Blue Apron: Ok, but what if we want to eat 7 times 🤔
December 13, 2020 7:14 AM Subscribe
So Blue Apron will soon be sending us three meals every week. Well, ingredients for meals, anyway. If you've done or are doing a meal service, what's your plan for the other four dinners of the week? And other questions...
Thanks to this comment by DirtyOldTown in MetaTalk, this morning I impulsively signed up for Blue Apron on the three times a week plan. I do not like to cook, and also do not love to plan meals; however I am kind of tired of my usual repertoire and feel the need to shake things up a little. My plan is to select the two Weight Watchers approved selections every week and one other meal that looks good.
My first concern is that the "perfectly portioned" meals look a little skimpy. Is this really going to be enough food for a person with a normal appetite to be satisfied? Mr Dork is a big dude, he doesn't need HUGE portions but a tiny lamb chop and a sprinkling of roast veggies might not be quite enough. He does want to lose some weight but if he's starving by 10 pm because of a skimpy dinner he's going to wind up munching cereal out of the box.
Also: how to store ingredients such that I can find what I need for each meal when I need it. Do you have a system or tips for managing this? My fridge is small and tends to be overcrowded.
Also: what to do on the off nights. Is there a clever way of managing this? I mean obviously I need to plan four other meals, and maybe a crockpot of hearty soup every week will cover it. Just wondering what other folks do.
Any tips, tricks, lifehacks, etc for making the most of a meal kit delivery service would be appreciated.
Thanks to this comment by DirtyOldTown in MetaTalk, this morning I impulsively signed up for Blue Apron on the three times a week plan. I do not like to cook, and also do not love to plan meals; however I am kind of tired of my usual repertoire and feel the need to shake things up a little. My plan is to select the two Weight Watchers approved selections every week and one other meal that looks good.
My first concern is that the "perfectly portioned" meals look a little skimpy. Is this really going to be enough food for a person with a normal appetite to be satisfied? Mr Dork is a big dude, he doesn't need HUGE portions but a tiny lamb chop and a sprinkling of roast veggies might not be quite enough. He does want to lose some weight but if he's starving by 10 pm because of a skimpy dinner he's going to wind up munching cereal out of the box.
Also: how to store ingredients such that I can find what I need for each meal when I need it. Do you have a system or tips for managing this? My fridge is small and tends to be overcrowded.
Also: what to do on the off nights. Is there a clever way of managing this? I mean obviously I need to plan four other meals, and maybe a crockpot of hearty soup every week will cover it. Just wondering what other folks do.
Any tips, tricks, lifehacks, etc for making the most of a meal kit delivery service would be appreciated.
We don't use Blue Apron, but a similar service. (We do have to choose meals from a list each week, which I kind of like.) We use it for two nights a week.
For the rest of the week, it's just regular grocery shopping. I plan the rest of the meals, make a list, and send it to the grocery store through their online tool, and then pick it up. I will say that having a curated list of meals and properly portioned ingredients makes a huge difference each week, not only because the food is delivered to us relatively painlessly, but because it's just two meals I don't have to really plan all that much. That's what I am really paying for, to be honest. We have pretty much the same thing on each of two nights a week, and then on a third we alternate between a couple of options. That leaves me with just one night to really think about, and that's surprisingly huge.
The portions for the service we get are... Sometimes small. They're geared toward four people, but there are definitely nights when two adults and a seven-year-old go through everything they send. Sometimes, though, we have leftovers. They typically send a LOT of things like lettuce when there's a salad involved, or rice, but sometimes the protein can be a bit wanting. I've never gone hungry or anything, but if you're expecting leftovers, you might be disappointed.
