We all love a healthy, home-cooked meal. In life, things come up that stop that from happening as often as we would like. Whether it is a lack of time, inexperience in the kitchen, or the fact that inspiration vanishes as soon as we hit the supermarket, preparing tasty meals every day of the week becomes an added stress. Fortunately, there are ways around this! Meal delivery services cut down on shopping trips. They come with interesting and inventive recipes that are easy to follow, meaning that a little know-how goes a long way. We think it is a great way to deliver quality meals for ourselves and our family, with minimum effort and no pressure.
We have seen some great choices out there on the market. They have different benefits and features that work for different situations. We tried out Blue Apron to see whether it hit the spot. Here are our thoughts on the service. Hopefully, they’ll help you discover if this meal delivery service is for you.
Overview
Blue Apron has been around for a few years, and in that time has established a considerable customer base. This is probably down to their delicious menus. They offer meals adapted to dietary requirements and have an excellent selection of ingredients. The basis for the meals is fresh ingredients with accompanying recipes designed by chefs.
Once you have signed up, the process of ordering is pretty simple. You choose your plan based on serving numbers and dietary requirements. Plans come with a choice of servings per week. Once you have your plan set up, you can choose your meals.
Blue Apron provides a good selection of balanced meals, with a changing mix of dishes as well as the customer favorites. Each week you can change your menu to try something different. There are a lot of options, so we can’t see ourselves getting tired of Blue Apron meals.
Blue Apron Menus
The Blue Apron menus are mouth-watering. There is a great selection of dishes, and what particularly appealed to us was the selection of healthy Mediterranean dishes. In comparison to other meal delivery services, the menus are a lot more creative and exciting. That was a huge plus point for us, as we wanted to try new things and didn’t mind experimenting a little in the kitchen.
The Blue Apron Cookbook is a useful tool to take a look at the recipes on offer. It has three main ways of sorting the meals. You can view by main ingredient, e.g. meat, poultry, fish or vegetarian. Our favorite way of sorting meals was by cuisine type. It encouraged us to be adventurous and discover dishes that we hadn’t heard of or tried before.
There is also a seasonal recipes section where you can see the choices from last week, as well as those coming up. Each season has its own tab with brightly colored and warming recipes for fall, or light and fresh meals in summer. For finding specific recipes, there is a search function that works pretty well.
We wanted to make the most of the service, so we chose meals with completely different ingredients, spices, and flavors. Since we didn’t need to use anything up, and there would be no waste, we enjoyed not planning around ingredients but just eating any meal that suited us.
Some of the highlight meals were:
Creamy fennel and olive pasta. A vegetarian option that we prepared in 25 minutes! It was filling, and the fresh ingredients packed a flavor punch. It was a new twist on pasta that we had never tried before. The combination of olive, rosemary, and fennel made us feel like we were on holiday in a Mediterranean resort.
Spiced Steaks & Honey Butter. We can cook an ok steak. This recipe was one that took our skills to the next level. Not only did we try something new and enjoy our dinner, but we also felt so proud of this delicious thing we had produced! The steak has a dukkah crust, an Egyptian-inspired blend of herbs and spices, that is crunchy and full of flavor.
Asian-Style Salmon Bowls. We have cooked all of the basic ingredients in this recipe before. But our results were often healthy but flavorless. In this new combination with tangy spice and sweetness, we ended up with a satisfying all-round dish.
Plans & Pricing
There are four plans to choose from at Blue Apron. The two-person plan, which serves two, or the family plan, which serves four. The two-person plan allows you to choose between a regular plan, a vegetarian option, or an option put together with Weight Watchers.
The two-person plans have the option to receive 2 or 3 recipes a week. With the family plan, you can choose 2,3, or 4 recipes a week. The family plan also suits anyone who wants to meal-prep. The plans are helpfully broken down into price per serving as well as the weekly total including shipping.
The two-person plan costs $9.99 per serving, whether you choose 2 or 3 recipes a week. The weekly totals are $47.95 with shipping, and $59.94 respectively. The family plan costs $8.99 per serving for 2 recipes a week, $7.99 for 3 recipes, and $7.49 for 4 recipes. That makes the weekly totals $71.92 for 2, $95.88 for 3, and $119.84 for 4 recipes a week.
Shipping
The two-person plan includes a shipping charge of $7.99 when you receive 2 recipes a week. With 3 recipes a week, shipping is free. All of the family plan options, no matter how many recipes you receive, are free.
Bottom Line
Blue Apron was more than just a move away from weekly takeaway meals. It gave us a new way to look at healthy, balanced meals. We tried foods we never had before, gained more confidence in the kitchen, and we were so proud of the outcomes. While some dishes were quick, the more complex ones were a little time-consuming. All in all, it was a really positive experience that suited our needs.
