Blue Apron and Other Meal Delivery Services

We have tried many of the meal kit delivery options. They are great for a quick mid week meal. My wife and I are pretty handy in the kitchen, but what we really like(d) about the kits are the new flavor and ingredient combinations we would never try if not for the kit.

That said, I think there is considerable competition and consolidation in this niche sector. Big cos are acquiring small boutique firms for their subscription base resulting in ingredient and recipe homogenization. I can only take so much balsamic glazed xxxxxx.

From a business standpoint I see it as a race to the bottom. The product is becoming a commodity and there is a finite amount of customers. Unfortunately, that means we as consumers suffer with decreased ingredient quality (esp w the proteins) and homogenized recipes that share ingredients for efficiency and cost purposes.

It will be interesting to see where this goes over the next few years. I think there may be space for a 'premium' box service that provides top quality ingredients, and also introduces new techniques and preparation methods to the home kitchen.

 

Out of the ones we tried, a couple were fantastic and recipe saved, most were ok, and a couple were downright awful.
Problem is the meal prep, slicing dicing etc took way longer than advertised. So we quit.

 

The wife and I used Hello Fresh and I will say some of the same things that others have said. Balsamic glazed whatever gets tiring after awhile... Not all recipes were like that and we have since used some of the recipes that we saved. Also being a family of 3 we tried to stretch the two meal package and sometimes it would work but not much. just couldn't justify spending the money we did on a full weeks worth of groceries for 3 days work of good meals on the "family plan"...

 

Fun to read the reviews here from a Tacoma owners perspective!
My wife and I live in the country, not way out, but no longer near a Vons or Ralphs store (that's a big grocery chain here in Southern California and is called Fry's in Arizona).

I like to cook, but other than BBQ and pre-made stuff, I don't know how.
We got a coupon for three free meals (for two people) from our daughter who started using Hello Fresh during her pregnancy. My wife picked three meal choices, paid a little bit to upgrade one to a steak dinner, and it was TERRIFIC! I should say they all were. We signed up and are on our third Hello Fresh week... and we have skipped weeks, like Thanksgiving week, etc.

The ingredients come in proportions you need so no waste and they include almost everything. You only need to supply butter, oil (veg and olive), salt & pepper. Everything else comes in the insulated ice box delivered to your door on the day you pick. We even forgot one was coming when we were out of town, and 2 days of being outside everything was still ice cold! They use two large artificial ice packs.

You clean and prep the vegetables and every step is detailed, with a large photo card. So, you are cooking a meal from scratch with all the ingredients of a gourmet chef. Cost is about $8 per person. A bit more to upgrade.

Here is one example of the instruction card:





Tonight we are having Pulled Chicken Rice Bowls... I am about to prep!

I will take photos of each step... Guys, you can do it! LOL
I have three coupons for three free meals for 2, they sent me... PM me if you want to try this.

Sorry to the OP, maybe we need a separate Hello Fresh thread?

 

In the beginning, it seemed to take me longer because I am following the instruction to the line and reading it all twice (it's a Virgo thing)! LOL Now, I set it all out, wash the veggies ahead of the cooking part. Only one meal took longer because I didn't get the water boiling before beginning! 45 min is about average.

 

PULLED CHICKEN RICE BOWL:


What's in the box, besides the two ice blocks and insulation, this is for one meal.


Out to prep.


What I supply.





Follow up: it was delicious! I wonder when we will get a meal we don't like? I took a photo of the finished serving and will add it here...





If I wasn't so hungry and anxious to taste what I just made, I would have been a little more decorative in the serving, but typically the meals come out looking pretty much like the Hello Fresh shows them.

 

We had Hello Fresh for a bit last summer. Hot out so boxes were thawed. No problem getting a full refund. We canceled.
Email today, Come back today and use promo code SANTACLA1 to get 2 FREE MEALS in each of your next 3 deliveries.
Tempted...

 

We have tried blue apron, hello fresh, and home chef. Our favorite by far is home chef. Hello fresh was too much of the same thing over and over again. Blue Apron was good but didn’t offer very much variety. Home Chef has an excellent variety and all the recipes have been very delicious. If anybody wants, message me and I can send a code for the first month free.