In terms of the storage, the way they ship it to us all of the ingredients for a particular meal come in a bag. I just put that in the fridge. The protein is usually separate. That's about all there is to it. You could probably organize them a bit better than that, but they don't take up too awfully much space. When it's time to cook, I just pull the bag out and get going.
posted by synecdoche at 7:35 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
For the rest of the week, it's just regular grocery shopping. I plan the rest of the meals, make a list, and send it to the grocery store through their online tool, and then pick it up. I will say that having a curated list of meals and properly portioned ingredients makes a huge difference each week, not only because the food is delivered to us relatively painlessly, but because it's just two meals I don't have to really plan all that much. That's what I am really paying for, to be honest. We have pretty much the same thing on each of two nights a week, and then on a third we alternate between a couple of options. That leaves me with just one night to really think about, and that's surprisingly huge.
The portions for the service we get are... Sometimes small. They're geared toward four people, but there are definitely nights when two adults and a seven-year-old go through everything they send. Sometimes, though, we have leftovers. They typically send a LOT of things like lettuce when there's a salad involved, or rice, but sometimes the protein can be a bit wanting. I've never gone hungry or anything, but if you're expecting leftovers, you might be disappointed.
In terms of the storage, the way they ship it to us all of the ingredients for a particular meal come in a bag. I just put that in the fridge. The protein is usually separate. That's about all there is to it. You could probably organize them a bit better than that, but they don't take up too awfully much space. When it's time to cook, I just pull the bag out and get going.
posted by synecdoche at 7:35 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
The portions were smaller than typical American portion sizes, which were good for me but not as good for my husband. As I recall the ingredients for each recipe (except the veggies) comes in its own labeled bag so you can just leave the whole bag in the fridge. The recipes are fiddly and have a lot of steps but I liked that I got to try produce I wouldn’t have normally bought (persimmons, fennel, some unusual root veggies) and I liked most of the meals I made. My husband is really picky and has the palate of a toddler so he was harder to please with it. You probably will be all cooked out after making three of the recipes and will want to just like eat cheese and crackers for dinner the other nights, which is fine in my opinion.
posted by tatiana wishbone at 7:41 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by tatiana wishbone at 7:41 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
In my experience, Blue Apron portions are pretty big. I used to do it as a single person with a big appetite and I often found I could get an extra serving out of each meal (ie, it was often 3 servings instead of 2).
I used to keep the ingredients in the paper bags they came in in the fridge, with the meat right next to or on top. If you have fish, eat that first.
The other nights I ate out, ate leftovers, or did something simple. I liked Blue Apron but found 3 nights a week of cooking something new was enough weekly cooking for me.
posted by lunasol at 7:47 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
I used to keep the ingredients in the paper bags they came in in the fridge, with the meat right next to or on top. If you have fish, eat that first.
The other nights I ate out, ate leftovers, or did something simple. I liked Blue Apron but found 3 nights a week of cooking something new was enough weekly cooking for me.
posted by lunasol at 7:47 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Is this really going to be enough food for a person with a normal appetite to be satisfied?
Define "normal appetite." People come in different sizes and have different needs for their caloric intake. They also have different opinions about the proportions of meat to starch to vegetables.
Blue Apron is trying to appeal to a large number of American customers, so in my experience the meals are sort of a middle ground: There's usually a meat, starch, and vegetable, and it will be enough for most people. Some people will end up with leftovers, and a few people will end up wanting more.
For example, when Blue Apron sends a meal that uses chicken breast, it generally gives you one normal sized chicken breast per person. You might get approximately the same amount of beef or meatloaf if you're making beef or meatloaf. If it's burgers, you'll get one normal sized burger per person. That kind of thing.
For me it was usually more than enough but for my 6'4" stepdad who works physically all day ... well, I think he'd have to supplement it with some additional food sometimes. It would still be a meal for him, but he might need a snack too.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:01 AM on December 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
Define "normal appetite." People come in different sizes and have different needs for their caloric intake. They also have different opinions about the proportions of meat to starch to vegetables.
Blue Apron is trying to appeal to a large number of American customers, so in my experience the meals are sort of a middle ground: There's usually a meat, starch, and vegetable, and it will be enough for most people. Some people will end up with leftovers, and a few people will end up wanting more.
For example, when Blue Apron sends a meal that uses chicken breast, it generally gives you one normal sized chicken breast per person. You might get approximately the same amount of beef or meatloaf if you're making beef or meatloaf. If it's burgers, you'll get one normal sized burger per person. That kind of thing.
