I'd heard so many good things about Blue Apron that I decided I needed to try it. I got a coupon code for the Family Plan and ordered 2 meals for 4 people which brought the standard price of $69.92 to $49.94
I received Spiced Pork Chops with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Garlic Spinach for the first meal and the second meal they sent me was Turkey Meatloaf with Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Snap Peas. They both came in one delivery.
Delivery
The website told me I would receive it on a Wednesday and it actually was delivered the day before. That typically wouldn't be a problem for me except that Tuesday was Jonathan's birthday so we were already going out. Plus, I had a fridge full of cake and ice cream and then tons of other leftovers and junk that needed to be thrown out but I didn't have the time to deal with it since we had plans. So fridge space was way tight that day.
The box was packed pretty well. Everything came packed on ice packs and was still nice and cold when I got home from work. The meat was directly on the ice and there were paper bags with the other ingredients separated by meal. Everything came portioned out in it's own little container and the only problem my delivery contained was that a bit of the ketchup squeezed out of the meatloaf ingredient bag.
Preparing the Food
The dishes were very easy to prepare and they came with step by step illustrated directions. The best part was that the ingredients were already measured.
Taste
I first made the Spiced Pork Chops. You basically put a spice rub on the meat and fried them in a pan. Then you de-glazed the pan with a pork demi-glaze sauce and while the meat was extremely tender, it really didn't have any flavor to it. My family said they liked the usual pork chops I make better than these even though they're not as tender. The Garlic Spinach and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes were easy to make and delicious. I'd definitely jazz my usual up again and make these sides with ingredients I already keep on hand at home.
The second meal was Turkey Meatloaf, Snap Peas, and Mashed Potatoes. The meatloaf was pretty good. I typically make lean ground beef meatloaf so this turkey loaf was a smidge different for my family. The sugar snap peas were not something I'd usually prepare but I really liked them even though the rest of my family didn't care for them. Finally, the Creamy Mashed Potatoes were fabulous. Julianna asked if I would make my mashed potatoes with heavy cream from now on after she learned why they were so good (Look at that cute little bottle of cream!).
I wish I had taken pictures of the cooked dishes but I forgot to do that so I'm sorry if you wanted to see the finished product.
Overall, definitely good eats but in the end I don't think the food was so much better than my usual home cooked dinner that I would have to order from Blue Apron again.
Bottom Line
I think this was a fun experiment and certainly worth trying but I won't order again. With the 2 free meals the cost was reasonable, the food was as easy to prepare as something I would usually fix, and the taste was plenty good enough for us. I just don't think it's a service worth paying for unless you just really don't like to shop, plan and chop/measure. Unfortunately, with Blue Apron meals, the cooking/cleanup part still has to happen and I don't think that's something that's going to change.
If you've tried it I'd love to hear what you thought!
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