Review: Blue Apron

I recently had the opportunity to try out a new company called Blue Apron. I am really excited to share my experience with you all!

Here is a description of their company from their website:

Blue Apron is a new concept in grocery delivery, built around incredible cooking experiences.  We offer a once-a-week subscription service where we deliver all the fresh ingredients you need to make 3 meals, in exactly the right proportions.  We’ve designed our service to teach you fun new recipes, save prep time and also reduce unnecessary waste.  By letting us shop for you, we can bring you fresher and higher-quality food than you can get on your own in the supermarket, and for better prices! 

Here’s how our subscription service works: 

• Select the type of plan you want and the number of people
• Delivery is free, and we deliver the same day each week
• There’s no commitment: you can cancel anytime before the weekly cutoff 
• Stick with us long enough and you’ll get additional free goodies in the mail!

My first impression upon receiving my Blue Apron box in the mail was that it was really heavy!

I opened it up to find it full of fresh, perfectly measured ingredients.

I appreciated how everything was clearly labeled so that I could easily identify which ingredients went with which recipe.



Each set of ingredients came with a large colorful recipe card that included step-by-step pictures, calorie counts, and a detailed description of the recipe. One item of information that I wished the recipe had included was an estimate of how long the meal would take to cook.

So how did the food taste?

Tilapia Veracruzana with Yellow Rice

At first I was a bit hesitant about some of the ingredients in this dish because they didn't seem to go together. Maybe I'm just not used to cooking authentic Mexican/Spanish dishes. Olives, cinnamon, fresh oregano, fish.....somehow everything came together to taste really good! The fish cooked perfectly with minimal effort and the sauce was a unique combination of spicy and sweet.

Roasted Chicken with Jalapeno-Herb Salsa, Mixed Citrus and Cracked Wheat Berries

I knew right away that I would like this dish, and Adam knew he would not. I love citrus so this was perfect for me because it contained clementine, grapefruit and tangelo, with a little zing from a jalapeno. I never cook bone-in chicken breast but I might try it again sometime because this chicken was extremely moist. I did end up burning the pistachios that were supposed to be lightly toasted and included in the salsa. It still turned out great!

 3-Chile Beef Chili with Red Kidney Beans and Pepper Jack Cheese

This chili was our favorite meal of the 3! It had a strong smoky flavor that came from roasting 3 different chiles in the oven before chopping and adding to the chili. The spice level was perfect and I was excited to see a small block of cheese included to grate over the top. However, I was missing something crunchy in this dish, so I added our own tortilla chips. Adam and I even argued over who got to eat the leftovers for lunch the next day! (Each dish we received included enough for two servings, although I found them to be quite generous and almost enough for 3 full servings).

Overall, I had a lot of fun trying out this company! I think it would be great for someone who has a difficult time menu-planning and grocery shopping because it basically eliminates those steps for you. I also think this service could be fun to try for a date night at home. It would save you the hassle of waiting at a restaurant but still provide you with a high-quality meal. One feature I would love for Blue Apron to add is a dessert option! I think it would be very fun to bake a restaurant-worthy dessert at home.

Would you like to try Blue Apron for yourself? First time customers can use the following code to receive 30% off their order!  https://www.blueapron.com/nullybabyblog042014

Let me know if you try it! And invite me over for dinner.