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Blue Apron, you've made cooking fun again

By Thursday, October 02, 2014

Blue Apron has seriously changed my life. For those of you not familiar with the service, it's a weekly subscription box of three recipes, including all the ingredients, delivered straight to your door. I've been getting Blue Apron for a year now, and continuously find myself raving about it to friends, family, and people I've just met -- so much so that you'd think I was a paid promoter. But I am not; I am just a happy customer.

I first heard about the company from signs on BART, the train service here in the Bay Area, and was immediately intrigued. Trying to come up with new ideas for recipes each week, that both my husband, C., and I would like, and that are reasonably healthy is time consuming and difficult. Then you have to grocery shopping on top of that, which despite living down the street from a Whole Foods, is more of a chore than an excursion for me. From reading magazines from the UK (with which I am completely obsessed) I know that grocery delivery is much more common elsewhere in the world. But when I brought the idea up to C., his response was, "What kind of bourgeois people get their groceries delivered?" My reply: "Fabulous people, that's who."



So we gave it a try, and were impressed from the very beginning. First, you can choose your delivery day (we chose Fridays because that was the day I worked from home), size (two or four people) and can pause your deliveries at any time (a friend of mine only gets deliveries when her husband is traveling for work). You get an email the day beforehand, letting you know your box is on its way and what recipes to expect; they also give you a preview of the recipes for the following week. The box includes all the meat, vegetables/fruits, condiments, spices, etc. that you will need, in exact proportions. So, if you need one green onion and one tablespoon of mirin for a recipe, that's what you will receive, all packaged perfectly and individually (though everything is whole; not pre-chopped). I love that approach, since I felt like I was wasting a lot of groceries previously when I'd buy something for a specific recipe and not use it all before it spoiled.

Everything arrives in a cardboard box and with biodegradable ice packs that you let melt and then put down the drain. The three recipes are tucked inside and have step-by-step instructions and pictures to follow, along with a letter with interesting tidbits of information about the recipes or ingredients used that week. (They also offer a tablet view for those of you who like to cook using your iPad.) Currently, they have a meat box and a vegetarian box to choose from and say more customization options are in the works. We get the meat box, which usually contains one poultry dish, one beef/pork/lamb recipe, and one meal with seafood (various types of fish, shrimp or scallops).

It is incredibly easy and well-designed, and Blue Apron does an amazing job with their emails, soical media, blog and videos to keep you engaged. But what really won me (and C.) over has been the food itself. The ingredients, including the meat, last longer and taste better than what we purchase at Whole Foods. The meals are incredible...even ingredients that I don't think we'll like, we do. There has not been one bad meal, honestly, and we haven't had a recipe repeated yet in over a year.

Seared Cod Piperade with Roasted Blue Potatoes and Parsley-Almond Sauce
We definitely have had our favorites: Chicken and Snow Pea-Radish Saute with Candied Pistachios, Moroccan Beef Tagine with Ras el Hanout, Dates & Honey, and  Seared Salmon & Tomato Chutney with Cranberry Bean & Spinach Stew, to name a few.

You can see that the recipes are a little fancy, but they're not complicated. You do have to be able to cook -- which is part of the attraction for me. I love to cook and experiment with new ingredients, so this is perfect. It's not cheap; each box is $60, which works out to be $10 per meal, though many meals are large enough for three servings. However, it's still a much better value (and way healthier) than all the takeout we were getting when we were too tired to come up with meal ideas, go to the grocery store, and then cook after work.

Here's the best part! Blue Apron gives current subscribers free boxes to give away to friends, so you can try it for yourself. If you're interested, let me know by leaving your email in the comment section below. And if you've already tried it, let me know your thoughts. Now I just wish they'd add desserts!

8 comments

  1. I wonder if they have something like this in Florida? The $10/meal cost sounds spot on for what you get... and the meals smell exquisitely delicious! :)

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    1. It's nationwide, and hits most states (just the eastern edge of Iowa, though, so not quite to Des Moines yet when Audrey last checked). Check the map on their site to see if you can get it, and then let me know if you'd like me to send you a free box.

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    2. I just checked the map and Florida IS in the "Blue" delivery area! Can I seriously get a free box?

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  2. Sounds awesome! I learned about this from you today and Stitch Fix from a friend yesterday - so many cool delivery services these days!

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    1. Cool! I've heard about Stitch Fix, but haven't tried it myself -- if you do, let me know what you think! And if you're interested in a Blue Apron box, just let me know and I'll send you one.

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  3. OK, between your post and the recipes on Blue Apron I'm getting hungry! Frank and I would love an invite if you have any left! namedina (at) gmail.com

    =)

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    1. Absolutely! Let me know what you think -- and see you Saturday!

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