I signed up for a food delivery service

[kranky]

The primary lesson 35 odd years of cooking professionally has taught me is, 'there's no easy button in the kitchen.'

I'm lucky my kitchen has one - it's labeled START.

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[JM Aggie08]

Was anyone else creeped out by 'Patrick' from Hello Fresh in those commercials?

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

To those claiming Aldi and other alternatives are cheaper, that is true if you subscribe to the Linux model, i.e. - your time is free. For some overhead and time is not cheap and having ingredients delivered in the exact quantities required is a money saver. If I can save a couple hours a week of grocery shopping, plus gas, then Blue Apron, Chef'd, Plated, et al, pays for themselves easily.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'm lucky my kitchen has one - it's labeled START.

Mine is labelled "talk" on a wireless device, then I enter a 7 digit recipe book code and say what I want (it's voice activated), and boom, I have food right at my door. :biggrin: Uniden makes great kitchen appliances.

 

[JM Aggie08]

The fiancee and I have started preparing our M-F meals on Sundays. I grill up a bunch of marinated chicken breasts/pork/salmon, she works on bulk veggies and another baked dish. It gives us plenty of variety throughout the weekdays, and save us a TON of time and money.

We found ourselves not wanting to cook after long days in the office, and would in turn go out more times than not. It has been working pretty well so far :thumbsup:

 

[Ns1]

The blue apron meal last night was decent, but definitely

1) way too expensive
2) way longer than 20 mins
3) tiny ass portions (which probably means "right sized" portions)
4) shocking amount of packaging

I don't regret what I paid for the box ($0) but I probably wouldn't subscribe.

 

[JM Aggie08]

4lb chicken breasts (organic, not my choice), $22
2lb pork medallions, pre-seasoned, $17
4lb ground turkey (organic, not my choice), $24
Gigantic bag of Brussel Sprouts, 2x$7
Gigantic bag of Green Beans, 2x$7

Around 40 meals, ~$91. All prepared over ~3 hours.

 

[Ns1]

4lb chicken breasts (organic, not my choice), $22
2lb pork medallions, pre-seasoned, $17
4lb ground turkey (organic, not my choice), $24
Gigantic bag of Brussel Sprouts, 2x$7
Gigantic bag of Green Beans, 2x$7

Around 40 meals, ~$91. All prepared over ~3 hours.

Eating the same shit for 40 meals, priceless.

seriously dude I'd get through 2 days of that and then start buying take-out, cuz no way I'd be able to eat 40 meals of that.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Eating the same shit for 40 meals, priceless.

seriously dude I'd get through 2 days of that and then start buying take-out, cuz no way I'd be able to eat 40 meals of that.

Yeah I would not make a huge batch of that at all. I'd split it up, mix match with different carbs, different seasonings and cook every few days.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Eating the same shit for 40 meals, priceless.

seriously dude I'd get through 2 days of that and then start buying take-out, cuz no way I'd be able to eat 40 meals of that.

Your willpower is weak.

 

[Ns1]

Your willpower is weak.

Food is a primary motivator for me - something worth spending money on, esp. for variety.

 

[Leros]

I like Plated, but I hate that they make me subscribe. They don't make it clear either. I ordered what I thought was a one-off order and then I received another order a week later with random recipes. This didn't bother me earlier when I was getting weekly subscriptions, but now I'm ordering less regularly.

Chef'd looks really nice. Way more selections and nicer meals, but it's pricier than Plated.

 

[Slew Foot]

Lol, $12 a plate for a dinky ass dish you have to cook yourself? F that. Sounds like a plan for dumb shit millenials.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Lol, $12 a plate for a dinky ass dish you have to cook yourself? F that. Sounds like a plan for dumb shit millenials.

And your awesome economical gastronomic alternative is???

 

[MongGrel]

Lol, $12 a plate for a dinky ass dish you have to cook yourself? F that. Sounds like a plan for dumb shit millenials.

I'd have to agree myself, to be honest...

 

[MongGrel]

And your awesome economical gastronomic alternative is???

Learn to shop and cook.

I think my wife just enjoys shopping as a part of life I guess.

I go with her occasionally.

 

[MongGrel]

Or you could just, you know, go to the grocery store.

