I'm no longer going to say to you, "It's been a long time.", because let's face it's always been a long time since I've decided to share my life with you. Mostly, I pick up this little hobby during the summer when I don't have to worry about grading papers or planning lessons. So, from now on, just get used to me bombarding your news feeds during the summer and being nonexistent during the school year. :)
Along with my summer blogging hobby, I like to find new things to do during the summer. This year, I decided to start cooking more. I am really good at ordering out or visiting some of my favorite drive-thrus, but I'm not as skilled in home cooking. I have learned I am actually decent at cooking as long as I have a recipe to follow. I just haven't done that much cooking thus far in my life. When I do cook, I stick to my usual chicken with veggies, or pasta, you know the basics. So, to start this new "hobby", I decided to give two different home delivery services a try. Two of the things that have turned me off of cooking before are trying to figure out what to make and then going grocery shopping. Theses services take both of those variables out of the equation! I could just do the part I find enjoyable, the actual cooking!
I thought that some of you may want to know what I thought about both services and what meals I had sent to me. I tried out Blue Apron for two weeks and Hello Fresh for one week. I did Blue Apron for two weeks, mostly because I didn't realize when I signed up that a package shipped right away. Oops!
With both services, you are able to specify if you would like vegetarian, or if you want to exclude certain foods like seafood. You also have the option of getting meals for 2 or 4 people. I decided to get 3 meals sent to me a week. As a single person, I was then able to have a whole week of dinner with the 2 person option. Both services allowed you to pick a delivery day, and they send all of the ingredients for each meal on that day. Everything is portioned for the exact number of people you specified. This is awesome as a household of one, because I did not waste hardly any food! Each company also has a recycling program for the boxes, or you can recycle the boxes with your local recycling center. Blue Apron and Hello Fresh both had easy to follow recipes and the meals were delicious! I would say Blue Apron had more "unique" dishes and were a little more involved to make. However, since they were things I would not ever think to make, they were possibly more scrumptious than Hello Fresh's meals. Hello Fresh had more "common" dishes and were a little simpler/faster to make which I enjoyed. They were also very delicious!
If I do this again, I would probably order from Hello Fresh. Both companies cost the same and were equally delicious. However, Hello Fresh was quicker to make and I could have them deliver earlier in the week, which I could not do with Blue Apron. It was a good deal to try out for a week with their new customer discount, but is a little pricey for the following weeks. I do think the price may be worth it, at least for me. I didn't have to go to the store. I didn't have to think of what to make. I also probably spent less money, because I wasn't going out to eat or tempted to buy things I didn't need at the store. Overall, it was a great experience, and it got me loving my new "hobby" of cooking. When my services were over I even made my own lasagna and blueberry banana bread! That is not a normal thing for me to do. :)
If you are interested in trying Hello Fresh, you can use this link and get $40 off your first box!
Here are the meals I tried. Sorry, no pictures, I forgot!
Blue Apron:
Spicy Korean-Style Chicken with Pickled Enoki Mushrooms and Roasted Vegetables
Asparagus and Summer Squash Curry with Ginger-Lime Peanuts (One of my favorites.)
Meatballs and Tomato Sauce with Asparagus and Creamy Rice
Spicy Mushroom and Summer Squash Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa (Yum!...next time I may not make the salsa)
Black Lentil Salad with Spicy Blistered Snap Peas and Asparagus (This one surprised me, it was delicious!)
Asparagus and Arugula Pesto Pizza with Pink Lemon Ricotta (This was great, but next time I may use peppers instead of asparagus.)
Hello Fresh:
Chicken Parm Salad with Baby Spinach and a Creamy Lemon Dressing (Tasty, easy, and light)
Juicy Lucy Burger with Tomato Onion Jam and Arugula Salad (I was in heaven! I am drooling thinking about it, and I am not a burger girl.)
Emeril Lagasse's Herby Dijon Chicken Breasts with Zucchini and Red Potatoes (This was good, but pretty salty. It used chicken stock concentrate and I think that is why it was so salty.)
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