Anyone who really knows me, knows that I can whip up a mean batch of cookies. Possibly some of the best you’ve ever had. I’m a fantastic baker. But when it comes to cooking actual meals, I’m just kind of blah. It’s not that my skills aren’t good, it’s just that I have no creativity in the dinner department. That is why I’m super excited to be trying out Blue Apron. Or rather my family is excited to have things other than the same-old-same-old.
Blue Apron is a food delivery service that delivers exciting, seasonal recipes created by their culinary team and renowned guest chefs. Come on, just that description of a “culinary team” sounded fancy and that’s why I wanted to try it out. They send everything right to my door that I need to be the culinary dinner expert in my family.
The Blue Apron refrigerated box arrives with all the perfectly pre-measured ingredients that I will need to whip up a dinner masterpiece in no time. They include the recipe and step by step instruction with photos. Yep, even the worst chef in the world can’t mess this up. I have to admit, the photos come in handy!
The ingredients are super fresh (the veggies look fresher than my grocery store sometimes) and the meats are naturally raised on anti-biotic- and hormone-FREE diets.
So far, I’ve found that the recipes take about 30-35 minutes to make. It’s usually about 15 minutes of prep and 15-20 minutes of cook time. Not bad on a busy, weekday night. It’s totally worth it when you are making things like Seared Chicken & Miso Udon Noodles. That was our meal last night. I don’t even know what “Udon” is but it was delicious! Even my super picky 9-year-old ate it all. Sure, he tried to scrap off all the green stuff at first but he eventually ate the entire thing with no complaints.
I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at first because I have a few picky eaters in my family. Umm…yep, picky husband. But even he had great things about the meals so far. We’ve only received two boxes (4 meals total) but they’ve all been good.
The Chicken Parmesan & Bucantini Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella & Zucchini was great. I added a loaf of Italian bread and we were good to go!
Plus, I had them eating spinach with this one with no complaints! Win-win.
The Cheddar Cheeseburgers with Quick Pickles & Thyme-Roasted Oven Fries were excellent. I had never cooked with thyme but I’m trying new things and may add it in other recipes from now on. My husband especially loved the quick pickles and the garlic mayo. “Nice touch,” he said.
Other good things about Blue Apron is that there are no repeated recipes in the same year! That’s pretty awesome! I can’t not repeat dinners in a two-week period and they can do a whole year??
Blue Apron offers a couple different options for delivery.
2-Person Plan: Three recipes per week that each serves two.
Family Plan: You can choose from either 2 or 4 recipes per week and they each serve a family of four.
We ordered the Family Plan for 4 recipes a week and since my 6 year old eats like a half a person sometimes, we have found that we have a perfect amount of food for each dinner. I split the dinner into 4 1/2 servings and we are good to go. I like that you can pick your delivery days (Sun-Friday – depending on your location) so our recipes get delivered twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday).
I also love that even though it is a subscription-type service, you can skip any week and cancel at any time. So, when we go on vacation, I just skip the week and don’t worry that the food will go bad.
What about food allergies, you ask? Yep, Blue Apron accommodates that too! They accommodate a variety of dietary preferences – e.g. vegetarians, pescetarians, or if you don’t eat red meat, fish, shellfish, pork, or lamb – and personalize your menu each week based on your preferences. All of the boxes are assembled in the same processing facility, so they don’t recommend ordering Blue Apron if you have a serious food allergy though.
Overall, we are super pleased with Blue Apron so far. We will be trying it out for a few months, so we will keep you updated on how it’s going.
If you’d like to try out Blue Apron with us, you can sign up here:
$20 Off Your First Blue Apron Order
or
2 Meals Free on Your First Blue Apron Order
*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. As always, all thoughts, opinions and statement are our own.