For me it was usually more than enough but for my 6'4" stepdad who works physically all day ... well, I think he'd have to supplement it with some additional food sometimes. It would still be a meal for him, but he might need a snack too.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:01 AM on December 13, 2020 [5 favorites]
On other nights, cut boneless chicken into strips, season generously with a savory spice mix, flash-fry on high, turning a couple times, eat promptly while it's juicy and delicious. Baked white or sweet potatoes. Wheat pilaf with sauteed onion and bulghar wheat, broth from better-than-bouillon or a box, herbs. Fried rice. The frozen whole green beans from Trader Joe's are fast and so good. Polenta with pepperoni & green olives, olive oil, cheese if you eat dairy, takes 25 minutes, you can use any pizza toppings you like for an easy pantry-stable meal that meets the need for pizza. BLTs are the answer to many, many what should I eat questions, also scrambled/ soft-boiled eggs, a veg(canned stewed tomatoes or greens) and toast. Keep salsa and interesting condiments around for meals like that, so they don't get boring.
I accept a certain amount of fresh veg spoilage and keep a lot of veg in the fridge so that there's always vegetables. Frozen cauliflower, brussells sprouts, winter squash are fine for roasting. Frozen spinach cooks up as well as fresh, is an easy addition to lots of meals.
posted by theora55 at 8:02 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
I accept a certain amount of fresh veg spoilage and keep a lot of veg in the fridge so that there's always vegetables. Frozen cauliflower, brussells sprouts, winter squash are fine for roasting. Frozen spinach cooks up as well as fresh, is an easy addition to lots of meals.
posted by theora55 at 8:02 AM on December 13, 2020 [3 favorites]
One simple meal we have weekly is burritos. Heat a can of pinto beans (I add some cumin and chili powder), grate some cheddar, chop up an onion and a bell pepper (and maybe a tomato or tomatillo), make some guac (or use prepared), heat up tortillas so they're flexible and put it all together. If you have leftovers, throw them on chips in the oven and make nachos.
Pasta is cheap and easy, too. I make my own sauce from an onion, garlic, and can of crushed tomatoes, but jarred sauce is fine. You can cook up some sausage or veggies to add in, throw on some parm if you want to get fancy. Add on garlic bread if desired.
Sounds like you have a crock pot. It's great for roasting. I'll put some potatoes or sweet potatoes at the bottom, and meat on top: a rack of ribs, a couple of turkey thighs, or a chunk of beef or pork roast. Cook all day on low, the meat is falling apart and scoop out and mash the potatoes.
Pizza is easy (and cheaper than ordering delivery). Buy the dough premade or make your own (it only takes a few minutes). Roll it out to fit whatever pans you have, throw on some canned crushed tomatoes for sauce, cover with pre-shredded mozzerella and whatever toppings you like, bake on the lowest rack at 550 for like 6-7 minutes.
The key is to find things that are not arduous to make, that people like to eat, and get on a big enough rotation that it doesn't seem like you're always eating the same thing. I like to make elaborate recipes from time to time, but most days (and I cook almost every day), it's one of my go-to meals I could make in my sleep. I have a big enough rotation of these that we could easily go a couple of weeks without repeating a meal, but there are still some we like to have weekly.
posted by rikschell at 8:07 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Pasta is cheap and easy, too. I make my own sauce from an onion, garlic, and can of crushed tomatoes, but jarred sauce is fine. You can cook up some sausage or veggies to add in, throw on some parm if you want to get fancy. Add on garlic bread if desired.
Sounds like you have a crock pot. It's great for roasting. I'll put some potatoes or sweet potatoes at the bottom, and meat on top: a rack of ribs, a couple of turkey thighs, or a chunk of beef or pork roast. Cook all day on low, the meat is falling apart and scoop out and mash the potatoes.
