About a week before Jamie returned home from his recent deployment I sat down to do some meal planning, but I felt very uninspired and uninterested in selecting meals and making a coordinating grocery list. This is something I used to really enjoy doing before he left, but I did zero of it while he was gone and was struggling to get back into my groove.
I’ve always liked cooking for Jamie because he’s so easy to please, so I decided to give Blue Apron a whirl to take one less thing off my plate as we readjusted as a family. I figured this was a good solution; I’d be able to serve tasty meals without having to give our menu a second thought.
We selected to receive one box every Saturday that contained three meals for two people. The other four nights a week we planned to have grilled chicken, a frozen pizza and salad, a night to dine out, and a night to not cook and eat whatever we individually wanted that we had around the house (i.e. sandwiches, pasta, etc.). Hadley isn’t a big eater, so we planned for her to try sampling food from our plates and then feed her something else later if she didn’t eat enough (sometimes she did, sometimes she didn’t.)
We paid $59.95/week, and this price included shipping and tax.
After five straight weeks of receiving a weekly box, we’ve decided to put our shipments on hold (you’ll read about why from the “cons” below). Because there are also many pros, I’m pleased that I can still log in to our account any time to view upcoming menu options and opt to receive a box on a week by week basis.
I asked Jamie to chime in with his opinion on the service, so together we compiled a list of pros and cons about our experience so far with Blue Apron.
Blue Apron Review
Pro
There are six menu options every week (if you’re going with the two-servings per meal option), so as long as one doesn’t have an overly picky palette, a costumer should be able to select three meals that sound appetizing.
Con
The serving sizes were absolutely perfect for me and helped me slowly let go of a few pounds I’d gained during pregnancy, but Jamie only felt full after eating some of the meals. It wasn’t uncommon to find him in the kitchen by 9 p.m. making a couple PB&J sandwiches.
Pro
When time allowed, we really enjoyed making these meals together. One of us would put on music, we’d pour ourselves a drink, and we’d split up the food prep duties. It felt like an in-home date night.
Con
We originally thought that Blue Apron would fit within our grocery budget, but it ended up putting us over week after week. We now had to buy food for lunch since we didn’t have leftovers (something we’ve both always relied on for lunches), and we also had to buy other dinner options for Hadley since these foods were typically way too adventurous for her eyeballs (she decides the second she sees something if she will like it or not.)
Pro
We tried a bunch of new food and tasted a lot of unique dishes from around the world. We also both learned a number of new cooking techniques. If someone is interested in becoming a better cook, I would highly recommend Blue Apron. Their “how to” cards are very detailed, and I know that Jamie and I learned a good bit!
Pro
The food really is fantastic! We thoroughly enjoyed every meal we made.
Let’s chat!
Have you ever used Blue Apron or another food delivery service? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo