Get $60 off your first 3 boxes! This post is sponsored by Blue Apron
Yes, yes, this post is sponsored, so you can take everything I say with a grain of salt. However, I really, truly have been loving Blue Apron, and the more I use it, the more I love it. In fact, I took a break from the partnership through the winter, and Thomas and I paid for boxes ourselves for a while because we loved cooking them together. Here are five reasons why Blue Apron has enhanced my food life.
{Smoky Seared Cod with Roasted Potatoes and Dates}
1. I have become a better cook. Every time I try a new recipe, I learn something new or get a little better at cooking techniques. The time it takes me to complete a Blue Apron recipe has even dropped some, and I now feel comfortable making the recipes on weeknights because I’ve gotten more efficient with them. And I still make the Dijon-panko salmon using the technique I learned about in this post.
2. I’ve been introduced to so many new ingredients. Black garlic, rice flour, mara seaweed, harissa. I would never think to buy these otherwise, and I wouldn’t want to buy a giant amount either. I love that Blue Apron provides exactly the amount you need.
{Katsu-style Catfish with Black Garlic and Jasmine Rice}
3. I spend a lot less time meal planning and at the grocery store. On the weeks where we do a Blue Apron box, I have a list of staples to pick up and Blue Apron does the rest of the “shopping”, so my grocery store trips are quick and efficient. I do think that the cost comes out about even when I add Blue Apron + staples and get what I’d normally spend on staples + 3-4 meals for the week. This is where the commitment to reduce food waste really shows, and I never throw away a single ingredient (actually that’s not true: I never garnish with green onions, but I try to give them to my neighbors!).
{Chicken Meatballs & Fregola Sarda with Kale & Sicilian Tomato Sauce}
4. I feel good about supporting small farmers while using a big service. I love that Blue Apron partners with Seafood Watch to make the best sustainable seafood choices and recently launched a partnership with BN Ranch to source grass-fed beef. With a mission to build a better food system over time, Blue Apron is making it convenient for Americans to cook more with small-farm food while not having to spend a lot of time shopping at markets or wasting things they don’t cook. Am I saying you shouldn’t go to the farmers market and should get Blue Apron instead? Absolutely not. That is, of course, the best option. But if you don’t have the ability, accessibility or time to visit a weekly market, then this is a great alternative. I do wish there was a way to get food delivered without boxes and ice packs (although you can recycle them), and I have a vision of the company hiring delivery people and distributing ingredients and recipes to people via bike or electric car. Cool idea, right?
{Penne & Arrabbiata Sauce with Roasted Carrot & Tangelo Salad}
5. Making all these recipes has been fun! Cheesy #5, but it’s true! I enjoy the surprise of each week’s recipe plan, and of the 25ish recipes I’ve made, there have only been two or so that I haven’t loved. Most are fantastic and several have knocked my socks off! We have been eating well.
Get $60 off your first 3 boxes!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Such great reasons, and the food looks really good. Only wish we had Blue Apron here in Hong Kong!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Pat says
They don’t ship to Alaska either. My niece and her husband in Maine use it a lot. They borh work long hours and feel they eat better with it.
elle says
I started up with Blue Apron again (first delivery coming tomorrow!) I’m working on losing weight and conserving money, and keeping me out of the grocery store helps with both of those things.
And Blue Apron forces me to include veggies with my meals!
I reuse the ziploc baggies they send, since I always need those, and regular groceries come with packaging, too. The freezer bags are great to use on the boat during the summer, or to keep in a cooler at the beach or park. And I use them to take up extra room in my freezer when it isn’t as full, since it runs better that way.
My only issue with them is that some weeks the substitutions I want to make, can’t be made. I don’t know what their system is for deciding what combo of meals you are allowed to get, but more than a few times I have canceled the entire delivery because I couldn’t order what I wanted from the 6 choices.
Kimberly says
Home Chef is a similar meal delivery service and they have about 10 choices each week that you can pick from.
https://www.homechef.com/invite/5zRkGTVMG20x
I’ve never tried Blue Apron, but I saw them on Master Chef Junior this week! You’ll have to let us know how Justice’s meal is if you get that one (the winning kid’s recipe is going to be in the upcoming family meal plan).
Christina @ Montessoriishmom.com says
I love that blue apron encourages me to buy different kinds of seafood, instead of always salmon, which is my favorite.
Alana says
I’ve been really impressed with the Blue Apron meals I have seen others post recently. I’m happy to see they are making strides to provide their customers with sustainably sourced fish and grass-fed beef. Planning to try them out once we move!
Carrie this fit chick says
Blue apron has done a great job of gettingtheir name out there and beating the other meal delivery prep services with their brand image and food!! I haven’t seen a meal I havent liked!
