me using the new techniques and recipes to make our own family meals.
I've really enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. Corinne loves to "help" which at times can get crazy, but I love it! I'm trying to relish in her being an only child for a little while longer. Cooking these great meals has given me a new appreciation for food and makes me feel as if I'm doing a little more for my family. I love food and if I can give my family a few good meals a week, I feel like I am showing my family love. It would be great if everyone was given enough time in the day to meal plan, prep and cook amazing food. I feel that has been a huge downfall in our society- we have been robbed of the one thing that keeps our bodies going for a long time, good (for you) food.
If you want to try Blue Apron (FREE) message me your email and I can send you a link. I get zero "credit" or and kind of kick-back whatsoever, so don't feel pressured. My hope is that more people (like me) can find out how to cook amazing meals for their families. Cooking these meals truly does bring me so much joy and happiness (so much that look, I've written a really long freaking blog post about it)!
Aaaaaand after searching I apparently don't have any (good) pictures of my food. I sent all those to Snapchat because really, I don't care to look back on pictures of my food and most people don't care to see them even in my Instagram feed. Oh, and bonus! The box doubles as a new "toy" for Corinne.
A couple months ago a friend introduced me to Blue Apron, and for once I really enjoy cooking and have been eating healthier than I can ever remember. Plus, I'm trying foods and cooking techniques I would have never explored outside this club. What's Blue Apron? It's a company that puts together perfectly proportioned meals for two, and delivers these meals straight to your door. There are pros and cons to this service, so far the pros have outweighed the cons so we continue to use their service.
First the pros:
1) delivered straight to my door so I don't have to do any shopping. A big deterrant to trying new meals is I don't want to hunt around the grocery store for niche items only to use them once and spend too much money.
2) They take the "think work" out of cooking. Each meal has it's own clear, easy to follow, instruction card with pictures. Since everything is already measured out, I have less to worry about.
3) Cost is reasonable. I tried to duplicate one of the meals and ended up spending double and having leftovers we couldn't finish.
4) Variety and healthy food. For example:
Pork meatballs with beet and agrodolce. Vietnamese meatballs with sweet potato noodles and scarlet turnip. Sauteed beef and potato latkes with roasted beet and carrots. Seared salmon with glazed carrots and saffron-yogurt sauce. Spicy shrimp & bucatini pasta with kale. Shrimp and shiitake dumplings with sauteed bok choy & soy dipping sauce. Seared chicken with roasted honeynut squash and garlic rice. Harissa chicken skewers with khorasan wheat & persimmon salad.
I've looked at cookbooks with similar recipes (before starting Blue Apron) and I would skip over them because I didn't know what they were or they seemed too intimidating and I was worried about spending too much money and time on a dish I didn't like. So far I have liked everything!
5) Calorie content. Many meals are around 500 calories and some go up to 800 calories. Unlike pizza, where I can easily consume 1,000 calories and still be hungry, with these meals I've felt full (or nearly full with room for a cookie or two).
6) Customer service. The weather here has been pretty brutal causing delivery delays and our Blue Apron order was no exception. It showed up a day late and everything had froze. I sent a quick email with pictures and a few hours later I was given a full credit. Fortunately, the meat was still consumable and the veggies/produce where replaceable, so I felt like it was a win-win.
7) Flexibility. Our deliveries are on auto-ship (your only option), however, I can skip weeks if I don't want my meals and even change the menu options. I would not recommend Blue Apron if you have allergies, but of you're a vegetarian they have the option of having all veggie meals.
Cons:
1) Time. Each meal is suppose to take around an hour to prep and cook, however, I find myself spending way too much time in the prep department with chopping and sorting. I'm getting faster, but tonight's meal said it should take 15 minutes, it took me around 35.
2) All. The. Chopping. Some meals only have a few things to chop, tonight's meal had 7.
3) Cost. While I put this in pro, it can also be a con if you're on a tight budget like we are. Like stated above, I was unable to duplicate one of the meals for the same cost I paid Blue Apron. However, there are so many meals you can make for way less if you have the skill and know-how (I lack both) and will eat the leftovers.
4) No left-overs. Isaac usually takes what I make for dinner into lunch the next day. However, Blue Apron only gives you just enough for two meals (or four meals if you select the family option). Not a con for me because I rarely eat left-overs.
I know, I know, my post sounds like a plug for Blue Apron, but it's not suppose to be. There are other food services out there, I haven't looked into them because this one came highly recommended and I heard them advertised a lot. While I don't foresee us using this service once our second child is born, mainly because it does take a long time to prep and cook, I do see me using the new techniques and recipes to make our own family meals.
I've really enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. Corinne loves to "help" which at times can get crazy, but I love it! I'm trying to relish in her being an only child for a little while longer. Cooking these great meals has given me a new appreciation for food and makes me feel as if I'm doing a little more for my family. I love food and if I can give my family a few good meals a week, I feel like I am showing my family love. It would be great if everyone was given enough time in the day to meal plan, prep and cook amazing food. I feel that has been a huge downfall in our society- we have been robbed of the one thing that keeps our bodies going for a long time, good (for you) food.
If you want to try Blue Apron (FREE) message me your email and I can send you a link. I get zero "credit" or and kind of kick-back whatsoever, so don't feel pressured. My hope is that more people (like me) can find out how to cook amazing meals for their families. Cooking these meals truly does bring me so much joy and happiness (so much that look, I've written a really long freaking blog post about it)!
Aaaaaand after searching I apparently don't have any (good) pictures of my food. I sent all those to Snapchat because really, I don't care to look back on pictures of my food and most people don't care to see them even in my Instagram feed. Oh, and bonus! The box doubles as a new "toy" for Corinne.
