A few months ago I partnered with Blue Apron to test our their service for the first time. I cooked for the kids while Mike was away for work and had a really positive experience. I made a family meal for four. It tasted really good. The kids ate it. Mazzy even called me a good cook. Which was pretty groundbreaking.
At the time, we didn’t sign up for the service because it was right before the summer and we were heading out east for the next two months. Now we are back in the city, school has started and we are back in our normal routine.
One of my goals this year is to start having dinners as a family. Up until this point, Mazzy and Harlow have been eating by themselves around 5:30pm when we get home from work. Then Mike cooks while I do bedtime routine and the two of us eat after they are in bed. But now that both kids are older and in school, I think it’s time for us all to eat together, at least a few times a week.
To make this happen, I will have to take on cooking those nights because Mike doesn’t get home in time to cook for the kids. I don’t have time to recipe plan, grocery shop and cook, so besides take-out, Blue Apron is really one of the only ways to make this happen.
I opted for the family plan, getting one box delivered a week which contains all the ingredients to make two different family-style dinners for four. Which is perfect because it will ensure I don’t get lazy and back out on my nights to cook. The price for this plan is $8.74 per meal, or $69.92 per eight serving delivery. Shipping is always free.
There are instructions for each chef-designed meal and all the ingredients come farm-fresh in the perfect proportions.
(That was not staged. Apparently, this is how I look at instructions. Like I’m blind.)
Make no mistake— this is not cold dinners you stick in a microwave. This is REAL cooking. Just pre-planned, shopped for and delivered to your door.
All the chopping is still left up to you.
You can specify which proteins you want but the recipes are determined by Blue Apron. A bit of a risk with picky kids but one of my goals (in addition to family dinners) is getting my kids to experiment more with food. I did opt out of pork dishes though because besides bacon and hot dogs, I’ve never been a big fan.
The first meal I cooked was Sweet Chili and Basil Chicken with Peppers, Eggplant and Coconut Jasmine Rice.
Mike ended up being home when I started cooking, but keep in mind, the only times I usually cook is when he is away so he hasn’t seen me make a meal (beyond breakfast) in several years.
He had great fun with this, inspecting my techniques (“GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN, MIKE!”)…
…and making a big show of relaxing on the couch with the kids.
Mazzy was actually really interested in helping me which was great to see and made me feel bad that we don’t involve her in cooking on a more regular basis.
I even let her cut a pepper with a knife, which was the very first time I have ever trusted her to do such a thing. She takes wood shop at school where there are hammers and saws, so I guess she’s ready.
The pepper was cut with all fingers still in tact.
We have a really tiny kitchen which I think you can see in full effect in these pictures.
That counter space in front of me?
That’s the only surface area in the whole place.
I think I used almost every pot, pan, and utensil we have.
“What’s all that banging in there?”
That’s Mike from the couch.
“I’m fine! Don’t pay attention to me!”
Prep and cooking took about 35 minutes which might have been shorter if Harlow didn’t have a meltdown on the floor in the middle.
She wanted waffles.
Plating has always been a specialty of mine. I used to work at a restaurant. Not cooking, of course!
Then we all sat down for dinner as a family.
Once again, I am proud to say, Mazzy absolutely loved her meal. And she loved telling me how delicious everything was with great enthusiasm.
It’s almost like she feels pride that her mom put a good meal on the table. Pretty awesome.
Mike, I am even prouder to say, thought everything was delicious too. This is evidenced in the fact he practically licked his plate clean.
Harlow on the other hand, is a work in progress. She like the rice but wouldn’t touch anything else. Hopefully, in time (and with a few more Blue Apron meals) this will change. Otherwise, she will be eating yogurt and hot dogs for the rest of her life.
At one point, Mike said, “See, Mazzy? Your mom can cook!”
And Mazzy said, “I know, Dad. She’s cooked before!”
(That would be the other Blue Apron meal.)
The next night, I came home to Mike cooking in the kitchen. “What are you making?”
“Crispy Cod Sandwiches.”
“Really? You’re making the second Blue Apron dinner?”
Mike was excited. I guess, even for people who cook regularly, it’s nice to get out of a rut and try something new.
Which meant I got to sit on the couch and play with the kids while he cooked. This plan is turning out even better than I expected.
Blue Apron just launched in Texas and now ships to most of the country! If you’d like to try it out, they are offering the first 100 Mommy Shorts readers who click this link two meals off their first Blue Apron order free! That’s about $20 savings.
