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Making it possible to make healthy, restaurant-quality meals in the comfort of your own home, without having to step foot in a supermarket.
Visit Blue ApronBlue Apron is a fantastic meal kit delivery option for those that are lacking inspiration in the kitchen and are bored of their own limited repertoire. The meal kits that Blue Apron provides are influenced by a wide variety of international cuisines so home cooks can learn new and innovative ways to prepare food in their own homes. The company offers recipes that are designed with a nutritionist - answering a whole host of different dietary needs. The company even designates some of its meals as suitable for usage if you are on a Weight Watchers plan, though many of their low-calorie meals can be used to help aid weight loss. The fact that all recipes are preportioned with the ingredients provided also helps people limit their intake of food if they are unwittingly eating more than they should do.
Getting started with Blue Apron is exceptionally quick to do. Through their website, all you need to do is follow the steps the site takes you through to start up on one of their subscription plans. From the beginning, you choose how many your box will feed for each recipe (either 2 or 4), and whether you have a dietary preference. At this stage, it’s good to know that you don’t choose a diet specific to your requirements as such. It simply has a ‘signature’ box, vegetarian box and wellness box. Those boxes match up to what recipes you are offered. The signature box has the widest selection of recipes on offer, while the wellness box will offer your recipes that are good for those on more specific diets - like limiting carbs for example.
You then choose when your box is delivered as well as how many recipes you want each week. You can choose up to four. Food is then delivered to your door in a box that keeps the ingredients fresh in case you are not home to put all the food straight into the fridge. Something that some users may find frustrating, in comparison to how other meal delivery kits are sent to a person’s home, is that all produce is packed together. There is designation as to what ingredients go with what. It’s not a massive issue - obviously, users can pick out what they need from the recipe cards included, but it may be an extra step that some could do without.
In addition to the meal kit delivery sets, customers can also add delivery of wine to their boxes. Additionally, customers can also purchase basic cooking utensils to help them create the recipes. Most of the recipes do not call for anything complicated - though some of the recipes are that little bit more complex than many other meal delivery services have on offer. That may be a pro or a con depending on what type of chef you are.
Another issue that may be a pro or a con depending on who you ask, is the portion size. Blue Apron does not have the most generous portion sizes. While this is arguably reflected in the cost of their boxes, some users may find they have to supplement what they have purchased in the box with another grocery shop, or buying a box for four people when you need it for 2 or 3. The pro to this is for those who either have smaller appetites or are trying to use one of the meal kit delivery services to lose weight. Portion control is what so many people struggle with when trying to lose weight, so only making what you really need, like Blue Apron encourages, is a key way a customer can start to lose weight and keep it off.
A big benefit to the Blue Apron kits is the fact that the produce is responsibly sourced. As a result, you can be sure that you have sustainably caught seafood, for example. Plus, the company claims to be committed to reducing packaging waste. The ice packs used to deliver your food are therefore recyclable and as much as possible is delivered in cardboard boxes.
The menu is pretty diverse and will cater to the majority of dietary requirements - either explicitly or implicitly. For, while there are vegetarian recipes to choose from, there are not any that are specifically designated as vegan. That’s not to say that Blue Apron does not provide vegan menus, however. Some of its recipes are or are at least easily adaptable to a vegan dish. Plus, it’s good to see how many international cuisines have been used as inspiration for many of the dishes. It is in this way that using this product will widen a person’s dish repertoire.
In terms of pricing, Blue Apron is good value for money. It is one of the cheaper meal delivery kits out there. As stated earlier, that could be because the portion sizes are smaller than some may like. However, you do at least get what you pay for. At the moment, if you buy 2 recipes a week for 2 people, you’ll be paying $9.99 a serving. It comes to just under $50 a week for a box.
However, if you start buying a box that provides 4 servings per recipe, the per-serving amount starts to lessen. If you order a box with 4 recipes in, the cost per serving reduces to $7.49. It equates to around $120 a week on your food - probably a bit more than you would pay for your weekly shop, but not astronomically so. Plus if you buy over two recipes a week, you get free shipping, with either sized box. The cost does not reduce if you are a vegetarian, however.
Browse MenusBlue Apron is one of the more successful meal kit delivery services out there as it has a good customer service ethos. It delivers good quality ingredients on time. Those deliveries are made throughout the day so can work for people’s busy schedules. Plus the service itself naturally makes life a little more convenient for its customers - given that they no longer have to waste time meal planning or going to the grocery store. The website is logical and easy to follow, making ordering from the company quick and painless. Plus, the FAQ section is extensive, answering many questions that the typical customer should have. And, getting a refund for the odd bad delivery or ingredient is also straightforward. Perhaps the only bad thing about Blue Apron’s customer service is that it isn’t the easiest service to cancel. It’s possible, it just has one too many steps for it to be efficient.
If you’ve not used a meal kit delivery service before, Blue Apron is a good place to start. It has a range of recipes that will challenge your status quo in the kitchen while doing so at a pretty competitive price. Ultimately, the food is delicious thanks to good quality ingredients - so if you like the range of recipes on offer, this would be a good bet.