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demtenjeep

(31,997 posts)
Thu Apr 11, 2019, 10:51 PM Apr 2019

Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Freshly....does anyone have experience with these?

Hubby is allergic to Wheat so we follow the Gluten Free diet.

We choose Freshly because they guarantee that every dish is GF.

Our first meals came tonight. Shipped fresh, blocks of icepac type gell pacs between each layer.

We will try our first meal tomorrow but are kind of excited about the options.

Just wondering if anyone else has had experiences with it?

21 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Freshly....does anyone have experience with these? (Original Post) demtenjeep Apr 2019 OP
Blue Apron MaryMagdaline Apr 2019 #1
We tried Blue Apron sakabatou Apr 2019 #2
Yeah, I thought it was way too much waste and packaging. With a little practice you can prep Neema Apr 2019 #3
I made fun of all of them till my wife pointed something out... GulfCoast66 Apr 2019 #4
I considered trying one of those services for years... blogslut Apr 2019 #5
We've tried Blue Apron and Plated trackfan Apr 2019 #6
Did you know you can see the recipes right on their website? MissB Apr 2019 #7
I consider those services a nice gateway drug to cooking. 912gdm Apr 2019 #8
I tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. madaboutharry Apr 2019 #9
Take a look at the nutrition info snpsmom Apr 2019 #10
Why? Is it really that hard to... Hotler Apr 2019 #11
Some people find cooking to be a chore, especially the clean up after. Blue_true Apr 2019 #20
I accidentally ordered 3 meals. I think it was Hello Fresh. Tracer Apr 2019 #12
Hello Fresh Packaging is Offensive and Irresponsible. jayfish Apr 2019 #16
They're OK, and may teach people something about cooking, MineralMan Apr 2019 #13
I did Peach Dish - el_bryanto Apr 2019 #14
That's a lot of money spent Codeine Apr 2019 #15
I like your last paragraph. I have noticed that too. Blue_true Apr 2019 #21
I much prefer the Tasty video recipe app. displacedtexan Apr 2019 #17
I think those meal kits are an excellent way to learn to cook. davsand Apr 2019 #18
I know how to cook-exceptionally well but as we get older we are simplifying our life demtenjeep Apr 2019 #19

MaryMagdaline

(6,849 posts)
1. Blue Apron
Thu Apr 11, 2019, 11:04 PM
Apr 2019

Quality of food is very good. I live alone and found it’s way too much meat for me. Otherwise no complaints.

I don’t like the amount of waste ... ice packs, boxes etc.

I will be cancelling, though, simply because it’s too much food for one person.

sakabatou

(42,083 posts)
2. We tried Blue Apron
Thu Apr 11, 2019, 11:17 PM
Apr 2019

But we found some stuff was easier to get at the store that would take less prep and money.

Neema

(1,151 posts)
3. Yeah, I thought it was way too much waste and packaging. With a little practice you can prep
Thu Apr 11, 2019, 11:48 PM
Apr 2019

ingredients for a weeks worth of cooking without so much going into landfills.

GulfCoast66

(11,949 posts)
4. I made fun of all of them till my wife pointed something out...
Thu Apr 11, 2019, 11:51 PM
Apr 2019

Some of the people who work for her, in their 20s and young 30s started getting them. I guess they require some amount of real cooking which these kids had never really done. Now these kids are buying ingredients on their own and actually cooking. They realize that it’s not that hard. And can be enjoyable.

So I don’t criticize them anymore. Better than fast food.

From what I can tell they are generally high quality ingredients.

blogslut

(37,956 posts)
5. I considered trying one of those services for years...
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 12:03 AM
Apr 2019

but the cost always held me back.

Then, the local market started selling Plated meal kits in-store. I got one because I was sick and tired of my own recipes and thought what the heck. The kit was cool and the meal was okay but it inspired me to add another recipe to my rotation, with my personal tweaks.

I may get one again but probably not. I scratched my itch.

MissB

(15,800 posts)
7. Did you know you can see the recipes right on their website?
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 12:51 AM
Apr 2019

So if you’re cheap like me, you can use your own ingredients and not pay for the delivery.

