My Blue Apron Dinners

One of my sons tried Blue Apron and then sent me an email giving me three free dinners.  I talked to him about his experience and then went online to read about the company and others' experiences. Eventually I signed up and now, after receiving three weeks worth of meals, I will tell you of my experience.

The sign-up allows you to choose the day for delivery once a week.  All the items are packaged with ice in a thermal package.  My delivery times have varied from mid-afternoon to early evening.  All the food is fresh and of good quality.  The wild-caught salmon was excellent.

For myself, I can say I have had a good experience with a few caveats.  I am one person and the meals are for two.  The Bad:  I end up with way to much of the side dishes.  Please introduce me to the two people who can eat an entire head of red leaf lettuce for a side-salad.  The Good:  When I cook 8 ounces of pasta, I have at least three meals.

If you are having a salad with the meal, you will make your own salad dressing.  Since I never buy bottled dressing, this is no big deal for me.  I also keep several types of olive oil in my home.

None of the cooking times are overly long, but then I have no one else to worry about once Charlie goes home for the day.  If I was rushing home from work with errands to run and children to take care of, it would be different.  I can get a lot of the prep work for dinner done during the day.

You can also tailor your meals from six selections each week.  I do not eat much beef, so originally I indicated a preference for chicken, fish and vegetables.  But this week there is an interesting dish with lamb and beef so I opted for that as one of my choices.

Here are some photos of the food:

Fresh fettuccine pasta with porcini mushroom bolognese.  This was probably my favorite meal so far. And since I now have the recipe, I will likely make it again.  

Seared salmon with pickled mustard seeds served with a green potato salad.  There was way to much potato salad.  Two people do not need to eat a half-pound of potatoes in one meal but that is just my opinion.  If you are a big eater, than I guess it is just right. 

Below is the Za'atar chicken and pearl couscous with asparagus and pink lemon compote.   This was another very good meal.

Since I do love salad, I really enjoyed this apple, arugula (not my favorite green, but good in this presentation), and walnut salad that accompanied another salmon dish :

Pasta, chicken and fish would be my usual weekly set of meals.  So the above meals could be typical.

Last night I had one of the zucchini, onion, spinach and Parmesan individual quiches.  These were not nearly as calorie laden as my own version, but very good.

Yesterday I made the sauteed purple potatoes, kale, and apple side dish.  I did not make the chicken that went with it and had it with some leftover ham.  Even though I hate kale, I must admit that cooked in this dish it was not bad.  The problem is that this is way too much for two people, IMO. That is a 12-inch pan.

The cost for the two-person, three meal plan is $59.94 per week.  This may seem like a lot if you are a home cook, but not so if you eat out often.  The advantage is that you do not throw away much food.  You cannot buy one stalk of celery in the store and if you are going to throw it out after using one or two stalks, this may be a saving.  Also, spices are pre-measured so you are not buying an entire jar to use for one recipe.

I can think of five reasons NOT to try Blue Apron:

1.  Your 'go-to' dinner plan utilizes Hamburger Helper and lots of cans;
2.  Your knife skills are non-existent;
3.  You do not eat carbs of any kind;
4.  You do not like seasoned food and stick with salt and pepper only;
5.  You are just not adventurous when it comes to eating.
Otherwise, I would suggest you give it a try.

Now that I have been a member for awhile, I too have free meals to send to friends.  If you are interested in trying Blue Apron, send me an email with your email address before next Tuesday.  The first three replies will get an email from me.  Just make sure Blue Apron is available in your area as I am not sure how much of the states they cover.