Anyone try Blue Apron?

[ez]

great thread I was wondering about this. Probably wont try it now.

 

[pryncess527]

I found it overpriced for what I got. I'd rather put a little time into finding new recipes if I'm going to have to do the prep/cooking anyway. I can see how it would have been a nice introduction to cooking if I'd found it earlier

 

[DopeyDame]

I just got a free week from a friend, so my first order is coming next week.

I tried plated last year, and it was like everyone else said - a good idea and some good food, but way too expensive for our family.

 

[AntimonyER]

While I haven't bought a subscription, since they provide full recipe cards, I tried out a few of their recipes... The food was pretty tasty, so the recipes seem on point. That being said, I paid 1/4 the price they charge to buy the food from my local grocery store, and that was buying exactly what they provide, I could have made a few substitutions (ie iceberg lettuce for hydroponic bibb, bulk mozzarella vs. the pearls the recipe called for, etc.) to make it even cheaper. My advice, use their site for recipe ideas, but go out and buy the food yourself.

 

[DopeyDame]

While I haven't bought a subscription, since they provide full recipe cards, I tried out a few of their recipes... The food was pretty tasty, so the recipes seem on point. That being said, I paid 1/4 the price they charge to buy the food from my local grocery store, and that was buying exactly what they provide, I could have made a few substitutions (ie iceberg lettuce for hydroponic bibb, bulk mozzarella vs. the pearls the recipe called for, etc.) to make it even cheaper. My advice, use their site for recipe ideas, but go out and buy the food yourself.

Oh I didn't realize that! Awesome!

 

[Pakey]

I've been doing Blue Apron for 18 months. Since it's just my boyfriend and I, I do the dinner for 2. It's $60 a week for 3 meals. There's plenty of food. I love it. In 18 months, there have been 3 dishes that I didn't like and all 3 of those were pasta dishes (many of the pasta dishes are very good). I usually get one meat dish (either beef or pork), one chicken dish and one "other" that is either fish or vegetarian. I love the convenience of it. Many of the dishes include spices or spice blends that would cost a fortune to buy and I would never use the rest of the bottle. We are very adventurous eaters and I would think people who didn't like Asian or Middle Eastern spices would have more difficulty as these are not plain meals.

Their customer service is fantastic. I've twice had something missing and in both instances, I was credited in full for the meals. They distribute locally so I would imagine that the problem of missing items is a regional issue.

The quality of the ingredients is very good. You can't really compare bibb lettuce to iceberg IMO but if that type of stuff doesn't matter to you, you probably won't see the value in Blue Apron. I've learned a lot about cooking and flavor profiles and I continue to get these weekly boxes because I find that I enjoy making the dishes and except for those 3 pasta dishes, the meals taste better than anything I've cooked from my own stash of recipes.

 

[tasha99]

I've been doing Blue Apron for 18 months. Since it's just my boyfriend and I, I do the dinner for 2. It's $60 a week for 3 meals. There's plenty of food. I love it. In 18 months, there have been 3 dishes that I didn't like and all 3 of those were pasta dishes (many of the pasta dishes are very good). I usually get one meat dish (either beef or pork), one chicken dish and one "other" that is either fish or vegetarian. I love the convenience of it. Many of the dishes include spices or spice blends that would cost a fortune to buy and I would never use the rest of the bottle. We are very adventurous eaters and I would think people who didn't like Asian or Middle Eastern spices would have more difficulty as these are not plain meals.

Their customer service is fantastic. I've twice had something missing and in both instances, I was credited in full for the meals. They distribute locally so I would imagine that the problem of missing items is a regional issue.

The quality of the ingredients is very good. You can't really compare bibb lettuce to iceberg IMO but if that type of stuff doesn't matter to you, you probably won't see the value in Blue Apron. I've learned a lot about cooking and flavor profiles and I continue to get these weekly boxes because I find that I enjoy making the dishes and except for those 3 pasta dishes, the meals taste better than anything I've cooked from my own stash of recipes.

Just fyi, many grocery stores have bulk spices. I buy in the jars one time, then refill as needed. And by fill, I mean I buy only small amounts to keep the spices fresh (I think spices tend to go stale over time).

I've never tried these because of the cost, and I have shelves and shelves of cookbooks (plus a world of recipes online). I hate grocery shopping though . . .

 

[Yassdvclb]

I tried Blue Apron for a few weeks then switched to Home Chef. I liked the recipes much more and they give you larger portions and sides.

 

[donnsuz]

For those of you who have tried Blue Apron or Hello Fresh, etc, do you think that they would work if you were staying at WDW in a timeshare type unit? Part of my problem in shopping to cook for a few meals at WDW is I hate to have left overs such as a bunch of extra condiments etc. How are they on the timing of delivery? Can you ask for a certain meal to arrive on a certain day?

 

[MSLRAC]

We use Blue Apron for 2-4 family meals a week depending on the menu options. My oldest helped make a meal at a friend's house one evening during a sleepover and really enjoyed it. The friend's mom gave us a promo for a free box and we've been using it ever since.

It's introduced us to many meals I probably would have never tried through my own meal planning, we've gotten to try ingredients that aren't readily available in our area, and it's gotten my kids into the kitchen to help prep and cook meals. We've only hand a couple recipes that we really didn't care for and we've had many that we make on our own now. We've never found the portions too small and the price is well worth it in my book because I loathe grocery shopping.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We have tried both Blue Apron and Hellofresh. Blue apron is ok, but the ingredients are not as fresh and the recipes weren't as good as Hellofresh. We usually order Hellofreh over blue apton, but I keep both services "active" (you can skip weeks so you only.pay when the menu is something you want)

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I was able to try Blue Apron for one week when I won it on a blog. It was really fun and I loved going through the box when it came in. I wish I could afford them because I would definitely continue to do it.

