@Tin_Foil actually blue apron is pretty affordable, even cheaper than, IF you are comparing it to buying organic at the grocery store and/or getting delivery every night for dinner. it definitely is more expensive than ‘regular’ grocery shopping though, especially when i consider that for me shopping includes breakfast & lunch as well as paper goods, toiletries, and drinks. (this is in the boston area though so ymmv.)
i cook pretty much every night & brunch on weekends, but looked into blue apron out of curiosity and also because it would be good for trying different cuisines. (for example, an asian dish that might require lots of ingredients one doesn’t already have - yes it would be cheaper in the long run, but not if you decide you’d rather not cook that particular cuisine again.)
I got mine delivered just today (Wednesday). We get one every few months and love them. At today’s prices you could easily spend the same for a dinner (?) at McDonalds.
@moondrake i mean, i just don’t buy fast food, so. (not a holier than thou comment just an ‘i don’t like it probably because there was a time where all i could afford was dollar menu sandwiches’ comment :))
@jerk_nugget I’d like to say that but cooking for one 3x a day is a drag. I mostly make my own breakfast, but about half my lunches and dinners are takeout. I do pick up takeout at intermediate places and local restaurants more often than I do regular fast food. I like fresh veggies too much for the drive thru diet.
@moondrake yeah, if i (and when i did) live(d) alone, most of my dinners would be random bits of things on a cutting board, and likely a bit more takeout than we eat now which is once a week or every other. (my partner however, gets takeout or fast food every day for lunch during the week.) i like to cook…if there’s someone there to appreciate it. otherwise, even though i’m a good cook, it doesn’t hold much interest for me for some reason.
i also remember my dad would sit down to eat with us (he is the cook at my parents’ house) and half jokingly announce “welp, i’m too tired to eat now.” i now understand completely what he meant. and more than a few times i’ve felt almost like…i don’t know how to describe it exactly, but like preparing the meal was enough, and i no longer had much desire to eat it (or anything else) once it was done.
I’ve tried several by Blue Apron and one by Amazon’s new meal-in-a-kit thing. Both are fine, though the hand-holding gets a little ridiculous sometimes. It’s probably a great way to dip your toes in the water if you’re new to cooking, but I can’t imagine making it a habit.
We were offered a Blue Apron delivered meal by a family member that uses it.
No.
My wife takes 10 minutes choosing the correct head of lettuce. She probably spends twice that long on other items. She would NEVER allow a company to pick the ingredients, let alone have them choose the menu…
Plus, she very rarely ever uses any kind of recipe, even when cooking something new.
Yes, I married the best cook ever.
The very varied ingredients and recipes that are a departure from the ordinary are great and we’ve learned a few dishes we really like but would not have tried otherwise-- especially vegetarian ones. Everything we’ve made has been delicious, but I’m not surprised with as much oil and salt as is used.
The prep always takes longer than stated for us, though. And twice in a few months we’ve had FedEx decide not to deliver our box on time. The time that happened this month everything spoiled and had to be thrown out. Blue Apron did credit us for the box, so other than waste there was no loss for us.
Our subscription is currently paused as far out as the site will let us.
@djslack
I was surprised that they didn’t have a link to cancel on their website. If you still need it, this is the link they send when you e-mail them to unsubscribe: https://www.blueapron.com/cancel_subscription
@DVDBZN Thanks. We haven’t tried to cancel yet, we just don’t plan on doing it for a while. It is a good change of pace but we don’t need it every week (and start to feel that pressure @dave mentioned if we don’t stick to it).
I also have a gift certificate to HomeChef that I need to use. I think we’ll try that soon.
Tried it once on vacation. It was a great way to let the cook take a break while getting the younger family members involved. However, it is much too expensive for a large family, since it basically provides two meals for $60. Cheaper than going out, but not as cheap as cooking from scratch at home.
I tried one of those services, I’m not sure which. Read the recipes and tossed them out, then used all those nice ingredients along with other stuff to make about 5 meals. I’ve been cooking without a net for decades, reading recipes is interesting and can give me ideas, like looking at Pinterest for art ideas. But cooking by a recipe is tedious and I’m not likely to be nearly as happy with the result.
@tinamarie1974 At Texas Roadhouse it’s $9.99 for a 6oz sirloin, salad and baked potato (or two other sides of your choosing), excellent fresh baked bread, all you can eat peanuts, and with my VIP card, a free Onion Flower (blooming onion) appetizer. Someone else does the cooking and the washing up. I take home enough for at least a second meal.
