Nor do I enjoy cooking.
Problemo Numero Uno when you have 3 hungry boys to feed.
Last week, I finally decided to bite the bullet and try one of these silly meal services. I was a skeptic because I am a penny pincher and assumed I could spend less "doing it on my own" -- WRONG!
As a family, we have a weekly food budget of $200ish. We've gone over that about 94% of the time. Not because we eat constantly (although we can put away from food)!, but rather we were being irresponsible with our groceries and planning ahead.
SIDE NOTE: My husband is a food snob. A lot of our fun married couple arguments were about "What are we having for dinner?" "I'm so hungry!" "We don't have anything to eat." All this whining led to many nights eating out. #keepingitreal Can I get an amen?
Before I begin - I want to admit in advance - I have only tried ONE meal subscription service. But I've researched the options and I know there are three major providers: Blue Apron, Hello Fresh & Plated.
We decided on Blue Apron. For many reasons.
First, the packaging and ingredients.
Blue Apron labels all their ingredients and provides a "knick knack" pouch for the spices/small quantity items. The packaging is designed to keep ingredients fresh for "several hours" after delivery, according to the company and the ingredients will stay fresh for up to a week after delivery date.
Second, the price was better.
Blue Apron starts around $8 per person, per meal. We chose the family package which includes 4 meals for for people. This proved to be PLENTY of food for our family dinners for the week. My kiddos 4 & 1) do not eat full portions so there were leftovers for lunch, etc. We paid $137 for these 4 dinners.
Third, can you skip a week?
Yep, Blue Apron requires customers to give 6 -7 days of advance notice before delivery.
Fourth, the recipe difficulty is doable. Blue Apron recipes sound like they were going to be difficult (again, because I am NOT a good cook typically. Although, this may be changing after this week). The instructions were clear. I had to re-read each step several times to digest the flow but eventually, my kitchen started smelling like a restaurant. Each recipe yielded nearly perfect portions and appealing presentation.
Was this helpful? Are you willing to try it? I shared a LIVE STREAM recently on my Facebook about how this new meal service has improved the quality of my life.
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Have a blessed day!
Blue Apron starts around $8 per person, per meal. We chose the family package which includes 4 meals for for people. This proved to be PLENTY of food for our family dinners for the week. My kiddos 4 & 1) do not eat full portions so there were leftovers for lunch, etc. We paid $137 for these 4 dinners.
Third, can you skip a week?
Yep, Blue Apron requires customers to give 6 -7 days of advance notice before delivery.
Fourth, the recipe difficulty is doable. Blue Apron recipes sound like they were going to be difficult (again, because I am NOT a good cook typically. Although, this may be changing after this week). The instructions were clear. I had to re-read each step several times to digest the flow but eventually, my kitchen started smelling like a restaurant. Each recipe yielded nearly perfect portions and appealing presentation.
Fifth, the calorie breakdown.
Blue Apron says it's meals typically range from 500 to 700 calories per serving. My meals were about 550 calories per serving. It has been delicious.
MY FAVORITE PART: Blue Apron puts an emphasis on cooking tutorials and instructions that you can find sorted by individual recipe as well as general cooking knowledge online. This made me feel like I was actually learning to improve my cooking skills and not just painting by numbers, so to speak. I was also impressed by the end result — dishes that took me about 40 minutes to prepare looked like they had taken hours.
Was this helpful? Are you willing to try it? I shared a LIVE STREAM recently on my Facebook about how this new meal service has improved the quality of my life.
If you would like some more helpful health & fitness tips like this, drop your email below to join our newsletter. I promise, no spam. Just connecting!
Have a blessed day!
