A few months ago we sat down to calculate how much of our budget was allocated to food. The magic number came down to a $4.42 cost per day. This was amazing for us to realize as we focus on keeping our costs low, but we always want to eat healthful meals that will provide nourishment.
Given the recent trend of delivery-service businesses, it appears that meals are now available on delivery. And not just pizza or fast food, there are several businesses popping up that will deliver perfectly portioned meals with fruits, veggies, and organic ingredients to your doorstep. They all promise to include wonderfully delicious recipes and each ingredient is given to you in the exact amount that you need to cook with. Sounds great, right?
Well, we tried it out for ourselves. We can usually spot something that is too good to be true when we see it, but we decided to give it a shot. A friend sent us a free-trial to Blue Apron so we decided to test it out. We naturally set the automatic payment to engage the free trial and then cancelled it before our card was charged for the next shipment.
What we did receive:
The box that arrived was huge and contained lots of food, a portion of meats that were packed in ice in a styrofoam containers, and lots of veggies. The recipes that we received were indeed delicious.
Our thoughts:
Positive:
The recipes got us out of our food routine and prompted us to sit down and enjoy a more romantic dinner than we usually would on a weeknight.
Negative:
We love our meal prep on Sundays. Especially when we are in-training for a race, those hours on weeknights become very valuable and spending time each night cooking was an extra strain on our time.
Lots and lots of packaging. Each ingredient was individually packaged. While this took the guesswork out of the recipe and we didn’t have to get out our measuring cups, it was a lot of extra waste. While we aren’t living a 0-trash lifestyle, we do try to be conscientious of our impact.
The cost was laughable compared to what we usually eat on. The plan that we tried for free was the 2 person plan and would have cost $59.99 per week had we continued. The Blue Apron website estimates $9.99 per serving. That is more than double our daily food cost for one serving. It just doesn’t add up for us.
While this may be a good option for those looking to start making their meals in a more healthy way, we are already in that routine. If you can afford the added cost, don’t mind the cooking time, and want to try something new and healthy, by all means give this service a try.
For those looking to save money to pay down their debt, stick with Aldi.
winningwilliams 