Thursday Giveaway: Blue Apron Meal Delivery

Grocery shopping takes twice as long with two children. Before baby brother arrived my daughter and I had our grocery visits down to a science. Grab a cart, circle the store with our list, and would be in and out of the store in a heartbeat. Now we are much more scattered. Not only do I have to take my daughter by the hand but I also strap a baby to my chest as we peruse the aisles. This added weight slows me down considerably. Then there is the laborious process of getting everyone in and out of car seats as well as unloading the actual groceries and getting them into the house. So, when Blue Apron Meal Delivery contacted me about trying out their grocery service I jumped at the chance to skip the store and have the food delivered straight to our kitchen!

Blue Apron Meal Delivery is an ingredient delivery service that delivers the measured out ingredients for three delicious meals right to your doorstep. Each box of food contains recipes with detailed step by step instructions for making your gourmet meal at home. You can also choose which kind of food you want to receive based on your dietary preference. Since I am concentrating on healthy eating to lose the baby weight I chose the vegetarian box.

My test box of food arrived packed neatly in cold packs with the recipes on top. It contained all of the ingredients and recipes (with step by step photographs!) for Beet & Barley Risotto with Goat Cheese, Potato-Chickpea Stew with Garam Masala & Lemon, and Eggplant Parmesan with Chia. Though I struggle with the taste of beets, the rest of the food sounded amazing and it was such a time saver to have all the necessary ingredients completely measured out!

The first thing I made was the Stew. It was healthy and hearty and made so easy by the fresh ingredients in the box. Then I went to make the Eggplant Parmesan and my husband and daughter asked for it with pasta. So, instead of making the traditional version on the recipe card I decided to make an inside out Eggplant Parmesan sauce. I roasted the eggplant, stirred it into some warm marinara sauce, and served it with small pieces of the fresh mozzarella over hot noodles. The meal was a hit and the lesson I quickly learned was that although Blue Apron meals come with pre-measured ingredients for specific recipes, you can easily improvise and make what you like.

While I don’t think I”ll be signing up for this delivery service for the long term I was very pleased with my testing. The ingredients were delivered fresh and on time. The recipes were straight forward. The results were delicious. I also loved how each recipe came with an explanation on how healthy each dish was. Always a bonus when feeding an active family! This service is perfect for a busy family who wants to get more into home cooking but needs cut out the grocery shopping time in order to make it happen. It would also make a nice gift to a new parent or elderly person who can’t make it to the grocery store easily.

I am psyched to today Blue Apron Meal Delivery is offering readers 30% off your first box if you join by following this link: Click here for 30% off your first order. Enjoy!