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Meal Subscription Services: Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated, etc (1 Viewer)

T

Tiger Fan

Footballguy
For those that don't know what these are: taken from this lifehacker post

These services (sometimes called "meal kit delivery" services) have you choose from a selection of meals each week and then they deliver the recipes and pre-portioned ingredients on the weekday you choose so you can easily make chef-quality meals at home. They're like a mix of meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe discovery apps all rolled into one.


The services cost more than just doing your own meal planning and grocery shopping, naturally, and it's more work than just ordering take in, but these services combine convenience with, at times, cooking education. Plus, the meals are all portion-controlled (so you don't waste food and can watch your waist).

If you enjoy cooking and trying new foods but often don't have the time to plan and prep all your dinners, one of these meal subscription services might be for you.
Click to expand...
We got our first plated shipment over the weekend and will be cooking our first meal tonight. Just curious to people's thoughts. I bolded the sentence in there that intrigued me...but obviously the cost alone it will be a turn off to some.

Anyone have any experience?

Plated coupon codes
Blue Apron coupon codes
Hello Fresh coupon codes
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tiger Fan said:
For those that don't know what these are: taken from this lifehacker post

These services (sometimes called "meal kit delivery" services) have you choose from a selection of meals each week and then they deliver the recipes and pre-portioned ingredients on the weekday you choose so you can easily make chef-quality meals at home. They're like a mix of meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe discovery apps all rolled into one.


The services cost more than just doing your own meal planning and grocery shopping, naturally, and it's more work than just ordering take in, but these services combine convenience with, at times, cooking education. Plus, the meals are all portion-controlled (so you don't waste food and can watch your waist).

If you enjoy cooking and trying new foods but often don't have the time to plan and prep all your dinners, one of these meal subscription services might be for you.
Click to expand...
We got our first plated shipment over the weekend and will be cooking our first meal tonight. Just curious to people's thoughts. I bolded the sentence in there that intrigued me...but obviously the cost alone it will be a turn off to some.

Anyone have any experience?

Plated coupon codes
Blue Apron coupon codes
Hello Fresh coupon codes
Click to expand...
How much per meal?

 
James Daulton said:
Tiger Fan said:
For those that don't know what these are: taken from this lifehacker post

These services (sometimes called "meal kit delivery" services) have you choose from a selection of meals each week and then they deliver the recipes and pre-portioned ingredients on the weekday you choose so you can easily make chef-quality meals at home. They're like a mix of meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe discovery apps all rolled into one.


The services cost more than just doing your own meal planning and grocery shopping, naturally, and it's more work than just ordering take in, but these services combine convenience with, at times, cooking education. Plus, the meals are all portion-controlled (so you don't waste food and can watch your waist).

If you enjoy cooking and trying new foods but often don't have the time to plan and prep all your dinners, one of these meal subscription services might be for you.
Click to expand...
We got our first plated shipment over the weekend and will be cooking our first meal tonight. Just curious to people's thoughts. I bolded the sentence in there that intrigued me...but obviously the cost alone it will be a turn off to some.

Anyone have any experience?

Plated coupon codes
Blue Apron coupon codes
Hello Fresh coupon codes
Click to expand...
How much per meal?
Click to expand...
Seems that they are around $10

 
Cjw_55106 said:
James Daulton said:
Tiger Fan said:
For those that don't know what these are: taken from this lifehacker post

These services (sometimes called "meal kit delivery" services) have you choose from a selection of meals each week and then they deliver the recipes and pre-portioned ingredients on the weekday you choose so you can easily make chef-quality meals at home. They're like a mix of meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe discovery apps all rolled into one.


The services cost more than just doing your own meal planning and grocery shopping, naturally, and it's more work than just ordering take in, but these services combine convenience with, at times, cooking education. Plus, the meals are all portion-controlled (so you don't waste food and can watch your waist).

If you enjoy cooking and trying new foods but often don't have the time to plan and prep all your dinners, one of these meal subscription services might be for you.
Click to expand...
We got our first plated shipment over the weekend and will be cooking our first meal tonight. Just curious to people's thoughts. I bolded the sentence in there that intrigued me...but obviously the cost alone it will be a turn off to some.

Anyone have any experience?

