I took advantage of Blue Apron’s $30 off promo for first timers. For three meals to serve two it is $59.94 or $9.99 per meal. Below are the details of what I got, and the modifications I made to improve the meals for my family.įor an order of two meals for a family of four, it was $71.92 or $8.99 per meal. That’s their choice, but for me, it made their meals a no-go altogether. No meal took me longer than 40 minutes, not including the time I spent reviewing the directions on the app before I started cooking each meal.īlue Apron could easily make some modifications to their menu selections to make them healthier, but it would likely drive up the price of their meals and hit their margins in a competitive market. The meals are easy to prepare with the combined resources they package up for you including the spices and sauces you may not keep in your own kitchen. But they are also trying to sell you kitchen equipment and wine to go with your meal.

Further, it wasn’t just carb heavy, it was high in processed carbs: white rice, white bread or white pasta were the carb the majority of the time for nearly all the menu selections I reviewed.įor someone learning to cook, Blue Apron does offer a wealth of content, including how-to videos, and recommendations on what you need to support your kitchen. Everything was consistently too high in carbs and fat and too low in protein. I tried to make the healthiest choices I could from their available menu selections for families of four and found them woefully out of line with what I’d recommend or eat for myself. In short, I have cancelled my membership and will not be recommending Blue Apron. They are the established market leader and just completed their IPO (with a lackluster performance) so I figured that was the place to start. I decided to start with Blue Apron first. I’m looking for meals that are easy, nutritious and relatively balanced. Anything you cook at home is likely to be better than a restaurant offering, but that doesn’t mean its the optimal choice.

My focus first is whether these are nutritious additions to your home.

It might just help me out with my family as well. Clients are consistently looking for easier ways to cook healthy meals at home and new ways to be creative with their meal prep. With all the recipe kit ordering services advertising these days, I thought I’d try a few of them to see if they would be viable options to recommend.

Blue apron gluten free