Blue Apron with Jen

Meal kit services have grown in popularity over the last five years or so, and reasonably so. This week I tried one of these services for the first time and made three delicious dinners. These meal services most definitely have their pros and cons but if you’ve ever considered using one, hopefully my experience will help you decide if its worth it for you.

The first step is to decide which service is the best for you. You may consider pricing, dietary considerations, or how much cooking you want to do. For me, the deciding factor was the fact that Blue Apron was known for their fresh ingredients that could last. As a college student, life can get busy fast and I wanted the flexibility to be able to put off cooking for a few days if needed without the produce going bad. Blue Apron is also now offering an option for meal-prepping kits which I was curious about and look forward to trying.

Want to consider more meal kit brand options? Here’s a story that might help: https://nypost.com/article/the-best-meal-delivery-kits/

After you decide which service you want to use, you can decide on the meals you want to cook each week. All services I checked out had a variety of meal choices and protein options. We decided on one carb-based meal (pasta, flatbreads, etc.) and two protein-based meals (fish, chicken, etc.). All three meals were super satisfying, relatively easy to prepare, and didn’t require super specific kitchen tools. While cooking I found myself making mental notes about who this type of service would be right for and who it may not be for.

A meal kit service may be right for you if:

• you want to experiment with new ingredients. I had never cooked with dates or currants before this week and now I know how to incorporate them into future meals.
• in person grocery shopping isn’t an option for you right now. The pandemic has made public spaces a danger to multiple populations right now and meal kit services are a great way to have fresh, healthy meals delivered right to your door.
• you’ve never felt like a good cook. Having blatant instructions in front of you with all of the ingredients you need mostly measured out for you makes for an easy introduction to your kitchen.

A meal kit service may not be right for you if:

• you’re on a tight budget. This is probably the biggest hold back on meal kit services, but the price per serving is comparable if not less than eating out at a restaurant so if those are your options, this may be a healthier alternative for you. However, there are definitely cheaper ways to cook in your own kitchen.
• if you’re cooking alone. The meals provide a prep and cooking time and are available for consideration while choosing your meals. However, even some of the ones with low prep times required quite a bit of chopping and dicing. If you’re like me and you’re a slow chopper with a small cutting board, this will definitely increase the time you spend prepping.
• you want to incorporate your own creativity into your meals. Blue Apron was a great way to find new ingredients and eat delicious meals, but I definitely found myself missing some of the flexibility and creativity that has made cooking so enjoyable to me.

Feel free to DM me with additional questions about my Blue Apron experience and follow my blog to stay updated on my latest posts.

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