#BlueApronMeals

Hey y’all! Sorry we’ve been MIA! Chef Des & I haven’t been able to post as much as we’d like since homework & everyday life has been keeping us very busy! Needless to say this whole household is counting down the days, weeks, & months until summer break!! While we haven’t been able to post, we have been busy with some parties & in the kitchen, things I still plan to share soon. I did want to take a few minutes to talk to you about Blue Apron meals. Have you heard of them yet?? Let me say we have been impressed so far. What is it? Blue Apron is a weekly delivery service that sends the supplies needed to cook gourmet meals directly to your door with easy to follow step-by-step directions. There are so many things I love about this company!! You can cancel at any time or opt to skip weeks with ease! They send you high quality ingredients… non-gmo products, meat with no added hormones or antibiotics used, only sustainable seafood, fresh beautiful produce, high quality meats, etc. They partner with growers that use regenerative farming practices to replenish their land. You skip the middle man like grocery stores that often pick ingredients before they ripe. Instead, you get fresher, high-quality food from the farm to the kitchen, avoiding long and wasteful detours at costly grocery stores. They avoid waste by only growing what they need & sending you just the right amount of those produce items so you don’t end up throwing unused portions away. They even offer free recycling services for packaging that cannot be recycled under normal at home conditions. My favorite part though is the recipes! I have stated before how blah daily cooking can become… I mean how many times can you serve your family the same rotation of recipes… tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf… it gets old, & dinner planning & cooking becomes a dreaded chore which especially sucks for someone like me that likes to, well, used to like to cook. That all has changed with Blue Apron… I am enjoying adding new fresh meals in between our normal go-to dinners. We are trying recipes & ingredients we’ve never even had before! My 10 year old has started to love veggies I never even thought she’d try before like spinach, kale, napa cabbage, ginger, shallots, etc. I’ve wanted to try gnocchi forever but never knew how to cook it or what to make with it & guess what showed up on our menu for the first week! Ok I think I’ve got off on a tangent… how does it work? You have two delivery options… (info copied from Blue Apron website)

They preselect meals based on your plan & preferences, but you can easily choose another meal offered for your week if the ones picked aren’t appealing to you. When signing up, you can also choose what meats you & your family prefer & vegetarian options are available as well. There are no shipping costs. The Blue Apron meal app is so easy to use allowing you to see upcoming meal schedule, make choice changes, or chose to skip any week you’d like to fit your needs. You are only charged for the weeks you chose to receive meals & like I said before able to cancel at any time. So I think I’ve covered most of the whats are far as the service so far, but on to what you actually are receiving & what happens after that box is delivered at your door. Oh wait, before I forget… delivery… 1st) You can pick whatever day you’d like to receive your shipment. 2nd) Perishables delivered to the door? What if I’m not home? What if you live in Florida like we do? No need to worry! They are safely packed in an insulated box with long lasting icepacks allowing you plenty of time to get home from work or picking up kids in long car lines keeping everything nice & cold until you are able to transfer things to your fridge. Anyways, back to what I was saying… I love to cook, but I’m self-taught & learning as I go. The step-by-step are full proof. Actually Chef Des (my 10 year old, if you missed my last post) has been helping me make our Blue Apron meals & honestly though we have been cooking together could easily follow the instructions & cook these fancy dishes on her own! I’m sorry if this post is jumping all over the place… Darn ADD! Lol So let’s show you some pictures… these are of our very first family plan order…

Not very good pics plus I am doing this post on the WordPress phone app for the first time so bare with me.

Check out the cute little packaging in the spices & dry ingredients! Oh side note… the only recipe ingredients not supplied are salt, pepper, & olive oil… things most households have on hand.

Some actions shots of Chef Des helping me cook our first meal. Please excuse the messy kitchen… we live in a very small apartment with very little kitchen storage or counter space. Ok so I feel like I’ve covered a lot of info about Blue Apron’s services & what you get, but how about a few pictures of the recipes we’ve cooked? (PS The Blue Apron app allows you to take pictures of your food, add recipe headers, & share them to your favorite social media platforms!)

Just a few of all the wonderful meals out there, & look at all the variety & veggies! We’re only on our 3rd week, and I am the biggest fan. Want to see more? Check out Blue Apron’s Instagram page here or on Facebook here! Not only is Blue Apron a dinner slam dunk, but the app also offers tips & videos to help you unleash your inner chef. I haven’t tried it out yet, but they also offer wine parings you can purchase to compliment your meal. Oh crap, I just thought of something else I wanted to mention. Does the price seem high to you? Honestly, I first thought “I’m not sure this is an expense I can justify”, but then I broke it down. I honestly probably spend about the same per person on our boring, everyday meals, plus, as I sometimes do, I try new recipes & have to purchase ingredients that I either never use again or, when I do, I realize they have expired. If I just went out to make these meals, I would spend way more buying produce & spices in larger quantities that necessary (example a whole bunch of green onions when I only need 2 or a bottle of sesame oil when I only need a couple tablespoons). The proportioned seasonings, sauces, & produce is another cost & waste saving thing I love about Blue Apron! Plus your family is going to think you went out & became a chef when they weren’t looking! Does Blue Apron sound like something your family would like to try? I can help you out with that!! How about your first week of meals free? Yep… 2 family plan meals or 3 2-person meals absolutely free with no commitment, no catches! Believe me you will NOT be disappointed!! How you ask? Just comment your name & email address below & I will send you all the info! Thanks for reading! I can’t wait to hear from any current Blue Apron users as well as those who would like to give it a whirl! Please, I’d love some feedback! Have a great day & happy cooking!!

[Quick disclaimer before I post: This is not sponsored by Blue Apron! I just love the company & wanted to share. The free meals are something every Blue Apron user is given to share with family & friends after they have received a few orders & I chose to offer my readers mine. If you want to get the information straight from the horses mouth so to say or just need more info, check out their website here or look for the Blue Apron app on your smartphone!]