2015—> Cooking at home more!

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 has been to cook at home more often.  I easily fall into the habit of eating out way too much so I decided that this is the year for that to change.

I want to eat at home more often this year for a few reasons:

1.  It saves money, I end up spending way more than I want to at restaurants on drinks, appetizers and a dessert.  We don’t need all of that but I tend to go overboard at a restaurant.

2.  The meals we make at home are usually much more healthy than restaurant meals.  I love knowing exactly what we are putting into our bodies by making the meals ourselves.

3.  I really do enjoy cooking because it is a huge stress reliever for me.  Nothing like spending time in the kitchen while listening to your favorite Pandora station.

4.  I especially love eating and talking together with Brooke at our own kitchen table and I want that to be the normal for us as she continues to grow up.  

5.  It is much less stressful eating at home with a 2 year old than at a restaurant.

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The only problem with eating at home for me is that I tend to fall into a cooking rut and make the same thing over and over again.

This is where Blue Apron really helps me out with cooking at home!  They deliver farm-fresh ingredients that are all the right proportions right to our doorstep.  The meals are all very creative and they introduce me to all sorts of new ingredients and cooking techniques.  

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I also love that with this service I don’t have to go to the grocery store (which is especially nice because it is freezing outside) and we don’t end up wasting any ingredients by accidentally buying too much.  Everything is delivered in a refrigerated box so that everything stays fresh even if you aren’t home when it arrives.  

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Blue Apron offers two different types of plans—>  the 2-Person Plan and the Family Plan.

We get the 2-Person Plan which sets us up with one delivery a week, each with three meals for two people.  For this plan it is $9.99 per person per meal and the shipping is always free!  The culinary team at Blue Apron comes up with 6 new recipes EACH week for this plan and you are sent three of them based on your dietary preferences.  

The family plan is perfect for a family of four!  For this plan you can choose to get 1 or 2 deliveries per week, each delivery has two meals to be served family-style.  This plan costs $8.74 per person per meal and just like the 2-Person Plan, shipping is free!

There is no commitment so you can cancel or skip the service at any time.  

The first meal that we made was the Roast Beef with Treviso-Pear Salad & Horseradish Sour Cream.   

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This was my first time ever cooking  a pear in olive oil and I think I am hooked, it tasted so good.

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The finished product:

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For this meal I had my mom over for dinner and we both absolutely loved it.  I think she was highly impressed with me after seeing and eating this meal.  

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The second meal that I made from my delivery was the Chopped Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bleu Cheese, Currants and Crispy Shallots.  As you know, I am a huge salad lover and I was stoked to try out a salad that I had never had before!  Each recipe is about 500-700 calories per person and the portions have always been very filling for me!

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The crispy shallots were out of this world and the dressing recipe for this meal is definitely a keeper.

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I could definitely eat this salad all of the time.

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The third meal that we made was Cioppino Tagliatelle with Bay Scallops, Toasted Baguette & Garlic Aioli.  Just typing the name of that meal makes me feel fancy.  

PS all of these meals took about 40 minutes or less to prepare!!  

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This recipe was my favorite out of the three.  Whenever I order Cioppino at a restaurant I am always disappointed because they don’t ever include enough seafood for me (I like a lot) and the sauce is usually too watered down but NOT this one… there were a ton of scallops per serving and the sauce was perfect.  

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This one was even a winner in Brooke’s opinion too.  This was her first time trying scallops and because the dish tasted so good and the seasonings were right on, she loved them!

I’m really excited for us to continue to try new recipes and ingredients as we spend more time at our own kitchen table this year!

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Don’t forget that Blue Apron has a ton of amazing recipes to try out HERE!  I am dying to try the Vegetable Pot Pie, Creamy Sweet Potato and Kale Casserole and the Gnocchi with Sausage and Savoy Cabbage!  I drool just looking at the pictures.  They also have a Blue Apron market for high quality kitchenware and products!

DISCOUNT OFFER TO HRG PEEPS——>  The first 100 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order!  Go HERE to get the discount! They are available nationwide, shipping to over 80% of the country (full map of the delivery zones)

-This post is sponsored by Blue Apron

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53 comments

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I love that you are wearing a Red Apron for this Blue Apron post. LOL! REBEL =)

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I haven’t tried Blue Apron but I have used other meal delivery services and loved them. It’s really convenient and takes the thinking out of it for you.

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Those meals look really good, and I love that they don’t take a long time to prepare! I haven’t tried Blue Apron because its really hard to get things delivered to our apartment. I did get my parents a gift card there but I don’t think they have tried it yet. I might need to show up at their house for dinner the week that they try it out!

