In the world of curated meal subscription services Blue Apron isn't new or lonely - Plated, Hello Fresh and Power Supply are all competing for your attention and money, too. Heck, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem have been sending out frozen meals for years. What BA and the newer players to this game have to offer is they know what you want, or at least they hope to. Why does it matter that you get locally sourced and organically produced ingredients. Because people like me incessantly talk about it. And it's hip and trendy and you want to be part of it and able to say you created your meal from scratch, and they Instagram well too. 

I'm only writing about Blue Apron and not one if its competitors because a friend sent me a referral, I'll admit I was skeptical at first but after a few weeks of meals I think I can say I'm sold on the idea, and perhaps BA. I eat out too much and don't cook at home enough, at least in the work-week when it's just me and the boyfriend. Blue Apron - with it's meticulously portioned meals with surprisingly fresh ingredients has been a great way to get me back in the kitchen and cooking. It's not ideal, I don't have much to choose from in the meals I'm sent (a choice of three from six dishes weekly) nor does it offer me the chance to play around, most of the recipes are exact with little wiggle room for doctoring up. What it does however is get me behind the stove, slicing and dicing and cooking with ingredients I'd rarely think to use: think rice cakes and banana leaves. Also, a chilled box of fresh produce and protein delivered to my door once a week cuts down on trips to the grocery store - a win win in my book - my love affair with Whole Foods is coming to an end. 

Not without its hiccups, the first box which was scheduled to be delivered on a Wednesday didn't show until 8:30pm that evening. As a result of having planned on a BA meal for dinner I had no groceries in the house - added to the frustration is that the BA customer service closes at 6pm - seems an odd time considering most people would be starting to cook around then. Dinner that night resulted in a pizza delivery. Annoying. Despite this there have been more hits than misses, even then I wouldn't say they were misses, just more of a learning curve of what to expect. Knowing when to add a few extra ingredients or which dishes are more suited for a lunch rather than a dinner. 

Blue Apron is $60 for three meals for two people, delivered once a week. You can opt in or opt out, no minimum deliveries required. A family plan is also offered.