912gdm

(959 posts)
8. I consider those services a nice gateway drug to cooking.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 12:58 AM
Apr 2019

For people who don't think they can cook anything more complicated then a grilled cheese it is an awesome service.

They put nice ingredients together and include directions that are pretty fool proof. I think it's a great intro to cooking.


madaboutharry

(40,153 posts)
9. I tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 03:32 AM
Apr 2019

You learn some great cooking techniques. And there is a lot of gratification because the food does come out tasting delicious and looking exactly like the food in photographs that come with the instructions.

I eventually got kind of bored with it and felt I learned enough to cook interesting food on my own.

The packaging waste is ridiculous.

snpsmom

(638 posts)
10. Take a look at the nutrition info
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 05:43 AM
Apr 2019

The recipes (even those they call low calorie) are not healthy. I recently researched these services because I teach 1 1/2 hours drive from my home and my husband needs a heart healthy diet. Nearly all of the options have 700 calories per dinner or more and close to an entire day's recommended intake of sodium in them.

Maybe they are teaching people to cook, but they aren't teaching them to cook well. They are definitely not for us.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
20. Some people find cooking to be a chore, especially the clean up after.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:59 PM
Apr 2019

I cook most of my meals, even if I have little time. For some people, cooking takes time away from things that they need to do it like doing more. I happen to be a crazy multitasker, so maybe I can get away with cooking my own meals, whereas another person in my shoes would not. The biggest problem that I find with cooking is being single, most items I buy serve four people minimum. So I have to freeze somethings, which isn't optimal for fresh meat. What I learned over time is that somethings are actually better with freezing, homemade cookie and breakfast pastry dough gets better with freezing, I make a big batch dough, shape pieces of it into the shape that I want, then freeze the pieces and take out only what I want until all is gone. It takes time to develop those skills, most young people don't know how to cook or even what to buy in grocery stores, so meal services work well for them.

Tracer

(2,769 posts)
12. I accidentally ordered 3 meals. I think it was Hello Fresh.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:06 AM
Apr 2019

Don't exactly know how it happened.

The food was good, the packaging was excessive.

Actually, one of the meals has made it into my rotation: A sausage and pasta dish with pesto. Easy to make on my own without Hello Fresh.

jayfish

(10,035 posts)
16. Hello Fresh Packaging is Offensive and Irresponsible.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:43 AM
Apr 2019

Got a box the other day where one of the meals included 8 carrots that needed to be processed. I kid you not; each carrot came in its own, sealed, plastic bag. I really couldn't believe it.

The food itself is fine but after making a few meals you see that your not getting much for your money. If I wasn't so lazy I could re-create the dishes for about 25% of the cost from HF.

MineralMan

(146,192 posts)
13. They're OK, and may teach people something about cooking,
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:13 AM
Apr 2019

but the cost is way too high, and the amount of packaging used is also too high a cost. However, so many people have never learned to plan and cook their own meals, so if it teaches those skills, then I'm all for it.

I'm the cook in my household. I learned those skills while doing homework at the kitchen table and watching my mother prepare meals. Little by little, I learned to do it myself, and those skills have benefited me for the rest of my life. But, not everyone gets that kind of teaching, and cooking is, as my wife says, "Sorta magic." She does't cook much and really doesn't know where to start. That's OK, because I like doing it.

Since those meal kits require the customers to do the final preparation, they'll teach people some skills, so that's a good thing.

el_bryanto

(11,804 posts)
14. I did Peach Dish -
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:20 AM
Apr 2019

As a single person i am not super interested in getting packets sent to me automatically - but they are a bit pricier (not a lot) and they let me order stuff and then they send it out on Monday I guess.

Bryant

 

Codeine

(25,586 posts)
15. That's a lot of money spent
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:38 AM
Apr 2019

to avoid chopping an onion or portioning out whatever flesh you eat. Is it really that difficult to buy component parts at a fraction of the price and cut them yourself? If you already have the time to cook a meal you probably have the additional ten minutes to prep the ingredients.