Naomi says
Maybe I’ve just gotten a few bad boxes but I’ve had three weeks worth of meals (over the span of a couple months) and all of them have been missing an ingredient (One egg, which i was able to make up fine, a little bottle of vinegar which again, not a problem, but one box had the spice ingredients missing…I couldn’t do anything with that meal) . One box came a few days later than scheduled so I called to company to see if they had sent it late or if this fresh food had been sitting in a truck/storage area for who knows how long. They told me to discard the box and “to make it up to me” they would post a $25 credit to my account for another meal…Too bad the meal costs $35…
I think I’m done giving them a chance.
Also, in order to cancel you have to send an email to get the cancellation link so if anyone wants to skip the step of emailing the company for no reason here is the link to cancel. https://www.blueapron.com/cancel_subscription.
KathEats says
Man, I’ve never had anything missing, but I can see why that would override the whole point of the system!
Brianna says
Can you tell me if they work with allergies? For instance, no gluten?
KathEats says
Not specifically but here’s what they say about it:
Linda says
So many people love Blue Apron, but I can take it or leave it. I didn’t like that it wouldn’t let you pick any combination of the three meals for the week that you wanted. After picking one options, others become unavailable. Also, some recipes take so long to make. I need super quick recipes in the evenings as I work full time and have two young children. Finally, a lot of the meals are pretty high in calories and sodium.
Meredith Somerset says
I’ve switched completely to Blue Apron and Plated for my weekly meals. I feel like I spend less $ on this, especially when Scott was deployed, than going grocery shopping and having ingredients spoil. . I have dinner, and lunch for the next da, no food gone to waste, or getting sick and tired of eating lasagna for 4 days straight for every meal. The amount of time I get back not planning meals and grocery shopping is great too! Any time I’ve had a missing ingredient, I’ve been more than compensated by the company and usually have been able to make the recipe work without it.
KathEats says
Great to hear since it’s often promoted as a two or family person plan but you’re right that two person = dinner plus a lunch. I do that all the time if we have extra 🙂
Andrea says
I love it for the same reasons! I also like that most meals are super delicious but not very hard – reminds me that I can be minimalist and not on the hunt for crazy complicated recipes.
Audrey says
I have heard great things about blue apron! Looks like I’ll have to try it.
https://jonandaudadventure.wordpress.com/
Tonya says
Your seared cod and roasted potato pic looks even better than the one on the Blue Apron site! It totally made me click over.
KathEats says
Haha thanks!!
Allison d says
I tried one box and was so disturbed by the amount of packaging- so wasteful. Also I see this touted as supporting small farms, but I live in Oregon (where we have tons of small farms) and my box shipped from California. Some people might not be worried about these 2 issues but I am really tired of reading reviews that claim blue apron cares about sustainability.
Linda @ The Fitty says
How many days do you think this box will last a?
KathEats says
3 recipes x 2 servings, so it depends on how many eaters you have!
Allison says
I see so many posts by bloggers for Blue Apron who love it, but I have never met anyone in real life who loves it as much. Lots of people in my neighborhood have tried it, but I don’t know anyone who has kept it up. From my experience, they are very expensive, the meals are quite time consuming to make, and my kids haven’t liked them. I also find some of the meals to be complicated but basically could be simple….like fancy grilled cheese. If you have teenagers with lots of activities and you just need to get something on the table, Blue Apron is not going to work. I see a bloggers posting it as a “date night” activity and that is because the meals can be a lot of work and can take a lot of time. I also see bloggers with kids who buy the 2 person option and make it after the kids go to bed. I go to bed long before my 16 yo and I am not making two different dinners. Before we even tried it, my husband was at a poker game and the men (dads) were talking about using blue apron and the one thing that the guys who had tried it agreed on was that it is expensive.
I love cook smarts. You get a nice list of all the ingredients you need….your going to the store anyway if you have kids, the recipes are simple, you don’t have to worry about meal planning and there are no crazy ingredients. Plus, you can switch out a recipe really easily.
KathEats says
It’s definitely not for everyone, and when Mazen was younger I couldn’t have swung the more time-intensive meals. Now he helps me out some, and I have dinner on the table by 6:30 and we eat together. He’s eaten a lot of them meals. I love Cook Smarts too, and I often do both in one week and make my Blue Apron meals on nights when I know I’ll have more time, and schedule simple meals for nights when I won’t.
Nikki says
I like Blue Apron too, I really enjoyed it when we used it. But ultimately, I just couldn’t get over the amount of plastic and waste (and I hope they take that constructive criticism seriously!)
Pearl says
I tried Blue Apron, and agree that the amount of packaging waste is more than problematic. I did enjoy trying out new techniques and ingredients.
The second reason for stopping was that I just didn’t love the meals. They were all good enough to eat one serving of, but I found myself not eating the leftovers- and I’m someone who really hates waste.
Frankly, I think that this type of service capitalizes on the (very American) desire for STUFF.
ashley says
The carb-protein-fat ratios in the vegetarian meals was horrifying. We loved the service, but had to stop for that reason.