@moondrake A cheeseburger, fries, and a large drink is two bucks on Fridays at McDs. That’s a good deal if you count it as food (which I do most Fridays).
I am a terrible cook, I have been cooking by recipe for over 30 years and hardly stray. Because I really just can’t tell when I taste something while cooking it what/how much I need to add to fix it, so I usually screw that up too (e.g. if it tastes too sweet, when I “fix it” then it tastes too garlic-y or bitter).
But I still love the act of cooking, including going to the store to pick out ingredients and such. And I am way frugal (per my 4 Meh purchases in >2 yrs). If someone got me a gift coupon to Blue Apron or the like, I’d use it, but I wouldn’t do it on my own.
I tried Hello Fresh for a while once (a Blue Apron clone, unless it’s the other way around). I found that it caused me to cook more often, cook healthier, and cook a lot more variety.
All that extra cooking cost time I wasn’t comfortable sparing, and I didn’t like the high price, relative to the grocery store, either. That said, looking at my current diet, I still miss it a bit.
I am a good cook and not wealthy. I tried it twice with free meal codes. I would not pay for it. Way too much salt. Also I often am cooki ng for 1 and don’t like leftovers.
Prep time didn’t take long but honestly I can cook more efficient tastier cheaper and healthier .
I tried it. The first 3 meals were good, eating some foods we have not had before.
The prep time is not listed correctly. I would have them delivered Saturday, it took so long, did not want cook it after work. It irked me to the follow their steps.
The rest was not good, wasted some. We really hated the food.
I could not cancel the subscription, by hitting unsubscribe. I told them, they sent an email. I had to respond using my computer not my iPad.
I have been cooking since I was eleven. I use recipes sometime but mostly I do not.
I forgot to choose not to send, I got recipes I would never cook. The last one they sent me I froze the meat, which I do not do. I buy it fresh from a market, that will cut what I need.
The other stuff went to waste.
I am glad some use it and like it.
I would never do any of them again. I’ll just keep cooking the way I have been cooking for years. I have never had any complaints, if they did, they keep it to themselves. I am my own worst critic so I’m the one who says something is not good.
Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things… while I occasionally will order specific items online that I can’t readily find near me, I can’t imagine just having my groceries appear in a box at my house. I’m not much for recipes either. I’m definitely not the target audience.
I’m a picky eater, and don’t like foods that a lot of others apparently do. Asparagus, “trees” (what my parents called broccoli and cauliflower when they tried to get me to eat them), beans (except baked), peas, greens (turnip, etc.), squash, pears, peaches. Nope.
Beets and spinach, OK. Don’t have anything against scallops, per se. Just don’t see why people pay so much for them. The times I’ve had them, they had just about no taste to them at all. (Maybe my taste buds are messed up; I don’t know.)
Summing up, I don’t think I’d get enough of what I’ll eat to trust Blue Apron or any of the others.
. Don’t have anything against scallops, per se. Just don’t see why people pay so much for them. The times I’ve had them, they had just about no taste to them at all.
i only scallops i like either are deep fried or have a heavy sauce on them
“Yes, it’s basically all I cook”
If this is your option, you either travel a lot or you are richer than astronauts.
@Tin_Foil It occurs to me that “travel a lot” would include astronauts.
Note:not saying you’re redundant, as you had “richer than,” just wanted to point out that odd connection.
@Tin_Foil actually blue apron is pretty affordable, even cheaper than, IF you are comparing it to buying organic at the grocery store and/or getting delivery every night for dinner. it definitely is more expensive than ‘regular’ grocery shopping though, especially when i consider that for me shopping includes breakfast & lunch as well as paper goods, toiletries, and drinks. (this is in the boston area though so ymmv.)
i cook pretty much every night & brunch on weekends, but looked into blue apron out of curiosity and also because it would be good for trying different cuisines. (for example, an asian dish that might require lots of ingredients one doesn’t already have - yes it would be cheaper in the long run, but not if you decide you’d rather not cook that particular cuisine again.)
I tried it, wasn’t impressed. I’m not in the right part of the country for the fresh ingredients to stay fresh for very long.
I got mine delivered just today (Wednesday). We get one every few months and love them. At today’s prices you could easily spend the same for a dinner (?) at McDonalds.
@Mehrocco_Mole so true. it’s ridiculous how expensive fast food is. even for just two people it’s like $20.