Plated coupon codes
Blue Apron coupon codes
Hello Fresh coupon codes
Click to expand...
How much per meal?
Click to expand...
Seems that they are around $10
Click to expand...
yeah, b/w $9-12 per meal per person. We opted for the 3x a week one...so it's about the same as a low end casual meal if you eat out.

 
We did one of these for a very short time. Our biggest problem with it is the enormous amount of packaging waste. It's just unreal.

 
We weren't crazy about the Blue Apron recipes. Seemed like they tried too hard to come up with exotic dishes and the flavors were just weird.

 
Jobber said:
Cjw_55106 said:
Jobber said:
We did one of these for a very short time. Our biggest problem with it is the enormous amount of packaging waste. It's just unreal.
Click to expand...
Ive never gotten these. Isnt most of it recycleable?
Click to expand...
The boxes, sure. The half a dozen huge cold packs, no.
Click to expand...
We got 2 large cold packs with ours for our 3 meal order. I can see how they can add up...but doubt that it would be the only reason why I could cancel.

 
urbanhack said:
I love to cook and have absolutely no interest in doing one of these.
Click to expand...
I love to cook as well, and the big draw for me is that you get to try out different recipes and have literally every item pre-proportioned for me. No trips to the grocery at all. This will save a bunch of time. Plus, I get to learn how to cook some new things without necessarily thinking/planning.

Maybe it will work, maybe not :shrug:

 
Tiger Fan said:
urbanhack said:
I love to cook and have absolutely no interest in doing one of these.
Click to expand...
I love to cook as well, and the big draw for me is that you get to try out different recipes and have literally every item pre-proportioned for me. No trips to the grocery at all. This will save a bunch of time. Plus, I get to learn how to cook some new things without necessarily thinking/planning.

Maybe it will work, maybe not :shrug:
Click to expand...
Part of the fun for me, or my creative outlet with cooking, is changing up and experimenting with recipes. I rarely measure anything when cooking. I think I'd have a hard time cooking in a box with everything so cookie cutter. Now it might be different if this was for baking where everything had to be precise. Not sure if they have any baking options or not.

 
Food shopping does blow. If you're already cool with the idea of spending a few extra bucks per meal, I'd just find some recipes off of allrecipes.com which you know will be very good and do the supermarket home delivery service. You can essentially do all your planning and shopping while at work.

 
Did Blue Apron for a while. Seems like it took forever just to get the meal prepped. Not something for a work night dinner, IMO. These are probably better for stay at home mom types.

 
urbanhack said:
Tiger Fan said:
urbanhack said:
I love to cook and have absolutely no interest in doing one of these.
Click to expand...
I love to cook as well, and the big draw for me is that you get to try out different recipes and have literally every item pre-proportioned for me. No trips to the grocery at all. This will save a bunch of time. Plus, I get to learn how to cook some new things without necessarily thinking/planning.

Maybe it will work, maybe not :shrug:
Click to expand...
Part of the fun for me, or my creative outlet with cooking, is changing up and experimenting with recipes. I rarely measure anything when cooking. I think I'd have a hard time cooking in a box with everything so cookie cutter. Now it might be different if this was for baking where everything had to be precise. Not sure if they have any baking options or not.
Click to expand...
I hear ya, and typically agree. Will let you know how I think this balances everything.

 
I don't get these services, or why there are several companies doing it.

It doesn't seem like it saves much time; you still have to cook and clean up. Food is delivered, but there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there. The meals cost about the same as a cheap meal out.

I hate cooking and cleaning up so this has zero appeal to me. My wife loves to cook and this has zero appeal to her as she enjoys getting creative and even shopping for ingredients. There must be a market for it since there are several companies doing it, but I don't get it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
My wife has brought home some free samples from Plated over the past 2-3 years. I think the company she works for sells quite a bit to Plated.

I've never really had a problem with the food but it's not something I would pay for. It's a hell of a lot tastier and probably healthier than, like, a TV dinner. But it doesn't save THAT much prep time...you still have to cook it and clean up after yourself. Maybe saves a few minutes of chopping vegetables or preparing meat on the front end.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I dont and can't cook. My wife does everything every night. Assuming that I wanted to help her so she has some "off" time, would I be able to cook these meals. Also, I have 4 people. I would spend $40 per dinner?

