Streamlining the dinner routine with Blue Apron
This post is sponsored through my partnership with Blue Apron. The first 50 readers to order will get two free meals here!
Before Delivery Day arrives, I’ve been trying to streamline our routines as much as possible. I know the days are closely ahead that will consist of feeling like I’m busy all day, and going to bed without feeling like I’ve accomplished much (besides keeping tiny humans alive, happy and fed). Thankfully, the Pilot and I have it down to a fairly orchestrated chaos that works well for us; we swoop in to help each other out when we need it.
On Sundays, I’ll usually clean the house while he takes Liv for the weekly grocery and Target run. Before they head out to get groceries, we’ll sit down and think of ideas for dinners and snacks so we can write out the list. Lately, it’s been a lot of, “Umm. I don’t know. What do you want?” “I don’t know. What do you feel like?” and we’ll resort back to the usual staples.
Thankfully, Blue Apron has significantly streamlined our dinner routine. Not only do we find ourselves constantly trying new things, but there’s something truly magical about having the bulk of your groceries picked out for you, delivered to your doorstep, and recipes to create chef-quality meals at home.
During Blue Apron weeks, our grocery bills are remarkably less expensive (since we’re only buying breakfast, lunch and snack staples, and far less proteins since we usually consume those at dinnertime), and the quality of the produce is consistently amazing.
Everything arrives fresh and in the perfect portions for the recipes, so I feel like we waste less food. (In the pantry are random condiments like giant bottles of fish sauce that I have no idea how to use.)
We’ve also been introduced to new recipes and able to experiment with new cooking techniques.
During this particular week, we tried these Salmon Burgers and Aioli with corn, arugula and fresh oregano
which I ended up making again because the recipe was so delicious and easy.
It’s another fun way to get Liv involved in the cooking process, as she’s more likely to eat food that she’s helped to prepare.
(Snacking on the Thai basil)
and these Mushroom and Ricotta Calzones.
(She crushed it!)
Some more info about Blue Apron:
-They offer a 2-person plan and a family plan. We get the 2-person plan, and since the servings are so generous, it’s just the right amount for the Pilot, Liv and myself.
-The ingredients arrive in a refrigerated box, which keeps things super fresh, even if you’re not home when it arrives.
-The meals are 500-700 calories per serving, and can be made in 40 minutes or less. Many of the meals that we’ve enjoyed go from fridge to plate within 25 minutes.
-They are constantly adding new dishes and recipes, and even have a cookbook.
Here are some of the recipes I’d like to make in the upcoming weeks:
Lentil and mushroom veggie burgers with arugula
Blackened chile-dusted chicken
Blackened chicken under a “brick”
A special discount for reader friends: the first 50 to order here will receive two free meals with their Blue Apron order.
What do you think helps you streamline your dinner routine, or the chores around the house? Usually when one of us cooks, the other will “dish.”
Hope you have a wonderful afternoon!
xoxo
Gina
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I can’t even count how many times my fiancee and I have the “what do you want? I don’t know, what do you want?” dinner conversation. Also, those calzones look delicious!
it happens all the time!!
Looks like a great service. Calculated calories makes it even better. It might be a good thing that I can recommend to my clients!
yes, the meals are amazing 🙂
I tried another company like this, and I loved the meals/ efficiency, but the only downside was that the two person servings were literally just that- no leftovers for lunch the next day. Have you had the same experience with Blue Apron?
the servings are very generous. we get a full serving for liv out of the 2-person plan, which could easily be enough for lunch the next day. it’s also easy to make the meals into 3 servings instead of two (like for the burgers and calzones, so easy and plenty of ingredients to make a third)
I’ve used Blue Apron before and overall I really loved it! My only complaint was the time for prep work. Has that been cut down at all? I’m trying to make some freezer meals right now to use once the baby comes, but Blue Apron will probably be another great option.
i’ve found that the more i do it, the easier/faster it gets to prep. it also helps when tom is home, so he does some of the prep too (like when they send corn. i’m like “will you de-cob this for me?” haha)
that makes sense! I see that they also offer wine pairings!!!!
