Donning the Blue Apron

I usually enjoy grocery shopping and farmers markets, picking out my own produce and planning menus around what's in season, what looks best.   Now and then, I need a break from food shopping and menu planning to attend to rewrites and rehearsals, students, work.   So when a foodie friend offered me a free trial with Blue Apron, I couldn't wait to see what meals were coming in my basket.

To whet my appetite, my friend had been posting photos and sharing her experiences, comparing Blue Apron to Sun Basket.

The three meals I chose from Blue Apron were:

Pan-seared cod with pickled grapes & summer succotash 

I had to use my own tomatoes, as mine arrived heavily bruised, moldy, unusable

Pork Ramen w/fresh ramen noodles & summer vegetables

The pork was juicy

Blackened Chile-Dusted Chicken with zucchini rice & corn tomato saute

The Pros:

All the meals tasted delicious

Recipes are easy to follow

My husband willingly shared the chores and mise en place since there were clear directions

The calories are right

Fun to plate

Packaging is recyclable

The Cons:

Some of the garlic cloves on my bulb were dried out, brown 

My tomato was heavily bruised, moldy and unusable

My zucchini arrived w/pockmarks everywhere, too soft so I bought another one

No leftovers 

BOTTOM LINE:  Would I become a regular?  Semi-regular?  Well, it all depends on the menu.  Really.  Whet my appetite, Blue Apron, and up the quality control of ingredients.  We like protein and go easy on carbs.  Our diet is more paleo but not exclusively so which is why I chose the week that I did.   The menu options feature a lot of carbs -- rice, bread (sandwiches), pasta -- and less protein, which unfortunately doesn't appeal as much to us.