my week with Blue Apron and a giveaway

July 27, 2016



For about a year now, my husband and I have subscribed to Blue Apron, a subscription meal delivery service that takes the stress out of that dreaded question:  "What's for dinner tonight?"  We subscribe about two weeks a month for three nights a week.  We are devoted to Blue Apron and here's why:  The food is fresh and seasonal, the recipes are restaurant quality, and there is no planning or shopping required--my least favorite part of meal prep.  If you enjoy cooking and eating, but hate the planning and shopping, you will appreciate Blue Apron.  The subscription is flexible and you can cancel or pause your service at any time.  I have a giveaway at the end of this post.  But first read on to see if Blue Apron is right for you.

Delivery day is terribly exciting around here!  As we empty the box we oh and aw over the pretty food.  To keep things simple on cooking day, everything goes into the bottom drawer of my refrigerator.  I pretty much know what nights we'll be home to eat during the week, and since we are almost always home on the evening of the Tuesday delivery day, around 5:00 my husband will pour us each a glass of wine and we'll sit on the patio and I'll read the recipes aloud and we'll plan our week of dinners.

Everything you need, every ingredient, including something as small as a pat of butter or a teaspoon of red pepper flakes comes in the refrigerated box in recyclable containers. The only thing you have to have on hand is salt, pepper and olive oil. Each dinner takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.  There's always plenty and most often we'll have leftovers.  (I have to share that because people who know us know my husband has a very hearty appetite.)  The food is always fresh and seasonal but because of our big summer garden I tend to use Blue Apron less in the summer.  Take at a look at a week from last fall:

Menu
Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Polenta with Tomato Sugo and Lacinato Kale
Cod and Potato Brandade with Watermelon Radish Salad
Roast Pork with Sauteed Spinach and Olive Smashed Potatoes

Tuesday:  When the refrigerated box arrives (first picture), I unpack it and put in the refrigerator.  We decided to have the Chicken Meatballs and Creamy Polenta with Tomato Sugo and Lacinato Kale that night (second picture).  It was scrumptious and we both rated it a 5 out of 5.  I have a smaller appetite than my husband so he gets about 2/3 of the dinner; that just works for us.  The plated dinner is a picture of my smaller serving, but I couldn't finish it as it was very filling; but no problem, my husband happily ate my extra meatballs.  Leftovers? Yes, some polenta which I fried the next morning and served with eggs and salsa.  We loved it.  By the way, I'm gluten free and always keep gf breadcrumbs and bread in the freezer.  It's easy to switch out and I just tossed their breadcrumbs away or give it to my neighbor's chickens.

Three dinners for two are in the box. The little brown paper bags have the individual "knick-knacks" to use for each dinner.

The knick knacks for the chicken meatball dinner were butter, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and meatball spice blend.



Hmmm, I not so great at taking food pics, but you get the idea.  This is my small serving, my husband's was much bigger.

Leftover polenta served as a base for an egg and salsa for next morning's breakfast.

Wednesday:  My husband played poker that night and had dinner at his club.  I met my girlfriends downtown for dinner, so no Blue Apron for us this night. 


Thursday:  I go to choir practice on Thursday evenings so I like Thursday night's dinner to be as easy as possible.  We decide on the Cod and Potato Brandade with Watermelon Radish Salad and happily it turned out to be one of the faster recipes to make this particular week. Since I was in a hurry that night there's no prep pictures to share.  We gave this meal another 5--we both loved the crunchy topping on the casserole and the simple salad.  Again, that's my small portion below--my husband's portion was much larger.  I am gluten free so I switched the Panko breadcrumbs for my own gf breadcrumbs and asked my husband if he wanted the garlic toast.  He said no, so the loaf went to my neighbor's chickens.  Leftovers:  Nope.


The knick knacks for the fish dinner were butter, red wine vinegar, shallot and breadcrumbs.  Besides that, there's also a head of garlic and fresh thyme for the brandade and watermelon radishes for the salad.


My plate with a smaller serving.  We gave it a 5 out of 5.

Friday and Saturday:  We went out both nights so on Thursday night I popped the remaining pork roast into the freezer just to be on the safe side.  The vegetables will be fine in the fridge.

Sunday:  Roast Pork with Sauteed Spinach and Olive Smashed Potatoes was our third and last dinner of the week.  We both love spinach and it had such a bright taste with the addition of lemon zest.  The potatoes were fantastic with the surprising addition of lemon juice and olives.  This dinner showcases one of the reasons why I love Blue Apron:  The recipe requires only 2 tbsp. of sour cream and that's all you get.  No need to purchase a pint and throw away the spoiled, unused leftover two weeks later! My husband rated this a 5 as he loves anything with meat and potatoes.  I gave it a 4 because I would have loved to see a simple sauce for the pork.  Leftovers:  None--my husband would never leave meat and potatoes behind.

Knick knacks in tonight's pork roast were Castelvetrano olives and sour cream.

Lemon zest flavors the spinach.

Lemon juice, sour cream and chopped Castelvetrano olives and garlic chives will go into the smashed potatoes.  They were fantastic.

The recipes are easy step-by-steps tutorial with pictures.

A shot of my smaller portion.
Hungry yet?  That was our delicious week of Blue Apron.  Of course, you can order more if you have a bigger family and you can opt out of fish or beef or anything else you don't care for.  We opted out of vegetarian meals as my husband is just that kind of guy who opts out of anything that doesn't include some kind of meat.  I think this service is for anyone who likes to cook but doesn't care for the planning or the shopping (that's me) or for busy people who enjoy cooking together but need some incentive!  The latter is not us as my husband leaves the cooking to me, but he is a great guy to cook for because he really appreciates a home-cooked meal and lets me know, plus he has been known to wash a dish or two. 

