Blue Apron Review

I genuinely love cooking. Growing up, one of my absolute favorite rainy day activities was cooking a nice meal for family. Put on some music (Karsh Kale or Sinatra were my go to), pick a new recipe, and then find a way to make it your own. It was relaxing and for me, a creative outlet. In many ways, I think cooking is an act of love. Crafting a special dish so that your loved ones and you can enjoy a special evening together, what could be nicer than that?! 

Over the years, cooking became more of a task, than something I found enjoyable mostly because I began to cook for one. Buying groceries, chopping a bunch veggies/herbs, etc became so tedious, and often, so wasteful when it was just for myself.  And so, I started eating a lot more frozen food. After three years of frozen dinners, I have finally decided to depart the arctic circle and venture back to real food!

Over the last two years, I have developed an arsenal of quick, easy to prepare meals. A combination of pre-chopped veggies, frozen herbs (Check out: http://www.mydorot.com/), and prepped meats/grains that I use in my recipes, have made healthy eating simpler and sustainable long term. Even though my library of simple recipes is growing, I wanted to explore my culinary options especially with advent of all these new meal delivery services!

I decided to try Blue Apron for a couple of reasons. It is one of the older and more established meal delivery services. Through word of mouth, I have heard generally good things. And finally, the founders went to my high school, so I gotta help support! :)

So here it is, my personal Blue Apron review/experience: 

PRICE:
As a single person cooking for one, I think the price of Blue Apron is great. It sends you all the ingredients you need, in exactly the amount you need. Nutmeg? You no longer have to buy a whole bottle, only to have it sit your cupboard until you find another use for it or it goes bad. So in many ways, it really cuts down on the cost of excess ingredients/produce. Especially for those of us, who may live in apartments, or space limiting situations...streamlining your grocery lists/cabinets is prime. For the introductory price of $30- the eight servings I was able to make, was a steal. Even at the full price of $72- $9 a meal is definitely more expensive than most homemade meals, but I really was very impressed with the quality of ingredients/meats that were sent.

For people, with more than two mouths to feed, and are on a budget... I would steer clear of Blue Apron. The meal kits are just not cost effective, and considering you can find yourself using ingredients again, I feel its best to buy full size products, and meal prep independently.

QUALITY
The quality of ingredients surprised me greatly! The fish, chicken, yogurt, raw honey, fresh butter were all from local farms. My taste test confirmed what I could visually see, it tasted great. The veggies were fresh, the meat well kept/cooled during travel. All the packaging was clear, and organized. Customer service was attentive. I was truly impressed!!

EASE
I am no Gordon Ramsey, but I think I can navigate the kitchen fairly easily. Blue Apron is not exactly the easiest or quickest meal you will prepare. I would argue its actually a little bit on the difficult side. You have to wash, chop, grind, etc everything on your own. From garlic (hate that) to turnips, the recipes do take time. I think this was the biggest drawback for me.  If the produce came prepped, I think the meal prep time would be significantly less, and I personally would be more inclined to use the service.

Even though I am not a fan of a long prep time for solo meals, I think it could be a great project for a family dinner night or a cute date night. The instructions are super clear, and easy to follow. I have a couple of male friends, who openly admit to having zero culinary skills, and even they said, they were able to make the meals without too much pain! Finally, if someone is looking to expand their skills, this could be a great outlet as well. I don't have much experience cooking fish, and this was a great way to learn and experiment with new mediums.

CONVENIENCE
The delivery came on time, as promised. The meals can be on ordered on a weekly basis on an auto cycle for those of us that like to have one less thing to worry about. Or you can log on and choose your meal selections, choose to skip the week, change the amount,etc. On the whole, I thought the ordering, payment, and delivery process was really pretty straightforward and simple.

HEALTHINESS
If you generally eat take out, frozen meals, fast food, etc. Blue Apron is definitely a great replacement. Fresh food made from mostly wholesome ingredients is automatically better than 75% of the stuff you order from takeout. That being said, the meals could be healthier. Much healthier. The meals I prepared included a recipe for a potato salad and a rice dish. I don't eat rice so I didn't even bother making it, but the dish utilized white rice. It could have easily been substituted with a more nutritious grain...brown rice, quinoa, etc. The potato salad I made and brought to work (I don't like potato salad) but even if I did like it and planned to eat it, the carbohydrate and fat heavy dish is not very nutritious as a side dish. The main dishes of chicken and fish, I was super happy with. Well seasoned and utilized very little oil. I think if I do use the service again, I will find a way to improvise to make some of the side dishes healthier.

OVERALL

I like the concept. It is a cool way to integrate new recipes/foods into your diet (I never had cod before!). However, if you are a little bit of a picky eater (umm lol, me), not a fan of cooking/prep work, or on a tight budget... I might reconsider this meal delivery service!

I plated the potato salad just to show how much they give...quite a bit!