How many of you struggle with meal planning? Or am I the only one? I feel like every week it hits 5:00 pm and I start rummaging through our refrigerator trying to figure out what I’m going to make for dinner while all three kids start to break down. Every time I say to myself, “I need to get better about planning out dinners”. And then it happens again. Well, it’s time for a change. I decided to team up with Blue Apron and try out their meal delivery service. Meals planned out AND delivered? Yes, please.
Oh how yummy does this look? Blue Apron offers two types of plans, the 2-Person Plan and Family Plan, I obviously picked the Family Plan since there are five of us. For my first order I got two dinners and this amazing looking dish is the Chicken Fried Rice that I created using their meal plan.
The whole process is really simple and efficient. You head over to their site, pick your plan and submit! That’s IT. Each week they offer a different set of meals to their subscribers. It’s the same menu for all subscribers but you have a little wiggle room. Since we only did 2 meals, we could pick between the four offered. I will note that if you have any food allergies, you aren’t able to customize your menu a whole lot, so I just had to switch around the meals until I found a few that I could work with that accommodate my allergies.
Here are the 4 meals I was able to choose from! I went with the Crispy Pork Chops and the Chicken Fried Rice!
And thennnnnn all of the sudden a box hows up on your door step with amazingly fresh ingredients to cook with! And bonus, everything is delivered in a refrigerated box so ingredients will stay fresh even if you are out and about or working when your box arrives.
I know this sounds funny, but I love how each little bag is labeled. Especially when you get a recipe with an ingredient you’ve never worked with before!
I sorta fell in love with the little individual egg packages. I just think they are too cute and clever and I sorta want them for my own home. I could technically recycle this little guy, but I think I might keep it instead for when we only have a few eggs left!
Ok let’s dive into these beautiful ingredients. While I like my treats, we generally try and eat really healthy over here. I love how fresh the Blue Apron ingredients are. They are sourced from quality suppliers and artisans and look perfect. I know a lot of people who are hesitant to do meal delivery services because you can’t pick your own produce, but honestly everything looked fabulous.
Each meal comes with a great little recipe sheet that tells you exactly how to make the meal, step by step. I followed it for both of my recipes and it worked perfect. I started with chopping all my ingredients and laying them all out. Serious eye candy.
One of my favorite things about the service is that each ingredient is previously measured out so you are only receiving the exact amount that you need. Just look at these little bottles! How many times do you go running to the store for some odd ingredient you need and come home with a huge bottle that sits in your cupboard for the next three years?
To make the dish, I followed the directions and cooked all the veggies together. And then cooked the chicken breasts separately. Love that golden color.
After shredding the chicken and combining all the ingredients, I served my family these yummy Chicken Fried Rice Bowls with chopped peanuts on top!
Are you ready to try it out? See below for a great deal…
Cassie says
Thanks for the great write-up Taryn. My husband and I have tried a number of Blue Apron meals and we loved the chicken fried rice. Our pictures didn’t turn out nearly as good as yours though!
What was the portion sizing like with the family plan? We’ve only ordered the meals for 2, but have been asked by a number of people whether the family plans are actually big enough portions for everyone. What are your thoughts?
Taryn Whiteaker says
Hi Cassie! I think it depends on how big your family is and the age of the kids. We are a family of 5, but our kids are young (5,3,1). I will say they are pretty big eaters for their age, and we still had plenty of food. However, if you were feeding a family of 5 that included 3 teenage boys, I don’t think it would be enough.