How Blue Apron and Plated have saved my [foodie] life

I don't sing praises of things too horribly often. And when I do, it's like the first week after I've bought it and nothing's gone wrong yet. I'm the reason why you can't trust Amazon reviews. *sigh*.

However, 7 weeks after being a Blue Apron subscriber, I can whole-heartedly say that, as a foodie that lives in the middle-of-nowheresville, having fresh produce, varied menus, and awesome quality ingredients delivered to the door is second to none.

For those who don't know about Blue Apron, it's a meal delivery service that provides all the ingredients, in the correct quantities, for 3 meals a week. I have mine set to deliver my 3 meals (with 2 portions each) on Wednesdays, which is just perfect. It ends up being $9.99 a portion, which for 6 portions evens out to $59.94 a week. For the quality of food, I normally would be willing to pay about $15/18 per entree if we were to eat out, which is a $50-ish savings, not including the wine or the tip or the tax associated with going out. Not to mention, there's no "going out" where I live. So there's that, too.

Anyways, this week was:

• Center-Cut Pork Chops with Beet, Heirloom Carrot & Hazelnut Salad
• Crispy Chicken Thighs with Kumquat Relish & Freekeh Salad
• Pan-Roasted Salmon with Spicy Miso Broth & Wakame

I made the salmon the first night (AMAZING broth. But I hate salmon. So the boyfriend got two meals.), and the pork chops last night. Those were to die for. And I wouldn't hesitate to make them again. I've linked to the recipes above (another perk of Blue Apron - the recipes are free!) and they're totally worth a shot. For those of you on Paleo, the pork chops are a must. I used traditional butter and not ghee or anything but if you did that, you could make it Whole30 compliant. 

This week, I was feeling especially lazy, however, and decided to try Plated as well, since I got a deal on it and the menu looked super delicious. Here's what I'm having delivered today:

• Seared Pollock with Blood Orange, Olives, and Grapefruit Salad
• Thai Peanut Chicken Curry with Sticky Rice
• Vietnamese Caramel Fish with Vermicelli and Bok Choy

Again, some of these aren't paleo, but you can always substitute vermicelli with some zoodles and you're good to go. Don't really know how to sub a peanut curry, but sometimes a cheat here and there isn't a terrible thing for food. Tonight's adventure will start with the Pollock, if the boyfriend can manage to wrangle up a pan and actually, you know, help.

Typically you can find great deals on these (i.e. Plated will give you 4 plates free with the purchase of your first 2 plates), and Blue Apron if you know someone who can send you a subscription (wink, wink), can be free for a whole week. If you don't, they'll do the same deal I think as plated and send you 2 meals free with the purchase of 1 for your first time.

Happy Cooking!
CJ