@jerk_nugget Not the way I shop. Coupons and VIP cards. I never pay more than $5 for a fast food meal. http://vipsavings.com
@moondrake i mean, i just don’t buy fast food, so. (not a holier than thou comment just an ‘i don’t like it probably because there was a time where all i could afford was dollar menu sandwiches’ comment :))
@jerk_nugget I’d like to say that but cooking for one 3x a day is a drag. I mostly make my own breakfast, but about half my lunches and dinners are takeout. I do pick up takeout at intermediate places and local restaurants more often than I do regular fast food. I like fresh veggies too much for the drive thru diet.
@moondrake yeah, if i (and when i did) live(d) alone, most of my dinners would be random bits of things on a cutting board, and likely a bit more takeout than we eat now which is once a week or every other. (my partner however, gets takeout or fast food every day for lunch during the week.) i like to cook…if there’s someone there to appreciate it. otherwise, even though i’m a good cook, it doesn’t hold much interest for me for some reason.
i also remember my dad would sit down to eat with us (he is the cook at my parents’ house) and half jokingly announce “welp, i’m too tired to eat now.” i now understand completely what he meant. and more than a few times i’ve felt almost like…i don’t know how to describe it exactly, but like preparing the meal was enough, and i no longer had much desire to eat it (or anything else) once it was done.
I’ve tried several by Blue Apron and one by Amazon’s new meal-in-a-kit thing. Both are fine, though the hand-holding gets a little ridiculous sometimes. It’s probably a great way to dip your toes in the water if you’re new to cooking, but I can’t imagine making it a habit.
No, who is she?
Which drug is this a nick name for? Either way haven’t done it but still curious
@unksol Airplane cement
@unksol @sammydog01 "Coming up on Action News 7: teenagers are calling it ‘blue apron,’ and it’s not what you think."
We were offered a Blue Apron delivered meal by a family member that uses it.
No.
My wife takes 10 minutes choosing the correct head of lettuce. She probably spends twice that long on other items. She would NEVER allow a company to pick the ingredients, let alone have them choose the menu…
Plus, she very rarely ever uses any kind of recipe, even when cooking something new.
Yes, I married the best cook ever.
@daveinwarsh
As far as I can tell, these ingredient delivery services are marketed toward urban dwellers that (a) don’t have access to farm fresh ingredients, (b) have an expendable income, © are too busy to plan their meals, yet not too busy to cook a meal once a week, and/or (d) are either not experienced in cooking or would like to try random new recipes.
If three out of four of these criteria describe you, Blue Apron is for you.
@DVDBZN please mention expendable income a time or two more. I think that is the ‘recipe’ for success in thinking about this…
@DVDBZN Lazy. You missed lazy.
@sammydog01 Nah, lazy people have cooked food delivered by businesses like Eat24.
The very varied ingredients and recipes that are a departure from the ordinary are great and we’ve learned a few dishes we really like but would not have tried otherwise-- especially vegetarian ones. Everything we’ve made has been delicious, but I’m not surprised with as much oil and salt as is used.
The prep always takes longer than stated for us, though. And twice in a few months we’ve had FedEx decide not to deliver our box on time. The time that happened this month everything spoiled and had to be thrown out. Blue Apron did credit us for the box, so other than waste there was no loss for us.
Our subscription is currently paused as far out as the site will let us.
@djslack This is in line with my review - it was good, but took way longer to make than their estimates.
I also started to feel stress about not making the meals in time, and it felt stupid to pay money for a thing that could lead to that.
@djslack
I was surprised that they didn’t have a link to cancel on their website. If you still need it, this is the link they send when you e-mail them to unsubscribe: https://www.blueapron.com/cancel_subscription
@DVDBZN Thanks. We haven’t tried to cancel yet, we just don’t plan on doing it for a while. It is a good change of pace but we don’t need it every week (and start to feel that pressure @dave mentioned if we don’t stick to it).
I also have a gift certificate to HomeChef that I need to use. I think we’ll try that soon.
@dave I also had the same experience. Meals were pretty unique, but the prep took forever.
Tried it once on vacation. It was a great way to let the cook take a break while getting the younger family members involved. However, it is much too expensive for a large family, since it basically provides two meals for $60. Cheaper than going out, but not as cheap as cooking from scratch at home.
I tried one of those services, I’m not sure which. Read the recipes and tossed them out, then used all those nice ingredients along with other stuff to make about 5 meals. I’ve been cooking without a net for decades, reading recipes is interesting and can give me ideas, like looking at Pinterest for art ideas. But cooking by a recipe is tedious and I’m not likely to be nearly as happy with the result.
