Blue Apron

4 December 2015

It was exciting to drive up and see the box sitting in front of the door.

Laurel and I had discussed Blue Apron, a program which ships you the ingredients and instructions for x number of meals per week.  She said she and Tom had been using it for awhile and really liked it.  She also said that I could have the option of having three free meals to see if I liked it or not.

I knew I wasn't interested in it, but heck, I wouldn't say no to free meals.  My main concern, in addition to the expense, was that the meals would be too small for us.  We eat a lot (even tho I don't eat much at dinner).

I set it up with Blue Apron for 3 meals a week for 2 people.  The cost would be $60 a week, waived for the first week.  I was pleased to see that I could look at the meals before they were sent and if there was something I didn't want, I could make a substitution.  I could also choose to skip a week if I chose.  But here it was:  my first Blue Apron box.

I opened the box as soon as I got it inside and was pleased to see that the first thing on the top was cards for the menus included with instructions for how to make the meals.

Then came the "meat" of the box...and I was pleased to know that everything in the box is recyclable.  

Everything looked fresh and good.  There were ingredients for a beef dish, a chicken dish and a fish dish.  And everything was included, including a small piece of singer, and teeny packages of spices and the world's smallest bottle of soy sauce.

They recommend using the fish first so tonight I made Crispy Catfish Shoyu Ramen.  I never cook fish because it's too expensive, so I was pleased to have a fish dish to make.

I first boiled the noodles that were included (and realized immediately that this was more than enough for the two of us).  I then chopped all the things that needed chopping (scallions, yu choy and ginger) and cut the catfish into 4 pieces.

The fish got drenched in a spiced batter and deep fried and when the dish was finished, it looked like this.

I had given Walt the larger serving, and even at that, I could only eat helf of mine.  It was delicious.  We both agreed.  I talked about how if you think about it, it amounts to only $10 per person per meal. which is cheaper than a restaurant meal.  And based on what we got this week and what I see coming up in the next couple of weeks, we will be eating food I don't normally buy because it's too expensive.  We'll also be eating veggies, which I don't always cook.  And what's best is that I don't have to plan 3 of our meals during the week!

So, to my surprise, we are both happy with Blue Apron and are going to keep it going for awhile and see what we think.  

Thanks, Laurel!!!

Piece o' cake!