I love to cook but sometimes all the prep and planning for dinner takes away the fun of getting down and dirty in the kitchen. When a busy schedule keeps you from the grocery store and you can’t come up with a creative idea for a meal, cooking can seem like more of a chore than a joy. Enter Blue Apron!
Blue Apron takes away the planning, the shopping and measuring. The subscription service will deliver a box filled with recipes for three meals for the week ahead, including pre-measured ingredients and an easy step-by-step how-to guide. The lovely folks at Blue Apron sent me a box to test out. My box included Turkey Meatloaf, Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup and Top Round Steak Fajitas.
The box ships with freezer packs so it’s not a problem if it has to sit out for a few hours. Inside were fresh vegetables, measured spices, labeled herbs and packaged meat. Everything is very fresh and I love that lesser known items are labeled. Every ingredient needed is included with the exception of oil, salt and pepper. You need to have a moderately stocked kitchen- good knives, baking sheets, mixing bowls, pots, pants. In terms of cooking know-how, I’d say you have to have basic kitchen skills: chop, slice, saute and so on.
Using the easy-to-follow recipe cards, I successfully made the three meals over the course of a week. Each meal technically was two servings but I stretched it out and set aside a small portion to bring for lunch the next day. I loved my experience with Blue Apron. It gave me everything I needed for three unique recipes; dishes I’ve never made before but now would totally make again. With the recipe cards you can easily replicate the dishes in the future. If I were to continue with a subscription I would put all the recipe cards in a binder to remake my favorites.
If I could make one edit to the box, I’d ask that the onion come pre-cut and that’s just because I’m a huge wimp. I usually leave the onion chopping for MM but I wanted to do the full Blue Apron experience on my own. A few tears later, I made it through.
When cooking on my own I often substitute in healthier ingredients. The recipes I received were already on the healthy side (500-700 calories per serving) so I didn’t feel the need to do this, although there were tiny alternatives I would have made (like a sweet potato instead of a regular potato). Using Blue Apron does take away creative freedom but if you prefer a more structured cooking approach, this will work for you (or on the opposite end, if you’re really creative you could come up with your own recipes with the supplied ingredients).
In my opinion, the ideal Blue Apron recipient is someone who is might be short on time but still loves to put together a well-balanced dinner or for wanna-be chefs looking to their improve their craft.You choose a meat/fish or vegetarian box and it costs $9.99 per meal per person so for three nights worth of dinners for 2 it comes to $60 (taxes + shipping included). If the alternative is going out to dinner or ordering in, this is a good deal.
But you’re in luck! Try Blue Apron and use THIS LINK and the code shapinupjan2014 for 30% off your first order.
Click HERE for more info on Blue Apron. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Here are a few photos from my experience:
A look at the contents of the box plus the cards
Love the look of super fresh veggies
Plus all the odds and ends you might not have in your kitchen
Our favorite recipe of the three since it was so out of the realm of my normal cooking: Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
The Top Round Steak Fajitas were also a hit and filled the apartment with a delicious smell
Voila! The finished product
