Blue Apron Review

You know the drill. It's 6:30 and you just got home from work or school or the PTO fundraiser or the dentist or the ridiculous playground that has the water feature right next to the massive muddy sand pit - quite possibly all of the above. The kids are starving, there's sand in everybody's underpants and you just realized you're out of garlic and you forgot to thaw the pork chops. The takeout menu drawer is beckoning. Pizza. Subs. French fries. Burritos. Maybe Thai food if you're lucky. Not exactly health food and probably not all that delicious either. But wait...it doesn't have to be that way. Have you heard about Blue Apron, yet?

Blue Apron is a complete meal-based grocery delivery service. Basically, a team of culinary specialists put together creative, seasonally-inspired recipes for three complete meals each week so you don't have to. You choose from a vegetarian or carnivore option. Once you've placed your order, you receive a grocery box shipped directly to your home containing everything (and I do mean everything!) in the exact quantities you'll need to prepare three complete meals for your family.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of trying out the service firsthand when the folks over at Blue Apron sent over a free box as a gift for our family to try out. Check out the goods!

We selected the meat/fish/poultry option. Everything arrived in great condition in a sturdy, well-insulated box. The meat and fish were ice-cold, vegetables ripe and unbruised, and even the fresh herbs you see above arrived vibrant, green and fresh. That's no small feat shipping from NY to Chicago! I was seriously impressed with the packaging.

The KC kids weren't nearly as impressed with the packaging as they were with the box contents. They unpacked the whole thing shouting out ingredients and trying to match the food to its corresponding recipe. Looly claimed the experience of unpacking the box was like "Food Christmas." Not a bad reception from the 7-and-unders.

To be honest, I wasn't sure Blue Apron was going to work for us. Ten years ago, pre-kids, when we were both working full time, Mufasa and I would have been all over something like this. But these days, I like my cookbooks and food magazines. I look forward to browsing and selecting recipes to try. And really between picky kids, food allergies and 5 mouths to feed I just wasn't sure I wanted someone else planning our supper. But then this happened:

Cod with Pickled Grapes & Summer Succotash from Blue Apron

I thought that might get your attention. Beautiful, right? The rainbow of produce, crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside seared cod, pickled grapes. Sure, we cook like that sometimes...on the weekends. But see, here's the thing. With Blue Apron, that was Tuesday night dinner. Tuesday, people!

Stuffed Squashes with Caesar Salad from Blue Apron

And how about Friday night's stuffed squash? 

One of the best parts for me was how excited the kids got. They loved having colorful recipe cards to follow with a photo that looked exactly like our finished product.

Having all the ingredients pre-measured and at the ready made the whole experience of cooking with kids fast and totally painless. And no last minute grocery store runs for tomato paste or garlic required!

Roo sauteing the succotash

Looly was so inspired to help she even volunteered to wash the dishes, so yeah, thanks, Blue Apron!

Our third meal of the week was Chicken Tikka Masala and overall, we were slightly underwhelmed with it compared to the other two meals. In fairness, however, Mufasa is Indian and we live in a city where we can order excellent Chicken Tikka Masala from a slew of fine restaurants (2 within walking distance) on any given night so perhaps we're more than a little biased. It still served its purpose and there were hardly any leftovers to speak of.

I did run into a couple of minor issues preparing the meals throughout the week. First, since Roo is allergic to eggs, we opted not to use the mayonnaise that was provided for dressing the Caesar salad and instead subbed an egg-free canola-based "mayo." The dressing was still garlicky, lemony and totally spectacular. Second, I didn't get around to making the stuffed squash and Caesar salad for a few days after our box arrived by which time the chicory was showing its age. We subbed fresh lettuce from our CSA box instead.

On the whole, Blue Apron offers an innovative, feasible solution to the weeknight dinner conundrum. What do you do when you don't have the time and energy for full on healthy family meal planning and a grocery store run but you don't want to succumb to the the take-out trap. Blue Apron makes fresh, creative, wholesome home-cooked meals accessible and easy.

The recipes are healthier and tastier than what you'd receive with most take-out. The meals are scalable to your family's size and appetite, meaning you won't be left tossing out tons of leftovers or half-heads of rotten cabbage. You can subscribe or cancel the service any time, and at $9.99 per person per meal, it's not any more expensive than what we would end up paying at a family restaurant in our town. So why not bypass the burger joint this week and give Blue Apron a try?

