In my quest to become a better cook this year, and so I don’t get bored with my typical meals, I committed to trying
one new recipe a week. One new recipe doesn’t feel too overwhelming and has been pretty easy to incorporate, especially if you take a few minutes on the weekend to decide what the recipe will be. My intention is to branch out, get more comfortable with cooking and new flavor combinations, and try different cooking techniques. I use Pinterest, cookbooks, websites and also
Blue Apron to mix things up.
If you’re not familiar with it, Blue Apron it’s a service that delivers fresh ingredients for meals that you make at home. They include just enough of what you need to make the three recipes they give you. The food is delivered in a refrigerated box so that the ingredients stay fresh, even if you’re not at home when your package arrives. I’ve always gotten quality ingredients and you can check out the Blue Apron mission page regarding their efforts at sustainability.
They have a two-person or family plan and I opted for the two-person since our son eats the same thing over and over. We always offer him our food, but it’s a work in progress and our pediatrician keeps assuring us not to worry. Jordan, on the other hand, has gobbled up everything I’ve given her and I have a post on her baby food coming up this month.
To be honest, my favorite part about
Blue Apron is the time it saves in grocery shopping! It’s not my favorite chore, so I try to pawn it off on my hubby as much as I can, but he’s busy too!
When you go to schedule your Blue Apron order, you can choose 3 out of 6 options for that week. I appreciate that so you can still pick the meals that are most appealing to you.
The meals take no longer than 40 minutes to cook and are between 500-800 calories per person, but I find you can take some shortcuts to cut calories further if you want. For this
Orange and Mirin Glazed Cod, for example, I sprayed the pan with cooking spray instead of using olive oil.
It’s insightful to get these recipes and see how you can change things up with your own everyday cooking. Here, the cod came with a faro and broccoli salad that was delicious. I never cook faro, always opting for rice, so this was a great introduction to a new dish.
And I loved the way the recipe instructed to prepare the broccoli. I get stuck in my rut of always steaming it- but for this dish, I sauteed it with garlic and red pepper and it was so much more flavorful.
You’ll definitely want to read the directions carefully, but it’s cool how they outline the steps, ensuring everything comes together and is ready to eat at the same time.
I’m a big fan of fish, and this cod was beautiful and the perfect portion size for two people.
I made this recipe at lunch, so I packed up the second helping and warmed it up to eat as leftovers.
Everything I’ve eaten from Blue Apron has been super tasty! This faro and broccoli salad had orange segments in it and I loved the brightness it added. The red pepper gave just the right amount of heat too.
At around 12:00 p.m. on most days, you’ll find me right here at
our new breakfast table eating lunch with Jordan. It’s a wonderful break in our day that I always look forward to!
blue apron discount offer
As far as pricing, I feel like it’s decent at $60 a week for 3 meals or about $10 per serving. We’d spend that much or more on takeout and at the grocery store, but are saving time/energy on the meal planning, grocery shopping and preparation. I like that you can skip or cancel the service anytime too.
If you want to give Blue Apron a try, they are offering the first 25 readers 3 FREE meals on their first Blue Apron order. Go here to get started!
Have you already tried Blue Apron? What did you think?
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keep in touch!
First, you look fantastic. Still love your hair darker. Everything looks so fresh and yummy. Due to our dietary restrictions we can't use services like that, but so many of my girlfriends with adult sons gave them as Christmas gifts this year. The guys are loving them!!
Thanks Lauren! That is a great gift!
Thank you for the code! I just signed up! I just LOVE your blog!
Thanks so much for letting me know Carrie!
I have been wanting to give this a try, so I just signed up. Thanks!!! 🙂
Let me know how you like it!
First, I still love your hair. Second, have you told us about your new chairs to go with the new table? I may have missed it, but they are beautiful!
Thank you! The chairs are new, I still need to do a post about it. They are from Ballard designs. 😉
Such a doll!!!
xx,
Sam
Thanks Sam!!
I love the blue apron meals as well. I find they are so delicious. However, for the second time recently, I have had trouble with them over not cancelling my accoaunt when I asked them to. It's not a cheap service & I do not want to be forced to get a weekly box. I've not been too happy about this & will probably stop using them because of it. Anyone else have trouble with this?
That is frustrating, I haven't heard of that issue before. I'll write back if I learn of a fix.
Thank so to your blog we tried blue apron last year and loved it:) it does get overwhelming sometimes with schedules so we are in a break from it now…BUT gave a month's worth of meals to my mother-in-law for an Xmas gift this year! Keep that in mind for people who want to eat healthier and don't have time to grocery shop! Thanks!
You're the second person to mention gifting it, I hadn't thought of that! Such a great and thoughtful idea!
We tried blue apron last year thanks to your blog! We really liked it but it can get overwhelming at times with schedules so we are taking a break from it, BUT we gave my mother-in-law a month's worth as an Xmas gift this year and she's obsessed:) it's a great gift for people who are looking to eat healthier without having to grocery shop! Thanks!!
I've been really interested in trying Blue Apron. However, I don't understand the deal code. Is it supposed to cost me $30? It says 3 free meals, but then only takes off a $30 discount, but still says I'm receiving 3 meals, so shouldn't it be completely free to try? I'm confused.
Yes, I thought so. Let me reach out to blue apron and see what they say.
Thanks Megan. I appreciate that.
Okay, now I got it: the "three free meals" offer is a discount offer. So if you gets the 2-person plan, you get 3 free meals off of 6 total meals (so it's essentially a $30 discount off the first order).
Thank you so much for looking into that for me. It's a bit confusing because it seems like you're getting 3 meals for the week, but since it feeds two people it's essentially SIX meals. I signed up. It makes it a good deal to try it out. Thanks again!
Long time reader, first time commenter……your hair color is just too gorgeous not to say something!! Now I will go check out blue apron ?
Have you tried Instacart for your grocery shopping? You can place an order online from several stores and they deliver to your house. Such a time and money saver. It's amazing!!