———————————-
This post was sponsored by Blue Apron, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I’ve been doing the 2 person plan from Blue Apron since your original post. Its surprisingly delicious! However, the meal seems so small and I find myself hungry afterwards. Does the family plan have enough to satisfy your family? I realize the portions are what we “should” be eating, but old habits die hard!
That’s interesting. We always have more than enough food and always have leftovers. The portions are way bigger than Mazzy and Harlow will eat. It’s actually a pretty big portion for me too. I’m not sure how the family plan portions compare to the 2 person plan. Are you sharing with your kids?
Not yet, we have a 19 month old and he is firm on mac and cheese and PB&Js. But I do share with my husband who has an equally Hoover-like appetite! The sides are always plentiful, but the main meat courses are small for us. But I do enjoy the meals!
Okay, I signed up. I’m desperate to get my super picky husband and kids to eat something other than chicken nuggets and cereal. Fingers crossed they eat this!
I started Blue Apron after your last post and LOVE IT!! I am single and work long hours. The 2 person plan works great for me because each meal lasts me two nights. I hate shopping and have no creativity when I cook. This is why I love Blue Apron! Its healthy, good food and very reasonably priced. Thank you forletting everyone know about. BTW, I cooked that chicken too and lovd it!
And you CAN change which meals you get! I was super worried about this because my kids are SUPER picky. If you click on delivery schedule, and then the specific week, you can change your meal choices on the right (slightly modified on the iPhone app). Makes a huge difference, because I know there is some stuff my kids just won’t eat. You can even switch back and forth between the family and 2-person plan, so sometimes if one of us is traveling we just do the 2-person since the kids can basically split one portion.
Completely unrelated to the post about making meals (which look delish!) – I’ve been eyeing that top on Boden for a few weeks now – I think I need to buy it 🙂
If you are a picky eater like me, Blue Apron seems like a “bad match”, at least when we tried the two person meals in our household. I’m in my thirties and my bf is almost sixty and neither of us cared for the curry in everything, fennel, lemon, and all of the other crazy things that were in the meals. We also found that we were still hungry after eating the two person planned meals because we would pick out only things we enjoyed.
We were ready to give up on Blue Apron, but then we clicked on menu and saw the family plan and realized that they were the kind of meals we were used to…steaks, quesadillas, chicken, things we could pronounce, comfort foods. We switched to the family plan and now a meal gives us dinner and then lunch the next day which is really nice. We are definitely sold on the family plan. I guess we are not sophisticated enough for the two person plan, lol.
As a regular cook and a full time working mom, I was not that impressed with Blue Apron. I tried 4 meals with the family plan. The recipes kept me in the kitchen nearly an hour per meal, which is way too long on a busy schedule. Healthy, creative and delicious meals needn’t take that long. In the end, I found Blue Apron too time consuming and too bland (our least favorite meals included a chicken pasta and a cod dinner). I turned right back around to my trusted crock pot.
Check out Curious Chef for kid friendly knives and other cookware that is safe (and actually works) for kids!
My 3 yo loves to help me cook and their knives are amazing!
We tried Blue Apron when you did your first post and really liked it, but then our schedules changed drastically and I had to cancel for a while. I may just start up again, though since we’re down a kid now I can actually probably get away with the 2 person plan since the portions are so big! 🙂
I have been wanting to try it for a while now and this post was the motivator. I am like Mike, I am the cook, but it’s nice not to have to think of what make all the time….and they deliver right to my door, score! $19.98 was my savings from the link. Thanks!!!
We have been doing the two person plan and it’s so much food! I tried the all veggie option, only available on two person. I wanted to learn more vegetarian recipes. The food is such a bargain. It feeds me, my husband, and our 2 and 4 year olds. It’s hard to describe how great it is until you try it. The flavors are amazing and balanced. Nothing is left to chance. We have already replicated several of the dishes at home with grocery store and farmers market ingredients. For instance, long beans. I never would have bought them before, or Romano beans. I use both now, easily. Thanks for your original post on this, it really changed the way my family cooks and eats!!
I have read a couple of different posts on Blue Apron (here and another blog I read on a regular basis) and have wanted to try it out – maybe we finally will! My husband and I share the cooking responsibility but maybe we’ll give this a try to change it up – good way to try some new recipes, right?
I wish I knew if this would help my 3 year old daughter become more of an adventurous eater. She’s about as “selective” (picky) as Harlow. We keep telling ourselves it will eventually get better but there are days we wonder if she’ll only eat macaroni and cheese, PB&J and cheese sticks for the rest of her life!