 
There's a place here in StL called Time for Dinner. We went once as a fundraiser for a family that needed some help and really enjoyed it. They have a menu that changes monthly and you can order as many dishes as you want from their selection (minimum of 4 but get a discount when you order 6 or more). What's nice is you go to the place and get to prepare all the meals at once and then bring them home and freeze. It ends up costing about $10 meal (which feeds 4 of us at home). The beauty of it is:

--It's done all at once. I've gone and prepared 10 meals in about an hour and a half. People that go will go in groups with friends, bring some wine, and make an outing of it.

--The price is actually pretty decent in the end

--I get to try things that I normally wouldn't make at home. And because they have all the ingredients there, I don't have to buy ingredients that I may not use again

--Most of the things require little work to cook at home. Some are put in a crock pot all day. Some require putting in an oven for 15-45 minutes. Some are even faster and done on a grill or broiler or pan.

--They're perfect to have at home for those times when you get busy and can't prepare for meals or know you're having a busy schedule coming up.

I looked into Blue Apron and wasn't impressed with the format, cost, or the meals. Time for Dinner is much, much better IMO. Maybe look and see if there is something similar in your area.

 
AcerFC said:
I dont and can't cook. My wife does everything every night. Assuming that I wanted to help her so she has some "off" time, would I be able to cook these meals. Also, I have 4 people. I would spend $40 per dinner?
Click to expand...
Yeah, very millennial thing. Creative home cooking without all that hassle of shopping or leftovers - all at less than your local organic bistro.

If you don't cook these services are not for you.

 
ericttspikes said:
I don't get these services, or why there are several companies doing it.

It doesn't seem like it saves much time; you still have to cook and clean up. Food is delivered, but there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there. The meals cost about the same as a cheap meal out.

I hate cooking and cleaning up so this has zero appeal to me. My wife loves to cook and this has zero appeal to her as she enjoys getting creative and even shopping for ingredients. There must be a market for it since there are several companies doing it, but I don't get it.
Click to expand...
Obviously, it's not for everyone. This is what is appealing for me:

1. You literally don't have think about anything. Review the website (they have great pictures and descriptions), pick what you want and it's delivered to you.

2. Relatively healthy meals that are geared to "no waste"

3. "forced" to try cooking different things - I'll pick up some knowledge this way.

4. I hate going to the grocery store, but I like cooking

 
Tiger Fan said:
ericttspikes said:
I don't get these services, or why there are several companies doing it.

It doesn't seem like it saves much time; you still have to cook and clean up. Food is delivered, but there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there. The meals cost about the same as a cheap meal out.

I hate cooking and cleaning up so this has zero appeal to me. My wife loves to cook and this has zero appeal to her as she enjoys getting creative and even shopping for ingredients. There must be a market for it since there are several companies doing it, but I don't get it.
Click to expand...
Obviously, it's not for everyone. This is what is appealing for me:

1. You literally don't have think about anything. Review the website (they have great pictures and descriptions), pick what you want and it's delivered to you.

2. Relatively healthy meals that are geared to "no waste"

3. "forced" to try cooking different things - I'll pick up some knowledge this way.

4. I hate going to the grocery store, but I like cooking
Click to expand...
This sums it up for us. We are using HelloFresh. Portions are large and all of the food has been good to great.

 
gianmarco said:
There's a place here in StL called Time for Dinner. We went once as a fundraiser for a family that needed some help and really enjoyed it. They have a menu that changes monthly and you can order as many dishes as you want from their selection (minimum of 4 but get a discount when you order 6 or more). What's nice is you go to the place and get to prepare all the meals at once and then bring them home and freeze. It ends up costing about $10 meal (which feeds 4 of us at home). The beauty of it is:

--It's done all at once. I've gone and prepared 10 meals in about an hour and a half. People that go will go in groups with friends, bring some wine, and make an outing of it.

--The price is actually pretty decent in the end

--I get to try things that I normally wouldn't make at home. And because they have all the ingredients there, I don't have to buy ingredients that I may not use again

--Most of the things require little work to cook at home. Some are put in a crock pot all day. Some require putting in an oven for 15-45 minutes. Some are even faster and done on a grill or broiler or pan.

--They're perfect to have at home for those times when you get busy and can't prepare for meals or know you're having a busy schedule coming up.