Pizza is easy (and cheaper than ordering delivery). Buy the dough premade or make your own (it only takes a few minutes). Roll it out to fit whatever pans you have, throw on some canned crushed tomatoes for sauce, cover with pre-shredded mozzerella and whatever toppings you like, bake on the lowest rack at 550 for like 6-7 minutes.
The key is to find things that are not arduous to make, that people like to eat, and get on a big enough rotation that it doesn't seem like you're always eating the same thing. I like to make elaborate recipes from time to time, but most days (and I cook almost every day), it's one of my go-to meals I could make in my sleep. I have a big enough rotation of these that we could easily go a couple of weeks without repeating a meal, but there are still some we like to have weekly.
posted by rikschell at 8:07 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Best answer: We used Blue Apron (and Hello Fresh and Green Chef and Sun Basket and Gobble) three nights a week during their promo periods. We (two not particularly large or small adults who are not particularly active right now) found the portions to be fine with all the services, but if you're worried look at the calorie count for the meals and select the ones that are 600-700 calories to start instead of the < 500 ones.
I did a big thing of soup or takeout for most other meals, so I think you're on the right track. I also specifically never ordered any Blue Apron recipes for soups, chilis, and pastas that I'd prefer to make in bulk, and instead ordered the things that are best made in smaller quantities like pan fried fish or sautéed shrimp to get more variety.
Sometimes the bags with all the ingredients they send you will contain ingredients that don't need to go in the fridge or are best stored out of the fridge like potatoes, lemons, vinegar, and tomatoes. You're allowed to take them out of the bag if you need space in the fridge and it makes your life easier.
If you find Blue Apron is too much hassle and you have a moderately adventurous palate, Gobble might be a better fit because their recipes are less work - their claim that all their recipes take less than 15 minutes in a single pan is a bit exaggerated, but cooking + cleanup was less work with them than any other service.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:11 AM on December 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
I did a big thing of soup or takeout for most other meals, so I think you're on the right track. I also specifically never ordered any Blue Apron recipes for soups, chilis, and pastas that I'd prefer to make in bulk, and instead ordered the things that are best made in smaller quantities like pan fried fish or sautéed shrimp to get more variety.
Sometimes the bags with all the ingredients they send you will contain ingredients that don't need to go in the fridge or are best stored out of the fridge like potatoes, lemons, vinegar, and tomatoes. You're allowed to take them out of the bag if you need space in the fridge and it makes your life easier.
If you find Blue Apron is too much hassle and you have a moderately adventurous palate, Gobble might be a better fit because their recipes are less work - their claim that all their recipes take less than 15 minutes in a single pan is a bit exaggerated, but cooking + cleanup was less work with them than any other service.
posted by A Blue Moon at 8:11 AM on December 13, 2020 [4 favorites]
Serene Empress Dork: obviously I need to plan four other meals, and maybe a crockpot of hearty soup every week will cover it. Just wondering what other folks do.
Yeah, it's pretty much something like this! My boyfriend and I subscribe to Blue Apron, so we cook that three times a week, get takeout a fourth night which usually covers a fifth night with leftovers, and then usually something in the Instant Pot for the other 2-3 nights. We don't eat big breakfasts or lunches so we have stuff like salad and granola and oatmeal around for that. And yeah, I would say BA's portions are pretty generous.
posted by capricorn at 8:35 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yeah, it's pretty much something like this! My boyfriend and I subscribe to Blue Apron, so we cook that three times a week, get takeout a fourth night which usually covers a fifth night with leftovers, and then usually something in the Instant Pot for the other 2-3 nights. We don't eat big breakfasts or lunches so we have stuff like salad and granola and oatmeal around for that. And yeah, I would say BA's portions are pretty generous.
posted by capricorn at 8:35 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I just cancelled Blue Apron and signed up for Gobble instead. Fast and easy sounds way better!
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:37 AM on December 13, 2020
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:37 AM on December 13, 2020
Interesting, I may have to try Gobble!