I have tried other subscription meal services and prefer Blue Apron for their food and restaurant quality recipes, and by they way, Blue Apron doesn't know me from Adam.  Over the past year they have given me close to a dozen free weeks to give away to introduce my friends to BA.  I have saved 3 weeks for 3 lucky winners!   

(edited 8/1, this giveaway is closed and winners have been chosen) Giveaway:  I have 3 free weeks of dinners to give away.  Each winner will receive one delivery of  3 meals for two people (6 free meals total).  If you would like to enter, please leave me a comment and include YOUR CONTACT information which is either your email address or your Ravelry ID.  This giveaway is for US residents only.  Click here to make a comment.  Good luck!  I'll come back early next week and announce the 3 winners.

 The links:


You can find the individual recipes here:




My bowls and plates are from Arte Italica.





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40 Comments

  1. Don't add me to the giveaway because I already use Blue Apron! That's so funny that you do too! We also LOVE it and miss it when we don't have it for a few weeks. We have earned a few free meals for friends too and they are now using it. Such a great company. What other ones have you tried? Lindy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What other subscription plans have I tried? I really cannot remember the names other than one, Sunbasket, but BA was better and cheaper! My husband said go back to BA right away. I will be trying HomeChef next week. My son and his GF game me a $30 off for a week so going to give it a try.

      Delete
  2. We've been curious about Blue Apron. May need to check it out soon.

    Rav ID: sklinn

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  3. Blue Apron sounds like a dream come true!

    debatdartmouth on Ravelry

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  4. Given how wonderful your own garden is, Blue Apron must be something special!

    Ravelry id: DesertGirl50

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been using Blue Apron for a while. I love it because I cook dishes and use ingredients I never would think to otherwise. It has really broadened my tastes and my willingness to cook new and different things! The meals are fresh and beautiful! Its so exciting when you get your Blue Apron box! And nothing comes from a grocery store. All from organic farms and fisherman.

    samrh@sbcglobal.com

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  6. This sounds perfect for my husband and me.

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  7. This sounds perfect for my husband and me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love to try Blue Apron. Thanks. mandaoverturf at yahoo dot com

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  9. I'd love to try this! Hubby and I could eat like a king and queen while the kids have hot dogs! Ha ha! Rav amchart

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  10. .....love to try Blue Apron - sounds like a treat!

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  11. I've heard of blue apron from the awesome etiquette podcast but seeing your photos made me really want to try it. Thank you co much for sharing! Rav: pygmina

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  12. This sounds great! Ravelry: knitlikeyoumeanit

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  13. I have been thinking about doing this! Thanks for the opportunity to win (maybe) a trial session! Thanks! Ravelry: nswern

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! Sounds great!! Rav ID: Julia123

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  15. Would love to try blue apron!

    Coleslaura2211(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Would love to try Blue Apron, my husband and I both enjoy cooking.

    dawndavehanson@mchsi.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh my! To not have to think about what is for dinner??? Heavenly! I'd love it!

    Yhime407 on ravelry

    ReplyDelete
  18. You made a great argument for Blue Apron. I've often wondered about the quality of the food. RavelryID: KLCowan1

    ReplyDelete
  19. I would love to try the Blue Apron boxes.
    Rav id: knittingdancer

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  20. The most appealing part of this is not having to decide what to make! We always end up cooking the same 6 or so things!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've been curious about Blue Apron and would love the opportunity to try this. Think of all the extra time for knitting if we don't have to meal plan and shop!

    ReplyDelete
  22. This would be wonderful for me and my husband. I recently came out of retirement and returned to work, which has been an adjustment to say the least. Planned meals! What a wonderful concept! Thank you for offering this! I'm Venice1093 on Ravelry.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love to read your blog! Knitting....love it! Travel....love it! Also love the idea of Blue Apron. My email is bailey5629@bellsouth.net

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oooooooo...I would LOVE this. I have been trying to find the motivation to eat healthier and this might point me in the right direction. My Ravelry name is Smitten.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I would love the chance to try Blue Apron! I find it hard to make small meals as an empty nester and this would be a great way to help me learn about small meal cooking.

    greyowl60@yahoo.com

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  26. i would love to try Blue Apron. Tired of trying to be creative on my own, doing the shopping, measuring, and not knowing what to do with leftover spices. madiavarone@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wow! Those meals look amazing! I would like to try Blue Apron. Thank you.

    warbler01 on Ravelry

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wow! Those meals look like the meals you get on a cruise!

    Knittoday at hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  29. VERY interesting post!! My husband does all our cooking because he loves doing it (and I am so bad at it!). And he asks me the the question "what should we eat tonight?" every day (except when there are left-overs!). Thanks for entering me in your drawing ~ I am Karen Schneider and my email address is aprilfool@charter.net

    ReplyDelete
  30. I've heard of Blue Apron and would love to give it a try! Davisjean@me.com

    ReplyDelete
  31. I have been thinking about subscribing to Blue Apron for a long time. This would be a nice trial run. Thank you. RAV:starstitches

    ReplyDelete
  32. This something I had not heard of, sounds wonderful! Thanks for the chance to try it.

    Ravelry I'D:sugarnspice

    ReplyDelete
  33. I have been SO curious about Blue Apron and this meal looks amazing!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I have not tried Blue Apron, I wish I would have know about this service when I was working long hours and didn't have time to prep for dinner this is the best idea.

    ReplyDelete
  35. would love to try this!

    - judith (j.rontal@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  36. I keep thinking I'd like to try this..

    Raverly: ma2three

    ReplyDelete

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