I am over a blue moon for Blue Apron Meals. Which is an understatement. This evening, I finished cooking the 3rd meal of my 1st delivery from these culinary geniuses, and I cannot wait to tell you all about it!! Food/Meal Delivery Service does not begin to describe Blue Apron Meals, a Brooklyn-based company. Learning about ingredients. Learning to Cook. Eating. Enjoying. Blue Apron Meals is a rich experience. Let’s take a look at some of their claims + I’ll let you know how they measure up!
First Round of Meals: 2 meals/dinner. But I got more!!
My First: {Bottom} Cod with Crispy Kale, Roasted Tomato + Fregola Sarda {I substituted brown rice}. Haul: 2 dinners + 1 lunch. Splendid.
My Fav to Cook: {Right} Spice-Rubbed Pork Medallions with Peach Salsa + Cilantro-Green Bean Rice {left overs box}. Haul: 4 meals + rice and salsa left-overs!
My Fav to Eat: Lemon Basil Chicken with Corn + Shiitake Mushroom “Risotto.” Haul: 2 meals. I fly solo, so I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow.
Blue Apron – Learn More ~Taken from website: select points summarized. For full list, please visit http://www.blueapron.com/pages/learn-more ~
Original Recipes
*35 min to prepare on average: This is true, but it definitely depends on your knife skills. This week, 2 of my 3 meals took about 35 minutes. Because of the prep involved with the Spice Rubbed Pork dish, it took that long just to cut all of my veg. Yet at the same time, this was my favorite dish too cook because of that. Which brings us to our next point…
*Pre-portioned ingredients to save time + reduce waste: It’s like having your own sous chef! Pre-portioned ingredients put the relax into cook. Not only does it reduce waste, but it also adds ease to my cooking. Constantly wondering if I’ve purchased enough or chopped too much can definitely detract from the culinary experience and often discourages me from trying something new. From a spring of cilantro to a cup full of parmesan, it’s amazing how small a gesture pre-portioned ingredients adds to the experience of cooking and quality of taste.
*Easy to follow beautifully printed recipe cards: If pre-portioned ingredients are your sous chef, then meal cards are your teacher. While each card teaches 1 meal, each meal teaches several recipes. From how to cook cuts of meat to whipping up seriously tasty dressings, Blue Apron Meals may as well be BlueApron Tutorials. The instructions are clear. The pictures add ease. And the ingredients list helps to organize. I’ve already started a binder where I can file these meals away for keeps.
*Premium seasonal ingredients from artisanal purveyors: When I cook, I cook with what I’m already familiar or with what I already have. Basil. Rosemary. Since my herb garden consists namely of these {for now}, this is exactly what I use in most every dish. But Blue Apron Meals teaches you how to spice-it-up. Not only am I cooking with multiple fresh ingredients, but I am using multiple within each recipe. Whereas I would’ve normally relied upon white onion, #BAM provides red onion + shallot. Whereas basil is always my go-to, #BAM mixes it up with basil, cilantro, oregano, and lemon basil. The ingredients are premium. And I’m learning how to pair. Voila.
*Fresher than the supermarket: Fresh. Fresh. Fresh. Yes. My ingredients arrive from Brooklyn, in a refrigerated box, and, yes, they are the freshest. Tomato . Red onion. Peach. Basil. Every ingredient I’ve sampled while doing my prep has tasted like I grow it in my own backyard. And check out the meat! Pork tenderloin + chicken breast, alone, are better cuts than I’d ever pick out or be able to afford in most grocery stores or butcher shops. This week they came from the respected Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors in North Bergen, NJ. The most tender pork + moist chicken I have ever had in my entire life. Ever.
*Free and convenient delivery to most of the country: Yup. It’s free. {Check the map on #BAM website to make check on your state.} That huge box with all of those ingredients. I literally pay $60/week for an average of 9 meals. {The plan I signed-up for guarantees 2 meals/dish. For me, it averages to be more, plus some left-overs!}
Convenient Delivery
*Carefully packaged in a refrigerated box, so our meals stay fresh even if you’re not home when we delivery: Absolutely 100% true. I felt so excited by my first delivery, that I intercepted it at lunchtime. This week, I’ll probably wait until I’m home from work around 4:30PM. Delivery is between 8AM + 8PM, and the ingredients will stay fresh.
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Tips + Tricks
*Store your Herbs. Yes, they come pre-portioned in cute little bags, but you will want to ensure they last more than just a few days. I receive my box on Wednesday and when I cooked my final meal today {Sunday}, the lemon basil was too wilted to use. No criticism on #BAM’s part. This week, I’ll just be sure to wrap them in paper towel + then store in their cute pre-portioned packets.
*Be ready for Left-Overs. You will have left overs! From this week’s haul, raw ingredients like 1/2 a shallot and 1 whole lemon still have a spot in my fridge. I’ve even noticed that #BAM sometimes over-proportions ingredients. From the Lemon Basic Chicken recipe, I still have a handful of sugar snap peas to munch on as a snack. Even full servings of a side dish might make an encore appearance. With the Spice Rubbed Pork, not only did I end up with 4 separate meals {again, #BAM portions for 2}, but I also had enough left-over rice + homemade salsa enough to combine as a lunch. Talk about bountiful.
*Have the Basics. While #BAM did provide me with a generous pad of butter for this week’s corn “risotto,” other staples are absolutely necessary. Aside from kitchen utensils, this week the only 3 staples I had to provide on my own was olive oil, salt, + pepper. Blue Apron Meals loves to use olive oil. So if that’s not your jam, know your substitutes. Which brings us to…
*Know your Substitutes. As you may know, I am recently #glutenfree! {Still loving it.} While I do not believe that #BAM has this dietary option yet, I know that, based upon this past week, about 95% of ingredients are gluten free friendly. Still, be prepared. When the Cod with Crispy Kale called for the Italian pasta Fregola Sarda, I substituted brown rice. When Lemon Basil Chicken asked me to dust the cutlets in flower before pan searing, I substituted gluten free pancake mix. {It worked!} Best part about substitutions?? Keep the #BAM ingredients in your cupboard for when the occasion arises. It is a match made in pantry-heaven.
*Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy. + Share! Cooking with Blue Apron this week has been a joy. It’s one of the most relaxingly pleasurable ways to harness a serious sense of accomplishment. And I get to share. This past Friday Momsly + I indulged in leftovers from the cod and the pork. She even took a cutlet home, fixins and all, to my dad. My favorite part of sharing?? Posting pics + vid to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Blue Apron Meals with notice. So get to it!! And get your Blue Apron Meals appetite. {For extras + videos, follow me on Instagram + Twitter!! @babsiell.}
Bon Appetit.
XO.