We do 3 a week and I don’t like it
@Ignorant Why haven’t you stopped, then?
@jqubed I’m not the one cooking, so I don’t have much say.
@Ignorant you could always offer to cook those three nights instead.
@unksol then no one would like the meal.
@heartny I love purple.
How much does it cost?
@tinamarie1974 https://www.blueapron.com/pages/pricing
$10 “per serving”
$60-$140 a week depending on what you get and how many people you have to feed.
and thats not even every meal either.
@communistjack oooohhhhh that’s pricey
@tinamarie1974 At Texas Roadhouse it’s $9.99 for a 6oz sirloin, salad and baked potato (or two other sides of your choosing), excellent fresh baked bread, all you can eat peanuts, and with my VIP card, a free Onion Flower (blooming onion) appetizer. Someone else does the cooking and the washing up. I take home enough for at least a second meal.
@moondrake you just named my exact regular order at TR, you just left off the ranch dressing …supper yummy
@moondrake A cheeseburger, fries, and a large drink is two bucks on Fridays at McDs. That’s a good deal if you count it as food (which I do most Fridays).
@sammydog01 Not a fan of McDonald’s, or of ground beast, but for that price I’d bite when on the run.
If someone else plans the menu, they should cook it too.
Why, just recently, Saltgrass did that for me.
I popped my hip out doing the “Harlem Shuffle” so I’m not up on the latest dance craze, sorry.
I am a terrible cook, I have been cooking by recipe for over 30 years and hardly stray. Because I really just can’t tell when I taste something while cooking it what/how much I need to add to fix it, so I usually screw that up too (e.g. if it tastes too sweet, when I “fix it” then it tastes too garlic-y or bitter).
But I still love the act of cooking, including going to the store to pick out ingredients and such. And I am way frugal (per my 4 Meh purchases in >2 yrs). If someone got me a gift coupon to Blue Apron or the like, I’d use it, but I wouldn’t do it on my own.
(I just double-checked my profile which says under 2 years, but I lurked for about 6 months)
I tried Hello Fresh for a while once (a Blue Apron clone, unless it’s the other way around). I found that it caused me to cook more often, cook healthier, and cook a lot more variety.
All that extra cooking cost time I wasn’t comfortable sparing, and I didn’t like the high price, relative to the grocery store, either. That said, looking at my current diet, I still miss it a bit.
I am a good cook and not wealthy. I tried it twice with free meal codes. I would not pay for it. Way too much salt. Also I often am cooki ng for 1 and don’t like leftovers.
Prep time didn’t take long but honestly I can cook more efficient tastier cheaper and healthier .
The Blue Apron marketing pitch:
Eating out is a time and labor saver, but can be expensive.
Cooking yourself saves money, but requires a lot of work.
Blue Apron provides the worst of both worlds! All the expense of eating out plus all the hassle of cooking it yourself!
I tried it. The first 3 meals were good, eating some foods we have not had before.
The prep time is not listed correctly. I would have them delivered Saturday, it took so long, did not want cook it after work. It irked me to the follow their steps.
The rest was not good, wasted some. We really hated the food.
I could not cancel the subscription, by hitting unsubscribe. I told them, they sent an email. I had to respond using my computer not my iPad.
I have been cooking since I was eleven. I use recipes sometime but mostly I do not.
I forgot to choose not to send, I got recipes I would never cook. The last one they sent me I froze the meat, which I do not do. I buy it fresh from a market, that will cut what I need.
The other stuff went to waste.
I am glad some use it and like it.
I would never do any of them again. I’ll just keep cooking the way I have been cooking for years. I have never had any complaints, if they did, they keep it to themselves. I am my own worst critic so I’m the one who says something is not good.
Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things… while I occasionally will order specific items online that I can’t readily find near me, I can’t imagine just having my groceries appear in a box at my house. I’m not much for recipes either. I’m definitely not the target audience.
I’m a picky eater, and don’t like foods that a lot of others apparently do. Asparagus, “trees” (what my parents called broccoli and cauliflower when they tried to get me to eat them), beans (except baked), peas, greens (turnip, etc.), squash, pears, peaches. Nope.
Beets and spinach, OK. Don’t have anything against scallops, per se. Just don’t see why people pay so much for them. The times I’ve had them, they had just about no taste to them at all. (Maybe my taste buds are messed up; I don’t know.)
Summing up, I don’t think I’d get enough of what I’ll eat to trust Blue Apron or any of the others.
@Barc777
i only scallops i like either are deep fried or have a heavy sauce on them