 

[brianmanahan]

Or you could just, you know, go to the grocery store.

they still have those!?

lol, i just go to ALDI and walmart for everything.

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Lol, $12 a plate for a dinky ass dish you have to cook yourself? F that. Sounds like a plan for dumb shit millenials.

After trying Blue Spoon & Plated I agree with this. While the recipes are tasty (albeit smallish portions) the amount of prep & cleanup is ridiculous considering the cost. At least when I go to the grocery store & cook a similar dish its 2-3x cheaper even with the same time invested.

 

[Murloc]

To those claiming Aldi and other alternatives are cheaper, that is true if you subscribe to the Linux model, i.e. - your time is free. For some overhead and time is not cheap and having ingredients delivered in the exact quantities required is a money saver. If I can save a couple hours a week of grocery shopping, plus gas, then Blue Apron, Chef'd, Plated, et al, pays for themselves easily.

1. it depends on your hourly pay. If it's worth it for you to pay 11$ just to avoid going for groceries, if we add the cooking and washing up time you're probably better off going to the restaurant every night or hiring a maid, like CEOs do.
2. if you spend hours on grocery shopping then that's very weird
3. gas is a non-issue if you go to the closest supermarket, or you go on the way home from work.

Eating the same shit for 40 meals, priceless.

seriously dude I'd get through 2 days of that and then start buying take-out, cuz no way I'd be able to eat 40 meals of that.

there can be a middle ground.
You can freeze several kinds of pasta sauces (e.g. ragù, pesto) for the nights when you don't want to cook. Or just do really simple sauces that don't require cooking such as cream and smoked salmon or raw tomato and mozzarella.
This adds enough variety.
Then eat the meat cooked on the weekend, which can also be frozen cooked in some cases (e.g. sliced roast beef, then you can put it in the fridge in the morning and eat it in the evening, or grilled chicken can be heated up in the microwave) so you can also cook it in bulk.

 

[Ns1]

D:

 

[MrSquished]

you can't say this is or is not worth it. it's variable depending upon person, work situation, and finances, etc...

 

[Wuzup101]

My roommate did the blue apron thing for several months a while ago. He liked it for variety alone. That being said, I think he ended up canceling it after he lost interest in cooking 3+ nights a week.

I can live off of steamed + roasted veggies and bulk protein (fish / chicken / beef / whatever) made on the weekend just fine. I usually always have hard boiled eggs, salad greens, raw cut veggies, cottage cheese, etc... in the fridge. I generally do my "cooking for fun" on the weekend (I also love to bake different breads). If I need some variety during the week I go out and get sushi or thai or something.

I actually think the services are a great option for busy people who like to cook. They do all the planning for you. Price isn't silly expensive. You'll still have to go to the grocery store (it's not like you are going to live on 3 meals / 6 servings a week).

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Learn to shop and cook.

I think my wife just enjoys shopping as a part of life I guess.

I go with her occasionally.

Erm, k. I do the majority of the grocery shopping and all of the cooking for the wife and I. I also cook occasionally for private parties ranging in size from 10 to 125 people.

1. it depends on your hourly pay. If it's worth it for you to pay 11$ just to avoid going for groceries, if we add the cooking and washing up time you're probably better off going to the restaurant every night or hiring a maid, like CEOs do.
2. if you spend hours on grocery shopping then that's very weird
3. gas is a non-issue if you go to the closest supermarket, or you go on the way home from work.

I enjoy cooking my own meals and have been told that I'm pretty damn good at it. Most restaurants suck. When I go grocery shopping I generally go once a day because I like to get the freshest ingredients possible. (Some veggies/herbs that I use commonly I grow myself.) Each grocery trip is usually a minimum of 30 minutes or more out of the day. Just taking the bare minimum of 30 multiplied by 7, if I cook every day of the week, it is over 3 hours. 3 days a week of Blue Apron saves me an hour and a half per week That's not to mention the time researching recipes if I want to cook something not in the standard repertoire. At my wage Blue Apron pays for itself. Plus I work from home so there is no just swinging by the grocery store on my way home from work.

Blue Apron obviously isn't for everyone. For some of us it's a nice change of pace and makes financial sense too.