Meal Plan Week #31

Happy May Day!

We're so happy it's May! Only 3 weeks left before summer officially begins!

In our neck of the woods, all of the music festivals are over now (YAY!) and temperatures will be over 100 this week (YIKES!). In some ways, it sure feels like summer already!

So... last week, we made our 4 Blue Apron meals. Today, I thought I'd share about my experience.

There were some positives...

1. I used each meal like it was a cooking class for the girls.

  They each chose two different recipes and we alternated which one got to cook dinner with me.

2. I got to spend some sweet one on one time with each of them and they enjoyed learning new skills, working with new ingredients, and of course, trying new food.

Our favorite meal was surprisingly this vegetarian dish called Elicoidal Oyster Mushrooms Pasta. The girls had never tried oyster mushrooms so this was not only a new experience, but a yummy change from the pasta they usually enjoy.

3. Portion control. I know it doesn't look like it here from the Blue Apron stock photo but each meal came with exactly 4 controlled portions. No more and no less. You never felt hungry, or full for that matter. I shared my dinner with Zach on the days where I thought he'd eat it and on other days, I just made him something quick and simple from the fridge.   

4. We also enjoyed trying different flavors and ingredients that we wouldn't normally use, like lemongrass and oyster mushrooms.

5. Shopping out of my fridge instead of making a trip to the grocery store sure was convenient.

Now for the negatives:

1. I found the instructions to be too time consuming. We'd often have to start prepping dinner early and for me, there seemed to be lots of steps. Also, about 30 minutes before dinner, everything would need to come together rather quickly. I guess I'm just used to quicker and easy recipes.

2. To us, the meals were good but not great. This is obviously a huge factor because if the meals were OUTSTANDING, I could see the benefit of them taking longer but all in all, we weren't blown away.

3. For me, prepping these dinners and following the step by step instructions, took the peace out of making dinner. I enjoyed spending time with my girls but in the end, it was way more stressful than I had hoped. Prior to last week, I had a pretty good system going where dinner would generally be done at least an hour before Morgan came home. This left time for me to be able to enjoy and spend time with all of my kids.

Although I had more positives than negatives, the negatives ended up being deal breakers for me. For these reasons, I've decided to cancel my Blue Apron account but not before we experience 4 more meals this week. (They had already started processing this week's order so this week will be our last.) No big deal! I'm happy to try 4 more new meals.  

Ok, so there you have it! That's just my honest opinion. I'm glad I tried it and now I know what's it all about. I can definitely see the benefit of it for SO many people and I understand now why these services are growing in popularity. Who knows? Maybe in another season of life, I'll try something like this again.

Happy First Week of May!

Meal Plan Week #31

• Paprika Spiced Salmon with Sautéed Kale and Roasted Potatoes.
• Cajun Chicken Sandwiches with Quick Pickles and Arugula Salad
• Spaghetti & Meatballs with Romaine Salad and Oregano Dressing
• Shitake & Red Cabbage Fried Rice with Sunny Side-Up Eggs and Cashews
• BBQ Chicken and Pineapple Baked Tacos with Fruit Salad