I have tried the home delivery services Blue Apron, Home Chef and Hello Fresh. All three offer plans based on family size and have their own merits and setbacks. For the working mom with little time to shop, these are phenomenal services. For me since I already scratch cook and love to grocery shop they were good, but not mandatory avenues of cooking. I thought I’d tell you about my experiences with each and let you decide for yourself. Price wise they are quite comparable to doing your own shopping if you calculate in your time, gas and such. It is nice to have them prepackaged and show up right at the front door.
The above picture for Fontina Stuffed Pork Chops with Sweet Pepper Sauce was one of our most favorite recipes (which I have reworked to my methods and hubbies taste likes) from Blue Apron.
BLUE APRON – PROS
- Good delivery service and food packaging.
- Well packed fresh ingredients.
- Well written recipes with easy to follow directions.
- Great customer service.
BLUE APRON – CONS
- I honestly couldn’t find any down sides other than the fact that the recipes were either truly inspired or really pedestrian and choosing 3 recipes each week to challenge our palette was difficult some weeks.
HOME CHEF – PROS
- Good delivery service and food packaging.
- Well packed fresh ingredients.
- Well written recipes with easy to follow directions.
- Great customer service.
- Nice binder to organize your recipes.
HOME CHEF – CONS
- Delivery is later with this service and tended to mess with my schedule, but that might be because I’m at the end of the delivery route.
HELLO FRESH – PROS
- Good delivery service and superior food packaging for a really fresh delivery.
- Well written recipes with easy to follow directions.
- Great customer service.
HELLO FRESH – CONS
- A bit more expensive, but with quality food and recipes making it worth the while.
After trying all three services I have learned to sign in each week and scrutinize the menus before signing up for any particular week. I do like that all three offer menus 4-5 weeks in advance so you have plenty of notice to make your decisions.
