Meal delivery service?

MercysMom · ‎07-21-2016

Anyone use one like Blue Apron? Do you like it? It''s just me and my son and I get so tired of trying to come up with meal ideas. Did you find it a good value? Thoughts?

While I breathe, I hope - - South Carolina

dex · ‎03-09-2010

@MercysMom I saw gift cards at Costco for this service and wondered myself about it .I thought it could be handy for my son as he lives alone and it isn't much fun to cook for one.I hope someone has some experience to share.

brandiwine · ‎03-11-2010

I looked at it, but it's soooooooooooo expensive, I can't afford the luxury. It averages $10 per person, per day. It would cost my DH and I close to $600 a month for 1 meal a day. I spend half that a month for all our meals. We go out once a week.

SXMGirl · ‎07-07-2010

One of the women in my cooking club is newly single and decided to try one of the home delivery services like this. She loves it. She doesn't have to go to the grocery, everything is measured, and one dinner is at least two meals for her. She says that it is both a time saver, and in the long run, a money saver.

Since she belongs to our cooking club, she does like to cook. However, she felt that when she made dinner before and just for herself, she was making too much food, spending too much money on ingredients (especially when she only needed a small amount of something), and was always preparing the same things. Now, she gets to try new recipes without extra ingredients and with everything already prepped.

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!

Pook · ‎03-20-2010

From what I saw online hardly anything looked appetizing and way too expensive for the small portions you get. Maybe smaller portions could be considered healthier, I could not survive on those portion sizes and neither could my SO or just about anyone I know. To be stuck with what they send is not my idea of a good meal! It 's cheaper and easier to get takeout from different restaurants. There are many things we like and it's not hard for us to prepare meals we know we will like. Some like to experiment with strange healthier options but not for us. If I did I could go online and get many recipes that are suited to our tastes.

momtochloe · ‎11-03-2013

@SXMGirl wrote:
One of the women in my cooking club is newly single and decided to try one of the home delivery services like this. She loves it. She doesn't have to go to the grocery, everything is measured, and one dinner is at least two meals for her. She says that it is both a time saver, and in the long run, a money saver.

Since she belongs to our cooking club, she does like to cook. However, she felt that when she made dinner before and just for herself, she was making too much food, spending too much money on ingredients (especially when she only needed a small amount of something), and was always preparing the same things. Now, she gets to try new recipes without extra ingredients and with everything already prepped.

@SXMGirl this is an excellent point that if you can stretch this to two meals it can be rather cost effective especially if you are cooking for one. Adds a nice variety to your weekly meals.

There are new companies coming online every day and it's interesting to look through their meal plans. Some are too adventurous for me but some looked rather interesting. They are not in my price range but if financially they are a fit for you I think it's worth taking a look at.

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

I have used a delivery services in the past.I don't use them anymore.I prefer to deal directly with individual restaurants that deliver!!

I say this for several reasons.Firstly, they are very expensive .They charge upwards of $15 per delivery! As opposed to local restaurants that deliver free or for a nominal charge of up to $3!! Secondly,These services take longer to deliver because they have to go to the designated restaurant to pick up the food.Each delivery person has to stop at various establishments along the way.By the time you get your food it's cold & dry! They also don't respond well to customer complaints! They tell you that you should take or issue up with the restaurant.When you call the restaurant they tell you that the food left their establishment hot & fresh & cooked to order.They refer you back to the service!! When I order directly from the restaurant the food comes quicker.Any complaints are dealt with quickly with either a replacement or credit!!

Depending where you live there maybe restaurants that deliver.Where I live we can get get deliveries from Italian, Chinese & Greek restaurants!!

Also,I have never used Blue Apron.My comment is about my general experience with delivery services!! I understand that they provide ingredients for you to prepare your own meals.This to me would be to restricting & expensive since you would still have to cook it yourself!!

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

The Blue Apron, Hello Fresh etc. are ingredients sent to you that you use to cook the dinner. I haven't tried them but did do research. The look pretty healthy and the ingredients are all fresh.

Again, these are not cooked and prepared meals as a previous poster said her food is premade and delivered cold.

KaySD · ‎08-16-2016

Yes! I've used three different services. The quality has been exceptional in every case.

Some services send you complete, perfectly measured ingredients, and directions to do your own cooking. If you haven't cooked much, these do not make cooking simpler, but the shopping and (especially) the deciding what to make both go away and cooking is all you have to do. Plus you will probably make things you'd never tackle on your own. Portions, in my experience, are very sufficient.

Other services send things partially cooked. This makes the process much faster and overall much easier than planning and shopping on your own, with potentially with better results.

Still other services send you good meals ready to warm up. Easiest of all, of course, and can be as good or better than you can manage on your own. I'm very appreciative of these when I'm sick or extra-superbusy. Probably better than anything ready to heat from the grocery store, though Trader Joe has some pretty good stuff. Sometimes designed to deal with specific nutritiional requirements and make that easy.

Ubereats is comparable in price and just a delivery system. Restaurant meals are often higher in calories than any of the above, and can arrive quite "wilted" depending on how long they sit in the car. Okay for some things, or for an unexpected need, but the other services seem better generally, to me at least.

Least desirable--in fact I find them unacceptable--are most grocery store meals and frozen ready to eat food, including everything I've tried from QVC.

Yes, these are all expensive options compared to shopping and cooking, and if you are anything of a cook, you can usually do better for yourself. But if you can afford them, experiment and try them out. One of my friends used Blue Apron to teach herself not to be afraid to cook new things! You might like it yourself.

Mrsq2022 · ‎03-10-2010

I love the idea of this. I wouldn't use them forever but it would be so nice to try it for a couple of months and get new dinner ideas. You'd be able to recreate any of the recipes that you loved later.

Its hard for me to pick up a cookbook and become inspired to go out and buy fresh herbs and ingredients that I dont already have in my kitchen.