Blue Apron

Have you tried a meal delivery service yet?  If not, it's time you give Blue Apron a try. There is nothing like getting fresh food delivered to your doorstep!

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Blue Apron.  All opinions are 100% my own.

What are your hopes and dreams for the New Year guys?  One of my goals is to get better about meal planning.  My weeks go so much more smoothly when I have a list of dinners written out, even when I scribble it on a post-it. I know exactly what to shop for and I feel less stressed because it's one less thing I have to worry about.  Then I can go on autopilot to basketball, volleyball and scouting events without constantly thinking about what we will eat for dinner when we finally get home.

One way to remove the dinner stressor completely is to use a meal delivery service.  Can you imagine not having to think about meal planning at all?  Fresh food just shows up at your doorstep!  It's seriously the greatest thing ever.

I decided to try Blue Apron because I have heard such great things about it.  Did I mention how fun it is to get that box...filled with fresh veggies, garnishes, spices, sauces and the most beautiful hormone-free meat? It's the closest I'll ever get to having a personal chef.

I can't tell you how happy I was to get this box full of three meals with fresh food and ingredients already portioned out and wrapped in these cute wrappers.  The ingredients were beautiful from the trimmed meat to the perfectly ripe Meyer lemon.  The soy glaze was just the amount I needed so I didn't have to buy a huge bottle that would sit in my pantry and collect dust for the next six months.

You have those bottles in your pantry - you know you do!

The directions are idiot proof. Trust me with a photo for each step of the recipe no one could mess this up.  It can look overwhelming at first but it's really quite easy.

The meals I chose were...

• Vietnamese Meatballs with Sweet Potato Noodles & Daikon Radish
• Shrimp and Shiitake Dumplings with Sauteed Bok Choy & Soy Dipping Sauce
• Seared Chicken with Roasted Honeynut Squash & Garlic Rice

Our favorite was hands down the Vietnamese Meatballs with Sweet Potato Noodles.  I had never even heard of sweet potato noodles but they were a huge hit with all of us.

What really takes those meatballs over the top is the aromatics; lemongrass, scallions, and fresh ginger.  I would never buy these items unless it was a special occasion because I know I would waste them. However, that's what really takes these meals over the top.  They give you the best restaurant-quality ingredients in perfectly portioned out sizes so there is no waste.

The Shrimp and Shiitake Dumplings were the runner up for the best flavor. These were more hands on and if I had to choose again I wouldn't pick a meal that took so long to prepare.  I had to make the filling, fill each dumpling, saute them and then finish them off with steam.  They were very good but it wasn't enough dinner for me.  Once the bok choy sauteed it really shrunk down so I would have liked more of that.

Let's jump right into the pros and cons, shall we?

Pros of Blue Apron Meals

• They provide the most beautiful, high-quality meats ever.  The meat is hormone free and trimmed of fat.  It's better looking than what I find in my local grocery store and on par with Whole Foods.
• The produce is just as delicious as the meat.  They send the coolest, most interesting produce and choose types that you may not have ever tried.  Meyer lemons, bok choy, shallots, honeynut squash, and daikon radish.  This is what sets them apart from other meal delivery services.  They partner with small, local farms and they cut out the middleman meaning less travel time for your precious produce.

• Less food waste!  This is a huge plus for me.  I have a big family with three kids but I still waste food on a weekly basis.  Somehow I just can't seem to get all that produce eaten and it often sits in the crisper.  I love the fact that once this meal is done, there is nothing left.
• The recipes are unique.  You can pick from a lot of meal delivery services but Blue Apron has the most unique and interesting recipes.  These are not your everyday tacos, spaghetti, and hamburger meals.  I love that it introduces my kids to some new flavors and I learn about different ways to put food together.  I loved the sweet potato noodles so much that I will be buying those on a regular basis.  You can even pick from vegetarian options. Blue Apron helps you get out of a food rut.
• I eat less.  The portions seem less than I'm used to eating but that may mean I eat too much.  You can't overeat when the meals are pre-portioned for you.
• Blue Apron is one of the lower priced meal delivery services with an average cost of about $10 per meal.
• Most importantly, it's convenient and reduces the stress I feel about meal planning.  It takes a huge weight off my shoulders to know that my dinner is waiting for me in the fridge. *sigh*

Cons of Blue Apron Meals

• You don't have leftovers.  Now listen I know this a pro and a con but sometimes you want leftover macaroni and cheese or spaghetti for kids to eat for lunch or an after-school snack.  Just make those on the nights that you don't do Blue Apron.
• There are lots of wrappers and containers that are wasteful.  These packages are super cute and convenient but they do produce a lot of trash.  I saved some of the cute little bottles to reuse later.
• My kids didn't like all my meal choices.  Well, duh.  Will they ever eat everything I serve?  No way, I must have the pickiest kids on planet earth. Enough said!

I loved my experience with Blue Apron and will absolutely use them in the future.  I think having two family meals delivered per week mixed in with some other quick and easy meals could take hours off my to-do list. Not to mention, I am introducing my family to new and exciting foods.  Yes, please!

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Blue Apron.  All opinions are 100% my own.