Blue Apron

I know a bunch of people who've tried it. None seemed to keep to it more than a few weeks. Just as an FYI, they had some regulatory issues.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/02/blue...cessed-food-registration-for-three-years.html

To me, it seems like a lot of money for pre-chopped veggies.

I'd looked into it but there seems to be a 50/50 mix of stuff I'd like vs. stuff my partner wouldn't and vice versa. It's faster and cheaper to make meals both of us would like.

I like to both cook and shop, so I am clearly not the audience for this, but even with that, I just don't understand the appeal. Like, I get people can't cook, don't like to cook, don't have time to cook. Then there's takeout or premade stuff. If someone does like to cook but not shop, or not have time to shop, there are plenty of grocery-delivery services. It also seems expensive -- like, if I'm paying that much, why am I still doing the work?

Obviously people do want it; glad no one asked me to invest in it, because I'd have thought it was a sure miss and been kicking myself, heh.

Someone working for a competing but similar service was out on the street a few weeks ago, and came up to me with his clipboard as I was walking along, with a bag of groceries. He asked if it'd be nice if dinner just came delivered to my house. I said that's takeout. He said no, this is fresh from the market. I said so was the stuff in the bag. He asked if it wouldn't be nice if someone had brought those. I said I could've ordered Fresh Direct? He said but you could cook your own dinner from scratch! I said yes, with the stuff, in the bag, in my hand... He said well I should think about it because it's easier and gave me a flyer.

I've thought about trying one of these. There are days I don't get out of the house, and then have to play cupboard roulette for dinner. Last night I found a can of black beans and some salsa, and some Trader Joe's frozen brown rice in the freezer. I mean, the beans and rice were edible, but hardly something to share pictures of on Twitter. So there's that--if I'd had a meal kit to throw together without a ton of effort, I'd have been quite happy.

The other thing that's appealing to me is the pre-measured ingredients. That means I'd get to try new recipes without having to buy, say, a bunch of beets when I only need three. Less chance of chucking out a lot of stuff I never use up.

Since all the services have introductory offers, I think maybe after Christmas I'll try a few and see if they work for us. Thanks for sharing your experience. Frankie!

I don't do Blue Apron, but I'm currently enrolled in HelloFresh (basically the same kind of service--they ship the ingredients along with detailed recipe instructions, you do the cooking). So far it's been good--my only issues are the expense (I get two meals per week for four people, and it's not cheap, even if you break the cost down per person) and the fact that you have to do the chopping, slicing, grating, etc. (What can I say--I'm lazy ). The upside is variety, and the fact that I'm not a good cook, so the instructions are really helpful (and I'm learning a bunch of techniques I didn't know before). There's also less waste, since they give you the exact amount of ingredients you need for each dish.
I'm not sure how long I'm going to stick with it (been doing it a few months now) but we'll see .

I can see the odd/different ingredients thing - that didn't occur to me.

If you cook, you probably have a lot of spices and random stuff that can go into things, or don't mind buying something specific because you can likely use it, but if you're not so into cooking, then yeah, trying a recipe calls for, I dunno, three spices to make curry, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, etc., that'd be an outlay to consider.

Beets by me are usually three to a bunch though.

I tried it for a few weeks.

If you are new to cooking, or don't know how to put a menu and shopping list together, it would probably be great. I did like the aspect of being able to try things I wouldn't want to buy on my own: spices or exotic ingredients I either don't want to buy a whole bunch of, or literally don't know where to find them.

For me, however, it didn't work out in the long run. I am very much NOT new to cooking, and their instructions felt like SUCH a waste of time to me. I understand the mise-en-place way of prep, but I'm really more on the "add to the pot as you chop" side of things. I learned to cook from Good Eats, 30 Minute Meals and Desperation Dinners. I do NOT mess around with my prep.

I was also put off by the amount of packaging. Yes, most of it is recyclable, but it's still a lot.

I would recommend this for people who like to eat well and want to learn how to put together a menu and a meal, but don't have time to learn it on their own. It's cheaper than eating out, but more expensive than planning on your own.

I know a lot of seniors who love similar food services, as well as people who can't drive.

I also know a lot of people who work bizarre hours for whom shopping is really really tricky, and this is really helpful to them.

There are also companies where you pack your own ingredients etc. like Dream dinners; I know some people in L.A. use them enthusiastically, especially people cooking for one.

