I am procrastinating homework and being sick simultaneously today, so what better time to catch up on a little blogging?
The last week of September, I got a card in the mail for $30 off a Blue Apron subscription box. I have been dying to try these cute little boxes, but I can not ever justify the cost to myself since I can buy the same meal, 100% organic, for less than the cost of the box (usually). I was super excited to get the card and I couldn't wait to try the service out!
I placed my order for 2 meals a week to feed a family of 4. I was so excited, I couldn't stop talking about it, and my husband couldn't stop rolling his eyes at me (ok, not really. He was just a little less excited than I was).
The box arrived just fine on the scheduled arrival date, and all the food was fresh and in tact.
The meals that came to us were quite simple and I will have to say I felt slightly disappointed. Fajitas and Sloppy Joes... why do I need a subscription box to make that?!
I am happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. The box arrived the night before I was leaving for a girls weekend with my friends, so I was sort of thankful to be able to prepare a "chill" meal (i.e., EASY). I chose to do the sloppy joes first.
The side that came with the sloppy joes was a very interesting slaw. I thought, GROSS, I do NOT like purple cabbage that much. It was super interesting and colorful with purple cabbage, and granny smith apple.
Let me tell you.... IT. WAS. DELICIOUS!!! Plus for me: The kiddos didn't like the slaw, so I got to keep the leftovers for lunch later in the week. I could eat this slaw multiple times weekly and not get tired of it. I loved the crunch and the tang from the cabbage and red wine vinegar.
The sloppy joe mix itself was great, and easy. I took a picture of that for good measure. My only real complaint here is the meat that came for the sandwiches was 85/15, and I would prefer 93/7. My husband LOVED eating the fattier meat, I never buy it, and he said it makes a huge difference. Tomato, Tomahhhhto really.
Nothing really pretty to see here, folks. Just some meat, veggies, and sauce. SAUCE!
The end result was really great. I have never put pickles on a sloppy joe before, and now I don't think I'll ever eat one without them. The Blue Apron pickles were INCREDIBLE. Trust me, I'm a pickle connoisseur! So is Andy, we eat so many pickles, and he loved them too. I wish we could get a jar of them.
You'll have to forgive my iPhone photos and my lack of plating... since I was preparing to go out of town, I didn't want to dirty another dish and I just used the cutting board I sliced the slaw on as a plate!
Our first meal experience with Blue Apron was a great one. The next morning I went to Oklahoma City with my girlfriends to see the I Love the 90s concert with VANILLA ICE and SALT N PEPA! It was so, so much fun!
Seriously, we had so much fun. I pulled out my Doc Martens from like 8th grade. I forgot how much I loved them. I also forgot how heavy they are!!
The night I got back from our girls weekend, I decided to go ahead and prepare the other Blue Apron meal.
All of this produce looked so good! We were all excited because the recipe included fingerling limes, something we have never tried before! The Poiriers love trying new foods. Sophia usually hates them, Olivia usually enjoys them, and Andy and I are just happy our kids are trying new things.
The cool thing about the fajita meal, too, is that I made the refried beans. They were whole, canned pintos, and I had to smush them all up and mix them with the garlic and cilantro. Pretty fun stuff.
Just look at those frijoles! I kept thinking to myself in SkippyJon Jones storybook lines about frijoles the entire time I was smushing them up. I love SkippyJon!
I thought that the chicken wasn't enough but it turned out to be plenty.
This meal turned out to be great, too. I actually liked the sloppy joe meal better, but I think its just because the pickles and slaw. I just couldn't get over how much I loved that slaw! My entire family enjoyed both meals, and Olivia loved the guacamole from the fajita night, and the beans. She ate 2.5 servings of the beans!
You can see the fingerling limes on the top of the guacamole in this picture. The lime was so neat, as soon as I cut it open, the little lime pulp pieces (they reminded me of the roe that you get as garnish on your sushi) started to pop out. They were super tart and the children thought that they were so neat! only two came in the box, 1/2 fingerling lime per plate as garnish. We definitely would have liked more! We actually scoured the Whole Foods in Fayetteville for them the last time we went up, and we couldn't find them anywhere. The hunt continues!
Overall, our Blue Apron experience was a great one. I loved it! I would love to be a regular subscriber, but for the amount of money, I feel like I am better off to purchase organic food locally. I love the information sheets that come with the recipes, my family enjoyed learning about the shallot sheet that came along with the sloppy joe recipe.
If you are interested, I definitely recommend trying! I would also think that gifting a month subscription to someone would be the perfect gift!
Do you know of any organic food subscription boxes like this? I looked around at other services and the prices from Blue Apron are comparable. Do you have one that you love? Please share!
I was not paid or compensated in any way for this post.
