Blue Apron (and similar) question

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FireOpalCO
FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
in Food and Nutrition
We started Blue Apron several months ago and I'm really enjoying it: trying ingredients and recipes I don't normally use, shaking up the dinner routine, etc. The downside is even though the meals in general are pretty healthy, the calorie counts can be high: 700-900 per person. The servings are large in my opinion and I only have about 450-500 calories available for dinner.

So here is my question:
I was thinking of trying to split them in half (dinner one night, packed lunch the next) and rounding out with another dish. I'm only feeding two adults. Anyone do anything similar with meal kits? Ideas for simple, low calorie sides/appetizer/dessert for two people? I don't have a lot of room or time to be doing something complicated at the same time I'm making the main recipe, but I also don't want to serve something like steamer bag frozen veggies when I just worked so hard on "Roasted Turkey Breast & Farro-Endive Salad with Brown Butter Apple Compote".

Replies

  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    I use Blue Apron and have been breaking them into 3-4 servings instead of 2 when the calorie counts are 700 or more per dish. I don't bother rounding out with anything else. A salad is an easy side that will not "pale" next to the main dish. Also consider making a soup on the weekend (or even those fancy organic soups out of the box would work) and using that as an appetizer. Cheese, olives and crackers (sparingly) could also be a first course, or a cut up apple or other fruit. (Or do that for dessert--I rarely have dessert and use my fruits as snacks and occasionally a first course).
  • tumblyweed
    tumblyweed Posts: 416 Member
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    I do the same
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Home Chef is another meal delivery service that has more low cal options.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    thecharon wrote: »
    i just had an idea. imagine money was not an issue. couldn't a person call a restaurant like longhorn and just pre-order something and have it ready to pick up on the way home from work (example)? i once ordered for pick up and they made the meal just the way i wanted with healthier substitutions. i bet a mom and pop type place could make it even more to your liking. ... just an idea.

    Maybe this person wants more variety or different food than a place like Longhorn has to offer. Maybe they enjoy the process of making their own food, just not shopping for it or deciding what to eat. Maybe they want the adventure of trying new foods or cooking methods in a controlled way. At the end of the day, why does it matter to us if someone wants to use Blue Apron or a similar service? If they are comfortable with the decision, why do we have to think of alternatives?
  • counting_kilojoules
    counting_kilojoules Posts: 170 Member
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    Steamed fresh vegetables are always my go to (because I love them) but a salad would be delicious too. Stir fried vegetables might be nice as well.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    If you are looked for relatively easy vegetable dishes, consider baking or roasting veggies like
    this broccoli dish:
    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/roasted-broccoli-with-garlic-recipe-1928248
    and roasted green beans:
    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/229349/roasted-green-beans/
    or roasted butternut squash
    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/244833/butternut-squash-with-apple-and-cranberries/
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
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    thecharon wrote: »
    i just had an idea. imagine money was not an issue. couldn't a person call a restaurant like longhorn and just pre-order something and have it ready to pick up on the way home from work (example)? i once ordered for pick up and they made the meal just the way i wanted with healthier substitutions. i bet a mom and pop type place could make it even more to your liking. ... just an idea.

    Some people like to cook and not just rely on eating take out.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,988 Member
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    thecharon wrote: »
    i just had an idea. imagine money was not an issue. couldn't a person call a restaurant like longhorn and just pre-order something and have it ready to pick up on the way home from work (example)? i once ordered for pick up and they made the meal just the way i wanted with healthier substitutions. i bet a mom and pop type place could make it even more to your liking. ... just an idea.

    Such services are available in most urban areas and delivery (or pickup) is included.

    Grubhub and Doordash are just 2 in San Francisco.

  • NoxeemaJackson
    NoxeemaJackson Posts: 102 Member
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    Roasting or steaming a veggie side is pretty easy.
    At my grocery store they sell precut roasting veggies even!
    Asparagus is easy amd there is little prep.

    And romaine tossed with a mixture of oil+lemon juice + salt and pepper takes only a couple minutes and is highly underrated
  • ellie117
    ellie117 Posts: 293 Member
    edited December 2017
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    I do Blue Apron with my fiance. I rarely ever eat the whole portion and save it either for lunch or (unfortunately) it goes to waste.

    I'm also concerned with the sodium levels of some meals too. I've stopped adding salt and pepper at every time the recipe says "salt and pepper to taste" because a lot of times it doesn't need it. Especially if the veggies are mixed with two gloves of garlic.

    One thing I will say - blue apron loves their kale. We have cooked it 8 different ways at this point and it still is gross. How can you make kale taste good?! I'd like to see more options with things like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
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    I like kale and find that lightly sauteing it in olive oil and garlic it tastes great. I do agree about salt and pepper re Blue Apron. They are going to source the cheapest produce in season. I think it's much better now with nine choices as far as variety. Before you really had very few choices but the overall quality was better. I think they had to lower it in order to offer more choices per week.
  • sjd421
    sjd421 Posts: 54 Member
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    I use Sunbasket and can get a good amount of meals that are under 600 calories a serving. I pick my meals out ahead of time based on calories and potential taste. But I would think that would be fine, cut the serving in half and if you still need a little more add a steamed veggie.

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