I Thought I Was Too Good for Blue Apron Until I Tried It
I’m really against people paying extra money for things because they’re lazy.
You know, like laundry delivery services, or Uber Eats, or Blue Apron.
Maybe I hate these things because I’m broke and can’t afford to be lazy, or maybe I just think I’m better than everyone else because I can get off my ass occasionally and don’t need a written recipe to cook a dope meal.
Either way, when my roommate’s finance bro boyfriend asked me if I had tried Blue Apron, I couldn’t say “no” fast enough.
“You can get your first week for about $30, so it’s a pretty good deal,” he said.
BUY BLUE APRON HERE and get $32 0ff your first meal until April 30!
“Oh, cool,” I said, faking enthusiasm. In my head, I condemned him for thinking that I was going to pay extra money to have groceries delivered to me, and that I couldn’t meal-prep without someone spoon-feeding it to me.
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Even when I had the opportunity to try Blue Apron last week, I was skeptical. First, my delivery didn’t come in time. It was supposed to be delivered by 10:30 am on Friday morning, and I didn’t get it until 7 pm that evening — and that was after reaching out a few times. Then, I made the first recipe — a spiced chicken chili — and didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I enjoyed the chili I make for myself without a recipe.
But, while the chicken chili wasn’t the best thing I ever tasted, it did get me through the weekend. The recipe said two servings, but I got at least four meals out of that recipe, which was awesome.
On that Monday, which was a holiday, I made the other two recipes, both of which were pretty lit. Even though I’m not a newbie to the kitchen, I definitely appreciated how Blue Apron’s recipes were super straightforward and went into all the details so that you didn’t have to Google “how to cut a spaghetti squash.”
By Monday evening, I had all my meals prepped for the week, stacked in my Prepd containers (the dopest lunch box ever). Like with the chili, I found these meals could stretch to about four meals for me rather than two, which was great.
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But then, something not so great happened. On Monday morning, my roommate noticed that her gluten-free bagels in the freezer were soft. By that evening, we were certain that our fridge and freezer were def not working. Thanks to my horrendous landlord and management company, we didn’t get it replaced for an entire week. In fact, as I write this post, I still do not have a working refrigerator. And while this is annoying af for me right now, it actually wasn’t really a big deal last week. Why? Because I had no groceries in the fridge that ran the risk of going bad. Plus, all the food I did have (the prepped Blue Apron meals) didn’t need to be kept super cold, as both meals I had chosen didn’t contain meat.
Another great thing about using Blue Apron was that I could have a bunch of different fruits and vegetables in one meal without spending a ton of money on things that were just going to go bad. If you only shop/cook for yourself, you know how hard it can be to efficiently grocery shop for one person. Most weeks, I ended up with the same four veggies, beans, eggs, and some type of greens (ah, the luxuries of being a writer in NYC). I loved that Blue Apron allowed me to have a bunch of different fresh ingredients without wasting money on stuff that would go bad quickly, although I did wish the recipes weren’t all so carb-heavy.
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And while I first dismissed Blue Apron as being too expensive, once I realized how many meals I could squeeze out of their ingredients, my perspective changed. I got about 12 meals out of my three Blue Apron recipes, which makes $60 sound a lot more reasonable, especially since I normally spend around that amount on weekly groceries.
Because I like getting creative in the kitchen and doing my own thing, I don’t see myself signing on for a year’s worth of Blue Apron. But I do see myself opting in for a week’s worth here and there when I’m feeling it, or when I know I’m traveling soon and don’t want extra food laying around. As an added bonus, Blue Apron combats food waste, so gold stars all around!
If you’re someone who doesn’t normally cook, or you have trouble coming up with fun recipes that you can make for one or two people, I would absolutely recommend Blue Apron. It’s a great way to feel like a fancy chef without putting too much effort in. Plus, cooking (and baking) has been proven to help with depression, anxiety, and overall moodiness. Like my roomie’s bro boyfriend told me earlier, you get your first week for half off, so you can’t afford to not try it. Check out the recipe’s for the week here and try it yourself.
