We all know about my Betty Crocker skills.
Or in this case, my lack thereof.
So, obviously, when a friend sent me a free trial code for Blue Apron I had high hopes. No grocery shopping, no measuring, and full-color photo instructions. SENT TO MY HOUSE. Three meals for two people. $60 per week… or $10 per meal. How could this go wrong?
Spoiler alert. It did.
I received ingredients for three meals – Steaks & Roasted Potatoes with Sauteed Long Beans and Tomatoes, Mexican Style Chicken Tortas with Tomato, Avacado and Cucumber salad, and Summer Corn & Bell Pepper Pizza with Taleggio Cheese and Fresh Thyme.
Problem #1: I’m not going to say that I’m a picky eater… but I’m kind of a picky eater. None of these appealed to me. I realize this is my problem, and not Blue Apron’s, but it’s worth noting.
Problem # 2: The arugula for my Summer Corn & Bell Pepper Pizza showed up bad, and dripping its rotten juices on all the other produce.
I contacted Blue Apron customer service immediately, and they were extremely helpful with the arugula situation. Since they obviously can’t send me a new lone ingredient, Blue Apron instead credited $10 to my account.
I mean, $10 for a handful of arugula isn’t too bad in my opinion.
I first made the Steaks & Roasted Potatoes, because I’m a Midwesterner and that’s what we live off of in these parts. Protein and carbs.
These meals make me look like I know what I’m doing. Let’s be clear: I don’t.
The full-color instructions are pretty awesome. Everything, and I mean everything, is detailed step-by-step with a coordinating photo. There was pretty much no way I could mess this up.
My husband like the dinner. I wasn’t a fan. The steak was quality, but the veggies were kind of blah. Since Blue Apron includes seasoning, I expected more punch. They were just sort of… there.
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Now would be the point where I talk about the other two dinners, but I have to be honest…
I didn’t even make them.
Sure, I could have sucked it up and just ate the other two dinners even though I’m not a fan of most of their ingredients. However, neither dinner appeared to be large enough to feed two people. I wasn’t about to spend time on a dinner that I didn’t even like, and would leave us both hungry. Instead, I just used the remaining ingredients as parts of other meals I would normally make.
It’s probably obvious, but I cancelled my account after this free trial. Could I see this working for some families, with a more adventurous palette? Absolutely.
But it just wasn’t going to work for us. We need more FOOD in this house, and less fancy arugula pizza.
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Has anyone used Blue Apron? What has been your experience?
*I received a free trial of Blue Apron from a friend, not from the company. This review is entirely my own.
Thanks for doing this review! I’ve thought about trying blue apron a few times. It looks so convenient. However, my husband and I are both runners with huge appetites and although the reviews I keep reading seem to say it’s “enough” food…I’m so skeptical when I look at the pictures of the prepared meals.
Have a great day!!!!
I should mention that there is a “larger” meal option, but it still doesn’t look big enough for us. My husband ran track in college, and is big into weightlifting now, so he wants massive quantities of protein! 🙂
Great review! I’ve been looking into trying Blue Apron and Plated, but none of the meals have really stuck out to me. Good to know the portions sizes aren’t huge. Thanks!
I’m so happy you posted this. I’ve been considering one of these services (Blue Apron, Plated, or Hello Fresh) and I’m thinking I’ll cross Blue Apron off my list. I might still give one of the others a shot though.
Ditto to the above comments. I was considering trying it out. Thanks for sharing!
My wife and I did a few Blue Apron meals. We loved it but I would describe us as a bit more adventurous with food and pretty health conscious as well. We would do it again and finished each meal feeling very content.
Cody and I must be weirdos we loved our meals when we tried it!! I loved the fact that it was also guilty free eating and we got to try things we probably wouldn’t have.