People will complain about poverty and the costs of living, cost of prescriptions, or real estate prices on this board all day but then enthusiastically waste significant amounts of money on absolute balderdash like uncooked delivered meals. Blows my mind.

Blue_true

(31,261 posts)
21. I like your last paragraph. I have noticed that too.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 11:28 PM
Apr 2019

Over the years I have learned that the toughest thing about cooking is getting quality utensils and cookware, especially cookware (although the newer stuff is pretty impressive).

The minimum people should start with is a good knife set that includes a chef knife and maybe a cleaver. If a person can't afford to buy outright, save up and buy a good knife set. Then buy a good quality colander, it comes in handy for lots of things. Next a good set of sauce pots with lids and then a couple of pans with lids. Then get some good quality plastic storage containers of various sizes with lids.

I can prepare a large onion from scratch in less that 10 minutes, doing anything with it from thin slicing to put on poultry burgers to mincing to put in sauces. The onion cost maybe $0.50, a bag of six lasts me a month or more. A four pack of boneless chicken breasts make 6-10 meals for me, a pack cost $7-$10 depending on sales. As a single person, I can home eat for a month on $45 or less. I spend more money a lot more money on lunch during the day, since I have never did home packed lunches. I believe a family of four, with an efficient kitchen, can eat on less than $200 pretty easily, in fact that could be easier because grocery packaging is built for families and coupons that greatly discount stuff are targeted at larger buys. I have seen people reduce a big grocery bill by half. One time I saw a lady take a $350 grocery bill down to something like $40. I had to wait while the coupons were rung up, but as I watched I was more and more impressed with how well she had planned her shopping trip.

displacedtexan

(15,695 posts)
17. I much prefer the Tasty video recipe app.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:44 AM
Apr 2019

We got a sample Blue Apron box and didn't like the particular vegetables included in the meal ingredients. My husband is the meat cook, & I'm the baker so we were mainly interested in new recipes and techniques.

I stumbled onto the Tasty video recipes on Buzzfeed and we've made lots of their meals. I believe their short video recipe lessons are the future of cookbooks. We just decide on the proteins we want during the week and shop according to the Tasty recipe. Meal components are infinitely mix & match, and the written recipes are there, along with the videos.

I've actually stated cooking some of the meat dishes because the instructions are so good, and my husband has become a pretty good dessert maker. The Blue Apron box is a good idea, but it's just not for us.

davsand

(13,420 posts)
18. I think those meal kits are an excellent way to learn to cook.
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 02:36 PM
Apr 2019

Mostly, they are easy enough to be successful and everything you need is right there. Ingredients are measured and prepackaged, and most of the time the cutting and chopping is done for you so you have uniformity in the cook time. All those things can trip up a novice cook, and they are avoided with those meal kits.

A lot of times somebody might want to experiment with a new cuisine, a flavor, or a spice but they don't know if they will like--and maybe they don't especially want to have to buy an entire bottle or jar of something just to try it out. A meal kit takes care of that.

I have zero problem with the concept, but I agree with everyone here that talks about the expense. I wouldn't want to pay those prices long term. It is worth it, however, to have somebody else set you up to succeed if you are trying to learn.


Laura

 

demtenjeep

(31,997 posts)
19. I know how to cook-exceptionally well but as we get older we are simplifying our life
Fri Apr 12, 2019, 10:26 PM
Apr 2019

I don't need to be at work from 6:45 to 3:45 with 200 smelly, hormonal challenged 13-14 year old students who one day think they are mature and others think and act like toddlers and its always a mix bag...


I don't feel like coming home and cooking a fabulous meal. There are only two of us now that we are in the empty nest phase. A food service eliminates hours in the grocery store, hours cooking, all of that.


Our thought is to eat those meals 4 days a week and go out 3 days a week..

Also, hubby is on a diet so he can eat a meal and know it is 450 calories it helps him plan his food day.


I really like it. Just wondered if there were some favorite dishes from Freshly

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