AHHH! how did i not know this? so excited to try it out after the beeb is here
I can’t believe how big Liv is getting!
right? it makes me cry haha
I love Blue Apron! That chicken dish sounds fabulous!
I’ve worked with Blue Apron a bit on my blog as well- my husband gets so excited when it’s Blue Apron night!
tom does too!
I’ve tried services like this before they are pretty cool.
I love Blue Apron! It makes me try things I normally would NEVER think about cooking. I also like that, for example, when you make a Thai dish you get little bottles of everything. I don’t make Thai very often so I would totally waste an entire bottle of fish sauce or miso paste. I don’t do it every single week, I skip weeks that don’t look that great, but its fun to change up the boring routine (how many more times can I make turkey chili? LOL). I am excited to start getting the wine package too! I never venture past the 3 wines I love.
WAIT they have wine packages now?!
Mahayana! Yes ma’am! Something to look forward to!
If you add the consumer cost of Blue Apron to your grocery bill for the week it has got to be more expensive than buying groceries. It’s like $20/meal, right? We can eat king crab legs for $20/meal! I think I could make mushroom ricotta calzones for under $5. Not knocking it, it looks like a great thing, I just can’t fathom that it would save anyone money (who has to pay for it) unless it keeps them out of pricier restaurants or they cook so seldom they can’t keep any staples around.
It’s got to be terrific for weeks with a new baby around!
i think it depends where you live. groceries here can be pretty expensive, and going out to eat is really expensive. if we cook blue apron at home, it’s far less than we’d spend at a restaurant for the 3 of us. i agree that if you cook often and have staples around, it’s more cost efficient to cook at home.
hope you’re having a great week!
For a week’s grocery haul for my husband and me, including organic meats/produce and gluten-free everything for my Celiac husband, I’ll spend around $150, sometimes upwards of $190. Yes that’s insane, but we live in the rural South where stores that sell organic and gluten-free options are hard to come by and very pricey. Even if I didn’t buy organic (which I don’t think Blue Apron is?), it would still be pretty expensive. So if Blue Apron had a gluten-free meal plan (which they don’t, womp womp), I could see it being cost-effective for us. However, I can’t see how it’s cheaper than buying from TJ’s, Costco, farmers markets, etc. if you have those options nearby, especially when you can have the added comfort of buying organic.
Also, I agree that $9-10 dollars per person is cheaper than eating out, but at a restaurant you’re also paying for the convenience of not having to cook it yourself.
That makes sense. I suppose a carton of mushrooms in San Diego is probably $5. And for us a restaurant is usually something easily $10/person or less but that’s not most peoples’ way. We’re more burger, sandwich, pizza types than we are sit-down, waited-on, for the most part. That latter isn’t going to happen much for $20. But, yeah, no cooking, no prep, no dishes!
I wish my own mental calculus and aversion (from a ‘green’ standpoint) to shipping refrigerated boxes of food didn’t get in the way of trying it because it does look fun. Maybe someday local markets will sell to-go kit meals that are more like this and less like “a bag of frozen stuff you add meat to”. LOL
haha, that would be amazing!
The first meal we ever made from blue apron was the mushroom lentil burgers, they were amazing! I toasted the buns with butter. So good.
someone just told me about Blue Apron!! I’m loving the fact that there are no giant bottles of condiments or bushels of herbs that shrivel up and die.
We’ve used Blue Apron a few weeks over the summer and really liked it! But I actually don’t think the servings are that large. My crossfitter husband tends to need a bedtime snack, and we definitely don’t have any leftovers.
Had the mushroom calzones too – so delish! Love that you made a papa-bear, mama-bear and baby-bear sized calzone 🙂 Agree that the servings are large. Typically my boyfriend will eat one whole portion, while I’ll have a half and save the other half for leftovers. Depends on the meal though.