This is a product review for Blue Apron.
Product Overview: Blue Apron is a fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service designed to help home chefs of all skill levels cook creative and tasty meals at home. Each week, Blue Apron does the menu planning and shopping, working closely with suppliers and farmers who set the highest-quality standards for every ingredient. They then deliver the food — fresh to your door — so all you have to do is cook it up; the only ingredients you’ll need in your pantry are salt, pepper and olive oil.
Blue Apron delivered to our front door all the ingredients for three meals in this relatively small box.
Me: So, let’s cut right to the chase, Honeybee. After sampling three meals from Blue Apron this week, what did you think?
Honeybee: I thought they made you look like chef Gordon Ramsay for a few nights.
Me: I know, right? I can’t take all the credit, though.
Honeybee: Actually, you shouldn’t take any of the credit; I saw you reading the step-by-step pictured instructions included with the ingredients for each meal — which, by the way, are packaged in perfect proportions. So you didn’t even have to measure anything.
The delivered ingredients for the Smoky Pork Burgers: broccoli, baby greens, roasted piquillo pepper, russet potato, sherry vinegar, potato buns, ground pork, garlic, sour cream, and smoky spice blend
Me: You noticed, huh? Blue Apron really does make it easy. As they note on their website, the service is designed to teach folks like me how to cook new recipes that they probably haven’t tried before, using seasonal, farm-fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Which meal was your favorite?
Honeybee: They were all good — but my fave was the Spanish-style Smoky Pork Burgers with Roasted Vegetables, Baby Greens & Piquillo Pepper Sauce. Yummy!
Smoky Pork Burgers with Roasted Vegetables, Baby Greens & Piquillo Pepper Sauce
Me: That was good. But my favorite was the Chicken Yakiniku with Sesame-Marinated Carrots, Baby Bok Choy, and Garlic Rice. It was really tasty! I’ll be honest, I never heard of yakiniku until Blue Apron introduced it to me; they describe it as “a Japanese barbecue sauce with a touch of heat that combines the sweet notes of teriyaki with the savory depth of sesame.” Whatever. I just know that it was delicious.
Chicken Yakiniku with Sesame-Marinated Carrots, Baby Bok Choy, and Garlic Rice
Honeybee: The Chicken Yakiniku was my second favorite meal. But even the last meal we tried, the Tangelo & Honey-Glazed Salmon with Farro, Apple and Crispy Rosemary was really good — even though I’m not a big fish eater.
Me: I’m not a fish fan either, but I enjoyed the salmon, too — which I think says a lot about the strength of the recipes. What I loved about all three meals was that the ingredients perfectly complemented each other. The tangelo and honey gave the salmon a creative pop that elevated the dish to a place I never could have imagined on my own.
Honeybee: I just hope you learned from Blue Apron that there are other culinary gimmicks out there besides adding a can of corn to the Hamburger Helper.
Me: Hold on now … that’s not the only culinary trick in my repertoire!
Honeybee: You’re right. You also like to toss sliced hot dogs in with the “blue box” mac and cheese from time to time.
Me: Yes. Thank you.
Honeybee: You’re welcome.
Tangelo & Honey-Glazed Salmon with Farro, Apple and Crispy Rosemary
Me: I’ll be honest. When I first opened the box, I thought there wasn’t enough food. It was though; I was thoroughly satisfied after eating all three meals.
Honeybee: I agree. The meals are perfectly portioned and the calorie count and fat content are great for people trying to control their weight.
Me: Yep. It’s hard to believe, but each of the meals were approximately 650 calories and 12 grams of fat — or less!
Honeybee: I think you should explain to this blog’s regular readers how Blue Apron’s service works.
Me: Both of them?
Honeybee: Absolutely. In fact, why don’t you explain it to the poor people who ended up reading this article by accident too?
Me: Okay. Blue Apron offers two plan options with no commitments or fees: 1) a two-person plan for $59.94 that consists of three recipes delivered once per week; and 2) a kid-friendly four-person family plan, where you can choose two weekly recipes for $69.92 or four recipes for $139.84. And shipping is always free.
Honeybee: So that’s $9.99 a meal for the two-person plan, and $8.74 per meal for the family plan?
Me: Correct … but how did you come up with those numbers so fast?
Honeybee: I’ll never tell. Do subscriptions to Blue Apron automatically renew each week?
Me: Yes, they do … but there’s no minimum commitment, so you can skip orders at no charge up to five weeks in advance, or stop your subscription at any time; a simple email to Blue Apron is all it takes to cancel. When you become a subscriber, Blue Apron charges your credit card three to six days before each week’s delivery date.
Honeybee: Is Blue Apron vegetarian friendly?
Me: Of course it is; their two-person plan has a vegetarian option — and in case you’re wondering, Blue Apron’s culinary team never repeats the same recipe in a single year either.
Honeybee: Never?
Me: Never.
Honeybee: Obviously, I love the service. In fact, I intend on keeping our subscription because I think the two-person plan is reasonably-priced for a couple like us, with two older teenagers who aren’t home for dinner as often as they used to be.
Me: I’m with ya, Honeybee. Just don’t tell that to the dog.
Honeybee: Jack? Why is that?
Me: Well … because with these Blue Apron meals, there’s never any leftovers.
Photo Credits: The Honeybee
For sixty bucks I get three whole meals for the husband and me? Seven breakfasts, seven lunches and four dinners are on me to shop for and cook each week? And no leftovers from the meals from Blue Apron, so I have to come up with something for those workday lunches in place of the leftovers I usually take? Wow, what a deal! I can’t wait to spend more money on less food!
This probably works for some people, but this would be financially imprudent, to say the least, for many of us. I can cook salmon, chicken, and pork many, many ways, and recipes are all over the internet for great new ways to try. And if I don’t like a new recipe made with my own ingredients, I’m not out $20 for the meal, either.
I kept waiting to read you say it was good food, but not the most financially savvy option. This article surprised me.
I agree this is obviously not the most cost effective solution for people on a tight budget. I can see how it can be a nice luxury for a couple with some disposible income and no kids like Len pointed out. To be fair he listed the price per meal. It’s rich for my blood but everybody is different. To each his own.
I get it, JD. On a cost per meal basis, Blue Apron is a luxury item. I would never recommend that somebody on a limited income should spend $9.99 per meal when they can feed a family of four for a fraction of that by buying their own groceries.
However, for certain households not on a budget, it is a service definitely worth considering.
Maybe the article is not necessarily about saving money short term. It does point out about having financial freedom to try things. Long term after trying this option and opening their eyes about types of food to cook and how to cook, they can start shopping by themselves and get the ingredients to make good food like this. Kudos for you to look online and find recipes to try and having all the ingredients. I am of similar mind. However, others may need another avenue to explore cooking and having the financial freedom to do this is a perk.
The other drawback I’ve heard about the Blue Apron service is the amount of trash it generates. Because items for each meal are individually packaged, each meal generates a lot of trash. Your images seem to back this up.
That is very true. We were offered a free week through a friend, and I was shocked at the amount of packing materials. My husband and I are prime candidates for Blue Apron as we both work full time, have no kids, and enjoy a generous budget. But we were not impressed enough with Blue Apron to sign on. It saved the hubs time as he does the shopping (and I did appreciate the lack of food waste for extras like fresh spices), but I had to invest much more time cooking than I typically do. Plus I can plan healthy meals for far less than $20 per meal. Even as a reluctant cook, I’d rather prepare my own meals with a crock pot and grill than have to invest the money and prep time needed for BA. Though I will say has BA has terrific customer service! Glad they provide a good service for some, but we will pass.