I receive the Rachael Ray magazine at my house. The last 4-5 months she has a little booklet in the magazine that contains recipes for 5 meals and a shopping list. I haven't tried it yet but it actually seems pretty fun and she is able to utilize all the ingredients in multiple meals but still have each meal be unique. This might be an option if the cost of the service is too high for you (like it is for me!).

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Tried both Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. Since you can get the recipes for free, I don't see a need to actually have food shipped to you. It's a waste of resources and more expensive than getting the food yourself. But if you live in a food desert, I suppose it's helpful. Although, if you live in a food desert, I doubt you could afford the service.

 

[prprincess]

We tried it for about a month. My husband is a vegetarian, and so we ordered the vegetarian meal plan--didn't like the meals at all. They were very tasteless. I've heard that the regular meals taste better, though. I just couldn't justify the price when the meals took, in my opinion, a long time to cook. And the portions were small.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We've been trying Blue Apron for a couple of weeks after so many friends raved about it. I have really mixed feelings on it.

I think it's perfect for:
- inexperienced cooks
- people in a food rut
- someone who just moved into a new house
- while on vacation in a rented condo.

{They send me little tiny packages of staple ingredients that I have sitting on my shelf already - and I've yet to come across anything unusual so I figure most people have the stuff, too. The packaging seems to be such a waste for those items. But that's why I think it'd be perfect in a rented condo when all you have is salt and pepper, usually, and would need to buy or bring lots of pantry items to cook with.}

The food has all been delicious but the portions are not large. Definitely no leftovers and, admittedly, a tad small sometimes but both of us could use help in portion control Of course it's pricey compared to buying it yourself and none of the recipes are overly quick to make. We thought it might stop us from picking up takeout but the reason we pick up takeout is because we're tired and don't want to cook, not because we have no food to cook

I love to cook, and have a food blog, so it won't be a regular thing for us but nice on those weeks when I'm not able to get to the store or do menu planning.

 

[Jdbsfw]

As others have stated, we tried it and it was "OK"....lot of prep time and I'm a big eater for a guy who's 5'11 and 175lbs (no leftovers) It just isn't cost effective, we got 3 meals a week and paid $60, 20$ a meal and we have to prepare it???

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I haven't used Blue Apron, but did try Hello Fresh for a while.

I stared out with Hello Fresh from Groupon, they had a sale code and I had a credit from another merchant to use. So, I paid a good bit less than their regular price. We did the meals for 4, which was enough for my family of 5.

I had problems with every single delivery I ever got. Mainly the meat packs opening, exploding, soaking everything in the boxes with meat drippings, even 1 time I was so bad it soaked completely through the cardboard shipping box and left a puddle of the porch where the box was. The meat would almost always be spoiled from being opened. Not to mention having to throw away so many ingredients from each box, due to being covered in meat drippings.

Other than the meat problems, several times ingredients would come mangled, mashed, bruised or just in bad condition.

One specific time I witnessed the UPS driver drop it down the stairs in his truck and it tumbled out into the road.

Above all else, their meals too way longer to prepare than estimated. I know my way very well around the kitchen and have been a home cook for over 15 years, host parties & dinners, etc, but some of their meals just had too many steps that made it take way to long.

I called, took photos, emailed the photos to Hello Fresh and they could have cared less. Their response was that if I stayed on they could give me my next box 20% off.

 

[LilyWDW]

Nope... I don't have the money to waste.

Even taking into account having to buy bigger quantities and the gas it takes me to do my shopping, I can make the same recipes for a fraction of the cost of one of these services.

 

[Monykalyn]

While I haven't bought a subscription, since they provide full recipe cards, I tried out a few of their recipes... The food was pretty tasty, so the recipes seem on point. That being said, I paid 1/4 the price they charge to buy the food from my local grocery store, and that was buying exactly what they provide, I could have made a few substitutions (ie iceberg lettuce for hydroponic bibb, bulk mozzarella vs. the pearls the recipe called for, etc.) to make it even cheaper. My advice, use their site for recipe ideas, but go out and buy the food yourself.

This is exactly what I do! Use the recipes to try something new (gnocchi has now become a staple in my pantry). Even the spice blends you can find recipes for. Just takes a few hours a week to plan shop-even can prep ahead (chop garlic, onions, peppers, shred cheese etc) then meal time prep is faster and easier. I also do a "freezer meal/slow cooker" day once every couple months-get a bunch of meals ready in freezer that can go into the slow cooker for those super crazy days/weeks.

We do have a Try the World subscription though-every other month get a box with specialty ingredients from that country, along with recipes to make a meal. Still kinda pricey but it started as family gift last Christmas - as way to "do" instead of accumulate things we don't need. And it is alot of fun!

 

[lakelandgal70]

I have been using this service for a year now. Just two of us and we find the meals very filling and sometimes we have enough left over for hubby to take some for his lunch next day. We used to eat out 4-5 times a week so I find this saves us a lot of money weekly. The customer service is really good. I complained that the meat was leaking and they made sure that the meats now are packed in a ziplock type bag. I also like that there isn't a lot of food waste.