Crunch a Color. The Healthy Eating Game

A few weeks ago my pal, Cortney, gave us this game as a gift and it's been the focal point of our kitchen table ever since. If you have anyone in your house that is under the age of 12, a remotely selective eater, and/or you'd love to see more good fruits and vegetables go into your kids, you need to check out Crunch a Color. Now.

The premise is simple: earn points by eating a rainbow of healthy foods. The execution is brilliant. You can earn more points for eating more nutrient rich fruits and vegetables as well as those that are generally less accessible for kids. Think 5 points for carrots, 10 for cauliflower, 15 for raddicchio. Kids can rack up bonus points for setting and clearing the table, making polite dinner conversation, and our personal favorite - double points for trying a new food.

Now, I don't have a deal with the Crunch a Color folks. Nobody asked me to try this product and I'm definitely not getting any kickbacks for a positive review here. But after years of feeding therapy for Roo, dealing with food allergies, oral delays, food aversion and picky eaters day in and day out I've tried all sorts of incentives, tricks, and games to encourage healthy eating. Crunch a Color is one of the best tools I've found. It works particularly well in a group setting (peer pressure, anyone?) and is just right for my 6 and 4-year-olds.

So far it's inspired the following:

• An impeccably set dinner table most nights
• 6 new fruits and vegetables sampled by all, eagerly, I might add.
• A newly discovered love of arugula (Looly)
• The wise assertion that jicama is a lot like if a raw potato and an apple had a baby (how true, right?)
• Far less dissent when protein appears on a plate
• 1 heated discussion about what constitutes a healthy grain
• A better understanding of what constitutes a serving size for different bodies
• 1 request for a third helping of Brussels Sprouts

I must be getting a little obsessive about it because at a party recently I was recounting the ways in which Crunch a Color has changed our family's dinner dynamic. Who wouldn't want to hang out with me at a party, right? Anyway, the guy I was talking to, father of 2 young kids, picked up his phone in the middle of the conversation and ordered the game on the spot. You should too. 

So, Looly has embraced leafy greens. Bean, who's always been a relatively good eater, but generally dislikes meat (except steak), is finishing a small serving of protein at most meals. Roo's eating focus has improved which means far fewer reminders to have another bite. And most fun for me, the troops are clamoring to try new stuff at every opportunity. Jicama, turnips, sweet potatoes, and rutabaga are no longer met with looks of disgust. Instead I'm hearing a whole lot of "How many points is that?"

Kale Chips

My kids typically don't eat many leafy greens. They don't shun vegetables, but leafy greens aren't high on the list. For Roo the texture is tough. Too much chewing and the distinct threat of gagging on a stringy part is enough to give him pause. Bean nibbles raw spinach leaves, but the amount she actually ingests is pretty tiny. And while Looly enjoys shredded Iceberg lettuce and various slaw mixtures, they're not exactly nutritional powerhouse veggies. 

So imagine my jubilation yesterday as Roo and Bean hurried me quickly past the grocery store Easter candy display toward the enormous pile of fresh kale.

"Kale, Mama! They have it! So much kale! Can we get it all?"

That's my Bean. We have found our leafy green niche with a simple but most satisfying preparation.  Kale chips. They're crunchy, delicious, nutritious and so easy the kids can practically make them
themselves.

Kale Chips

2 bunches fresh Kale (or more as these reduce a lot and get eaten fast!)
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Kosher salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Tear kale leaves into bite-size pieces, discarding tough stems.  This is a perfect job for kids.
3. Rinse and dry kale with a salad spinner.  Again, perfect kid job.
4. Dump kale onto a couple of baking sheets and pat dry if any water remains.  If your kale heap is too high, it won't crisp up properly so spread it out.
5. Drizzle on olive oil and toss leaves to coat.  Kids love getting their hands oily. 
6. Bake in 325 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until edges are brown and leaves are crisp
7. Salt to taste
8. Grab a few for you before the kids eat them all.

You can jazz these up with a variety of seasonings.  My crew prefers them simply salted but if you're feeling adventurous, try:

A sprinkle of cumin, chili powder, and garlic salt
or
Salt, cracked black pepper and freshly ground Parmesan cheese
or
A squeeze of lime juice before they go into the oven, followed by a sprinkle of salt and cayenne pepper when they come out
or
a little Garam Masala

Yum!