As a birthday gift, my coworkers gave me a gift certificate for Blue Apron, a cook-it-yourself, prepared meals delivery service. What more, they thought it would make for a great blog post and I was totally stoked! The support for my blog alone was one of the best gifts they could’ve given me.
I’ve only reviewed one other similar service before called Home Chef, so I couldn’t wait to see how Blue Apron would be different.
After filling out a short profile of the type of proteins I could and could not eat (I eat it all!), I entered the gift card code and selected a delivery date for my meals. I chose a Friday. The recipes delivered would be a surprise, as I didn’t get to choose them. The box arrived bright and early Friday morning filled with ice packs and a thermal wrapping.
After unpacking all my ingredients, the main proteins, and the handy-dandy recipes, I took a quick look at what I wanted to make first. I was most anxious about the instructions. This would make it or break it for me. They would need to be idiot proof.
First, I decided to go with the fancy grilled cheese sandwich. It was a Fontina and preserved-lemon grilled cheese on sourdough with a tangy endive side salad. Fancy for sure. I’m used to two slices of basic bread and yellow cheese. With each meal, the instructions list out all the ingredients and comes with an additional tiny bag of spices or sauces you’ll need to complete the dish. After grabbing everything I needed, I read through the instructions and got to work.
I’ve never had a sweet and salty version of a grilled cheese so thought this would be fun to make. The instructions said it would take about 10 mins to prep, but it definitely too me way longer to slice and chop all of the ingredients including the shallots, cheese, lemons and even toasting and chopping the nuts.
Pleasantly surprised with the flavors and really loved the side salad. I can’t say I was a huge fan of the lemons with the rinds still on in my sandwich (since those weren’t instructed to be cut off). I didn’t load up with the lemons.
Would I take the time to make this fancy grilled cheese again? Probably without all the lemons. I loved the crunch of the shallots and the cheese. That endive salad is a winner and I could eat that every day. It’s refreshing, light, citrusy and crunchy.
The next dish, I really liked making. It was a seared cod over pan fried udon noodles, cabbage and shiitake mushrooms.
The prep and cook time didn’t take as long as the grilled cheese surprisingly. There weren’t as many tiny vegetables to dice either. I was really proud of myself for not screwing this one up. HA.
This turned out really great and I was so glad to save the second portion for later. Definitely saving this recipe and I’ve never cooked cod at home before.
Overall, it’s pretty straightforward. The cool part about using a service like this is cooking with ingredients you don’t normally pick up at the grocery store. Learning a few new cooking tips here and there does help me get creative when making other dishes. I have to say though, I thought the instructions for my Home Chef box were a lot easier to follow for do-do’s like myself. The ingredients in Blue Apron were fresh for the most part and lasted the week. My mint and green onions could’ve been fresher.
I had a fun experience trying out Blue Apron. The recipes sent to me were picked for me. Unlike Home Chef, I wasn’t able to pick my meals, but thought that might be because of my gift card purchasing experience. You can check out pricing here. Each week, they feature a handful of meals with different proteins or vegetables. You are able to skip a week if your schedule gets in the way or perhaps you don’t like the offerings that week. Your box will contain meals based on your preference (perhaps you are vegetarian or don’t eat pork).
Comments
This is so cool! I often see their ads on Facebook but haven’t tried it because of the price! Your presentation looks amazing! Will have to decide between this one and the other company you referenced because I need idiot proof instructions! Lol
i have always been curious about these services too…the idea of fancy grilled cheese sounds awesome, but i don’t know how i like lemons in there..
I may have to try them out. I never know what to cook which is the reason it’s easier to go to chick-fil-a or anywhere but this seems like it takes the grunt work of looking up recipes and going to the grocery store. 😀
Would love to try this if they have vegan options….I’m all about making dinner as simple as possible! hehe
I would love to try this. It’s been on my list to try a delivery service, but I am so lazy. I want the food delivered already prepared lol
Girl I hear you. I had to schedule a weekend where I had time to cook. And im definitely not savvy in the kitchen,
This sounds good I may have to look into this thanks for sharing this review
Thank you for reading! 🙂
YUM! That looks so good. I have always wanted to try one of those meal delivery boxes. 🙂
It can be totally fun for a night in to cook and make new dishes.
I could have sworn I commented on this after you wrote it, but apparently my blogger mind slipped! I love your honest reviews haha.
Thank you! The Blue Apron ads are everywhere man! Glad I got to try it.