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It looks so good! Hopefully they expand into my area soon! We have been trying to cook at home more often too, I love cooking, but I get into the rut of making the same things as well!

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That pasta looks amazing!! Seriously, I need some fettuccine in my life soon now:)

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Yummm. Looks so good. Someday I want to try that.!!

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LOVE Blue Apron!

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Those dishes do look delicious! And I agree… eating at home with a toddler is a million times easier than eating at a restaurant!

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What a cool idea! The meals look really good. I usually get a CSA in the spring/summer, which forces me to cook some different things (and saves a trip to the store for produce). There are some great ones in Salt Lake.

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I signed up! I’m going to try it once or twice a month as a break from having to decide what to make for dinner!

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$9.99 per person per meal? For two people that would be $419.58 per week for three meals?! I don’t spend that much on groceries per week for a family of three.

I understand that you are paying for convenience but that would be way out of my price range. :(

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While I agree with your point about the cost, your math is off. The 2-person, 3 meals/week plan is $59.94 per week.

We cook the majority of our meals at home, and definitely fall into making the same things most of the time. When I’m ready for something new, I take to the internet for inspiration. Having a recipe delivered to me with all the ingredients I need would be awesome every once in a while, but I wouldn’t want to commit to 3 meals a week.

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Well, the math is right for 3 meals/day. However, I think most people, even if they had the money, would not need to spend $10 on just breakfast for example — that tends to be the cheapest meal of the day for me without even trying (eggy oats anyone? :) ). But I don’t think it should be viewed as a daily thing (since even cooking time seems to be an investment for, say, 7 dinners a week, and let’s not even consider lunch). I think it would be a nice replacement for a date night at home vs. going out for dinner, or invite a friend over for a fancy dinner and a movie/other shenanigans. i.e. as entertainment rather than food. Plus, you never know, it could inspire your own creativity to replicate a simpler version for everyday eating!

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I cook all our meals at home and honestly it’s not hard or pricey to do so. A little creativity with spices and cooking methods goes a long way. Blue Apron is way over priced for what it is. I mean you still have to cook so not so convenient.

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I’ll be honest and say I agree on the price. That seems high. Though they are doing the work, right? You just have to cook it? So your time is worth a certain amount. I think you have to factor that in. I am constantly at the grocery store because my grown men keep eating me out of house and home. That’s the other thing I think. They would so need more food.

Great concept though and I can totally see it being incredibly helpful, especially a few times a week to take the stress off.

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I have looked into Blue Apron an so wanted to join, however the family plan just isn’t enough food to feed my boys! They eat A LOT! We are a family of 5…. I just love their menu and how they make sure you have fresh ingredients!!

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Sounds yummy!! A little pricy and I think most people could actually buy those ingredients themselves for a LOT less but a cool concept for those short on time!

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The meals look so delicious! I’m trying to cook at home as much as possible in 2015 as well. There’s something so relaxing about cooking!

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I am like you and tend to fall into a rut with cooking! Those meals look AMAZING and kid friendly which is always helpful when you have a toddler that likes to change their mind of what they like to eat hourly ;)

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It looks really delicious! The price might be the only thing that would steer me away – my three kids eat so much!! It would get really expensive – really fast.
LOVE the concept though.
I could use it for a date night dinner perhaps…

:)

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Blue Apron is a cool concept. We tried it once because my cousin was raving about it. But it takes way too long for us, sometimes an hour to prep. Much easier to grill some chicken and steam some veggies and MUCH cheaper. Definitely expensive for what you get.

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I agree, Blue Apron is very expensive and I’m not sure it’s that much of a time savor. My 5 and 7 year old would never eat that food, so I would end up preparing a separate meal for them anyway.

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I haven’t seen Blue Apron before, but it looks like a great idea. I’ve been more into “freezer” cooking, so I prepare large meals and keep those frozen for later use. But then again, I’ve got a full size freezer in my garage, and I’m guessing you don’t have one of those stashed away in your apartment! :)

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OBSESSED with this idea since I suck at cooking and NEED to spend more time making meals at home. SO EXCITED! I’m signing up now.

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I love Blue Apron! We’ve done it a few times and it’s such a good way to try some new recipes!

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Aside from the sponsored part of this post, do you REALLY find that blue apron is a good deal? I cannot get over the price. I can definitely do meals much cheaper from the grocery store, even following more complex blogger recipes. It is curious that this post has showed up on at least 3 of the bloggers I follow this morning. It makes me wonder whether the endorsement is truly genuine or if it is incentive based, no offense to you or your business.

