Photography courtesy of Blue Apron
When my wife signed us up for Blue Apron, I was skeptical. When the first box arrived—full of loosely packed produce and paper bags curiously labeled “Knickknacks”—I grew even more cynical.
“Why don’t we just go to the grocery store?” I asked. “It’s cheaper, and we have to cook the meals anyway.”
“Because we won’t do it,” my wife replied. “Just give it a chance.”
She had signed up at the behest of a close friend, a lawyer and mother of two who prefers Blue Apron to other meal-delivery options such as Plated, which requires selecting the meals ahead of time. (There are also local meal-delivery services, including Chef ’s Table STL, Revel Kitchen, Metabolic Meals, and Feed Your Vitality, some of which specialize in healthy options.) Our friend raved about the fact that someone else did (almost) all of the work, planning the meals, packing the ingredients, and providing foolproof instructions. And the first week was free, she added. So we signed up.
Photography courtesy of Blue Apron
Now, each week, we receive a cold-packed box of perfectly portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipes for three meals. This week, for instance, we’re having late summer pork Bolognese, chicken pad kee mao, and salmon burgers. Both two-person and family plans are available, with the former costing $60 per week, or about $10 per meal per person. It’s more than we’d spend if we bought the ingredients at the grocery store, but it’s cheaper than a restaurant—our usual fallback after a long day at work. And realistically, we typically ended up throwing out leftovers after routinely cooking too much for two.
After several months, I’m coming around to the idea: There’s more variety in our diet, we’re saving money (compared with eating out on weekdays), and we find ourselves spending more time at home. Now if only Blue Apron could wash the dishes...
