Our First Blue Apron Experience

Is it just me or does it seem like groceries are costing more and more with each passing week? I remember when we lived in Billings a few years ago that we could get by on $80 a week for a weeks worth of groceries and have some really great meals. Then we moved up to the Hi-Line and it seems like our grocery bill doubled overnight. Besides inflation, it must have to be so ridiculously high due to the fact we are out in the middle of no-where. Grocery shopping use to be one of my favorite activities to do each week and now it has just become depressing. I walk out of the store each time irritated and frustrated that I've spent that much on food for a small family of three. The sad thing is, I'm not the only one...most people I talk to around this area say they spend anywhere for $150-200 a week at the grocery store....yikes!

Enter Blue Apron.

When I first read about Blue Apron, I initially thought it was a frivolous and luxury service. Three meals for two people costing $59 a week sounds like a lot of money. But the more I crunched the numbers and read reviews, I thought this could actually save us money as well as provide three extremely fresh and healthy dinners each week. So we gave it a try....

Forgive the pictures please....I used Snapchat for taking pics :/

Our order arrived on Thursday via FedEx in a large refrigerated box. It felt like Christmas opening up the box to find ingredients that were seriously fresh and many of them were foods I couldn't find. Garlic chives and pea tips??? I've never even heard of these things!

 

Each item was pre-portioned in their specific packaging and I loved the little bottles of soy sauce and perfectly measured baggies of spices. So fun! I really started drooling when I saw the fresh proteins (salmon, bacon, chicken tenders and ground pork) and ramen noodles. Oh yum! Along with the food you also get specific and detailed picture instructions, which are very thorough and make cooking each dish enjoyable and a breeze. 

The first dish we made was the Seared Salmon & Spinach-Walnut Pesto with Purple Potato & Red Onion Hash. This was my personal favorite. The pesto was out of this world and enhanced the salmon and potato has with its bright flavors. I especially loved the purple potatoes (I love the color purple) and it reminded me of our first trip to Hawaii when we had them at a luau. The purple potatoes taste the same as regular potato, but it's a fun change from a typical russet or Yukon gold that you find in these parts.
 

 

The second dish that I made the next night was the Adobo-Style Chicken with Roasted Bok Choy & Jasmine Rice. This was Dustys personal favorite due to the complex and seriously delicious flavors of the chicken dish. At first he said, "What's so special about it? It's just chicken and rice." Then he look a bite and changed his tune! The adobo-style of seasoning is out of this world! Also, I had never roasted Bok Choy before and we both loved it. I'm definitely going to be roasting more Bok Choy in the future! This recipe I was happy to find, had all the ingredients I could find here on the Hi-line in my local small grocery store, so I can make it again in the future.
 

 

The third and final dish for our first Blue Apron shipment was the Triple Pork Mazemen with Roasted Garlic & Pea Tips. Three forms of pork (bacon, ground pork and Demi-glaze) with roasted garlic and fresh ramen noodles?!?!? Oh heck yes! Such a fun and savory dish? I kept laughing at myself because I couldn't get over how good the sliced garlic chives smelled. I was standing in the kitchen just sniffing garlic chives the entire time I was cooking. Too bad they don't have those here...but what a fun treat to try new ingredients! It makes cooking fun and exciting again. This dish made so much food too! It makes three servings and was super filling. Another win for Blue Apron!

 

After three nights and three different fresh and healthy meals ranging in 500-700 calories, Dusty and I have decided we want to keep our Blue Apron shipments coming each week. Fun, flavorful and fresh ingredients, new cooking skills learned and a fun experience that will help lower our grocery bill are the reasons we are fans of Blue Apron and their services!

Note: This review is not paid or sponsored in any way, shape or form. All opinions are my own. We just really enjoyed Blue Apron and wanted to share our thoughts on such a great food service. Also, follow me on SnapChat (Hi-Line Healthy) to see step-by-step reviews and details of my Blue Apron experiences each week :)