For what it's worth, my wife and I (neither of whom are particularly into cooking, historically -- lots of boxed meals and takeout in both our prior lives) signed up for Hello Fresh early in the pandemic. We started with four meals a week, but found within about a month that actually neither of us like cooking that much, and cooking four nights a week was starting to become an exhausting slog rather than something we enjoyed together. We switched to two meals a week, and try to balance so that not everything is an hour+ prep+cooking+cleaning every night, and that has worked out quite well for us. For the other days, we tend to buy box/bag meals -- rice and a chinese/korean/japanese-inspired entree-in-a-bag, or instantpot chicken breast strips + seasoning are our go-to choices.
posted by Alterscape at 9:17 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, my wife and I (neither of whom are particularly into cooking, historically -- lots of boxed meals and takeout in both our prior lives) signed up for Hello Fresh early in the pandemic. We started with four meals a week, but found within about a month that actually neither of us like cooking that much, and cooking four nights a week was starting to become an exhausting slog rather than something we enjoyed together. We switched to two meals a week, and try to balance so that not everything is an hour+ prep+cooking+cleaning every night, and that has worked out quite well for us. For the other days, we tend to buy box/bag meals -- rice and a chinese/korean/japanese-inspired entree-in-a-bag, or instantpot chicken breast strips + seasoning are our go-to choices.
posted by Alterscape at 9:17 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have been using Gobble on and off for years now. I am generally very happy with the quality, and they are pretty responsive if something is off. The salads are not really portioned for two, unless you are considering them side salads, in my opinion, but everything else is pretty reasonable. I'll often get three meals from a kit or two full meals and a snack. Sometimes the quantity of veggies is less than I'd like, so I add extra from my regular grocery shopping / farm box. You would think they could do better on this for the price, but the main benefits for me are trying new dishes and not having to plan and shop carefully, so I live with it.
The 15 minute one pan thing was mostly true when they started, but extremely rare to encounter now, in my experience. I would say it's usually more like 30 minutes and two pots or pans. Typically the second is a pot for pasta or a non-stick skillet for eggs or something like that, so a tiny amount of extra cleanup. That said, they have way more variety now, so overall I'm fine with it.
Also, if you have a good amount of cooking experience, obviously feel free to tweak their cooking directions. I will often do things like bake a protein in the toaster oven instead of pan frying, when I just don't have it in me to deal with grease splatter. Or sautee mushrooms alone first to get better flavor, instead of tossing them at the same time as other veg.
posted by ktkt at 10:50 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
The 15 minute one pan thing was mostly true when they started, but extremely rare to encounter now, in my experience. I would say it's usually more like 30 minutes and two pots or pans. Typically the second is a pot for pasta or a non-stick skillet for eggs or something like that, so a tiny amount of extra cleanup. That said, they have way more variety now, so overall I'm fine with it.
Also, if you have a good amount of cooking experience, obviously feel free to tweak their cooking directions. I will often do things like bake a protein in the toaster oven instead of pan frying, when I just don't have it in me to deal with grease splatter. Or sautee mushrooms alone first to get better flavor, instead of tossing them at the same time as other veg.
posted by ktkt at 10:50 AM on December 13, 2020 [2 favorites]
For your actual question, since there is only one of me, 3 meal kits is generally plenty for 6+ meals. For other meals, I do easy stuff like quesadillas, burritos, simple pasta dishes, bagged salad + protein, frozen meals, takeout.
I also have a little collection of easy meals that are simpler versions of meal kits I had in the past. In particular, Gobble comes with nice recipe cards that I save if I think I'll try my own version.
posted by ktkt at 10:58 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
I also have a little collection of easy meals that are simpler versions of meal kits I had in the past. In particular, Gobble comes with nice recipe cards that I save if I think I'll try my own version.
posted by ktkt at 10:58 AM on December 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
1. It's plenty of food. Sometimes there is a little left over. You typically have some sort of grain, plus vegetables, plus the meat. It's exceedingly rare that we're still hungry.
2. You'll get like 3 packages of meats, some whole vegetables, and 3 large-ish plastic bags that hold all the smaller ingredients, 1 for each recipe, all labeled by what's what. And a whole head of garlic every week. It's easy.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:31 AM on December 13, 2020 [5 favorites]