 

TLDR

We did Blue Apron for about 9 months, then we started seeing the same recipes coming so we stopped. We saved all the recipe cards, so we can easily go buy the ingredients to make the dishes again.

This really helped my wife learn new skills and build confidence in her cooking. Also got us trying some new things. We did the family box seeing I have 3 small kids. It was usually enough to feed all of us. The kids did like most of it.

IMHO it was good for us for a while, then we out grew it.

 

$8 per person per day? For just one meal per day?

Really?

That means I’m spending more than I do on my mortgage per month to feed the crew in my house once per day (four guys).

They have videos that show you how to cook for free on YouTube.

 

$8 a day for a meal isn’t that bad. Especially since it’s a fairly healthy and good meal. Also take in to account it’s delivered to you so you’re saving time not driving to/from the store and however long you shop around. Even if you’re doing it 7 days a week it’s only $56. That’s really a pretty good deal. Ya you can go buy shit at Costco in bulk and make it, but not everyone has time for that. It’s a convenience fee.

 

I feed 4 full grown men 3-5 meals per day 7 days per week on $600 per month.
I cook nearly every night and cook enough to meal prep for two of us who are in med school and grad school who spend little time at home.
I meal prep breakfast for all of us.
This service would be $224/week an average of $950 per month just for a single meal per day.

I litterally couldn’t afford to eat a meal a day on this program.

And yes I can get steaks for four under $8 per person.

Prices in my area:
Sirloin $7.99/lb
Ribeye $9.99/lb
Chicken breast is about $1.89/lb
Thighs around $0.89/lb
Pork about $0.90-$1.20/lb
Salmon $7.99/lb

And the $600/month includes toiletries and beer.

 

Others have responded I see...
But, yes, to have all the ingredients sent to your door, gourmet recipes, and they have (so far) tasted great. There is no waste since the quantities are exact. No way would I go shopping for all the things a recipe requires and use what I would have to buy... I am talking meat and veggies as well as spices and herbs. $8 is the price of a burrito at a taco shop, hardly a healthy complete meal. Also, the boxes delivered each week are for only three dinner meals for us so the other 4 nights of the week are the typical cereal, pizza, hamburger, salad nights. I don't see getting bored with Hello Fresh, not yet, anyway.
The idea with these home delivery meal kits is to have good, healthy, and fancy meals that anyone can make because you get all the specialty ingredients and an easy to follow instruction card. No driving to the store, parking lot, looking for things, and the checkout lines! Fresh meat and vegetables not canned or dehydrated.

 

We’ve tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, and Hello Fresh had better quality ingredients, in my opinion. However, both companies were quite delicious.

 

You are missing the point of delivery, and portions. Easy to try new things without buying jars of some spices you've never heard of, and may not like. None of these companies claim to deliver food cheaper than you can get from the store.

Anyway, doesn't look like you're into it.

 

Ok, So you guys arent doing this every single day?
Just here and there to try new stuff?

 

The packages only allow you to choose 2-4 days worth of meals...

 

No. Just sign up to one of the services. Don't order, just sign up. Did you read the whole thread? Wait them out. The price will come down and then try it. Give it a month. You will get some emails.

 

Yes, it's all about trying new stuff and eating better. Meat and potatoes is great food but it is more fun to try these dishes out at home and we don't need to go to a restaurant to experience different meals... and $16-$22 for two dinners sure beats the $40 or more at a restaurant with the tip.

So, in my earlier post yesterday, I showed photos of each step of the Hello Fresh meal prep. Here are two additional photos I took of the cooked meal on the stove and a serving. I added these two to the other post so it completes the story.





This was the most simplistic meal we have had (Pulled Chicken Rice Bowl) and it was great. My wife is the fussy one and she said: "let's get that again"... well, the others we will get again with maybe an exception of the one meatless dish we tried, as it was too spicy (or I can just not add the whole pack of seasoning). The next two dinners this week's delivery had are Crushed Peppercorn Steak and Creamy Dill Chicken.

 

Renamed the thread as requested.