I looked into Blue Apron and wasn't impressed with the format, cost, or the meals. Time for Dinner is much, much better IMO. Maybe look and see if there is something similar in your area.
Click to expand...
This looks like a great service.

 
Tiger Fan said:
ericttspikes said:
I don't get these services, or why there are several companies doing it.

It doesn't seem like it saves much time; you still have to cook and clean up. Food is delivered, but there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there. The meals cost about the same as a cheap meal out.

I hate cooking and cleaning up so this has zero appeal to me. My wife loves to cook and this has zero appeal to her as she enjoys getting creative and even shopping for ingredients. There must be a market for it since there are several companies doing it, but I don't get it.
Click to expand...
Obviously, it's not for everyone. This is what is appealing for me:

1. You literally don't have think about anything. Review the website (they have great pictures and descriptions), pick what you want and it's delivered to you.

2. Relatively healthy meals that are geared to "no waste"

3. "forced" to try cooking different things - I'll pick up some knowledge this way.

4. I hate going to the grocery store, but I like cooking
Click to expand...
I get some of these points, especially the waste. Maybe all you need is a teaspoon of saffron and will never use it again so why buy a whole jar of it. Spices and herbs can be expensive, but usually have a long shelf lives. Bread or rolls are a usually a big waste item, so I can see the advantage of getting just what you need there.

Another positive is forced creativity. We usually get in a rut based on either what our family likes or what is easy. That said, our kids aren't adventurous eaters so getting creative mostly ends up with uneaten food.

I guess as a middle aged guy with 2 kids I'm probably not the demographic. I remember recipe cards being a big thing in the 70's. My mom had a collection of them. Seems like the same concept except they send you the ingredients too.

The only thing that would appeal to me is a time savings. And if a person likes cooking I just don't see the difference of finding a recipe and ordering the ingredients from Peapod or Instacart along with other groceries. One of the selling features of these companies is that you don't have to "trudge down to the grocery store", but you really don't have to anymore.

 
SacramentoBob said:
gianmarco said:
There's a place here in StL called Time for Dinner. We went once as a fundraiser for a family that needed some help and really enjoyed it. They have a menu that changes monthly and you can order as many dishes as you want from their selection (minimum of 4 but get a discount when you order 6 or more). What's nice is you go to the place and get to prepare all the meals at once and then bring them home and freeze. It ends up costing about $10 meal (which feeds 4 of us at home). The beauty of it is:

--It's done all at once. I've gone and prepared 10 meals in about an hour and a half. People that go will go in groups with friends, bring some wine, and make an outing of it.

--The price is actually pretty decent in the end

--I get to try things that I normally wouldn't make at home. And because they have all the ingredients there, I don't have to buy ingredients that I may not use again

--Most of the things require little work to cook at home. Some are put in a crock pot all day. Some require putting in an oven for 15-45 minutes. Some are even faster and done on a grill or broiler or pan.

--They're perfect to have at home for those times when you get busy and can't prepare for meals or know you're having a busy schedule coming up.

I looked into Blue Apron and wasn't impressed with the format, cost, or the meals. Time for Dinner is much, much better IMO. Maybe look and see if there is something similar in your area.
Click to expand...
This looks like a great service.
Click to expand...
Yes, something like this would be more appealing for our family. Good idea.

 
geewill said:
Tiger Fan said:
ericttspikes said:
I don't get these services, or why there are several companies doing it.

It doesn't seem like it saves much time; you still have to cook and clean up. Food is delivered, but there are plenty of grocery delivery options out there. The meals cost about the same as a cheap meal out.

I hate cooking and cleaning up so this has zero appeal to me. My wife loves to cook and this has zero appeal to her as she enjoys getting creative and even shopping for ingredients. There must be a market for it since there are several companies doing it, but I don't get it.
Click to expand...
Obviously, it's not for everyone. This is what is appealing for me:

1. You literally don't have think about anything. Review the website (they have great pictures and descriptions), pick what you want and it's delivered to you.

2. Relatively healthy meals that are geared to "no waste"

3. "forced" to try cooking different things - I'll pick up some knowledge this way.