My mom got into Home Chef recently and sent me a freebie in February. I'm hooked. I'm like Myrea describes: a newbie who has no idea how to meal plan. I let so much food go to waste when I try to cook because I buy the only size of, say, chicken stock, and after I use what I need for the recipe, I'm left over with half a container that's going to go bad fast and no plans to use it. Leftovers go bad in our fridge all the time.

Home Chef usually sends enough for one meal for two, I get the fun of preparation (nothing pre-cut from them, just pre-portioned), and I don't have to stress over forgetting something at the store or getting the wrong ingredients or not making enough or making too much or... Yeah, it's wonderful for a high-stress beginner cook who's used to cooking out of frozen boxes. I'm learning easy and delicious ways to prepare vegetables and trying new things. Plus, it's just fun to come home to a new box of goodies.

What about me? I live in a town without a grocery store. We do have a gas station/convenience store but, except for a shelf of potatoes and wilty lettuce, there isn't any fresh produce available in the winter. The nearest grocery is about ten miles away but it is expensive and pretty basic-- no exotic items. The meat is local, so fresh and pretty cheap. No fish but hey, this is central Kansas. I don't eat canned stuff, or fried stuff, bake my own bread so end up eating same old, same old all winter. I'm not much of a cook, so I stick to the old recipes.

The bigger stores are 20-30 miles from here--almost impossible to carry anything frozen except in the dead of winter. Today I am driving the 60 miles to Hutchinson and will shop for the next two weeks but fruit and fresh veggies will last only a week or so. In the summers I have a garden and so does everyone and his dog--lots of produce available plus I am usually cooking for grandkids. The trips to town are fun because of pools and movies.

The ads for Blue Apron look tempting, at least for the winter months. Not only would I save on gas but would not have to get out on the highway in bad weather. Would it be economical for just one person? What do you think? --s6

There are so many meals-to-cook (as I call them) that it can get confusing. They're all about the same cost, which for me, is out of my budget. I have a family of four adults so this is a no-go. The two top ones seem to be Hello Fresh and Blue Apron. I feel these are good for those who can afford it, and want to try new recipes, spices, herbs, etc.

That said, the alternative is spending a half-hour once a week to draw up a grocery list and cut coupons. Then once a week I spend about one hour food shopping (which I hate but armed with my list, it's easy). I find easy-to-make recipes online, I print them out and save them in folders.

For those who can't shop (due to age, disability, &/or time), many areas have grocery stores that have shop-from-home or they can use Amazon Fresh.

shakeysix said:

What about me? I live in a town without a grocery store. We do have a gas station/convenience store but, except for a shelf of potatoes and wilty lettuce, there isn't any fresh produce available in the winter. The nearest grocery is about ten miles away but it is expensive and pretty basic-- no exotic items, the meat is local so fresh and pretty cheap. No fish but hey, this is central Kansas.

The bigger stores are 20-30 miles from here--almost impossible to carry anything frozen except in the dead of winter. Today I am driving the 60 miles to Hutchinson and will shop for the next two weeks but fruit and fresh veggies will last only a week or so. In the summers I have a garden and so does everyone and his dog--lots of produce available plus I am usually cooking for grandkids. The trips to town are fun because of pools and movies.

The ads for Blue Apron look tempting, at least for the winter months. Not only would I save on gas but would not have to get out on the highway in bad weather. Would it be economical for just one person? What do you think? --s6

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That issue also didn't occur to me -- why not try it? There are always ads on the radio for three free meals (I dunno if that's a specific discount off a larger order or whatever) with some code from Blue Apron, (some coupons here for BA) and there are other services like Hello Fresh, I've seen ads with promo free meal and half off first order codes for.

Can't hurt to try something at a discount to see what it's like and if you'd pay retail.

cornflake said:

That issue also didn't occur to me -- why not try it? There are always ads on the radio for three free meals (I dunno if that's a specific discount off a larger order or whatever) with some code from Blue Apron, (some coupons here for BA) and there are other services like Hello Fresh, I've seen ads with promo free meal and half off first order codes for.

Can't hurt to try something at a discount to see what it's like and if you'd pay retail.

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Just make sure you cancel before the time that is specified, if you just want to use the coupons and not continue. They all seem to have coupons for first time buyers.

What I have been using lately is https://emeals.com/

It allows me to plan a menu and then send my son shopping with a pre-made list. It's very flexible and as expensive or economical as we choose to make it. Plus, you have endless substitutions. I'm using it partly to make sure that we have healthy dinners available when I can't watch my son like a hawk, and also to teach him how to plan, shop and cook.

It's a step more difficult than a delivery service, but still offers a helping hand for busy people.