edpaffjr.comI recently had the opportunity to sample a few free meals from food delivery service Blue Apron. For roughly $60 per week this service delivers all the ingredients and a recipe to prepare three meals for two people. Blue Apron delivers original, step-by-step recipes and fresh ingredients to customers nationwide. The menus change every week, so with each delivery you learn to cook inventive new dishes with seasonal ingredients.
Ingredient List
Cooking Instructions
The dish I liked the best of the three I tried was lemon and pea tendril risotto. The portion was about 550 calories per serving and was more than I could eat in one sitting.
Cooking Risotto
Finished Risotto
We also enjoyed the Mexican-style chopped salad. The roasted poblano peppers were a nice touch to compliment the corn and tortilla strips. This meal was not nearly as filling though and could have definitely used a protein source.
Chopped Ingredients
Mexican-Style Chopped Salad
I though the price was pretty fair, though maybe just a touch on the high side. I used to cook meals from scratch often, but times have changed and we mostly eat prepared meals at home now. The majority of these meals come from Dream Dinners, a monthly service that we use for prepared meals. Once per month I visit the local store and assemble meals using already prepped ingredients and include the appropriate cooking instructions. On average, the cost of these meals are roughly half of what Blue Apron charges per serving size.
However the biggest issue I had with Blue Apron is that I set my dietary preferences to only receive poultry and pork products, leaving out beef, lamb, fish, and shellfish. I also specified that I was not a vegetarian, but I was given three vegetarian meals. It really would have been nice to receive some recipes revolving around white meat, but I guess that is reserved for people with larger dietary preferences. Unless this restriction is removed and more variety is offered, I don’t see myself using Blue Apron again in the future.