4. I hate going to the grocery store, but I like cooking
Click to expand...
This sums it up for us. We are using HelloFresh. Portions are large and all of the food has been good to great.
Click to expand...
yeah, i was thinking i was going to give each of them two weeks and see how it all shakes out

 
SacramentoBob said:
gianmarco said:
There's a place here in StL called Time for Dinner. We went once as a fundraiser for a family that needed some help and really enjoyed it. They have a menu that changes monthly and you can order as many dishes as you want from their selection (minimum of 4 but get a discount when you order 6 or more). What's nice is you go to the place and get to prepare all the meals at once and then bring them home and freeze. It ends up costing about $10 meal (which feeds 4 of us at home). The beauty of it is:

--It's done all at once. I've gone and prepared 10 meals in about an hour and a half. People that go will go in groups with friends, bring some wine, and make an outing of it.

--The price is actually pretty decent in the end

--I get to try things that I normally wouldn't make at home. And because they have all the ingredients there, I don't have to buy ingredients that I may not use again

--Most of the things require little work to cook at home. Some are put in a crock pot all day. Some require putting in an oven for 15-45 minutes. Some are even faster and done on a grill or broiler or pan.

--They're perfect to have at home for those times when you get busy and can't prepare for meals or know you're having a busy schedule coming up.

I looked into Blue Apron and wasn't impressed with the format, cost, or the meals. Time for Dinner is much, much better IMO. Maybe look and see if there is something similar in your area.
Click to expand...
This looks like a great service.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Looks really interesting

 
Wow. Went to the Family Chef site. A chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli for my family of 4 would be 30+12+12= 54. Add on 22 for shipping and 5-10 business days later my 76 frozen meal will arrive.

I get the convenience but would still be cheaper to eat out and have no preparation or clean up.

 
Big fan of Blue Apron. Everything is locally sourced, at least in our area it's been very high quality.

I've found it to be a good exercise in expanding my meal planning and preparation. I save all the recipe cards and enjoy repeating favorites on weekends. This weekend I shopped for and made this:

https://www.blueapron.com/recipes/vegetable-korean-rice-cakes-shiitake-mushrooms-cabbage-tatsoi

It's not an especially difficult dish but I like that it caused me to branch out & use ingredients I otherwise would not have tried. Since I first made that a year ago I've tried several recipes with tatsoi greens (sort of like mustard spinach or bok choi, only smaller - and more versatile than most greens.)

Kind of the same with grains. I'm really into ferro and cracked freekeh these days; I year ago I didn't know either one existed.

To keep the prep time reasonable (there's always a lot of chopping) I find reading through the entire recipe the night before helps. If I do it as I'm making the meal I start to feel time pressure & sometimes make mistakes. You get a good feel for which activities you can do concurrently, e.g., if you have rice, pasta or freekeh, get that going right away; potatoes take longer & should be done 1st, et al.

My favorite part, besides the esoteric recipes & unusual ingredients, is my 7 y.o. always has a job because things are pre-measured. It's made meal prep more fun and relaxing.
 
We have a couple of sets of friends that do Blue Apron and love it. We are getting our first meal today and I'm really looking forward to trying it out for all of the reasons already stated by a few here, getting out of our comfort zone and trying something new, it's not really that much per meal, seems to be pretty easy with the instructions included and with the portion sizes controlled it will be easier to not over eat.

 
I just got my first Blue Apron delivery yesterday.

I started with their steak and mole tacos, which might not be the best comparison because I already do my own style of dish for that. I have a small kitchen and a baby, so the prep was a little chaotic with my wife trying to get the baby's feeding set up as well.

But I did like the freshness of the ingredients (I was worried the avocado wouldn't ripen, but it only took a day). The tomatillo mole came out well, and I'd probably incorporate radish into my own taco recipe (I think I'll matchstick cut it next time because my rounds were a little inconsistent). I used a lot of small bowls for prep, but they could just be rinsed and wiped. I only used one pan, so clean-up ended up being pretty easy.

 
We use Home Chef. $10/meal per person. So for wife and I, it's $20 for the meal. Food is pretty good. Haven't tried any of the others, so can't compare a whole lot. It's definitely more expensive than just going and buying everything, but it's so nice to know that you get EVERYTHING you need in the box. They even send butter and salt/pepper packets. Some of the meals aren't super healthy though. We had a calzone that was over 1100 calories. But the meals are pretty tasty and cheaper than going out to dinner.

 
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