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I had the exact same thought!

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I’m actually jealous of all the endorsements HRG gets to do. This reminds me of the pizza place we have where you buy the pizza and take it home to make yourself.

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Exactly. I feel like bloggers are selling out!

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One of my new year’s goals was to cook a new-to-me recipe at home once a month! Blue Apron would certainly help with that!

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I’ve tried Plated and really liked it, but didn’t have the money to continue the service on a weekly basis.

I do like the fact that Blue Ribbon has the family style option, because what I missed most was leftovers to bring to work for lunch and the family option would give me that. Maybe I’ll try it!

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I’m on the Blue Apron waiting list for when they come to my area. All of the meals look so good!!

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I agree that I tend to get into food ruts when cooking at home- but that’s what Pinterest and online recipes are for! I love looking up new-to-me meals, and buying the ingredients myself at the store. We spend what I think it’s an enormous amount of money on groceries every week for two adult runners, and it would be even more so with Blue Apron. In order to still pay our rent with our already-high grocery bill, I’ll be sticking to free, online recipes I think.

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I just signed up for Blue Apron and am getting my first delivery tomorrow! I am super pumped and cant wait to try it out :)

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Garlic Aioli is the best…. I’ve started putting it on my steak tacos and I cannot recommend anything better in this world!!! Seriously, try it and it may change your life! ;)

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I’m trying Blue Apron next week! Can’t wait to get some new yummy recipes. It’s too expensive for me to do often though.

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Just signed up! Thanks for the discount and I cannot wait to try this!!

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Although I don’t follow recipes a ton, I do cook almost all of my food at home. It’s just so much better for me and cheaper!

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I LOVE cooking at home!! so much cheaper and I swear, my bf and I make meals that taste better than what we order at restaurants! Also I don’t have kids but I can only imagine how much easier it would be to have dinner at home with them rather than in a restaurant!

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My family has been doing the Blue Apron program for about 4 months now–we love it!.. I ordered 2 regular plans-and its plenty of food to feed our family of 5 – 2 adults and 3 teenage girls… in fact- I set it up so on the 3 nights of the week we eat a Blue Apron recipe- the girls do the cooking!.. they are 13,13, and 15- and with the easy, colorful, step-by-step instructions, they have never had any trouble making the full dinner.. We have like some recipes better than others, but they are ALL good.. the food is fresh, and great quality- and I LOVE that you get every little thing you need(except the olive oil, S &P, – the basics)….We are trying new things – love the different cuisines.

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AND,, forgot to say– once you’ve made it once, you’ve got the recipe card- and can duplicate it on your own at any time!…. also- maybe its living in Southern CA -(Palm Springs area), but I find the price per meal very economical!…

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I love brussels sprouts- yum!!!

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I think it would be fun to try just a few meals – I love cooking and coming up with new things but the simplicity of this plan would be nice!!!
All of the things you made look incredible – super fancy!

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Services like blue apron look great for people who can afford them. A service like this, or eating out several times a week is too expensive for me, so I cook at home most of the time. I totally understand the cooking ruts though and look for new recipes online.

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The food looks good, but I don’t even think you’ve mentioned them since your last post about them. Have you been using the service?

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I hope that didn’t come across as rude, I’m not trying to be. But it seems like a lot of bloggers never use this service in between sponsored posts, which doesn’t say much for it.

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Yummy!! These all look so darn good!!! :)

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I haven’t tried or heard of blue apron…sounds great though especially if you get sick of meal planning like I do

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Janae, would you or your readers have any advice on how to get the skin on my feet to toughen up? I know you had issues after your water running. I haven’t been water running, but the balls of my feet and pinky toes are shredded. I’ve been running for years and while I’m used to having some foot skin issues in the summer due to heat & humidity (I’m in Florida), I’m currently battling it & cannot figure out a solution. I’ve tried Vaseline, Body Glide, Spenco second skin, 5 different brands of socks…and combinations of the above. I went to a foot doctor who told me that as we age, the skin on our feet thins. What?! Please, I’m 44…not quite ancient. Thanks for your help!

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Hey Janae! Where did you buy that red plaid fleece button down shirt you are wearing in the top pictures? The apron meals looks so good! We are currently using Freshology Meal Delivery out of CA and love it..they are fun to try and its nice getting a break from cooking! xo Heidi

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I have been getting Blue Apron once a month since you first posted about them. I am in love! It totally pushes Joe and I out of our regular dinner ruts and I keep all of the recipe cards in a binder so we can recreate them on our own :)

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That salad looks glorious!

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Janae, would you honestly use this if you had to pay full price?

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